Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for bottle flipping brothers. They spent forever doing this the other day and I was happy they had each other to entertain!

I'm thankful for a nice walk with my mom last Friday.  So far, I've been enjoying my free time now that Kase is at school.  I've been trying to keep myself busy, though, so the house doesn't feel too empty.

I'm thankful for lunches out with friends and family last week.  Three days in a row.

I'm thankful for my village who checks in on me often to make sure I'm not super lonely at home.

I'm so thankful for when Kase tells me about his day.  He's told me that he convinced all his friends he has a pool at his house (even though they can see our house from the playground and can see we clearly don't have a pool) and also told me that his lunch ladies are "so old he can't believe they've survived this long.  They're like at least 90." I just love hearing everything he thinks about kindergarten!

I'm thankful our super busy week is going just fine so far- we are double booked nearly every night with practices and meetings and I'm so glad Cindy can come down tomorrow and help out so Kent and I can both go to the middle school Back to School night.

I'm thankful for the beautiful weather.  August has just been so nice this year!

I'm thankful for late start Wednesdays.  Now, if I could just figure out how to have my kids actually sleep in on Wednesdays instead of getting up earlier than usual. Either way, it's nice not to feel so rushed one morning a week.

I'm thankful for a long weekend ahead!

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a GREAT first couple days of school! But we were definitely ready for a weekend.  It was nice to start with a short week.  Kylee wasn't very happy that she had homework after school on Friday.

Meanwhile, Kase had a buddy come over and play. They were so proud of their fort they built! 

Friday night we debated for a long time about what to do.  There was a concert in town we really wanted to go to but it started kind of late.  Kael really wanted to go to the football game and everyone else was kind of wavering.  Ultimately, we decided that Kent, Kael and Kylee would go to the football game and I would stay home with Kase and just relax and watch a movie.  My dad and mom and sister and family were all at the football game too so they had a good time.  My parents brought Kylee home at halftime and the boys stayed 'til the end!

Kase also had fun showing me how he "fills his tray" at school. 

Saturday was a really nice day.  We didn't have a lot going on so we just kind of planned the day as it went along.  I had a little PTO work to do in the morning while Kent and the kids played some backyard football.  When I got home we all played basketball then later Kylee and I went with some friends to watch some Jaguar volleyball! After that, we came home and all of us rode bikes to the new Smoothie King near our house.  The kids loved it and we enjoyed a longer route bike ride home. After that, Kent took the kids to the pool and I went with my dad back to the volleyball tournament. Loved watching them play but was so sad to see one of their players get hurt. When we got home, we all relaxed for a little bit then made homemade pizza for dinner.  When we were done eating we decided to go park out at the Saylorville Visitor Center and walk on the paths around there.  The kids just loved exploring and had fun climbing the rocks down to the beach. It was such a pretty night out too.

Later that night Kent went with some neighbor guys to watch the Mayweather fight. Sunday morning we took my parents to the airport. Later we went to Collins to visit Kent's grandparents and have lunch with the family.  We also stopped at Keith and Cindy's to play their newly restored pinball machine, which the kids thought was awesome! Keith and Cindy had been gone when we stopped by so later they stopped by our house to visit.  We had a nice time catching up with them, then the guys rode bikes to a park nearby and we met them there.

Later that evening I had a volleyball coaches meeting.  Meanwhile, Kent and Kael played football and Kylee and Kase both played with friends.  Kent was happy that Kase has found a new friend down the street whose dad is into wrestling like Kent is!

It was a great weekend and I know it's a full week coming up.  Kael starts football practice and we have a couple Back to School/Meet the Teacher nights. Plus the first full week of school is always pretty exhausting for my crew! Hope you all had a great weekend.

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for my look alikes. 

And equally thankful for the rest of our crew.

I'm so thankful for a great first day of school and awesome teachers for the kids! Kase is in kindergarten, Kylee is in fourth and Kael is in seventh.

I'm thankful for Kase's sweet idea to take flowers to his teacher on the first day.  He was so certain her favorite color would be purple!

I'm thankful for our village.  Our before school walking group gets bigger every year!

I'm thankful for these fun girls.

I'm thankful Kase has this sweetie in his class.  She is a good friend to him.

I'm thankful for middle school carpool group! Love these kids and love sharing rides with their moms!

I'm so thankful for the chance to see the kids at recess. That's Kase in the blue.  He told me "kindergarten is the best life" and that he had a fun time playing with his "gang" at recess.

I was so thankful he waved at me! 

Also thankful Kylee still waves at me along with her friends.  Several neighbor kids waved at me too!

I'm thankful for my partner in crime.  We spent the better part of our day yesterday watching the kids at recess.  It was a beautiful day to sit out on the deck! We also took a long walk and went out for lunch.  I was so thankful to have someone here with me because otherwise I know my house would have felt way too quiet!

I'm thankful Kase got a stamp.  If he stays on green (good behavior) he can get one every day!

I'm thankful he was still excited to tell Kent all about his day when Kent got home from work. When I picked Kase up from school he sat right down in the middle of the blacktop and pulled out all of his papers from his folder to show me.  I sure hope this excitement lasts all year! 

