Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for my first bouquet of the season.

I'm thankful  for Daddy Donut Day at preschool last week.  It couldn't have been cuter.  Kase was so proud to get to spend time with Kent at school. 

I'm thankful for rainy days.  The warm weather has been awesome but a rainy day is nice too.  

I'm thankful for dinner plans with Kent's family tonight!

I'm thankful the kids slept in today! It's nearly 7:30 and Kase isn't up yet! 

I'm so thankful that Kent's work is going well.  He/we certainly took a leap of faith jumping into this new position and so far, so good. 

I'm thankful for a fun weekend ahead.  We have several birthday parties to go to and lots of family get togethers planned.  Can't wait! 

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a weekend! 

Friday morning Kase woke up not feeling well, so we spent the majority of the day doing this. 

Kael was at a field trip to the art center and sculpture park. 

Later that night the kids spent the night at Keith and Cindy's, which they always love! 

Kent declared it No Sit Saturday, and we got a TON of stuff done.  Cindy went with me to watch Kylee at Ninja Warrior.  Later Kent and my dad built a sandbox for Kase while my mom watched the kids.  We also got a lot of miscellaneous outdoor things done, then spent the entire evening out with the whole neighborhood.  Kids had so much fun playing in the new sandbox!

Sunday after church we got a few more things done around here, then Kael had a soccer game, where he scored a goal! I just love to watch him play.

Kylee stayed back and had a nail salon with friends. 

And later that evening we celebrated the April birthdays with my side of the family! It was a beautiful night out and we had so much fun spending time together.  Kickball, a walk in the backyard, grilled out, presents, cake...it was a great night! I just love getting the cousins all together. 

Kael pulled all these ones out of the box one after the other, each taped together and was so happy about it!

I can't get over how grown up Kael looks here. 

3/6 of the grandkids have April birthdays and I couldn't believe how well the ones who didn't have birthdays sat and watched.  It was so sweet!

Love our tradition of each having a little cake!

We also bought one of these tagalongs over the weekend and I think we're going to be doing a lot of bike riding this summer!

Hope your weekend was as fun as ours! 

April Birthday Boys

I hope I remember to take a picture of my two boys together every single April.  I so cherish these photos and look forward to watching Kase "catch" Kael! 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Kael is 11

His friends come to "hang out" not to play.

I see their shoes pile in the entryway.  They are no longer kid-sized shoes.

His texts come in, "Ten minutes more, Mom? I'll be home before it's dark."

His hair was long for quite awhile because he wanted it that way.  He cares more about how he looks with each day that passes.

He's punny, my Kael.  And his jokes are good.  Nothing makes him happier than a good punch line.  So much, in fact, that often if he thinks of a pun about something someone said, he'll come back to me, hours later, telling me, "Mom, I should have said         . That would have been hilarious!" The other day he told me, "If I cooked the best soup in the whole world, then you could call me Souperman".

He can dribble a basketball between his legs with ease.

He's gotten really good on his trombone.

He spends as much time on his cell phone with grandparents than with his friends.

As he approaches middle school, I see him really growing up.  Both emotionally and physically.  His spring pictures nearly took my breath away. He looks like a teenager.  I'm so thankful God trusted me with Kael.  Emotionally, he's really showed some responsibility lately.  He's been great with his cell phone- always asking when it's ok to use it and he hasn't lost it or broken it.  He's just a good kid with a big heart.

I've seen Kael mature a lot socially lately.  He and some buddies play basketball nearly every day after school and a lot of them play club basketball together.  The other day some boys came to see if Kael could play and he said, "Well, I'm not going to play if you make me only be a sub." I'm happy to see him standing up for himself and equally happy that the boys assured him they needed him to make a full team and really wanted him to play.

I say it every year, but it's hard to believe my firstborn is yet another year older.  Eleven! He looks it, he acts it, and I love eleven year old Kael more than I could have ever imagined.

