Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for lunch with friends.

I'm thankful for a fun Monday night at the new Urban Air in town! Kent needed to study and the kids had an unexpected  night where all three of them were free so we went out and had some fun! The kids really loved it.

I'm thankful for a night out at a cooking class with my sister.  We had a great time!

I'm thankful for one of my favorite days of the holiday season- shopping with my mom and dad! We go out together every year and have so much fun trying to find fun, different toys and games for the kids.  You may be pleased (or maybe disappointed?) that we didn't come home with a lie detector that buzzes you when you lie or this giant sloth.

I'm thankful the kids had fun trick or treating even though it was freezing!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Mid week, Kase woke up saying he had lost his breath.  By the time school started, he seemed fine so I sent him.  After lunch I got a phone call from the school nurse saying he was having trouble breathing and that I needed to come get him.

I rushed him to Urgent Care and the nurse was having a tough time figuring out what was going on with him. His O2 level had dropped pretty significantly in a short amount of time and he started running a fever.  They did a strep test and it came back positive- I was so thankful I had taken him in when I did! They gave him a steroid and prescribed some meds and said that some kids just have really tough reactions to strep.  

So I got to spend the rest of the day with my buddy.  He came home and fell asleep on the middle of the hardwood floor! Poor guy.

My mom stopped by with cards and letters from Kase's cousins- it totally cheered him up!

By the next day he was feeling much better but couldn't go to school since he'd had a fever in the last 24 hours.  Selfishly, I loved spending the day with him! My parents visited in the morning and brought him a new Beyblade.  Later in the day, Kase and I had a "sick-nic" (get it?! ha!) and he had some ice cream and played at the park.  It was a really beautiful fall day.

That night, Kael had his last game of the season! Undefeated! I'm just so happy for Kael and proud of him for being part of the team.  We so enjoyed watching them this fall!

Kylee also got Jag of the Week this week!

Friday afternoon Kase and his buddy went to their school's first annual Trunk or Treat.  They had a blast! Kylee was at a friends' for a sleepover and so was Kael.  My parents came over to help get everyone where they needed to go and feed the kids dinner.

Kent headed to his brother's house for his 30th birthday party.  I was so sad to miss it- sounds like everyone showed up all decked out in the party's theme!

Meanwhile, I was off celebrating my sister for her 40th! Justin and one of Mandy's best friends organized a ladies night out in this limo!

Mandy may not have been super surprised, but she was happy.  What a great night!

My mom even got to stop over and see us take off!

After dinner at the Latin King, we drove around Des Moines a little bit and stopped for a few pictures.

What a fun group of girls- so thankful it all worked out and so many of us could be out celebrating Mandy!

Happy Birthday!

The next morning Kase had his first games with his new basketball club.

I think he's going to learn a lot this season! It is much more competitive than the last few years he has played Parks and Rec.

Kase was still pretty tired from having strep earlier in the week so he wasn't totally engaged the whole time.  Ha!

Saturday afternoon Kael went to the gym and Kylee went to the orchard with a friend.

Love these sweet girls!

Kent and I had dinner with some friends and the boys stayed home and relaxed.  It was just the night everyone needed.

Sunday Kylee had a cross country meet in Ames. This is one of our favorite courses! Kylee looked so strong, confident and happy today.  I just love watching her race and be around her teammates.

She ended up getting 2nd! So cool!

Hickory Park with the team afterwards was so much fun.  I just love all these families and love how the kids all support each other.

We got home in enough time to carve pumpkins!

Kase was so set on doing his all by himself.

Kael and Kylee had their own ideas too, and it's fun to see them work through it and make their creations turn out the way they want!

It was a great weekend and I'm sad to see it come to an end.  We fit a ton of fall, family fun in!

Thankful Thursdays

I'm thankful the kids' conferences all went well.

I'm thankful Kent wasn't home on Friday when I asked Alexa to start playing Christmas music.

I'm thankful for family, friends and fun plans ahead this weekend.

I'm thankful for Kase's basketball season to start!

I'm thankful for family dinners.

I'm thankful for sweet videos from my niece to cheer Kase up when he was home sick the other day.

I'm thankful for friends who text me saying their kid came home from school super worried about Kase and wondered if he was ok.

