Weekend Wrap-Up

 Kase was so excited to have Kael home for a little while Wednesday night.  They started playing catch with a football then of course took it to the park to try and do some trick shots.  Love when these two get to spend time together. 

Friday Kent, Keith and Cindy went to Simpson to watch Kael throw.  The weather conditions were not ideal but they loved going to see him.

Friday night was Kase's birthday party.  We planned this pretty last minute once we knew Kylee was running at Drake and I was so thrilled with how many boys were able to come! Every single kid that we invited (plus one- ha!) Urban Air was the perfect spot on a stormy night for these boys to burn off some energy.  Couldn't be happier with the squad Kase has found for himself.  These boys are a pretty special group.

And so generous! Kase got some awesome gifts.  Of course he was excited about all the xBox gift cards but I always love to see all the things the boys write in the cards- one kid even printed off the Crew logo from Google and made it into an envelope for him! 

While I was manning the party, Kent was home with Kylee helping her get all ready for her big day tomorrow.  They grilled steaks, made pasta and enjoyed hanging out.  Later Garrett came over too and that was the perfect night for Kylee. She went to bed early but then the tornado sirens went off and storms were loud all night.  Thankful we didn't have any damage here. I wouldn't say we got a lot of sleep though!

Saturday morning Kylee was up early to head to the Drake Relays! I just couldn't be prouder of her or happier for her.  She has just worked so hard and what an honor and a big deal to get to run there.  

Kase slept in but woke up in just enough time to quick open some gifts before we went to watch Kylee.  

He was just SO happy.  He kept running around saying, "It's my birthday!!!" He LOVED all his gifts but especially his wooden bat and his Retro Jordan 4s.

A quick birthday breakfast of coffee cake before we headed out!

Kylee's cheering squad! Kael even made the trip home from college to support her- love that. And Garrett of course is always there for her!

Goooooo Kylee!!!!

So cool seeing her run on the Blue Oval. 

Kylee PR'd! Our team was 10th out of 20 and ran a season best time.  Way to go, girls! They actually all PR'd and had the second fastest time in school history!

She stayed Drake with her team.  Kent, Kase and I came home and Kael went to Emma's. Kase spent the entire afternoon playing with friends- he said it was the best birthday ever because he had a free day (no school or practices) and it was raining and he could spend the whole day outside with friends.  They played football, pickle, wiffle ball, slid through rain puddles, played FortNite and watched movies. His friends all stayed til late.  Garrett came over to hang out with Kylee.  We ordered pizza and had a nice, chill night here. 

Sunday Kylee and I went to a baby sprinkle for my sister-in-law.  Always great to see the fam- getting excited for Baby Girl Patterson to arrive at the end of May! While we were gone Kent and Kase did some baseball work and a couple of Kase's friends stopped by to join in the fun also. Later Kylee went to Target with a friend, Kent and I went for a walk and worked on planning some upcoming trips.  Kase played out in the rain with friends and was so happy all day. Later Kylee and I went to Garrett's 7-7 football games.  Great weekend! 

Happy Birthday, Kase!

 Kase is 12 years old today!

It's been a heck of a year for this buddy- transitioning to middle school was probably the biggest thing that changed in his life this year and although it hasn't been smooth sailing every day, he seems to be enjoying school WAY more than he did in fifth grade.  I think getting up and moving around classes during the day has really helped.

Kase has surrounded himself with a solid group of friends and I think there can always be change when go from elementary to middle school but most of his best buddies have remained close to him and I'm so thankful for the village he has.  He can almost always find a friend to play with around the neighborhood after school and that's when he's happiest.

Kase loves a rainy day, peanut butter/Nutella/banana toast, sleepovers, baseball, and owning nice shoes but almost never wearing them and keeping them in pristine condition on his shelves in his room. He hates being alone, falling asleep and homework and putting anything away in its correct spot- ha.

Kase is funny.  He's goofy and lighthearted.  He'll push your buttons then make you laugh. He's hard on himself but is always just one great hit or play away from turning it all around and being bouncy and fired up.  It's so fun watching this kid play ball- the energy he brings is just absolutely electric.  He's the first one to cheer for his friends when they're doing well and quick to try to pickup someone who's down on themselves. He encourages his teammates and also gives them advice when he thinks it can be helpful. 

Since it's baseball season, he and Kent spend a lot of time together but I just love these little pockets of time when it's just him and I.  "Mom- ride my electric scooter and we can race to Orange Leaf!" Then he laughs when I can't even figure out how to turn it on but is eager to show me how to do it. He's growing up right before my very eyes and I am just so thankful God gave this one to me. 

