Weekend Wrap-Up

It was SUMMERFEST WEEKEND, you guys!

We've gotten the tradition started of going up to do the carnival rides on Thursday night, when you can buy a wristband and ride all the rides you want! This year we went with a bunch of neighbors, so it was extra fun. 

Friday night we visited Kent's grandma in the care center in Nevada- she was doing well and is anxious to go home! We stopped for dinner and ice cream on our way home at a little place called Starbucks, which is not the coffee place you're thinking of.  My family was happy, happy, happy and the ice cream was amazing.

Saturday morning this one was up early, per usual.  He clocked some snuggle time with Dad, reading tractor books.

Then, the Grand Parade! We had kind of a light crew this year.  Some were sick, some were out of town, some have moved away.  But we did have a blast!

These two have such a special bond.

We came home with more candy than we'll know what to do with.  

Our post-parade tradition is to eat at Godfather's, since it's so close to where we sit for the parade. It works out perfectly as the kids are usually coming off a sugar high and desperately in need of some "real" food.  Later Saturday afternoon we attempted to watch the regatta but Kase had napped kind of late so we missed it, which turned out to be OK because it was super hot- I don't think we would have lasted long watching the boats.  So we went to the pool instead.  We spent the rest of the evening running errands and preparing for...Smokefest 2014! (More on that in a second.)

Sunday we got me a new phone. Yay! I feel like I've just come out of the dark ages.  My phone is definitely not fancy or expensive but it is fast! Love it.  After that we met all of Kent's family at Old Chicago to celebrate his grandparents' 60th anniversary.  How amazing that nearly everyone in the family could make it! We are quite a crew.  The Dunshee Dynasty. :) We would have loved to join everyone up in Collins after lunch for cake and swimming, but Kase wasn't doing so well- he actually fell asleep in Kent's arms at Old Chicago and was running a little bit of a temp due to teething.  A short nap, but he woke up feeling better!

I learned just a couple days ago that I would be hosting our neighborhood's First Annual Smokefest.  The guys in the 'hood have been talking about getting together and smoking meat and Summerfest weekend seemed like the perfect time to do it.  I anticipated about eight families but several friends texted at the last minute asking if they could invite a few more and my attitude was definitely "the more the merrier"!  There were definitely fifty plus people in my backyard, and my heart was happy. We spent the evening eating, playing volleyball, and the grand finale- watching fireworks from our driveway! It doesn't get any better than this, folks. 

The party just getting started...

The fellas did a great job!

Look at all.that.MEAT!!!

The volleyball game was epic. 

Would anyone like to hear (again) how much I love my neighborhood? #brokenrecord

The only bummer of the night was that Kael started running a temp.  He joined the crew on our driveway for fireworks but fell asleep in the middle of them. 

We have a fun week ahead of us- assuming everyone gets/stays healthy.  Kids have swimming lessons, we have some fun plans with Kent's mom, we will help Tam and Rob move into their new house, and hopefully some plans with friends next weekend that include a quick out of town trip! 

Have a great week, guys!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful Kylee pulled her first tooth out! She was so excited for a visit from the tooth fairy! Another one is dangerously loose too...stay tuned. :)

I'm thankful for a little bit of happiness in our garage.  I painted our steps and they literally brighten my day. 

I'm thankful I'm up for a new phone in two days!!!

I'm thankful my flowers have survived this long considering how little attention and care I've given them. 

I'm thankful that summer is starting to slow down. June was a blur, you guys. So far July is pleasantly less busy. And the weather is better! 

I'm thankful for friends and family who haven't given up on us, socially.  It breaks my heart every time I have to turn down an invitation to the pool or neighborhood get together because of other obligations or a sick kid.  

I'm thankful for fireworks. 

I'm thankful Kael is truly starting to associate how he feels with what he ate. We had plenty of treats on July 4 and his stomach was hurting by bedtime. "I'm pretty sure I ate too much junk, Mom."  Next step is getting him to remember that feeling next time he asks for junk food.

I'm thankful the All-Star season is over.  Does that make me a bad person? I wasn't wishing they'd lose at all...just...happy to have my husband back.  

I'm thankful Kase's ear was ok after he jabbed it with a q-tip. 

I'm thankful the kids are having fun at swimming lessons.

I'm thankful Kent's grandma is doing better after a stroke last week.

I'm thankful it's Summerfest week! Looking forward to the rides, parade, boat regatta and fireworks!

I'm thankful for a chiropractor in the family and thankful my mom was able to take Kael there while I stayed home with a feverish Kylee and a sleeping Kase.

I'm thankful that Kylee is reader of the week at our local library!

I'm thankful everyone is feeling better- Tuesday night Kylee had a high fever and I was worried we were headed down the same path as with Kael a few weeks ago.  She woke up the next morning feeling just fine!

I'm thankful my kids don't say "fast forward" and "rewind".  No matter how much I correct them, they call it, "fasting forward" and "fasting back". Funny.

Here's to a great (hopefully healthy) weekend!

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a great {busy} weekend.

Let's start with Thursday, shall we? It's my favorite day of the week, after all.

