Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for Kase's friend's birthday party at Triad last weekend.  He needed to get out and burn some energy! {The mom later sent me a slow- mo video of Kase doing a flip and said, "He's such a stud!"}

I'm thankful this buddy is feeling better.  He woke up Monday feeling crummy and I took him to Urgent Care- and sure enough he had strep.  He was so miserable he tried to relax on the table- doesn't he look so crazy grown up? I swear he's growing a ton lately.

I am so thankful for what a good kid he is.  We spent all Monday just hanging out together, playing cards and video games and watching movies.  Tuesday he stayed home and my mom came to hang out with him for awhile then after she left when I got home from work I went to get some groceries and Kael hopped off the couch to help me unload all of them.  So sweet of him since I know he still wasn't feeling great!

I'm thankful my mom was able to bring Kael a smoothie to help him feel better and also so thankful she finished up my laundry while I was at work!

I'm thankful we already knew Tuesday that the kids would have no school Wednesday.  It is just SO cold out and I was glad for a night at home knowing we wouldn't have to get up for school the next day!

I'm thankful my father-in-laws knee procedure went well on Monday.  He hadn't been fully recovered from his knee surgery in November and now he's anxious to get back to 100%!

I'm thankful for no school again today.  We thought we were only going to have a late start but the kids were thrilled to find out there was no school today either! We had a fun time going to the gym with my parents and sister and kids.

Funny cousins.  Just missing the Vogel kids who were sadly at school today!

Twinning with my dad! 

These two twinning in their Jag gear.  

I'm thankful for this handstand maniac. Seriously he does them all.over.the house and can hold them for a crazy long time. Also note his style- Hawkeye socks, man tights, colorful shorts and shirt, mardi gras neckace. Kase wears what he likes.

I'm thankful for Kael.  He had strep Monday so he missed school (and a basketball game and practice) both Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday there was no school and his game today was cancelled.  So he's been practicing since December and hasn't had a game yet! They offered optional practice today and Kael didn't even debate- he definitely knew he wanted to go to practice.  I love teenage Kael.

I'm thankful my mom lives close and is willing to do my laundry! Our washing machine stopped working Wednesday morning and my mom has been doing all our laundry since.  Thanks, Mom! Washer is getting fixed tomorrow, fingers crossed!

I'm thankful that the polar vortex seems to be over after today.  I can't wait for warmer temps and a fun weekend ahead!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Last week was a crazy week with no school Monday, random early outs/late starts throughout the week and also no school Wednesday because of snow.  After school activities and plans were cancelled/changed! We were looking forward to a fun weekend and glad nothing got cancelled!

Friday night Kase went to play at my sisters house so Kent and I could both go to Kylee's volleyball scrimmage- we hadn't seen her team play all year so it was nice to go and watch.  Kase had so much fun with his cousins.  Kael also had a fun night and went out for dinner and hung out with my parents.  Love our family village who helps take care of our crew!

Saturday morning Kylee and I headed early to her first tournament while Kent and the boys stayed in town for Kase's basketball game. 

The girls were excited about their team mascot llamas!

Kylee's team played so well all day.  They were the only 11U team in a 12U tournament so they knew it would be tough competition but they were thrilled when they won their first two matches! My parents were there to watch too and it was so good being back in the volleyball world!

Kylee's coach had her playing setter.  There's a lot of new stuff going on this year with learning specialized positions, transitioning and adding a libero.  The girls handled it all so well and I think Kylee enjoyed playing setter and got pretty comfortable in the position by the end of the day!

Meanwhile Kase was hamming it up at his basketball game- waving to all the family there to support him! Kyle, Julia, Kaity, Kevin and Kellen graciously took the boys out to lunch after Kase's game while Keith and Cindy and Kent met up with my and Kylee at the tournament.

Then after lunch they all came to the tournament! Kylee was so happy to see everyone, especially Kellen!

Kellen was equally excited to see Kylee!

Kael was so sweet and wanted to hold Kellen during the matches.

