Thankful Thursday

I'm very thankful for a vigilant neighborhood and policemen.  There was a suspicious truck cruising around our 'hood the other day and a neighbor called it in.  We had police cars patrolling the area very frequently that entire night and next few days.

I'm thankful we have been getting some serious use out of our pool passes.

I'm thankful for the giant papasan my sister gifted us Kylee! She begged for me to put it in her room and I knew she'd love it.

I'm always thankful for a neighbor night out.

I'm thankful my parents landed safely in Africa for their safari!

I'm thankful for some free time and and thankful to cross a few fun things off our Summer Bucket List.  We're nearing the end, folks.

I'm thankful Kent is able to take a few days off work between now and the start of school.  Having him around will free up some time for me to finish start some birthday shopping and do some back-to-school shopping.  Also we're hoping to hit up the fair one of the days.

I'm thankful for the Fabulous Five of Northpark Drive. These girls are going to take the world by storm, I tell ya.  This summer will be one for the record books as far as how much time they've clocked together.  They've also managed to do so with almost no drama.  I heart these girls as much as they heart each other. 

I'm thankful for this single apple on my Honeycrisp tree in the backyard.  My pumpkins are also really growing! 

I'm thankful my day started with Kase asking to join me on my morning walk, followed by breakfast on the front porch.  

Happy Thursday, all!

What's going on

I didn't get around to posting a Weekend Wrap-Up and didn't intend to write a Thankful Thursday post this week.  The writing mood hasn't struck me lately, evidently.

Kent made sure I knew that I had missed a Weekend Wrap-Up.  I'm happy he cares. :)

So, for my sake, and for Kent's...here's what we've been up to.

We missed out on an annual trip to the lake with some dear friends.  Our kids had been sick and I didn't want to risk getting their crews sick too.  But I do hate missing out.  Dinner soon, ladies?? (I know you still read my blog, and don't think I haven't been blog-stalking yours...hoping for pictures and stories of the weekend ;)

We stained our deck.  It's a terribly tedious task.  Kent much prefers tasks like framing the basement.  But it's done.

I made some curtains for our front door following this how-to.  Because I don't sew.  And because I've been wanting something to cover the windows on our front door for over two years now.  I really love the natural light that comes in during the day and I love to be able to see who is coming to our door, but at night, I don't love how open it is and how easy it would be for people to see in our front door.  They turned out great and super easy!

I roasted a whole chicken in the oven and then spent the rest of the evening cleaning out the oven.  Ugh. Splattered chicken grease is not my favorite thing in the world.

I planted some flowers on the south side of our house- another project that's been on my to-do list for-ev-er. The colors of the Black-Eyed Susans make me think of the Hawkeyes which make me think of football season which I love.  So basically I planted Hawkeye flowers.

Each of my big kids have had a "Grandma Day" this week.  Tuesday she took Kael out for lunch and hung out with him the rest of the afternoon and today it was Kylee's turn to do the same.  They each enjoyed some time away and enjoyed spending one-on-one time with grandma.

I filled approximately 53,076,848 water balloons for the kids yesterday and they lasted all of twenty minutes.  But those twenty minutes were totally worth it.

Kael's been seeing our favorite chiropractor, who also happens to be his uncle, lately and the adjustments seem to be helping in a big way.  We had some friends over recently who commented on how great Kael seemed to be doing!

Speaking of Kael...today I let him go to the pool by himself.  A couple of his friends were going to be there, but Kase needed a nap, so I dropped him off for an hour (which was also the longest hour of my life).  I think he felt like a pretty big deal.  He's really growing up.

Have a great weekend, guys!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for bomb pop stains on his belly.

I'm thankful for a trip to Adventureland!!! Cindy, Terri and Kate helped make the day extra fun. I really appreciated their help with the kids and especially Kate's willingness to ride anything and everything!

Kent's thankful he got to be there for only four hours.  He doesn't love Adventureland as much as he should. ;)

I'm thankful for the selfie Kael snapped on the carousel. 

