11.27.2022

Weekend Wrap-Up

We spent Wednesday getting a few things done and also just enjoying time together.  Kylee and I baked a pie!


That afternoon we hung out at my sisters house.  These cute cousins put a lot of miles on their rollerblades over the week!


We grabbed dinner together in Polk City where Kent and Kael were delighted to find a place they can play pool!



Kylee and Garrett joined us too.




Love it.



This year Thanksgiving Day was at my mom and dad's!



Finished product! So cute- the girls and the turkey!



My girl.


We lucked out with a beautiful day so lots of time could be spend outdoors.  Tam played some serious pickleball with Kase!


Love my fam.


The whole gang! What a lovely meal!



We jokingly called this a Forced Family Fun walk but the reality is was that we didn't have to force anyone and all parties wanted to participate.  The littles lead the way on their rollerblades. 



And the rest of us followed.



Then continued the fun out back.



The kids even caught a tadpole and a little fish!







Dad and his girls. 


The cousins.




We played games- Kahoot was a hit as well as a fun "guess what Grandpa Terry would say" Thanksgiving themed game.  The little boys went between rollerblading and Minecraft and these two even spotted some fireworks to end the evening!



We did a puzzle, enjoyed chatting and watching football. The girls were entertained all day with each other and just coloring and hanging out. There is nothing better than time spent with family. 



Friday was a nice day- Kent and I were up and went for a long walk before the big kids were up and around and Kase rollerbladed along with us.  We spent the morning playing Wii together, Kael went to the gym and we got a few things done around the house.  

Later that afternoon Kase and I joined the cousins at Stoney Creek hotel! What a fun time for the kids to swim and play games together.  Kent, Kael and Kylee joined later.  



Kylee made fancy drinks for everyone!


Kase still wasn't feeling all the way better so none of us stayed the night.  Saturday morning we made poffertjes which I hadn't done forever! Kids love them.  Then Kael worked and Kylee hung out with her boyfriend.



That afternoon we went to Keith and Cindy's- they had this awesome jungle gym set up for the kids! We had a great time playing games, watching football and basketball and just hanging out and catching up.



Kent made a fort for them out of it! Cool!


Sunday Kael worked, Kylee volunteered at church nursery. Kase still had a cough so he and Kent watched church from home then Kase played with friends while Kylee helped Kent set up his Christmas tree at his office.



Kase and his friend went to play at Keith and Cindy's- Kase wanted to play on the jungle gym again.  Kylee had her first club volleyball practice of the season! 

It was a GREAT Thanksgiving break and I'm not sure any of my people are ready to go back to school tomorrow. 

11.24.2022

Thankful Thursday

Kase is so thankful for his new Christmas jammies and socks.  He is also thankful that our elf is back for the season! I'm just thankful for how much he still loves and believes in the magic of Christmas.

 I'm thankful for how excited Kase was when we walked into the donut shop on Wednesday morning.  He had been up early and I suggested donuts and his eyes lit up. 



I'm thankful for a long weekend and am looking forward to spending time with the fam! 

11.20.2022

Weekend Wrap-Up

 I have so enjoyed our week/weekend of s-l-o-w-i-n-g life down for a bit.  Here's what we've been up to.


Kylee had an appointment during the day Thursday and when it was time to take her back to school she would have gone back for only lunch and study hall, so we made a pit stop at Starbucks and it happened to be Red Cup Day and we were thrilled with our free festive cups! I was even more thrilled to spend the afternoon hanging out with my girl.



That evening we continued the fun and hit the mall getting ideas for her for Christmas and also diligently smelling every cologne in the entire place in search of the perfect one for her boyfriend. 


Meanwhile back at home the boys were playing Wii and ping pong and watching football.  Such a great night for them too.




Friday Kent took the afternoon off to go shopping with me and we went to Eggs and Jam on our way to the mall.  These giant pancakes were so amazing. 



And Kent got the most hilarious giant festive coffee.  I love when he gets in the holiday spirit with me! We had a successful and fun day shopping. 


That night Kase had a birthday party for one of his besties and Kent and I went out for dinner with some friends. 



Kylee and her friend baked Christmas cookies while we were gone and they turned out so good!



Saturday morning Kase asked me if we could go to Target.  I joke about this because he is such a third child and never gets dragged to the store, especially on a weekend since I'm a stay at home mom and I can always run errands during the week.  Anyhow, he got the biggest thrill out of walking up and down the aisles pushing the red cart and picking out Christmas gifts for Kael and Kylee.  Bonus, we ran into my sister and niece while we were there! 



Kael spent the day working and Kylee hung out with her boyfriend then she, Kent and I went to her Cross Country banquet. 


The end of the season may have been tough for Kylee but now that we are a couple weeks out and we can look back on the whole season I am just overwhelmingly proud of her. 


She earned many awards including Freshman of the Year and a Varsity letter.  She got a plaque for being on the Leadership and was recognized for the time she invested being a part of that. We found out she has the 11th fastest time in school history as well as the fastest freshman time.  She received votes in five different categories (voted by teammates) including Most Determined and Most Motivated. She also received a medal for participating at the State Meet!





What a fun night celebrating the accomplishments of the entire team. Coach put together a really nice video and also Kylee received an incredibly thoughtful gift from a senior friend who Kylee had run at Nationals with in Florida five years ago. The friend remembered Kylee had run wearing a purple headband at that race because it had been unseasonably cold and she got Kylee a new purple headband and also wrote a really thoughtful note.  People are so kind.



Happy.



We went home to pick up the boys and also picked up Garrett then went out for dinner in The District to celebrate. We tried the new 30 Hop and everyone found something they liked so I consider that a huge win.



The kids all played at Operating Room while we waited for a table and after dinner we grabbed cookies at Cookies and Dreams.  We wrapped up the night by coming home for a little ping pong tournament and laughed together watching the new Dude Perfect stereotype video.  These are the days, man.  I just love spending time with my people and seeing them happy together. 




Sunday morning I showed up at Kase's basketball tournament to find out I was twinning with my mom! Love it!!!


Kase and his team went 2-1 losing to a really tough team by only 3.  I'm so proud of this buddy.  Basketball is far and away the sport he spends the least time practicing on his own so I love to see him showing up and working hard for his team.



Kylee and her friends had a "Board Thanksgiving!" As in, everyone brought a different board like Fruit Board, Dessert Board, etc. 



Isn't this an impressive spread for a bunch of teenage girls?!



Kylee was in charge of drinks and she was really happy with how her mocktails turned out.  It's sparkling pink lemonade with cranberry Sprite.  She even dipped the champagne glasses in red sanding sugar- so festive and pretty!



Sunday night we had Kael's football banquet.  I just can't say enough about how proud I am of this kid.  He stuck it out his entire high school career and never complained.  He worked hard, he showed up to early lifting, cold and rainy practice days and his work ethic and character just blew me away this season.  



So proud to be his mom.  He's just such a great kid. Varsity letter winner, State Playoff participant medal and a pretty sweet Jag tumbler for a senior gift! Can't believe how fast his senior year is going and am so thankful for our parents who could help out with Kase tonight so that Kent and I could both be at the banquet.  We don't want to miss a minute of anything for his senior year!






Have a great week, everyone!