Birthday, round 3

Friday night we celebrated Kael's birthday with my mom, dad and grandma.

Kael walked into my mom and dad's house and saw lots of orange, which is his absolute favorite color.  Grandpa had picked Kylee up from preschool so she got to help decorate and help make dinner before the boys and I got there.

I love this picture.  Such a sweet look on Kael's face. 

We had a really fun night playing games and hanging out. Did I mention how wonderful it is when someone else cooks for you? We enjoyed grilled burgers, chips and dip, malts and cake.  It was awesome! My mom and dad have such a great way about making people feel special on their special day. :)

Another birthday celebration in the books!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful they both fit.  Kase kept laying his head down on Kylee's back- it was so cute!

I'm thankful for walks in my dad's backyard.

I'm thankful that the Little League season is about to kick off! Gooooo Mariners!!! Kael was excited to find out that his locker partner is on his team this year!

I'm thankful for a very talented friend who is making some invitations for me.  Trying to force creativity is painful for me.  Missy to the rescue!

I'm thankful for Kylee's birthday list.  Since the trampoline is technically a shared gift, that prompted Kylee to start thinking about her birthday and other things she might like for gifts.  An iPhone, high heels, lipstick, a fish  for a pet and a box of macaroni are the top five things on her list.  What can I say? She's five going on fifteen.  And she loves fake processed cheese like her mother.  ;)

Happy Thursday, guys! Look forward to a few more birthday celebration posts- coming soon!

Birthday, round 2

Around our place, and yours I'm sure, adult birthdays aren't as big of a deal as kid birthdays.  But last night my family threw me an awesome (early) 30th celebration!

The whole crew (minus Rob who was meeting with some local chiropractors) met downtown at Spaghetti Works.  Even the Vogels, who had only been home from vacation for a few hours, managed to join us! Getting all of us together is no small task and getting everyone out for dinner is an even bigger feat. There are three children under the age of two so you know how that goes.  Huge thanks to Kent for occupying Kase so I could enjoy my meal.  It seems like we rarely leave Ankeny when going out for dinner, so heading downtown felt like a real treat.  Thanks, everyone!

The party didn't stop there.  We headed back to Mom and Dad's for cake and ice cream, where Tammy had whipped up a beautiful 30 cake! And my mom always does an amazing job with decorations. Colorful balloons, plates and napkin, party blowers and hats...the whole nine.  Makes a girl feel special.  :)
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Thanks for a great night! Maybe turning 30 won't be so bad. ;)

Weekend Wrap-Up and Birthday, round 1

I {heart} long weekends.  And this one has been a particularly good one.

Friday night we spent hanging out with some neighbors, which is always a good way to kick off the weekend.

Saturday we spent the day celebrating Kael's birthday with Kent's side of the family.  We had a BIG surprise planned which was so exciting! My job was to entertain the kids and keep them away until the surprise was ready.  Kent's mom, dad and brothers worked on the set-up, which was no small task.  I brought the kids back later in the afternoon and they walked around the corner of the house to find a trampoline!!! (It even has a light under it so the kids can jump at night!!) Kael also got some cool new Hawkeye colored kicks, and a much needed new soccer ball, and a box of his beloved Nut Thins.  You should have seen his eyes light up when he unwrapped them.  :) We ordered his f-a-v-o-r-i-t-e stuffed crust cheese pizza for supper and I had made him a cake that looked like pizza.  He loved all of it.  The kids (and half of the neighborhood, both children and adults) have been spending nearly every waking minute on the trampoline.

Eyes closed...

The Reveal!!!

JUMP!!!!!

New shoes on his feet and his favorite snack in hand. 

Helpin'. 

Pizza cake!

Sunday after church a friend of Kael's had invited us out for lunch with them, but Kase has not been himself lately due to some big honkin' teeth that are thisclose to cutting through so Kent graciously offered to stay home with him so the big kids and I could enjoy lunch out.   When we got home, Kent had been digging a spot for our garden bed and discovered some baby bunnies! We had to reconfigure our placement of the bed a little bit so the bunnies could keep their home.

Sunday evening we headed over to my parent's house while Kent had a coach's meeting.  My mom is babysitting Brooklyn and Tyson while my sister and brother-in-law are out of town, and also my grandma was over there, and Tam and Rob were back in town.  It was so nice to see everyone.

Today is a no school day for the kids and there are rumors of 75 degree weather.  Get better than that!!! If you need us, you can find us on the trampoline.  Have a good one, guys!

Fun stuff

Spoiler alert! Kael is our library's Reader of the Week! Locals, look for him in the paper next week!

I started to organized the garage.  Seems like a "before" picture could have been helpful here.  Trust that it looks much better than it did!