I'm thankful for Kylee's face in this picture. (She got soaked and it was barely 70 degrees. Brr!)

And I'm thankful for Kael's face in this one...

I'm thankful for homemade ice cream in a bag.  Yum. 

I'm thankful the kids toughed out swimming lessons in the chilly temps this week.

Happy Thursday, guys!

Weekend Wrap-Up

It was SUMMERFEST WEEKEND, you guys!

We've gotten the tradition started of going up to do the carnival rides on Thursday night, when you can buy a wristband and ride all the rides you want! This year we went with a bunch of neighbors, so it was extra fun. 

Friday night we visited Kent's grandma in the care center in Nevada- she was doing well and is anxious to go home! We stopped for dinner and ice cream on our way home at a little place called Starbucks, which is not the coffee place you're thinking of.  My family was happy, happy, happy and the ice cream was amazing.

Saturday morning this one was up early, per usual.  He clocked some snuggle time with Dad, reading tractor books.

Then, the Grand Parade! We had kind of a light crew this year.  Some were sick, some were out of town, some have moved away.  But we did have a blast!

These two have such a special bond.

We came home with more candy than we'll know what to do with.  

Our post-parade tradition is to eat at Godfather's, since it's so close to where we sit for the parade. It works out perfectly as the kids are usually coming off a sugar high and desperately in need of some "real" food.  Later Saturday afternoon we attempted to watch the regatta but Kase had napped kind of late so we missed it, which turned out to be OK because it was super hot- I don't think we would have lasted long watching the boats.  So we went to the pool instead.  We spent the rest of the evening running errands and preparing for...Smokefest 2014! (More on that in a second.)

Sunday we got me a new phone. Yay! I feel like I've just come out of the dark ages.  My phone is definitely not fancy or expensive but it is fast! Love it.  After that we met all of Kent's family at Old Chicago to celebrate his grandparents' 60th anniversary.  How amazing that nearly everyone in the family could make it! We are quite a crew.  The Dunshee Dynasty. :) We would have loved to join everyone up in Collins after lunch for cake and swimming, but Kase wasn't doing so well- he actually fell asleep in Kent's arms at Old Chicago and was running a little bit of a temp due to teething.  A short nap, but he woke up feeling better!

I learned just a couple days ago that I would be hosting our neighborhood's First Annual Smokefest.  The guys in the 'hood have been talking about getting together and smoking meat and Summerfest weekend seemed like the perfect time to do it.  I anticipated about eight families but several friends texted at the last minute asking if they could invite a few more and my attitude was definitely "the more the merrier"!  There were definitely fifty plus people in my backyard, and my heart was happy. We spent the evening eating, playing volleyball, and the grand finale- watching fireworks from our driveway! It doesn't get any better than this, folks. 

The party just getting started...

The fellas did a great job!

Look at all.that.MEAT!!!

The volleyball game was epic. 

Would anyone like to hear (again) how much I love my neighborhood? #brokenrecord

The only bummer of the night was that Kael started running a temp.  He joined the crew on our driveway for fireworks but fell asleep in the middle of them. 

We have a fun week ahead of us- assuming everyone gets/stays healthy.  Kids have swimming lessons, we have some fun plans with Kent's mom, we will help Tam and Rob move into their new house, and hopefully some plans with friends next weekend that include a quick out of town trip! 

Have a great week, guys!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Kylee pulled her first tooth out! She was so excited for a visit from the tooth fairy! Another one is dangerously loose too...stay tuned. :)

I'm thankful for a little bit of happiness in our garage.  I painted our steps and they literally brighten my day. 

I'm thankful I'm up for a new phone in two days!!!

I'm thankful my flowers have survived this long considering how little attention and care I've given them. 

I'm thankful that summer is starting to slow down. June was a blur, you guys. So far July is pleasantly less busy. And the weather is better! 

