Thankful Thursday

 I'm thankful for how much Kylee loves painting! She spends almost every night before she falls asleep painting in her room.  I'm so impressed with her work and also I just love seeing her be creative!

I'm thankful for this photo from a friend- the girl on the far right is one of Kylee's closest friends right now and her mom found this picture of them when they were in preschool together.  So sweet!

I'm thankful that my college roommate caught me and said hi at the triathlon last week! It was so hard to recognize everyone with masks on and I had been running around all day taking pictures of the kids but I was so thankful she stopped to chat for awhile! Nice to catch up.

I'm thankful for friends and family who take pictures of my kids while they are out on the tri course.  I'm so lucky to have people all around cheering for them! 

I'm so thankful for helpers and heroes.  I can't say enough about our family who offered us help while we were without power last week.  From doing laundry, to letting the kids hang out, offering us a warm shower and a cool place to relax, making us dinner- we are so, SO thankful for our village. 

Also, I'm really thankful for: electricity, ice, air conditioning, warm showers, dehumidifiers, lights, coffee in the morning ready for me when I wake up, being able to use my computer and charge all the things.  

Weekend Wrap-Up

 We finally got our power back! 101 hours was long enough for me! The kids also got their class schedules Friday afternoon so there was a flurry of activity around here.  Felt like things were starting to get back to normal!

That night we had Twilight Golf plans with Kent's brothers and sisters in law.  So great to see them!

We came home early Friday night though because we knew we had a big day ahead with the Rip Roar triathlon! Kylee has been training all summer but the season has only had a couple races get to happen because of COVID.  We were so thankful this event was going on- it's such a cool day!

Kylee's age group went first so we went down early with her and my parents stayed with Kase and brought him in time to watch her.  She got transition all set up and warmed up with her team.  It was a really nice morning!

She dove in and looked great on the swim.  Typically it is her least favorite part of the race but she looked strong! She even passed two people!

Kase and Brooklyn watched closely!

She got on the bike and her new clip shoes worked great.  She didn't love them when we first got them but she practiced hard with them and I think they really helped!

The run is always her favorite and she did great.  

Strong finish!

Even though we were able to look up results- Kylee didn't want to know until the places were announced.  She was so happy when they called her name for first place! She had even cut nearly 4 minutes off her time from last year! Wow!

She edged out this girl by only .7 seconds- goes to show you that truly every second counts, never give up and always give it your all!!

I'm so proud of her for so many reasons- of course it's cool to win after working hard all summer, but she is just the best teammate too.  She ran all around after her race cheering on anyone she knew and congratulating everyone she competed against.  She is a model of sportsmanship. After the race, the owner of Z3 (the competitive tri team) found Kylee and said, "I'll do anything to convince you to join our High Performance Team next year! Literally anything!!" So that was cool.  Also, the guy who started RipRoar gave Kylee a shoutout on the loudspeaker saying, "And Kylee Patterson just finished the race- she's one of the best triathletes in the country- a natural!" It's really neat  being part of this racing world and fun having Kylee get noticed and recognized! I'm just so happy for her.  

Cousins who race! Loved having Huston and Kase join in the fun this year!

Kylee led the group in stretches and warm-ups!

Kase had already run all over the course all morning- cheering Kylee and friends on and also playing with cousins and at the park.  I was worried he would be exhausted by the time his race started but he was good to go!

Someone at RipRoar made signs for all the junior competing- so cool!

Go Kase and Huston!

A supportive big sister!

Kase hopped in the water and did a great job on his swim especially considering he has never even done Red Cross swimming lessons! Ha! 

He really made good time on his bike.  

He was hanging in there pretty good but got passed on the run and we all caught up to him on the sideline and started cheering him on saying, "You can catch that guy!" And Kase just took off like a shot.  He passed his competitor just inches before the finish line! What a kick!!!

Kylee was so proud of him and gave him a big hug at the finish line!

Kael had made it in time from football practice to watch Kase too and he was a proud big brother!

One of Kase's best buddies was racing too.  He got second place!

So thankful for the support of our family!

Kase was SO proud to bring home gold! He really gave it his all and I just love seeing him compete and have fun!

Coming home with two kids with gold medals was pretty special! Such an amazing morning and amazing effort out of my kiddos.  Also loved watching Kase be so proud of his cousin who had wiped out on his bike but got back up and finished the race strong! He was like, "Seriously Huston is the toughest kid I know!" I can even hear Kase saying in one of the videos, "Huston you are so strong!"

Best buddies in baseball, football and now triathlons!!

I love race day!!

Happy Birthday, Kylee!

I'm quite a bit belated in writing my annual birthday post! It's been a heck of a week you guys.  I think Kylee's 13th birthday will sure be a memorable one!

Last Monday was supposed to be her birthday party with her friends. She had planned to go out to Big Creek and we were going to rent a pontoon and also play at the beach and have pizza out there.

Then, the derecho happened! I didn't even know a derecho was a thing?! Here's our story. Kylee and I left for triathlon practice like usual, around 10:20. When we were almost to WaterWorks park, Kent texted me saying that practice was canceled because it was going to storm.  So, Kylee and I turned around and headed home.