Kase, for all his talents and hard work, never brags.  He has broken record after record at his workout facility for the middle school age group and when he gets home, he never even tells me about them! I have to find out about it when his trainer posts to social media! Love that about him.  Humble.  Works hard in silence and lets his success be the noise. 

I'm so anxious to see where life takes Kase but I'm in no hurry for him to grow up.  Twelve year old Kase is pretty awesome and I'm cherishing every last moment of him being "little" but those moments are very few and far between lately.  

Happy birthday buddy! We love you so much and are so proud of the young man you are becoming. 

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Kael got to stop home last night! He was invited to do a panel at Junkyard- so proud of him and always great to see him.

I'm thankful for a beautiful day yesterday.  The sun was shining and it was just perfect out.

I'm thankful for an exciting weekend ahead! Kase's birthday and Kylee running at Drake!

I'm thankful for how Kent handles things. It's not easy being head coach and when there are difficult conversations that need to take place Kent never shies away from them. 

Happy Thursday!

April Birthday Boys

I can't believe this is the last year my April birthday boys will wake up in the same place together.  It has been an absolute joy getting a picture of them together each year and seeing how they've grown. 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Weekend Wrap-Up

 Wow it's been a fun few days!

Thursday my parents took me out for lunch for my birthday.  So lovely to catch up with them and enjoy this giant piece of chocolate cake! It was amazing.

I also stopped by a cute new little macaron place in town that was right by where we ate to get some treats to share. 

And that evening Kylee had a meet.  I volunteered at the concession stand but then just look at this awesome crowd out in the cold to support Kylee and be with me on my birthday! 

She PR'd in the open 800 in very chilly conditions so I was super happy for her.  She also looked great in the 4x400 and had the fastest split in her group!

Can't get enough of seeing her happy and chatting with friends after the race.

Goooo Kylee!

Love these two. He's always there for her.

Friday my mom and dad went to Augstana to watch Kael throw! I found out last minute he was going to be there and I wasn't able to go because Kent and I had a work event that evening I wouldn't be home for so I was super thankful my parents could go support him and also take him back to Pella so he didn't have to spend the whole weekend out of town. 

It was a windy day and there were lots of scratches but not Kael! He had a great day and was had the farthest throw of the Central guys for discus- yay Kael!

My parents and Kael sounded like they both genuinely enjoyed their time out for dinner and the ride back together so I'm really happy it all worked out. Meanwhile, Kent and I had his Regional Awards dinner and I couldn't be prouder of him. He works so hard and to see him announced up there with the Level 10s- just really impressive how he puts so much time into his business and still pours so much into family time. He's really something special and I'm thankful for the life he has provided us!

Kase had been out for dinner and hanging out with a friend that night and Kylee and her boyfriend went for ice cream then we all went to bed early because Kase had early games and Kylee had an early long run on Saturday morning.  Afterwards she went to watch her boyfriend's baseball games. Brr! These girlies tried to stay warm!

Kase's team went 2-0 on Saturday.  Just love watching these boys play. That night he had a couple buddies over and they played FortNite, sat in the hot tub, messed around in the Crew Lab (our baseball setup in the garage), sat in the hot tub and just had a nice chill night.  We grilled steaks and enjoyed chatting with the boys. 

Sunday morning we were back at it early and Kase played really well.  Threw a ton of strikes, ripped a huge triple (right as my sister and niece walked up so I told them they were his good luck charm!) and had a couple great plays in the field.  We lost both games today but still happy with the effort and attitude Kase puts forth and I know things will keep coming together for this team. 

This buddy was fired up.  He was the happiest, bounciest version of himself which is far and away my favorite version of Kase. 

He spent the afternoon at a friend's house and Kylee was at the mall with her friend. Kent and I went for a walk- it turned out to be a really nice day. Later we celebrated the April birthdays at Keith and Cindy's. Always so good to see the family and they are so good to my kids- fun and special gifts and genuinely happy to see them. Kase was SO tired- lucky Cindy had gotten him a personalized baseball blanket he wrapped up in and spent the afternoon lounging around in it! Kylee and I went to a meeting about a potential upcoming Peru trip so that was interesting and informative.  Kylee is definitely hoping to go! 

Got some big and very exciting news today that Kylee and her 4x800 team qualified for the Drake Relays! I'm SO happy for them and so very proud of her.  She just works so hard and I'm thrilled she's going to get such an amazing experience! Can't wait to watch her on Saturday! 

