Weekend Wrap-Up

By all accounts, it was a great weekend around here.  Kael's soccer team tied, his football team won, the Hawkeyes won and the Vikings even won! Not that we judge a good weekend by whether all of "our" teams won or anything...just sayin'.

So I've been catching a little slack for the length of my last post from Kent.  "Don't you have any pictures to put up from our harvest or football games or anything?"  So, Kent, this one's for you. 

Last weekend we harvested the pumpkins from our little pumpkin patch in our backyard.  I think I did mention this, but here are the pictures.  So fun! 

I haven't been taking a lot of pictures from Kael's soccer games (he played in the chilly rain this weekend and I didn't even take my camera out), but I do have several pictures from his football games.  Thanks, Mom!!!

Kael's team is 2-2.  It's been a really fun season and crazy to see how much they improve from one game to the next! 

The kids hung with my parents on Friday night so we could celebrate our anniversary a few days early.  They had fun helping my dad pick up walnuts in his backyard. 

The hair! I'm getting Kase's pictures taken tomorrow, and I promised Kent that we could cut the hair (sob!) after I got his pictures taken.  

Go, Kael, go!

Some of our neighbors/besties came to watch Kael play last weekend.  This is his casual "I see you but I don't think I'm supposed to wave but I want say hi so I'm going to wave in the middle of the game anyways" look. 

He looks so.grown.up. 

Say it with me.  Oh, Kylee!

Fro-yo after the game? You betcha.

Saturday morning Kase "helped" Kent mow the lawn, I went for a quick run before the rain set in, then we had fun watching the Hawkeyes with friends and making the season's first batch of chili- yum.  Sunday morning was the first time I would say that Kase actually lasted the whole time in church nursery, so that was awesome! Sunday afternoon we visited my grandma and had a little adventure trying to get a football out of the pond.  Now we're gearing up for a week filled with school pictures and (hopefully) a field trip to the apple orchard.  Should be a good one!

Here are a couple other pictures I don't think I've shared yet.

Kylee made it to the top of the rope at Triad.  She is such a monkey!

Kase and I visited Sargent Park in EDM this morning.  I had heard they opened a "natural playscape" so we went to check it out.  It wasn't very big and there wasn't a ton of stuff to do there, but fun for a change from the park we always go to. 

And then he figured out how to turn on the fountain.

And then it became lots of fun. Shortly after this pictures I stripped him down to just diaper and shorts and he had a blast running around.  I am LOVING this warm weather!

 I hadn't been to the new Hy-Vee yet, so Kase and I stopped by on our way home.  He ate this entire donut in one bite.  And then he made fish faces at the lobsters in the background.

So, that's what we've been up to.  How about you? 

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for a trip to Earl May with my mom. Kase had fun picking out pumpkins and I am very thankful for the beautiful mum!

I'm thankful for our town's Miracle League Field. We went to a game last weekend. What a feel-good morning that was. 

I'm thankful for a trip to the Apple Orchard. Kase loved the corn pool, slide and baby goats. 

I'm thankful for a Jaguar volleyball win over Dowling. So fun to watch!

I'm thankful some new clothes for Kaser. He was in serious need of fall clothes. Thanks Cindy!

I am thankful that my parents are available to watch the kids tomorrow so Kent and I can go out for dinner. I can't remember the last time just the two of us went out.

Happy Thursday, all!!

Right now

I'm reading (again) French Kids Eat Everything.  I know far more than any suburban housewife should about the French eating habits.  That is, I've read several books on the topic and every time I read one I get inspired to change our way of eating and every time my motivation lasts about five minutes.  Ahh someday.

I'm contemplating chopping my hair.  The length is starting to get to me.

I'm wishing for a new wardrobe.  Guess I'll stick to jeans and hooded sweatshirts for awhile.

I'm feeling crazy proud of Kylee.  She's recently started gymnastics and she LOVES it.  Like, love loves it.  This week she was the only one in her class that the teacher allowed to try climbing to the top of the rope and Kylee nailed it! How fun is it watching your child be successful at something they love so much?!  Her face just lit up and she gave me the biggest smile through the window at the gym.

Sky- high Ky!

I'm also feeling lucky that we didn't lose power or have any major storm damage from yesterday.

I'm looking forward to dinner out with my in-laws tonight.  Is there any better start to the weekend than a trip to El Azteca? I think not.

I'm mildly concerned about how long Kase has been asleep.  Evidently he's loving naptime today.