Well, we only made it about halfway and the storm picked up.  A lot.  I really couldn't see to drive so I decided to pull over even though we were near the mixmaster- not the best place at all to stop!! Branches were blowing by us and my big car was even moving with the crazy wind gusts.  It was honestly kind of scary. Right away, Kylee said, "Mom let's just pray together- it's going to be ok!" I was so impressed at how calm she stayed during everything! Kael was home and was such a sweet kid- he even pulled some of my flowers in the garage before the storm got bad! Kase was at a friend's house so I was glad my boys were safe! Kylee and I called Kent and also my mom while we waited the storm out.  We tried to keep our minds off the storm by singing super loudly and blasting the music. The storm lasted a lot longer than I thought it would but after about a half hour we felt safe enough to drive home.  I felt so lucky that we had minimal damage (a mangled trampoline net and a little water in through the front door).  Many of our neighbors had major roof problems and trampolines that completely blew away .

We were without power so I didn't feel like Kylee's party would be as much fun as she had also planned for the girls to sleepover after Big Creek.  Kylee was such a trooper as we had to scrap the original plans and get the girls together Wednesday afternoon/early evening while there was still daylight! (Because we didn't end up getting power back for 5 days!!)

Kylee set up the basement with streamers, snacks, and a Saran Wrap ball game.  

Such a good group of girls.

They played some volleyball, we had pizza and had planned for an ice cream cake but since they didn't have power either, Sweet Swirls couldn't make the cake for us.

Kylee was more than happy to just walk into Hy-Vee a few hours before the party and grab this cake instead. She is so chill about so many things and I realize I am so lucky to have that with a teenage girl!

These awesome gals even let Kase's sweaty, shirtless buddies join them for some backyard games.

The trampoline is still fun without a net!

The fun carried on after Kylee's party when one of the girls invited Kylee and a couple other girls who were still without power to her house for a sleepover.  I think Kylee was so happy to have air conditioning! And a night swim in their pool didn't hurt either!

What more can I say about Kylee that hasn't already been said.  She turns heads wherever she goes and not just because she's a beauty.  She truly has a heart of gold that shines from the inside out.  She's comfortable with adults, adored by any kids she babysits and just a kind, thoughtful young woman. The older she gets I am just continually even more thankful she's mine.  People with young kids, girls especially, ask me how she got to be the way she is and I wish I could take any of the credit.  She is wise beyond her years, compassionate, always up for an adventure, caring and tough.  

She's also super competitive and I just love that about her.  We had the BEST time cheering her on this weekend!  More to come in the next post.

 

Kylee girl, thanks for being the amazing human that you are.  I love you more than you could ever know!

Weekend Wrap-Up

 This one is LONG overdue, friends! I'm about to write another post for Kylee so I'll keep this one short and sweet.

On Kylee's birthday weekend we had a baseball tournament.  Kylee and Kael both came to cheer Kase on! Unfortunately the game didn't go the way we hoped, but overall it was such a fun season and I think everyone learned a lot! Since we knew we would be busy on Kylee's actual birthday and didn't want to be rushed, we went out for dinner at Cancun the night before her birthday. The birthday girl just wanted to have time to sit on the patio and have some chips and queso!

We also did a scavenger hunt for some of her birthday gifts.  She was so excited to get her long board! The boys also gave her their gifts. 

We spent some time at the Briarwood pool that afternoon too.  It was a gorgeous day and nice to spend time as a family. 

My pictures are a bit out of order here but Kylee had fun staying over at my parents' the night before- she loves hanging with the cousins! 

Here are a few more pictures from the ball games. So proud of our Crew!

Earlier in the week we celebrated at Keith and Cindy's.  Loved playing with my niece and nephew!

Kevin is always a good sport and loves researching the trivia questions Kael is always asking him!

It was a great night with family.  Love that everyone is so close!

Kylee loves helping with the littles!

 Oh, Kael! So funny.

Walking tacos and brownies were her choice!

Around the kids' birthdays we always also try to make time for watching old videos from their previous birthdays.  I love this tradition.

Kylee requested pie for her birthday celebration at our house like she has for almost every year that I can remember! 

Sunday morning she woke up and saw her gifts and got to have one of her Starbucks drinks that Kase had given her before we rushed off to the ball fields.  Plus, Kael was at a sleepover so we didn't have her open all her presents right away like usual.

Best big brother.  A birthday lift for Kylee! 

When we got home from the fields we had Kylee open her gifts.

She is just such a joy. One of her favorite gifts was a hammock swing for her room!

We had fun with these balloons! More px to come.

Then she made ice cream smoothies.  Kase said "Best sister and best smoothie ever!" 

Then, we went to a double pool party at Kase's friend's house! It was so sweet of them to include Kylee in the celebration and we just had so much fun.  It was the perfect end to a busy baseball weekend and all the families just think the world of Kylee.  She is so much fun with all the kids playing with them in the pool. 

We had a blast with the luau theme!

A giant cookie cake for the birthday girl!

We had so much fun celebrating!!!