Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful that Tammy was able to watch my boys while I was at preschool meeting. And I'm thankful for this cute gift below from a fellow teacher!

I'm thankful when Kael offers to read books to Kase at the library.

I'm thankful for this cool dude.

I'm thankful for drawings I find on Kylee's desk.  This one is of my sisters, our little boys, and me. 

I'm thankful for a fun night at the lake Tuesday!

I'm thankful for a quick morning trip to Ashby Park with my mom, Tam and Huston.

I'm thankful Kylee got to make jam with grandma yesterday! 

I'm so thankful Kent and I get to go to the Home Show tonight.  I just love going and we weren't sure we were going to make it this year but I can't wait!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

Weekend Wrap-up, Summmerfest Edition

What a weekend! Summerfest is always a fun-filled weekend, but we packed some extra fun into this weekend.  Here's a quick recap.

Friday we hit up the kiddie parade! I like to consider myself a fun bully, but a big shout out to my sister Tammy for being just as much, if not more, of a fun bully than me! She rallied our troops and pulled together the cutest stuff for our crew to be in the parade.  Mandy, Brooklyn and Tyson even got to join in the fun! The theme was making magic, so between my kids dress up bin, Tam's creativity, and a few things from my mom, not to mention some super cute kiddos, we ended up getting second place in the costume division! Kylee could NOT have been more excited. 

When we got home, we spent the evening hanging out with neighbors, then my dear friend Andrea happened to be in town and stopped by to catch up.  It was so, soooo good to see her and hear what's going on in her world! 

Saturday we woke up to lots of rain, but the parade wasn't cancelled, just delayed a couple hours! My mom had, as she does every year, reserved a spot for us, so we spent a nice lazy morning around our house, getting a few things done, namely starting to hang pictures in our basement.  I'm super excited about how it's turning out.  The parade was so much fun and the kids got tons of candy. After the parade we went for lunch at Godfather's, then later we went up to the Cardboard Boat Regatta.  Every year I say we're going to enter and every year we don't.  Next year though!!

Later that afternoon we went to Huston's birthday party.  A perfect night spent with family, hanging outside, playing in the water, celebrating my nephew turning two! Love how much the cousins got to spend time together this weekend. 

Sunday was another awesome day.  Kent's parents offered to bring down lunch, so we grilled out with them, then they hit the pool with us and a bunch of neighbors.  It was the perfect place to be on such a hot day.


Sunday afternoon was our neighborhood's second annual Smokefest.  It was pretty hot out, but a good time was had by all.  The kids thought it was pretty cool being able to ride bikes down the middle of the street since we had it blocked off. The food was great, the company was wonderful and we all got to watch fireworks together from our driveways.  A perfect end to a great weekend!

All the gentlemen who smoked meat (minus one who was inside when we took the picture.)

Kylee's off to Show Choir Camp this morning with several neighbor friends and other than that we have a pretty low-key week.  Sounds like it's going to be unbearably hot today so I'm guessing we hit the pool at some point.  Have a good week everyone!

Thankful Thursday

"I'm going to need you to post a Thankful Thursday blog ASAP," Kent texted me this morning. I hadn't planned on writing anything.  I was a little growly- the kids had been grumping about taking showers last night (how old are kids when they start to realize how wonderful showers are?!), one of them slept terribly last night (any guesses who?), and I woke up with loads (pun intended) of laundry to do.  

Thankful I had plans with a friend and her kids this morning to look forward to.  So, after scrolling through the ol' iPhone camera roll, I found an awful lot to be thankful for. 

I'm thankful my kids indulged me and played a few rounds of Pogs yesterday.  I moved to Ankeny as a fifth grader and Pogs were all the rage.  I thought I had tossed mine but found them in a tub in the basement yesterday and it made me insta-happy. 

I'm thankful Kylee is doing basketball camp.  The first day she didn't love, love it but her group won several races yesterday which seemed to make it more enjoyable. ;)

I'm thankful for our community.  All City Play Day was last night and, per usual, the kids had a blast.  It was a nice, cool night to be out and about! 

I'm thankful for a trip to the new donut store in town followed by a trip to Big Creek this morning with a neighbor/bestie. Another beautiful day to be outside!

I'm thankful the weekend is near but I'm sad about how quickly summer is flying by! So thankful school starts later this year!

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a fun holiday weekend! 

Friday morning Kent golfed with some neighbor friends. While he was gone, the kids wanted to bake pies so we made one blueberry, one strawberry (so patriotic!). We spent the afternoon hanging out with friends and heading to the pool with some neighbors.  Highlight of the pool trip was watching several of the dads battle it out on the log roll.  Wish I had gotten some pictures! Friday evening we grilled out with some friends- so good to catch up with them!  Later we went to fireworks in Slater with my parents.  My kids were tired from a full day but had a great time! 

Saturday morning the kids had triathlon practice then we headed out on the boat. Kent skiied, Kael and Kylee did the ski trainer and Kase slept in my arms.  It was a beautiful day to spend on the boat.

After boating we went out for lunch.  My dad surprised us and ordered a pizza cookie as an appetizer! You should have seen the look on the kids' faces.  A cookie and ice cream for an appetizer?! They loved it.

Saturday afternoon we went to Aunt Chris and Uncle Richie's house for their annual Fourth of July pool party.  It was so much fun seeing all the extended family and lots of friends.  We spent the evening swimming and playing volleyball.  

Yesterday we talked about going out of town for a quick trip to my grandparents' pond but we were all totally wiped.  It had been a busy weekend and the kids were tired.  So we had lunch at my parents house, the kids played water balloons and sprinkler there while Kent and my dad prepped some things for our upcoming trip to Panora. Came home, went to the pool, then cheered on women's USA soccer! The kids had so much fun just playing with each other last night - I was glad we had decided to stay home and be low key.  Hope you had a great Fourth of July!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for a fun day at Adventureland! So thankful to be able to go with my mom, sister and nephew. The cousins had so much fun together. Kent and my dad joined us after work.  The weather was perfect, the lines were short and the kids were great!

I'm thankful for dinner at Keith and Cindy's last night. A fun midweek trip to Collins! 

I'm thankful for a few low- key days ahead. With vacation, Adventureland, a new gymnastics class and a trip to the movie theater all in the last week, I'm ready to just hang at home with my crew.

That said, I'm thankful for the upcoming holiday particularly because it means Kent has the day off tomorrow. Also because it usually means boating, swimming at Aunt Chris's house, a trip to the A frame at my grandparents'pond in Sheffield aaaand clocking lots of family and friend time. 

Have a good one!