7.21.2022

Vacation!

 I was really hoping that Blogger would fix itself while I was on vacation but no such luck.  So, I'm posting the pictures I have access to and will just try to fill in a few stories around them.  


Wednesday night before we left we went to the I Cubs game and had great seats in the suite out in left field! Such a beautiful night.  The kids had fun and especially enjoyed getting radar-ed and trying to guess how fast they could throw.







We were up bright and early the next day for our flight! Kaser was sleeeeeepy. Nothing like a quick rest on the airport floor.


We landed in Jacksonville early afternoon then drove to the Omni at Hilton Head.  The kids were such good travelers and after being up early, having two flights and a 3 hour car ride they were all still in great spirits.  Of course, we headed straight for the beach! We also went to the marina area for dinner at a cute Mexican place and enjoyed some live music and did a little shopping.  When we got back to our hotel the colors outside were just gorgeous so we ran back out to the beach for awhile.






The boys were excited about their hat purchases!


The next day we spent a little more time at the beach/pool before heading to Savannah.



We got some ice cream, wandered River Street (not our favorite thing of the whole trip-ha!) but mostly we were in town to see the Savannah Bananas!




This was such a fan interactive experience- I have never been to another baseball game like this! The kids got to go out on the field and sign their names to the wall, Kent got to be in the Dad Bod contest out on the field...Kase got pictures with the Savannah Nanas (grandma cheerleaders) and got signatures from all the players during the rain delay! 









Seriously if you ever have the chance to get tickets to a game- go!!! It was a highlight of the trip for sure.



This guy was just awesome- he was out in the crowd all game having dance contest, trivia...everything.



More beach pictures...we saw dolphins just off from our resort this day!


Kylee loved her poolside strawberry smoothies each day!


Kase even got to fish! He met some nice kids there who he had fun hanging around with. 

Late night pizza picnic by the pool.


Rented bikes and went all around the beach and Palmetto Dunes- this was super fun!




We also went mini golfing and went to Sea Pines and ate at the Salty Dog.  We saw an alligator on our way here so that was cool! Later we went to Harbour Town and Kase and Kael went up to the top of the lighthouse with me. 





Back at the hotel the kids did a little boogie boarding and Kylee got stung with a jellyfish! The guys at the hotel were very helpful and told us the best way to treat it is get a toothbrush and toothpaste and just scrub.  So we did and Kylee felt much better!


We went mini golfing one more time at a different spot before leaving Hilton Head.


Took a few more beach px. 




Kent loved this umbrella so much and commented on it several times! He appreciated the shade!


We all had fun playing ping pong and bags in the courtyard every day.


And right before we left, Kael was victim number 2 of a jellyfish sting! Lucky we knew how to treat it! He and Kylee both handled it like champs though.



On Saturday morning we packed up and headed to Sea Island, Georgia for the Edward Jones portion of our trip.  We stayed at The Cloister and it was just gorgeous! One of my favorite properties we have ever stayed at! We ran into a little traffic getting there but made it in time to check in and get ready for the Welcome Dinner.  Kael and Kylee met a couple other teens there they had fun hanging out with later in the night and throughout the weekend.


Kylee loved getting all dressed up and taking pictures.  Beautiful girl with a beautiful back drop for photos!



Of course, Kase met a buddy too and as soon as they were done eating he ran back to the room for trunks and went playing at the pool and beach with his new friend.  Caught this sweet moment of Kent and Kase as we all headed back tot he room for the night. 


The next morning we got the kids up super early for the Turtle Walk! Then it started pouring.  No one was very excited about seeing turtles besides me....and it was raining...and there was no guarantee we would actually see turtles...and the kids were super tired....so we decided not to go.  Everyone went back to bed for a few hours and I enjoyed a little time to myself having a little coffee and pastries in the Solarium and then sitting on our balcony for awhile.



This buddy had his ball glove with him alllll week long of course.


We swam at the pool and beach, fished off the dock at the hotel, played shuffleboard, then went to St. Simon's to have dinner at a nice Italian place.  We came back to The Cloister to see a bagpiper and putt around on the green.  So fun!



Made a stop at the pond by the fitness center so Kase could see the fish.  He loved doing this every day. 


