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!