We went to Hop Into Uptown, a fun event for the kids that ended with free ice cream tokens.  Hooray for our first Dairy Queen visit of the season!

You may not know this about me, but I'm not very funny.  But, I didn't want April Fool's Day to go by without at least trying to be funny.  The kids appreciated my attempt at humor with these brownies! (Brown Es, get it?!)

Kylee did the vinegar/baking soda/food coloring activity that I pinned about a year and a half ago.  Lucky it lived up to the hype! She had a great time- so great, in fact, that we used up all the baking soda in the house.  :)

Kael had his MVP week at school.  Kent and I joined him for lunch on Thursday and also I had the chance to write a letter to him that his teacher read in front of the whole class.  I had a lot of fun writing about my favorite memories with Kael. 

We went and got Kylee's picture taken at school for her photo ID for next year.  I can't believe I will have a kindergartener in four short months!

Kylee got the treat basket for the last time in preschool so we decided to make some fun treats.  Sorry that I forgot to take a picture of the ones we made- but they were super cute! Nilla wafers, bananas, peanut butter and sprinkles- easy, peasy, lemon squeezy (as my kids like to say). Plus, any treat that involves sprinkles is sure to be a hit with preschoolers!

I have this little white board on my fridge that I use to write quotes and bible verses that inspire me.  The middle section is supposed to be a To Do list which I rarely use, but one of the girls I babysit asked if she could write on it yesterday, so I let her.  She started copying the bible verse, "I can do all things through...." then she finished with, "I like Laura's house".  I didn't discover the note until after she'd left for the day but it totally made my night!

Someone thinks he's pretty funny getting into the toilet paper and carrying it all around the house.

Kylee had Costume Night for tumbling the other night.  You guys I was totally unprepared.  The head teacher started rattling off the "rules" if you will as I furiously took notes.  "No jewelry!" (Um, what about Kylee's newly pierced ears?) "If you have short hair you're going to have to come talk to us because we expect everyone to wear a low ponytail!" (Um, Kylee's hair definitely won't fit in a low pony.) "Full stage makeup! Mascara, eyeliner, blush, powder, body glitter spray, eyeshadow, lipstick...." (Um, she's five.  But, ok, I guess she will be excited to wear tons of makeup). "Don't even think of polish on toes or fingers.  Everyone has to match!" I left with two full pages of notes and a head spinning with questions- totally overwhelming for the two minutes Kylee will be on stage for her recital in June.  I am not cut out to be a Dance Mom.  But darn it if she's not totally adorable and, in my opinion, the cutest one out there. :)

That's what's been going on in our world, how about yours?

I can't wait to...

...go to bed in shorts.


...not wear a jacket when I'm running.


...get a tan.


...eat fresh fruit.


...drink lemonade.


...wear flip flops.


...get a pedicure.


...be 30.  NOT! :)

Happy Friday everyone

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for tiny handprints on my refrigerator.  And my dishwasher.  And my sliding glass door.  And on my trash can.  :)

I'm thankful for a husband who doesn't mind leftovers.  Now if I could just get the kids on board.

I'm thankful for Nylac carpet cleaner.  Kylee vomited red again all over the other night. (Strawberry applesauce this time). The kicker is that she honestly didn't even realize she had done it, so by the time I went in to her room the next morning it was all crusty and really soaked into the carpet.  Nylac to the rescue!!

I'm thankful that it's April aka Craziest Month of our Year.

I'm thankful Kylee still needs me.  She is so very independent, but the other night she wanted me to lay with her for awhile when I tucked her in. I'm really thankful for our late night talks and thankful I have a daughter.

I'm thankful we got Kylee's earrings changed.  That can be a traumatic thing and I know she was nervous about it.  Lucky the Easter Bunny brought some sparkly, dangly stars that made removing the studs go a little more smoothly.

I'm thankful that Kael and I are close enough for him to talk about girls with me.  I know.  He's only eight! But when I tucked him in the other night he was telling me who likes who in his class, and how there's a girl that likes him and it makes him, "kind of nervous".  I was highly unprepared for this conversation but I think I managed to play it cool. You know, as far as mom-to-son talks about girls go, that is.

I'm thankful for times when I overhear Kylee praying.  Earlier in the day, we had run into an acquaintance at the mall who was telling me about her mom being in a car accident.  This is someone that Kylee doesn't know at all, and sure enough that night I heard her pray, "Dear God, please help Ben's grandma be OK".    Then she followed with, "Dear God, could you also help me to be a princess?" Oh, Kylee.

I'm thankful for Kael's 8 year old drive-by hugs.  You know the kind- where he barely pauses long enough to touch me and the hug is actually more of just a lean? I'll take it.