Weekend Wrap-Up

 We started our weekend off with fun at Grandpa Keith and Grandma Cindy's! We had such a fun night with the fam.  Didn't take a lot of pictures but we enjoyed our time together!

Friday morning Kent fired off the offers for next years' baseball season which is always stressful.  Once he got those out he joined Kael, Kylee, Kase and me at Clear Lake! We had gone up earlier that morning. 

My pictures uploaded in reverse and I have too much to do today to fix it so I'm going to leave it this way but here are a bunch of pictures of us doing what we do at the lake! Tubing, skiing, sunset cruise, fishing, cousin walk to the Sweet Spot.  We lucked out with some great weather and just loved spending time together. 

Kylee pulled Kent skiing! (see driving lesson from Grandpa below!)

I even skied! Gotta prove to the kids I still know how!

Kase is getting awfully daring. 

Kylee loves driving. 

Sunset with my love.

That view.  Those kids.  Love, love, love.

Kylee is SUCH a lake girl this summer.  She just loves being up there. 

These two were pretty good buddies last night!

Goofballs.

Saturday we had a family picnic at the pond! I was so glad we were all five able to go even though Kael couldn't stick around all afternoon since he had to work.  

Kael got a nice one!

I sure wish we had gotten a big group picture of the whole family- many of my aunts, uncles, cousins and their kids were all there and it was so great seeing everyone enjoying the pond my grandparents made.  Such great memories.  It rained in the middle of the day but that didn't dampen (ha) our fun. The kids fished, swam, kayaked and Kylee even braided all the little girls' hair. 

We actually caught more fish there than we had in awhile!

This was actually right before the picnic but Kylee did her 8.5 (!!!) mile run then wanted to hop right in the lake! She had no problem finding some cousins to join her!

Kael did a fantastic job driving the boat too! He is eager to learn and even pulled the kids tubing! 

Handsome guys (above and below).

More skiing, more tubing.  Fun on repeat.

And Kent was happy he caught a walleye at Clear Lake!

The aforementioned boat driving lesson.

I'm happy we had time to get up to the lake this weekend and I think it was great for Kent to get his mind off baseball stuff for awhile.  In the end, the team is nearly finalized and we are happy with how things are turning out. 

We got home Sunday afternoon in time to mow, do all the unpacking and laundry, then Kylee and I had nail appointments and Kase went to the pool with a friend and Kael went to work.  Later, Keith and Cindy brought over Kellen and Krue to jump on the trampoline! It was such a fun, family weekend! 

Thankful Thursday

 I'm thankful for an awesome end to the 2024 Crew season.  Man I just love these boys and their families. We worked hard on a super hot day and battled until the end!

Kase got to see his buddy Pierce.  Always goofing around.

But all smiles when Paislee joins in the picture...

Kase hit so well all weekend!

Cooling down together before the final game.

I'm so thankful for Kase's confidence on the mound.  He pitched his heart out.

In the end we were runners up but not before Kase hit a bomb to deep center field and even though it was caught, I heard a teammate's mom say, "There's no one else I would have wanted at the plate in that situation.  2 outs in the final inning and of course we want Kase at bat!" and I thought that was really kind of her to say. 

Lots to be proud of this season even if it was filled with ups and downs. 

I'm thankful Kael and Emma had a fun time riding the High Trestle Trail yesterday!

I'm thankful Kylee has been keeping busy with friend plans.

I'm thankful Kent and I had time to sit down and talk about Switzerland plans- our trip is sneaking up on us!

I'm thankful tryouts for Crew for next year have gone pretty well! 

I'm thankful for Kase's fun ideas.  He must have seen some TikTok or something but he kept talking about wanting a Lobster Boil (which is something we have never done before) and how it looked so good so finally after a morning of particularly excellent behavior on his part, we researched a recipe and some options and he finally got the Lobster/Seafood Boil he had been dreaming of! Lol.  He was so happy. 

Happy Thursday!

Weekend Wrap-Up

 Thursday night we had a pool party with the Crew boys! What a squad.  Super fun night. And Kase landed a gainer through the hole of a pool float on the first try! 