Thursday we celebrated a friend's birthday up at The Miracle League. Not surprisingly, nearly the entire neighborhood was able to make it to the party! We joked that Kent would need to wear a name tag for some of the neighbor guys to even be able to recognize him- it's been that long since he's been able to hang out with them.  Needless to say a good time was had by all!

Friday, we took some patriotic pictures.

You can see some less goofy ones here.

Then we had lunch with my fam- grilled burgers, brats and all the tried and true favorite side dishes and homemade ice cream.  A perfect All-American meal!

This one almost never wears a shirt.  All.summer.long

When we got home I made some red, white and blue drinks for Kael and Kylee.  So thankful for other people's creativity.

Later on Friday we went to Aunt Chris's house for a fun filled evening of swimming, sliding and one of the most enjoyable volleyball games I've ever participated in. :) My only regret is that I didn't get any pictures! I borrowed this one from Ben and Chantelle.  So cute!

Saturday morning we headed up to Sheffield for a family reunion/anniversary celebration.  All of my grandma's side of the family was there- I think there were about 80 of us! We had a carnival for the little kids, family pictures, lots of food and even a little swimming in the pond.  The weather was awesome and it was great to see all the extended family that we don't see nearly enough of!

Not sure why Kent looks confused in this picture...he has a knack for inadvertently photo bombing our family pictures.

Saturday evening a family from our baseball team stopped by and ended up hanging out for a few hours.  The kids all had fun together and it was nice to talk to them outside of the ball park!

Sunday morning we had nursery duty at church where Kael and Kylee were beside themselves with excitement that they were allowed to help.  (Our church's children's groups don't meet during the summer so Kael and Kylee needed to come in with us).

Then we went to Huston's first birthday party! Can you even believe he's one already? Walking, talking, even?! Tam had the place decorated so nicely and we had the best time.  Dying at his tuxedo bib!! He was so sweet about eating his cake and opening his presents so carefully and he didn't even mind his cousins stealing playing with his brand new toys.  ;)

The sisters with the baby boys. 

Sunday afternoon was another All Stars game, then Kent's parents took the kids (all three) for a sleepover.  This is one of the very few times that Kase has stayed overnight without us.  I am sure he's having a great time! Plus, Kent and I got to go out for dinner and even checked out a new brewery in town.

Here's to a great week!

Happy Fourth of July!

NYC!

It probably goes without saying that we had an amazing time in New York.  Plans were a little uncertain up until the last minute (with my grandma in the hospital) but my mom, my sisters and I were all able to enjoy four days together in the Big Apple! And grandma even got to come home from the hospital while we were away and she's doing great!

For my own sake, I'd love to write about every single thing we did and post every single picture.  But for your sake and the sake of time, I'll post a few highlights.


It was a little early but we were ready to go!

I hope we can make this trip (new location, same people) an annual thing. 

Landed in NYC, hotel found, ready to explore!

Rockerfeller Center.

Don't even get me started on all the famous people we saw. ;) Ok, so we didn't see anyone famous.  But we did go to a few of their restaurants. We saw Morimoto's restaurant, ate at Guy Fieri's restaurant, saw the Cake Boss Cafe...so fun.

We got a little goofy after a long walk through Central Park.  It was so pretty and the weather was so nice we just kept walking and walking. 

We determined that all subways in Europe were far superior to the one in NYC. I had an easier time navigating them in a foreign language than in English! 

We ate Mexican food because that's just what we do when we're without the husbands.  

Times Square at night!

We ate the.best.pizza at this cute little spot that near the Brooklyn Bridge. 

Face time with Brooklyn on the Brooklyn Bridge!

Most knowledgeable tour guide ever.

We heart the Chrysler Building.  

It was Pride weekend while we were there.  And the Empire State building even dressed up for it!

Can you even? Tam snapped this gem from the top of our night tour bus.  

I made it a point to eat everything New York-ish while we were there.  Bagel, pizza, cheesecake- yum! I had my eye on a Cronut, too but wasn't about to waste precious site-seeing time waiting in line. 

Boat tour!

Here's a fun fact about me.  I don't love heights.  Flying scares the heck out of me and going to the top of the Empire State Building was plenty nerve-wracking. But the view was totally worth it!

Last morning...ready to go home and see our kiddos! And husbands!

Before we left town we saw some guys practicing their flag routine for the Pride Parade.  Would have loved to have been able to watch the parade and see them in action. 

Home sweet home! My dad is the one who sent us on the trip (what a fantastic Christmas gift) and he's the one who dropped us off and picked us up at the airport.  What a guy.  I couldn't have asked for a better trip with better ladies! 

In short, our trip was perfect.  The weather couldn't have been better. Name something famous in NY and we saw it.  Seriously.  Try me.  Brooklyn Bridge? Yup.  Central Park? Check.  Empire State Building? Statue of Liberty? Chelsea Market? Check, check, check. I even successfully hailed a taxi.  I couldn't begin to list everything we saw but here's a few more: Grand Central Station, Yankee Stadium, we rode the subway (and lived to tell about it), Wall Street, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the World Trade Center, Highline Park, we bought food from street vendor trucks, and spent as much time as possible in our beloved Bryant Park.

It was great to go, and great to get home.  Kent got along just fine with the kids while I was away and certainly appreciated help from his family.

What a great trip!