I'm thankful for friends and family who haven't given up on us, socially.  It breaks my heart every time I have to turn down an invitation to the pool or neighborhood get together because of other obligations or a sick kid.  

I'm thankful for fireworks. 

I'm thankful Kael is truly starting to associate how he feels with what he ate. We had plenty of treats on July 4 and his stomach was hurting by bedtime. "I'm pretty sure I ate too much junk, Mom."  Next step is getting him to remember that feeling next time he asks for junk food.

I'm thankful the All-Star season is over.  Does that make me a bad person? I wasn't wishing they'd lose at all...just...happy to have my husband back.  

I'm thankful Kase's ear was ok after he jabbed it with a q-tip. 

I'm thankful the kids are having fun at swimming lessons.

I'm thankful Kent's grandma is doing better after a stroke last week.

I'm thankful it's Summerfest week! Looking forward to the rides, parade, boat regatta and fireworks!

I'm thankful for a chiropractor in the family and thankful my mom was able to take Kael there while I stayed home with a feverish Kylee and a sleeping Kase.

I'm thankful that Kylee is reader of the week at our local library!

I'm thankful everyone is feeling better- Tuesday night Kylee had a high fever and I was worried we were headed down the same path as with Kael a few weeks ago.  She woke up the next morning feeling just fine!

I'm thankful my kids don't say "fast forward" and "rewind".  No matter how much I correct them, they call it, "fasting forward" and "fasting back". Funny.

Here's to a great (hopefully healthy) weekend!

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a great {busy} weekend.

Let's start with Thursday, shall we? It's my favorite day of the week, after all.

Thursday we celebrated a friend's birthday up at The Miracle League. Not surprisingly, nearly the entire neighborhood was able to make it to the party! We joked that Kent would need to wear a name tag for some of the neighbor guys to even be able to recognize him- it's been that long since he's been able to hang out with them.  Needless to say a good time was had by all!

Friday, we took some patriotic pictures.

You can see some less goofy ones here.

Then we had lunch with my fam- grilled burgers, brats and all the tried and true favorite side dishes and homemade ice cream.  A perfect All-American meal!

This one almost never wears a shirt.  All.summer.long

When we got home I made some red, white and blue drinks for Kael and Kylee.  So thankful for other people's creativity.

Later on Friday we went to Aunt Chris's house for a fun filled evening of swimming, sliding and one of the most enjoyable volleyball games I've ever participated in. :) My only regret is that I didn't get any pictures! I borrowed this one from Ben and Chantelle.  So cute!

Saturday morning we headed up to Sheffield for a family reunion/anniversary celebration.  All of my grandma's side of the family was there- I think there were about 80 of us! We had a carnival for the little kids, family pictures, lots of food and even a little swimming in the pond.  The weather was awesome and it was great to see all the extended family that we don't see nearly enough of!

Not sure why Kent looks confused in this picture...he has a knack for inadvertently photo bombing our family pictures.

Saturday evening a family from our baseball team stopped by and ended up hanging out for a few hours.  The kids all had fun together and it was nice to talk to them outside of the ball park!

Sunday morning we had nursery duty at church where Kael and Kylee were beside themselves with excitement that they were allowed to help.  (Our church's children's groups don't meet during the summer so Kael and Kylee needed to come in with us).

Then we went to Huston's first birthday party! Can you even believe he's one already? Walking, talking, even?! Tam had the place decorated so nicely and we had the best time.  Dying at his tuxedo bib!! He was so sweet about eating his cake and opening his presents so carefully and he didn't even mind his cousins stealing playing with his brand new toys.  ;)

The sisters with the baby boys. 

Sunday afternoon was another All Stars game, then Kent's parents took the kids (all three) for a sleepover.  This is one of the very few times that Kase has stayed overnight without us.  I am sure he's having a great time! Plus, Kent and I got to go out for dinner and even checked out a new brewery in town.

Here's to a great week!

Happy Fourth of July!