I'm thankful that Kylee got a Jag leadership award at school the other day!

I'm thankful Kael's thumb is ok- a couple weeks ago it looked infected and he lost the whole nail.  He doesn't even know what happened- maybe it got hit during football- but it is finally looking back to normal a little bit.  I was so worried!

I'm thankful Kase won a game of knock out at basketball last week.  We are trying a new avenue for him this year as far as basketball goes and I wasn't sure he was loving it.  I was glad to see him come home happy the other night!

I'm thankful that Kent's other brother and my sister-in-law moved to town this week! Yay!

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I just love fall weekends. We started off with having dinner together on Friday night.  All five of us, eating at the same time.  It sounds silly to be so excited about something like that but it hadn't happened forever as we've all been going different directions in the evenings this fall.  It felt so good to cook a proper dinner and sit down together!

Then Kael headed off to a friend's house for a sleepover and the rest of us went to the football game.  Many thanks to Keith and Cindy for getting there early and saving us spots! 

Kylee was announced at halftime for winning a race a couple weeks ago.  She had several friends who were getting announced for winning their age divisions too.

So proud of her!

Meanwhile, Kase needed a "snack" (hamburger) from the concession stand.  Remember I had just made a huge dinner a couple hours before this?! Ha.  Boys.

Saturday morning Kent and Kylee went to the gym to swim laps.  When she got home, she and I drove up to the 7th and 8th grade State Cross Country meet since she had a few friends running.  We had a great time driving around trying to find them along the course!

Then she had her last volleyball game of the season.  Thanks to all who came out to watch her play! She got several jump serves in so that was fun too!

Great group of girls and thankful for great coaches!

Then, off to Kase's last football games! Kase sure made it fun to watch- he had some awesome catches, and several touchdowns including a pick six or two!

Kael ran the chains and even was wearing his Vikings shirt in support of Kase's team.  Just love that kid.

We had a little tailgate party between games which was so fun.  Kids loved running around together, snacking and playing yard games and more pickup football. It was great for the parents to get to hang out too.  They had one more game, then the whole team went to Sports Page together!

Kase and I headed home and Kent took Kael, Kylee and her friend Emma to the Trail of Terror! I wasn't sure they would like it but the kids got home saying it was some of the most fun they'd ever had!

Sunday morning we had family photos. This is not a thing we do often (ever?) so it was a very busy morning convincing everyone to get dressed up and then also to get downtown around the IMT Marathon that was going on! But it's going to be totally worth it.  It was such a beautiful morning.

From there we headed straight to Coralville for Kylee's meet.

At the very last minute, Kase asked if he could run too so we let him.  He was nervous but excited!

We walked the tough, very hilly course with him so he would know where to go and then I stationed Kent and Kael around the course to help cheer everyone on and take photos.

Kase had fun while he was waiting for his turn to run.

Love Kylee's team!

I could see when she took off she wasn't looking as confident/happy as she usually does.

But she gutted it out! Tough hills and it got hot out!

By the end she was having trouble catching her breath, but she ran all the way to the finish and got 3rd! I know that was scary for her losing her breath but she recovered and I'm just so proud of her for sticking it out.

Then Kase got ready to go!

His buddy Sawyer had some good tips for him before he took off.

In fact, Kylee's whole team surrounded Kase for a little pep talk!

Kase started off so fast, you guys.  He was in second place the whole time until nearly the end of the course.  His little face was so red/purple and he was giving it his all! Of course, he hadn't trained for this so to say he was unprepared was a bit of an understatement.

Kent, Kael, Kylee and her team and coaches and also other parents were just so amazing cheering him on and even following alongside him during the course.  He didn't give up! Came in 9th place out of more than 20 kids!

Kylee was really proud. She met him at the finish line with a big hug.

We decided to stop for lunch/dinner on the way home at Steak and Shake which was just perfect.  Ice cream all around! 

Got home, unpacked and then Kael took us for a drive out to see the new Urban Air that opened in Ankeny! We didn't have time to jump but the kids loved checking it out and are excited to go soon.

We wrapped up our evening sitting by the fire pit.  Kids played glow in the dark football and monkey in the middle then Kent and I joined for a game of hide and seek in the dark.  What a perfect end to a fun weekend!