nesting....projects!!!

 The tree on the green wall is an example I saw many moons ago and desired to have in my house. Well a long while later my wall is now complete.(minus pictures of our baby, the ultrasound pictures work for now). The angle is not the same and it does not photograph just right at 7 pm but I am super happy with how it turned out!! a very eye entertaining wall filled with love!!!

Peanut shower

 So Pete's co-workers had a surprise baby shower for "peanut". They decorated with peanuts and found a onesie! super cute! They gave Pete a gift card and the kids each got a token to ride the Ferris wheel inside one of our local stores. They had never done this before. We headed there on Sunday to have a little fun prior to "peanut's" arrival.  Neither Kayla nor PJ were fans of the rocking of the carts, Pete and Maggie found that part completely entertaining though!!
Thank you to each of Pete's staff and co-workers for a fun afternoon and making us smile!

First Day of School

 First day of school 2015! Makayla is in 6th grade! less than thrilled about first day photos!

 PJ made it to 1st grade and is super excited about who he got for a teacher!

Gabriella is off to kindergarten! We got a homework poster on back to school night and she worked very hard to get it completed before headed out the door today.

 Maggie Jean is in 3rd grade and is happy to be returning to the land of the learning! she was most excited to see her friends!

 Here we go, a chilly 52 degrees meant jackets for all.

 Makayla was least thrilled with a picture at school, she informed me I was the ONLY mom who took a picture in her room! oh well dolly I love ya!

 Maggie too tried to give me a half smile and then politely looked at me to leave! PJ was very happy when he saw a few recognizable friends in his room.  Brie was a champ!! she walked in , put her things away and promptly sat down and began to color. I got one final hug and that was it. I took today off as last year when we dropped off PJ the whole room was just kind of chaos and I felt bad for the teacher. So this year I thought well I will stay and just hang out and help. Much to mine and her surprise all 18 little kindergartners were sitting in their chairs coloring very nicely and completely quietly. I looked at the teacher and she said "some years you get lucky!", I said well I guess I do not need to stay and I headed out. No tears by any of the kiddos and none by the momma either! kind of surprised myself.  below is the picture of proof of Brie's classroom, all under control.

off to the Zoo

 We had a rare weekend when all 6 of us were home together! We did a ton of momma's nesting projects on Saturday and then Sunday we took a time out and went to the zoo. We rode the train, something we tend to only do once a year and we fed the budgies as well. Unlike more recent times in the bird habitat this day they were all very friendly and happy to eat from the food sticks! PJ and Kayla were the bravest, Maggie was the most timid with them and Brie tried her hands at juggling 3 birds at one time at one point. I only caught 2 on camera but she did have 3 and looked at me with great concern as to how to handle all 3 birds! it was a funny moment!

Pete snapped a quick picture of myself at the end of our zoo time. This is 36 weeks pregnant folks. Feeling good, not ready for the arrival just yet, a few more nesting things need to be done first however very curious as to whether this is a boy or girl!!!!

picnic time

 So my family picnic for 2015 is in the books. It is always such a fun day and we all look forward to the relaxed day at my brother's acerage.
A back story, "long legs", my favorite nephew-in-law, has taken a liking to making fun of Dollies and the fact that my sister here likes to wear them. She dresses trendy and he is simply referring to the shirts that have the lace overlay on the back, etc... Apparently once upon a time they had a conversation that if she made him a "dollie" he would wear it. Challenge on.... needless to say Eric had to "wear" her creation. LOVE IT!!!

 Also new this year my brother was able to create the human fuse-ball court. He changed a few things from what I had seen on the internet but his was better. It was so fun, a game that will definitely need to be brought back next year !! I was surprised at how aggressive the game became, holy smokes. Broken nails, (not quite bones), lots of bruises and tons of laughs!!  It was a good time but we did keep the games male and female because mixing it up sounded a little too dangerous!!

 An outside life size Kerplunk game was created a few years ago and has become a regular now. Kids of all ages like this one!

 As always many games of volleyball were completed. Each year the court seems to grow as the next generation gets a bit bigger and able to play.

 Another new try this year was the 3 legged race. Again no broken bones but I do not think there were many who repeated the race a second time.

As always we had tons of food and no one left hungry and everyone left tired and worn out. We start the day at 1 and I think we left at 9 pm! The kids had very dirty bath water when they were done and they all slept VERY well!!! Thanks again Mark and Carol for hosting such a fun day!!! we so enjoy it every year!!

July 4th

 This lovely family came to visit us over the July 4th holiday, long weekend and we worked our tails off! We did take a time out on July 4th to enjoy some fireworks and displays around the neighborhood.  Jill, Eric and the boys have not experienced a 4th of July like this before.  I am not sure if they will return next summer or not. Our neighborhood has quite the competition amongst neighbors, much to our delight. However the levels of competition are quite loud and large, lasting long into the night!!

 The cousins had not been together all summer so they were more than happy and excited to spend 4 days together catching up and hanging out.  It was such a fun weekend, busy, productive, exhausting, but fun!!Jill, Eric, Pete and I really have a good time when we are together!!

The final launch of the night! A lantern, I always end up holding my breath until the lantern clears the neighbors house across the street. The lantern has quite the flame going before the actual lift out of your hands happens.
Another successful 4th of July spent at home. This seems to be our home holiday and once in awhile it is nice to just stay put and enjoy our neighbors. 

Abby

 The big girls and I headed back for my wonderful little nieces pageant. It is always such a neat program and we just love to go!! Here Abby is stealing the show by grabbing the mic and telling a joke!! She is so funny and her energy is contagious. My girls are posing here with one of their favorite singers Lyndee Link. This young lady has been singing at the pageant since the beginning and the girls just love her. She has a great voice and I wish someone would pick her up because she is talented!!

This young man with the girls drew this picture of a puppy about 5 years ago using his toes! The girls were very impressed as was I. He is such a nice guy and we wish him all the best as he heads out to college this fall.  Abby had to choose a casual outfit and she wanted to be a firefighter like her daddy! I missed the good picture at the show so we had her pose again at her home.

 We were able to catch Abby for a quick picture in her ballgown. We all wore t-shirts in support of Abby and it was neat to see how many supporters were there. Abby did end up winning the people's choice award, well deserved Abby and Congratulations!!!

Grandma and Brie bonding

 I have spent a few weekends in my hometown for various reasons over the summer and once Brie tagged along and she was more than thrilled to have one on one time with her grandma! They played several games of cards and a long battle of WAR. It was so fun to spend so many weekends with my mom!! Thank you mom for always being so open to hang out with your youngest!!! I love you dearly!!