I'm needing to step away from the computer and go do some dishes from the puppy chow, caramel apple dip, and Spanish tortilla I just made.  Without fail, if Kase asleep, I'm cooking.

I'm curious about when to "harvest" our pumpkins. Five of them have turned orange, one is still green, and the vines continue to grow and bud every day.  Does anyone know anything about this? Basically I'm just looking for the green light to go ahead and pluck them from the south side of our house and set them on our front porch.

I'm waving at Kylee at recess.  This will never get old to me.

I'm pleasantly surprised the the lovely aroma from my Pumpkin Spice candle that cost me all of $3.50 at Wal-Mart.  And it's a big candle! Kase loves for me to light it and loves even more to "help" me blow it out.

What are you up to right now?

Thankful Thursday

I'm so thankful for the spiderweb decoration my mom gave me the other day.  I have some fall decor, but I don't think I have any specific Halloween decor.  I put it in our front window- so festive!

I'm shamelessly thankful for the full Starbucks punch card I have.  I cannot wait to cash it in for a Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I'm thankful for the rain earlier in the week.

I'm thankful for a night *in* with a couple of neighbors/besties tonight.

I'm thankful for football season.

I'm thankful that my name was drawn among the bevy of parents who volunteered to go on the kindergarten field trip to the apple orchard in a couple of weeks.  One of the biggest perks of my job is accompanying my kids and their classmates on trips.

I'm thankful for frequent walks across the street to feed the ducks at the pond.  Kase loves to throw bread.  I figure I'm building up a strong throwing arm even if he's more likely to end up a lineman than a QB. :)

I can't believe I forgot to mention last week but I was so thankful for a quick visit from my friend Andrea.  Her day job is delivering babies but she managed to squeeze in a trip back to the DM area and see me and my fam! I could go five minutes or five years without seeing her and I swear we'd pick right back up where we left off.  Some things (the good things, as far as I'm concerned) never change.

I'm going to do a preemptive thankful here.  I will be so thankful for anyone who has advice on third grade boy friendships.  Kael has been hanging out with a neighbor kid for months now, with lots of talk about an upcoming birthday sleepover and just this morning Kael told me he wasn't going to get invited to the sleepover because his "friend" changed his mind and now likes a different kid "better than Kael".  I was more crushed than Kael, and maybe Kael will still end up getting invited...but it was one of the few times lately that I've opened my mouth and nothing came out.  I didn't have the right comforting words to say.  I didn't want to put Kael's "friend" down, even though I'm not entirely sure how much of a true friend this kid is to Kael.  I couldn't even fake an upbeat, "That's ok, Kael! We'll find something else fun to do that day!" So...help? Kids can be so mean.

On that note, I'm thankful the weekend is almost here.  Our busy weeknight routine is making the weeks fly by around here!

Happy Thursday, guys!

Today

Today, for the first time in forever, I went for a quick morning jog and realized how much I have missed running.

Today I walked two happy children to school and realized what a blessing it is that Kael and Kylee love going to school.

Today I received an e-mail from Kylee's teacher, letting me know how well Kylee is doing in school.

Today, a neighbor delivered a loaf of homemade pumpkin bread to my door to enjoy with my morning coffee and I realized how fortunate I am to have neighbors like these.

Today, I had time and money to get the groceries I needed and I realize that's not always the case for some people.

Today I stopped by my grandma's for a visit and realized how much a fifteen minute stop can brighten her day.

Today, the weather is chilly enough for me to snuggle my cuddly toddler in the rocking chair under his favorite blanket until he fell asleep.

Today, even if just for a moment, I have it all.

Weekend Wrap-Up: Cabin Edition

You never saw it coming, right? A photo-heavy recap of our weekend? Here's a quick run-down.

• We missed my older sister and her family as they were unable to join us this weekend. :(
• My younger sister spent a big chunk of the time sick/sleeping.  :(
• Kent didn't catch as many fish as he hoped. :(
• It rained all of Saturday afternoon. :(

Sounds like a bummer trip, right?

WRONG! We really did miss Mandy & crew, but by the time they would have gotten there Saturday it would have been raining the whole time they were there so they wouldn't have gotten to fish or ski or swim.  Tam was sick, but luckily there was a whole bunch of us just jumping at the chance to hold Huston, so she could catch up on some much needed zzzz's.  Kent may have not caught as many fish as he wanted, but he did spend a lot of time out on the boat fishing without a care in the world.  And the rain actually came at the perfect time- we got to hang out in the cabin and watch the Hawks win!!! (Thanks to Kent hookin' the cable up).  We got to spend a bunch of time playing games and relaxing.  It was awesome.