In the end, Kylee's team dropped a couple matches to some tough teams but they played really well.  They also ended the day on a win, so that was awesome!

After the tournament, Keith and Cindy came back to our house to hang out with the kids while Kent and I went for dinner.  The kids had fun playing cards and having pizza with Grandma and Grandpa and Kent and I enjoyed a night out.  

The next day Kent and the kids built this awesome fort in our front yard! We had a great day just playing out in the snow, watching movies- Kase went to a birthday party and Kylee had volleyball.  What a great weekend! 

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for after school visits (and twinning) with cousins.

I'm thankful for snow days! The kids got out of school early on Tuesday and had no school Wednesday. They had the best time all afternoon outside Tuesday and literally all day Wednesday with friends out in the snow.  Once the snow stopped mid-morning, it was a beautiful sunny day and there were HUGE snow piles to play in over at the school.

I'm so thankful for days like this where I can be home with the kids- making hot cocoa for them, playing cards, reading books with them.  It was a great day!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Long weekends that start with an unexpected early out are the absolute best! 

I got a text Friday morning from Kael saying they were getting out of school early because of the impending snowstorm. He was so excited. We were looking forward to a fun family night IN!

Kylee and I started off by baking cookies. 

And made some guac.

 And the kids even went outside in the blizzard! Just kidding.  The storm turned out to be underwhelming but we certainly weren't complaining about an early start to the weekend!

We spent the evening playing cards, garage ping pong, using our new popcorn maker and just hanging out.  What a great night.

We found out that Kael's ski trip was cancelled and he was a little bummed, but I think he was glad to not be out in the freezing cold all day long.  Kase's basketball game was even cancelled!

We started our morning off early with a game of Fox and Geese.

It was cold but we had a great time playing in the snow!

We had a lazy afternoon, then hit the "slopes" at Froggy Park to do some sledding and snowboarding.

That's Kael waaaay out there.  He definitely set a distance record!

The kids went down together several times but a real  highlight was when we all five went down the hill on this sled together! I can't believe we all stayed on! It must have been hilarious to watch.

We came home in just enough time to get cleaned up and ready for a cousin sleepover! Mandy and Justin had plans so Brooklyn and Tyson were planning to spend the night.  Then Tammy's family's plans fell through when her in-laws decided not to come for a visit due to snow, so Tammy's crew all came over too! My mom and dad joined in the fun and we all had pizza, played ping pong, darts...all the fun things.  Tammy, Rob, Berkley, and my parents left around 7:00 and the rest of the crew stayed.

The kids had so much fun together and really were just so sweet all night and morning.  They're all growing up so much which makes having six kids stay over easy peasy!

Kent was Super Uncle and made popcorn for all the kids.

We had a fun movie night and they all slept great.

Early morning crafting.

And Lego-ing.

Followed by a big breakfast.  Love this whole crew so much.

Sunday afternoon Keith and Cindy came down and we tried out the new restaurant at the movie theater. Then we did some bowling! So fun.

 

They came back to our house to hang out and play cards for awhile.  So nice to catch up with them.  Later Kent went out and built this awesome fort with Kase!

 

Kylee couldn't say no to joining in the fun!

 

 

We spent the rest of the evening having a family movie night and also watched a little of The Masked Singer.  My kids are loving this new show- have you seen it?!

 

There was no school Monday.  The kids started off with a fun and lazy morning playing Wii together, then we decided to hit the gym so Kylee could meet up with her triathlon group friends to do a spin class.  I love that these kids keep in touch in the off season and Kylee loves having friends to go to the gym with!

 





What a fun, motivated group of kids.

Meanwhile, the boys and I played some basketball, foosball, ping pong and Kase even swam for awhile.  It was a fun morning!

We picked up lunch on the way home.  Later Kylee went sledding with a group of friends and the boys and I stayed here and played in the snow fort.

 

 

Later a friend came over to play with Kase in the snow fort while Kael had basketball practice.  Kylee had volleyball practice then our long, fun weekend finally came to an end.  No one is quite ready to go back to school tomorrow but at least it's a short week!