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for an early birthday dinner at my favorite place.  April is crazy and it's so sweet that Kent makes sure I still feel special for my birthday! Also thankful for the red velvet cake- yum!

Lots to be thankful today on my 41st birthday- hoping for another year filled with health and happiness and I'm feeling just so very thankful for my family and my village of people who care about me.  I'm the luckiest. 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Friday night we had a chill night here.  Kase had a social after school and had fun there with all his friends.  He came home happy. Garrett came over and did some baseball work in the garage with Kent while Kylee got all her track stuff ready. Then Kael came home! So great to have him around and Kent took one look in the garage/driveway at some point in the evening and just looked at me and said, "My heart is full" and he couldn't have been more correct.  It was a beautiful night, Kael was home, Garrett and Asher were also over and we just were all having fun together hanging around together.  Kael was tossing a football over the house to Asher, Kase was playing Garrett in basketball and Kylee and I sat on lawn chairs in the last bit of sunlight watching them all.  Love our people so hard. 

Saturday morning was Kael's birthday! Kylee was up early and off to the bus to Drake. Kase slept in. So for the first time in as long as I can remember, Kael opened his present with just us watching- ha! He was so happy and thankful for each gift.  He's the best to give gifts to- always gives a great reaction.  And he was anxious to open them too! He didn't want to wait for Kylee and Kase- love that he still gets excited about gifts.

Then we picked up Garrett and all headed to Drake! The grandparents were all there too! It was starting to get warm but Kylee and her team had a GREAT race! They all PR'd!

Kylee anchored and came in with a 2:23.6! She was thrilled with her time.  I could watch her finish an 800 race every day of the week.  Her kick is so strong. I couldn't be happier for her. 

Love so much that Garrett was able to come along! And I love, love LOVE their pink uniforms!

The whole fam.  So thankful for Kael making it a priority to come cheer on his siblings on his birthday! 

Kylee breaks it down with Cog.  He's such a great coach.  (Also I tried to get a picture of how cute her hair looked- her friend did it and it was awesome!)

We came home and Kael went for a birthday lunch with Keith and Cindy.  Kase relaxed and Kent and I went for a walk. Then we loaded up and headed for the ball fields- it was a hot, windy day.  We got off to a bit of a rocky start but we never gave up and ended our first game in a tie and came from behind to win our second game! 

We had a HUGE inning the last game and Kase was just living his best life- so happy and just dancing and joking around.  I love to see him love the game so much.  I told him the very best thing I saw him do all day was encourage some teammates and talk them up and really believe in them.  He hit a couple triples and pitched well, but being a great teammate trumps all of that. Couldn't be happier for my guys. 

Kael had come to watch the first game then went to hang out with his girlfriend.  After a long day at Drake, Kylee grabbed a quick dinner then met up with friends to hang out.  

My parents were able to join us to meet up with Kael and Emma after Kase's games for Kael's birthday dinner! I am so thrilled we were able to have a special night with him amongst all the spring sport busy-ness. 

Love these two.

Kael was proud to show her how to grill the perfect steak!

Grandpa Terry loves Rubes as much as Kael does. 

The birthday boy with his dad.  These two are peas in a pod.  Kent mentioned several times over the weekend how refreshing it was to have someone around the house who "shares his humor and taste in music."  Love that and it's so true!

Emma gave Kael the sweetest photo collage gift of the two of them and we were just so happy to all spend the night together celebrating Kael. 

Sunday morning was Kylee's Walk Celebration! I'm so proud of her in her faith journey and happy so many of us were able to go support her.  

Kylee and her mentor Joy. She has been a big part of all my kids' church lives!

Love, love, love this girl.

Proud of these two both for having done The Walk and love that Kael was able to be home to come watch Kylee!

The whole gang (plus Kael had been there- just left before the photo).

So sweet of Garrett to come.

Confetti finale!

A group of us were able to take Kylee out for lunch and she got some sweet and thoughtful gifts.  Kase's team won their first game of the day- a close one to a very good Johnston team.  Love that the timing worked out for Kent to be able to come support Kylee between games! Kase's team ended up losing their second game and Kylee went to a friend's house to lay out- it was so sunny and hot! Kael went to the gym before heading back to school. Later Kylee went for ice cream with a friend then to play sand volleyball.  We had some Crew dads over to chat baseball and the kids all played around- it was such a nice night out.  

Ready for another busy, fun spring week!