A late night arrival (1:00 AM, actually) paired with an early morning wake-up call from Kase means giant cups of coffee and tired eyes.   

We heart photobombing. 

Kase's shirt very appropriately says Grandpa's Little Buddy.  

Me and my mini-me chillin' on the porch swing.

Kent mowed the entire lawn while we were there because he's awesome and because Kase likes to ride along on both the mower and the golf cart. 

Chalk art!

Kael had the best time playing catch with Ama, trying to teach her how to throw the ball correctly. :)

Lots of lounging around and lots of eating is really the name of the game when we're at the cabin.

What a fisherman.

S'mores!

Close faces.

Yes, the sunrise over the lake is really that beautiful.  And not a bad looking group of fellas either!

Watching for the boat to come in.

There's an apple tree at the cabin and Kylee must have picked one hundred apples. One of my favorite memories of the whole trip was watching my grandpa see how much Kylee loved those little Honeycrisp apples, and whenever he'd go outside alone, he'd come back in with another one for her.  A special reminder of how awesome it is that my children have gotten to know their great-grandparents so well. 

Orange smiles at breakfast. 

Cousins!

Why yes, those are my dad's Crocs I'm wearing.  

Kylee wrapped up in a float, obviously.  

Fisherman in training.

Baking brownies with my girl. 

How sweet is this picture? Thanks, Mom, for capturing this moment!

Another highlight was watching Kent water ski.  I feel like such a bum for not joining him, but he makes it look way too easy! I ski once every year just to make sure I still can and I haven't yet this year.  I better get in the water soon before it gets much colder!

The kids rode so well both there and back (it's a five hour drive) and we made it home in time for Kael's football game today.

A huge thanks to my parents and grandparents for providing such a fun weekend for us!

We are a happy, tired bunch.  How was your weekend?

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for neighbors, friends and family who have been so kind as to purchase Ankeny Junior Football raffle tickets from Kael.  He's super excited about selling them this year.

I'm thankful to be shirking my parental duties this weekend.  I'm pulling the kids out of school, letting making Kael skip a soccer game, and heading to the cabin for a mini-vacay.  All in the name of fun, right?

I'm thankful both the AJF board and Parks & Rec are wise enough to cancel practices in this crazy heat.

Speaking of crazy heat, I'm thankful it's going to be nice and cool up in Minnesota this weekend.  This girl is so ready to lounge around in sweatpants over the long, lazy weekend.

I'm thankful the cabin does get the channel that the Iowa/ISU game is played on.

I'm thankful you aren't tired of hearing how excited I am about the cabin.  Or are you? I'll stop.

I'm thankful Kase is learning so many words! He says something new every single day and I love it.

Short and sweet, I've got some packing to do.

Happy Thursday, guys!

Birthday Fun

We had a great weekend celebrating Kent's birthday.  Wanna see?

Friday night we spent the evening on the boat with my parents.  The kids got to swim and play at the beach and Kent even got a little fishing in.  Fun was had by all! There was even some Little Caeser's Deep Dish Pizza involved so we were a particularly happy group, especially Kael. :)

Saturday morning Kent got to play a little football- his team won and Kent even scored a touchdown. After his game we went to Collins to celebrate with Kent's side of the family.  We watched the Iowa game (a win!) and grilled steaks for lunch. The kids had fun playing on the slip and slide and in the sprinklers.  We also had time to squeeze in a bike ride and play at the park.  Kent got some pretty sweet new kicks- I'm so disappointed in myself for not taking any pictures when we were in Collins! I think I did take a few on Kent's phone so I'll have to hijack that sometime soon to post a few pictures. 

Sunday morning, the kids were so proud to give him their homemade cards.  Then Kase "helped" Kent open a few gifts. 

Cool dudes, above and below.

Sunday afternoon Kael had his first football game.  Kael's biggest wish for Kent's birthday was that their team would win their game, but alas, the team lost.  It sure is fun watching them play/coach though.

The fun didn't stop there, folks.  A good friend of ours has a birthday today, so we went out with her and her husband last night to celebrate the double birthdays.  El Rodeo was the perfect way to end of celebration weekend!



Happy 31st Kent! We love you!