Hope back to school was awesome for you too!

Back to School!

By all accounts, it's been a great summer.

We have taken several trips.

We have spent lots of time with friends and family.

We have used our pool and Adventureland passes to the max.

We have had all the Nerf Wars and backyard football games.

We have baked many, many cupcakes.

We have made all the necessary back to school preparations and been to all the teacher meetings.

But I'm still not sure I'm ready to see Summer 2017 go. 

Kase will be off to kindergarten tomorrow and my house will be way too quiet.  I intend to spend my day having coffee and going on walks with friends, but mostly, hanging out on my porch hoping to catch a glimpse of my littlest buddy at one of his three recesses.

I'll also keep my eye out for Kylee, who says she isn't ready to go back to school.  She is, though.  I can feel it- she went for a run this morning and talked about how she can't wait to get back into cross country and I know she'll be anxious to see some of her running friends at school tomorrow. She spent a lot of time perfectly organizing her desk last night at Meet the Teacher Night, and I'm certain she's ready.

Kael has an easy confidence about being in seventh grade.  He hardly glanced at his schedule, assuring me he'd have no problem finding his classes on the first day. He also intends to ride his bike to school on his own, even though it's my carpool day.  When he realized that he said, "Mom, I'll definitely ride with you instead if you want me to."  He's thoughtful, and he's definitely matured in the last few months.

I know they're all going to have a great year and while I am definitely not looking forward to an empty house, I'm sure I'll get used to having some more time to myself.  And Summer 2018 will be here before we know it!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Sadly, summer is winding down around here.  

Here's what we've fit into our last few days! Wednesday we went to Molly's Cupcakes.  Kids loved that there were swings inside! Also the cupcakes were amazing.  Then we delivered one to my sister for her birthday! 

The boys have been having fun with these cup pyramids they shoot down with their Nerf guns.

Friday morning some friends came over and we walked to a kindergarten playdate at the park.  Kase met up with lots of friends he knew and made some new ones!

After the playdate we went to Adventureland and met up with my sister and her family and my mom. 

The kids had a great time. 

Later that night we met Keith, Cindy, Bill, Terri and Kate at Main Street for dinner.  It was so good, especially the dessert!  Came back here and the boys had a Nerf war with Grandpa Keith. Kylee was at a birthday slumber party.

Saturday morning we watched the Jag volleyball team scrimmage! That's Kylee way down at the end on the bench, sitting with the team and coaches daughters. The Jags looked great and it was fun to be back watching volleyball! 

Spent the afternoon at the pool.  The life guards have loosened up a bit as summer has gone on and they let Kase go down the slides all by himself even though he's technically not tall enough.  He was so happy.

Saturday night we had a grill out with all the other Ankeny Edward Jones people.  It was a really fun night and I love that our kids are making close friends with the other FA's kids. 

Sunday we celebrated Tammy's birthday at my parents' house.  Played a fun Tammy Scattergories game and enjoyed lunch and LOTS of desserts together. 

It's back to reality this week- the kids start school on Wednesday and I'm definitely not looking forward to a quiet house.  I'm sure I'll find things to keep myself busy and I have a few work days here and there but it will definitely be different with all my kids in school this year! We have a busy week with back to school nights and coaches meetings and things like that.  Hope you all made the most of your last summer weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful our oven is working again! It's so nice to be able to cook.

I'm thankful for some really kind boys at Adventure Bay a few weeks ago.  Kase was swimming around trying to get on the floating alligator and these boys helped him up time after time.  He was so happy. Usually when we are there, kids notice it takes Kase a long time to get on it and just budge in front of him.

I'm thankful that it's August. It just feels like it's time to get back into a routine.

I'm thankful that Kylee wanted to dress alike when we went to the fair last week.  She was already dressed and I was contemplating what to wear and she was like, "Hey! You should totally wear an orange shirt like the one I have on!" It was so sweet that I couldn't say no.  I'm doubting we have many years left where she's excited about twinning with me. 

I'm so thankful for a Grandma Cindy day this week! Cindy came down to spend the night on Monday and was so helpful.  I had a couple meetings and errands and she hugely helped out hanging with the kids.  She also treated them to donuts, a movie and "back to school" gifts.  What a blessing it is having such a fun, awesome mother-in-law! 

I'm thankful that Kael got his school schedule and school pictures yesterday.  He wasn't super excited about the team he got placed on and really doesn't have a lot of close friends on his team.  I love his upbeat attitude though because he let neither of those things bother him.  Instead, he chose to look on the bright side, commenting that he had one of his least favorite classes first ("so I can get it over with") and PE very last.  I love that so very much about Kael.  He doesn't worry or stress about having friends in his classes and is confident he'll find someone to sit with at lunch. I have a feeling it's going to be a great year for him!

I'm thankful for all the little things that are helping us get ready to send Kase to kindergarten.  They had a special storytime at the library Tuesday night and Kase knew several of the kids there.  He sat (mostly) still while listening to the stories, too!

He has also taken many opportunities to peek in the window of his new classroom.  And I showed him a picture of his teacher the other day so he would know what she looked like. By all accounts, I think he's ready for school! 

Happy Thursday, all!