We have had a lot of memories with these parents over the last five years!

Our backyard has been filled with boys all week and Kase couldn't be happier.

Also, all the kids had a blast at Summerfest this year! Kase was up there twice with friends, Kylee was up there with friends and Kael and Emma went up for the live music too!

Saturday was the start of the State Baseball tournament for Kase.  I wasn't sure how it would go with his broken finger but he played so well- the whole team did! 

Meanwhile Kylee was at Clear Lake with her friend- they went up after a run Saturday morning and I'm so thankful for my parents to entertain them all weekend! 

Meanwhile Kase and his team went 3-1 on the weekend and still get to play tomorrow too! Super proud of this gang! They just seemed to be having fun all weekend. Appreciate Keith and Cindy coming and running to get food for Kase and getting more water us to refill the cooler.  It was sure a hot weekend! Kael came to the first game too then had to go to work. 

And my niece Brooklyn came to the second game! Kase always plays well when she comes! 

Have a great week!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Kase has gotten along so well with his braces so far!

I'm thankful for a house full of boys.  Kase was happy when the whole squad was around and available yesterday.  

I'm thankful Kylee has had a full week of plans with friends.  Also thankful she was able to take the kids she babysits for to the Science Center on her own! Proud of her for driving downtown.

I'm thankful for Kael and his willingness to help out with anything and everything around the house. He runs errands for me, mows the lawn- he's just a good buddy.

Happy Thursday!

Weekend Wrap-Up

 L-O-N-G summer weekends are THE BEST.  Am I right or what?!

Kase has been having fun with friends as usual.  Days at the pool, nights watching baseball movies together while sitting in the hot tub, sleepovers...all the fun things.

Also, sunset fishing! You know the landscape is stunning when Kase says, "Mom you have to take a picture of this."

Now for the reallllly fun parts of our weekend.  We have been trying for a very long time to get our good friends up to the pond for a whole night and it finally happened! 

Although we were all sad to see the big willow tree gone, Kase loved this new fishing spot and was the first one to catch a fish there!

It was pretty warm so the boys fished while they floated.

At Grandpa Dean's lucky spot. 

We had been there for a few hours then our friends arrived and we all just had the best time.  These kids have all grown up together and we definitely missed having Kael with us, but it was just a really fun night.

We played yard games, fished, swam, jumped off the floating dock, ate way too many snacks, and chatted around the picnic table.

Then we got super patriotic for a ride into town for pizza!

The girls caught some fish! And we had a big Northern on that had been chasing a bass and we to see it all happen- seriously like something out of National Geographic.  The bass had huge bite marks on it.

We have so much fun together.

Back to the pond for sunset swimming. 

And more fishing!

Then we loaded up again to head to the Hampton fireworks.  

What fun! They were really good! Only bummer was getting stuck by a train on the way back to the pond.

Love these girls.

We woke up the next morning and got donuts and breakfast pizza then started packing up.  They headed home and we headed to Clear Lake! Kael and Emma beat us there and met up with my family at the parade.

Kylee had a friend meet us up there too and some more family joined and in the end we had the whole fam plus two for a total of 17 of us there at some point over the weekend! 

The weather looked like it would be dicey later so after lunch we scooted the kids out the door to get some lake time before it rained.  They had a blast!

So patriotic! Love seeing these two so happy together.

Cousin Crew!

Cousin Crew plus two!

The whole squad.  Hope we can spend many more July 4th weekends up here!

These three buddies had the best time together all weekend.  They got along really well and certainly entertained each other!

Goofballs.

Joining in the family fun! We were glad to celebrate Huston while we were all together!

Hairbraiding was a huge hit and Kylee was awesome doing everyone's hair!

Berkely helped me make a red, white and blue charcuterie!

This guy.  He's just the best.  And my mom too (behind the camera, of course!).  They are just so welcoming and just have thought of every detail to make it the perfect weekend for everyone.

Afternoon walk!