Happy birthday to our Kael.  We are so excited to see what this next year has in store for you and we are so proud of the young man you are becoming! 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Our weekend was a busy one.  I'm tired, so I can only imagine how the kids feel!

Friday, Kael had his class field trip the Capitol.  He took his own camera and got some great pictures! He had so much fun. That afternoon Kylee had a school friend over to play.  The kids also got their spring pictures and I can't believe how grown up they look! After Kylee's friend left, we went over to my parents' house for a little pizza party with my dad, mom, niece and nephew.

Saturday morning we were all up early, excited for our school's Fun Run! It was a chilly 20 degrees, but the kids were ready to go! We had several neighbors and friends running too, so it was a super fun morning.  Kael ended up getting second place overall and Kylee got fourth (she also happened to be the first girl and the first one who finished that wasn't a fifth grader) and Kase ran the entire mile! It was just a great morning.

The top four finishers (three in the above photo, and one below).

If my shadow hadn't been blocking Kase, you would be able to see how purple his face was from running the whole mile!

Saturday afternoon we just laid low, getting ready for Kael's birthday celebration with friends.

We had started talking about it weeks before so we could land on some common ground.  Kael went back and forth about who to invite, what to do, and in the end- it was perfect.  He decided to invite three close friends to SkyZone, then back here for pizza and cake.  He helped set up the basement with snacks, etc.  He picked out his cake.  And all along the way, he was so.very.thankful.  Several times during the day before the party he said, "Thanks Mom, for organizing my party." Before the party, we negotiated bedtimes, the amount of pop he'd be allowed to drink, and how many friends he could invite.  And he was flexible and agreeable and it all paid off for him.  Right before the party started he asked, "Mom, if Kylee wants to come jump with me and my friends, I am 100% OK with that."  

We had a really fun night and the kids were all good and all slept well.  After pancakes on Sunday morning, Kent took them all home, then we all went to church.  Later that afternoon, Kael had his first soccer game.  I figured he would be so tired (from the Fun Run and the sleepover) but he still played such a great game.  It started raining as soon as the second half started and it was freezing but he didn't complain at all.  I was so thankful my dad and mom and Keith and Cindy were there to run Kase and Kylee to the cars to stay dry and warm though! Keith and Cindy came back here to hang out for a bit, then we spent the rest of the evening playing with neighbors outside.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Thankful Thursday

I'm thankful for Kael's haircut. I liked his hair long, but he finally decided to cut it and he looks so grown up!

I was thankful for a fun surprise the other day- I woke up to the smell of bacon and French toast.  Kent was making breakfast and waiting for the rest of us to wake up and join him.

I'm thankful when my kids think of each other.  Kael had book club the other day and came home with two books he knew Kylee would like.  So thoughtful.

I'm thankful that Kent surprised us all and came home at 3:30 last Friday afternoon.

I'm thankful for the April birthday craziness that is upon us.  So many fun celebrations ahead!

Happy Thursday! 

Weekend Wrap-Up

We kicked off our weekend with some fun news- Kael came home and had gotten the Main Event award at school!

Later we went to Bass Pro with my dad and mom while Kent was at softball practice, then we all had dinner together.

Then we spent the rest of the evening hanging at home playing games.

Saturday Kylee had Ninja Warrior, which she still loves. In fact, her instructor said to Kylee at one point during class, "I can hear you smile way over here, Kylee!"

Saturday afternoon Kael and Kylee both had sleepovers at friends' houses. Kent and I had fun spending some time with Kase. We took him shopping for birthday ideas, stopped by the pet store to look around before going out for ice cream. Love getting to spend one on one time with the kids.

The next morning, Kase was very happy his big siblings were home.

After church and a family game of kickball in the backyard, we went to my dad and mom's house where they had put up some ninja-style obstacles in their backyard.  So fun! Then we had some ice cream before heading out again to play in the creek.

Back home we spent the evening playing with neighbors at the park. The kids were all in bed early tonight after all the fresh air today! 

How was your weekend?