The next morning Kent and I had a short meeting so the big kids met up with some friends and took Kase and his friend boogie boarding at the beach. They said it was the best waves they had seen the whole trip! Later we went for lunch at a Mexican place in town then went to the Top Golf Swing Suite.  We got to golf, play Zombie Dodgeball and football and baseball on the simulator- so fun! 

Then we went to Shooting School! We all enjoyed it and the instructor was so good but Kael was by far the best!





Later that afternoon we went to the pool, got ice cream at the Beach Club then that evening we went bowling! Then we went to the Pier for the sunset and a little shopping.  Kase saw a few kids catching crabs off the Pier and they let him try! He had so much fun and he caught a few and kept asking later in the trip if we could go back.  



The next morning we had a fishing charter and it was so fun! The guy who did it was a grandpa-type full of dad jokes and great stories.  He was so patient and awesome.  Kael had the best catch of the day (of course Blogger doesn't allow me access to that picture for some reason?!) with a 3 foot sandbar shark and Kylee got one too.  Kase had a HUGE one on the line but it got away- the guide assured Kase there was nothing he could have done differently but that his would have been a big one! 





Back at the hotel we hit the beach one last time.  It started raining and the kids actually thought this was one of the most fun beach swims of the whole trip just splashing around together in the pouring rain.


Then we got all cleaned up for the Farewell dinner. 



Love my people.

Love this guy and so thankful for the hard work he does for this family to afford us such amazing trips!


Then one last beautiful sunset off the dock.  


I couldn't stop taking pictures! No filter on either of these photos!!




Well, it's great to go and great to get home.  I think everyone was happy to sleep in their own beds last night and everyone is happy to be back to some sort of a routine today!


7.11.2022

Weekend Wrap-Up

Blogger is still being weird but I'll post a quick recap of our weekend with the pictures I have available. 

Kent took Kase and his buddy on Friday to Coralville to get all checked in and ready for the State baseball tournament! Long story short, it was a great weekend that ended too soon because of a storm that rolled through- canceling all games for the last day.  Kase played so well all weekend and even had an umpire give him the game ball after a pretty amazing play at second base one game! Lots of great memories made with our baseball family!

 





This "rally cap" was a hit all weekend.



Kase doing Kase things.  Love to see him having fun. 







Meanwhile back home Kael and Kylee were going to camps/practices/tryouts/work.  They did a great job managing things around the house without us- I was so impressed to come home and find out they had even done the laundry! 


The other big news around here is that Kylee got the bid for the volleyball team she was really hoping for! So she will be at Plex again next club season and she is really excited about it so I'm really happy for her! She went to the Home Show with my parents while we were gone too and she really enjoyed that.  

It was a great weekend! 

7.07.2022

Thankful Thursday

 Welp, faithful readers, Blogger still won't let me access all of my photos for some reason it only shows about one out of every ten photos I have taken over the last couple weeks but in the interest of not getting any farther behind, here's what we've been up to!


Kent took Kael and Kylee to St. Louis for Edward Jones Summer Regionals.  I would have loved to be there with them but stayed back to go with Kase to a baseball tournament.  They had a great time, recreating some old videos at the City Museum, catching up with Edward Jones families and going to a Cardinals game!




Kase and I had time to catch my nephew's baseball game and these two had fun hanging out during it.


Kael made it home from St. Louis in time to volunteer at Thrive for his football team.



Then Kylee and I headed to Indianapolis for Volleyball Nationals! What a surprisingly fun trip that was! The girls played great, finishing top 20 in the nation and way above where they were seeded going into the tournament. 



We made a ton of fun memories with the team and also I really enjoyed spending time with Kylee one on one!



The girls thought riding around downtown on these scooters was so much fun.


Kylee wiped out big time and has a big scrape on her leg but it didn't ruin the fun!



Here is Kylee and her bestie who have been playing volleyball together for years! Both of their teams made it to Nationals!


Top Golf was a total hit for the girls and the parents.


We had a really fun Fourth of July weekend!  We went boating, went to the A frame, caught a small town parade and saw tons of neighborhood fireworks.  Wish more pictures were showing up but here are a few of us all patriotic at the parade.










This week has been BUSY preparing for State baseball, sending out next year's baseball contracts, volleyball camps and tryouts, cross country, football....Kent and I snuck in time for a little date night last night and it was so nice to have a little time to ourselves! 

Well, I hope Blogger resolves its photo issues soon! Happy Thursday!