I took Kase up to the carnival- he was dying to do the trampoline! Kael, Emma, Kylee and Madisyn went too and Kael was such a gentleman driving us there and offering to drop the girls off so they didn't have to walk as far!

Couple sunset pictures on the dock. I didn't get pictures of it but later that night a bunch of us went out on the boat to watch the fireworks- they were SO good and it was such a beautiful night.  Fun memory!

This guy sure utilizes the green space by the condo!

More tubing even though it was a little rough- they didn't let a minute go to waste! If it wasn't raining, they were going to be out!

Love these moments with the fam. We played Nuke 'Em on the sand volleyball court and that turned out to be super fun!

Kylee and her friend did a little photo shoot in their matching suits one night and they looked so cute!

And Kent took the big kids for a late night boat ride- love this picture and LOVE how much of a help Kent is when we are at the lake.  He drives the boat, carries the tube, untangles fishing lines, helps grill- I am just so proud of him and so appreciative. Later that night Kael and Emma went uptown to do some rides and listen to the band.  Later my mom and Mandy joined them which I just love!

The next morning was nice and calm so Kase wanted to ski- we weren't sure how it would go with his cast but he did so great! 

Love seeing Grandpa give him advice here.

He's getting to be pretty good and a little bit of a daredevil!

One more big group boat ride before Kael and Emma and Simms and Vogels had to go home (Madisyn had left earlier that day- also forgot to mention that she and Kylee went for a couple runs while they were there and I just love their dedication and love that Kylee had someone to run with!)

A couple times throughout the weekend some of the gang went shopping and I love that Kael got Emma a Clear Lake sweatshirt and she also got herself a Lake Girl hat! Too cute.

So happy Brooklyn was feeling better by the last day and got to tube!

Cool dude. This buddy LOVES Lake Life. He said, "I could move here!"

After everyone left it was just my parents, Kent, Kylee, Kase and me.  Kylee and my mom and I went to the Farmer's Market- it was so cute!

Then back to the lake to tube a little!

We cruised around Party Cove- Kylee loves people watching! (Another favorite thing for all of us is to cruise around the lake looking at houses. )Then Kase and I tubed back to the condo. 

That evening we went out for dinner at the Muskie Lounge- we had been wanting to try it and it was so fun! When we got back from dinner a storm was rolling in and Kase was thrilled to sit out on the deck and watch it.  Notice his new Legend of My Own Pond shirt that my parents got all the boys in the fam- too cute!

When the weather cleared we went for a boat ride and Kase begged to ski.  It was chilly but so hard to say no when he was so excited about it so we let him! 

I love, love, LOVE this picture of Kent cheering him on! Kent had been giving him some hand signals to try some things like jumping the wake and Kase was pretty brave and did all of it.  Kent was so happy for him.

This is another favorite picture! Seriously, that sunset! And Kase just skiing his little heart out.

We headed to bed pretty early that night and the kids were up at a decent time the next morning.  Kylee wasn't about to miss out on the skiing fun so she gave it a go! Took a couple tries because she was sore from running and hadn't skied for awhile but she didn't give up and she got up and did great!

Love this girl.

Then Grandpa Terry gave her a little boat driving lesson! There's no better teacher as Kent says.

She even pulled it into the slip!

After breakfast we went on one last fishing outing and Kylee caught a really nice one. 

I can't say enough about what a special weekend it was. I just love spending time with my immediate family and their extras and also my extended family.  Everyone just gets along so well and is so fun.  Time spent at the lake with family- there's nothing better! Thanks, Mom and Dad for all you do from planning the meals and buying the groceries, driving the boat and filling it up with gas, playing games, making sure we have clean towels, teaching us to fish, driving skiers and tubers....and doing it all with the biggest smiles on your faces.  We love you! 

They even let Kylee and Kase stay up with them at the lake for a few extra hours.  Kent and I got home and unpacked, mowed, got to see Kael for a bit before he headed to work.  Sounds like Kase and Kylee helped vaccum the boat and then got to have lunch out with Grandma and Grandpa before heading back to Ankeny.  Kent golfed with some friends and I just had a lovely night getting the house back in order.