Happy Fathers Day

We were so excited to celebrate Fathers Day with JJ!  It was fun planning some thing's with the kids during the week and shopping for a gift to give him.  The kids wanted to make sure he got special donuts like I got for Mothers Day.  We went and picked some out together Saturday night.  The kids were so excited to see they had special ones, this one had a #1 Dad ring.  JJ also requested French toast, we had a breakfast feast!  The kids all helped with something while we let JJ sleep in a little.     

 After breakfast we couldn't wait any longer so we had him open our present.  I helped the kids fill out a cute sheet I found online.  JJ loved their answers and drawings.  JJ loves riding his trail bike on different trails close by.  He goes early in the morning with friends and has a blast.  Lately he has been riding a lot.  Most recently he went riding with a friend from church.  After the ride I got a phone call from him.  He told me if I didn't have any gift ideas for Fathers Day he could give me a few.  After riding together he saw that JJ really needed new pedals and biking shoes.  JJ doesn't spend a lot of money on his biking hobby, in fact he rarely spends money on anything for himself.  He has bought a few things for his bikes but always shops around a lot and waits for a sale.  His bike is nice but nothing compared to what he wishes he rode.  I have told him that when his bike cost more then the value of his car it just doesn't make sense.  So his friend knowing this and realizing after telling him he needed them thought the best way to get them would be to tell his wife.  So he called me and told me that it would really improve his riding skills and he could help me find them.  I took the kids to the bike store that JJ likes and looked at the pedals and shoes.  Clueless and finding everything way more then I wanted to spend I called the friend back.  He found some online and ordered them for me at a good price.  We decided to give him the pedals for now and make a coupon for him to buy his own shoes.  JJ was so surprised when he opened the pedals!  He was so excited and shocked I bought him something for his bike.  I explained how I had help and he laughed at the whole thing.  He was so excited to start shopping for some shoes.  I am so glad we got them for him, it is so much better then anything else I could have thought of myself.  JJ spent almost his entire morning at a presidency meeting.  He got home just in time to snap a photo and hop in the car to go to church.  The last 10 minutes of church they had root beer and orange soda floats and homemade cinnamon rolls for the guys.  I was jealous because the lady who made all the cinnamon rolls makes the best rolls.              

 

As soon as church was over we headed home and made a quick salad to head to my parents house for dinner.  We had yummy pulled pork sandwiches and shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches. Everything was so good!  We played corn hole outside with everyone.  We played on teams and played tournament style.  Lucy played with Kelsey and then we played couples.    

 

Garrett and Tyler had a blast running around and playing together.  Nolan walked around with Ellie and we joked they were an obstacle in the game.  Lucy loved being involved in the game with the adults and did a good job playing.

 

We had ice cream and chocolate chip cookies for dessert while my Dad opened presents. We got him some Jolly Ranchers and a new Cardinals hat.  We also went in on a new flag for his flagpole in the front yard. He loved all his gifts.  We had such an enjoyable time out there with everyone.  It was a wonderful evening playing cornhole and laughing and joking with everyone.  I am so glad we were able to go out and celebrate with my Dad.  I love him so much and I am so thankful for everything he has done and continues to do for me and my family.  He has taught us all so much and is such an example to me in so many ways.

I am so lucky to have JJ in my life.  He is such a wonderful Dad and he deserved a day of celebrating that.  He said he had the perfect day which made me happy.  He does so much for us and works hard to provide everything we need.  Our kids could not ask for a better Dad! 

Today JJ called me during his lunch break.  He went over to his favorite bike store to look at shoes. I was happy to hear he was already eagerly shopping.  He did some online research and wanted to see what he could find at the store.  He ended up finding the perfect shoes on clearance and he was so excited.  He put on his new pedals this evening and put the attachments on his shoes.  They are clip in shoes.  He was a little nervous about switching over to clip in shoes.  He took it for a little ride around the block and said he loves them! He said he wished he would have gotten them earlier.  He also told me that he was so glad I got them for him because he probably would have never bought them on his own.  He can't wait until the trails dry up enough to get out and go for a ride.  

Bouncy Balls

The past week we had rain everyday!  It was a lot of rain and everything got so wet.  The kids started a summer school program through the school.  It was nice that they had something to do everyday since it was so yucky outside.  Garrett is taking a "dive into first grade" class, they talk about things in the ocean and relate them to different sight words and first grade basics.  He really likes it and wrote a cute thing on sharks one day.  Lucy is taking a detective class.  She has a friend that is in the class with her.  They work as partners so its fun to have a friend.  They read stories each day and try to solve the mystery.  She loves it, I knew she would since she enjoys reading mystery books. One day we went out to visit my parents.  We packed a lunch and headed out straight from summer school.  It was fun to visit with them, play board games and go on a jeep ride with Grandpa.  One afternoon we made bouncy balls.  They were really simple but a lot of fun.  The kids really enjoyed it.

  

 

When it wasn't raining we tried to go out front and ride our bikes as much as possible.  The kids always knock on the neighbor kids doors and see if they can play.  We also got Lucy some new bedroom furniture.  It is really cute and she loves it.  We worked together cleaning and organizing her room.  She loves to keep things and we finally parted with 2 garbage bags worth of stuff from her desk and closet.  We went through all of her clothes and have lots of boxes to pass onto cousins.  We had the priests quorum over to work on their long boards some more.  We made cookies to share with them and ate freeze pops.  It was very humid!  They are all doing a good job on their boards and they are looking really good.  JJ is making another one with the kids and they are really excited about it.  We got together with friends for a game night and yummy treats.  It was a lot of fun and we had a good time socializing with friends.  The sun finally came out on Saturday!  We are looking forward to some sunny days this coming week.    

Neighborhood Pool Party

We had a nice relaxing weekend together as a family.  We didn't have anything really planned which was nice.  We kept busy running errand and doing some cleaning around the house.  We were happy to have some bounce house rentals as well.   We made homemade pizza and had a movie night.  It has been way to long since we have made homemade pizza and it was so good. We use to make it all the time and we are going to have to start doing it again.  We are almost a 2 pizza family--we are always fighting over the last piece.  Our neighborhood had a pool party and we went down together.  The kids were excited to swim with Dad and show him all the fun tricks they have learned to do.  Nolan kept us busy cruising around the pool, he is walking like crazy it is so cute!

 Garrett loves to jump into the pool and had fun doing it over and over again with some friends.

  We are glad we went down, there was food and treats which was fun.  It is fun to see the neighborhood planning fun activities for families.  We didn't stay to long because a storm was rolling in. 

 Nolan loves to help drive home, we only live a block away so we usually just hold him on our lap.  He loves riding up front! 

Garrett 6 Years

Garrett has grown a lot this past year.  Especially with being in school he has been able to learn and do so many things.  It is so fun to hear him read and see his writing.  It was fun to go over these questions with Garrett.  Some of his answers were the same as last year. 

Favorite food: Bananas and chocolate chunk granola bars

Favorite thing to do as a family: Go to the pool

What are you looking forward to: having a play date with his friend Daisy and going to first grade

What is your favorite outfit: cool stuff, air shirts (dry fit) and athletic shorts

What is your favorite thing to play: play with Pokémon cards

Favorite TV show/movie: Wild Kratz and Batman

Favorite game to play: Mario Kart on Wii

Favorite animal: rattle snakes

Favorite song: I am a Child of God

Favorite book: Batman Phonics Fun (the book the Wrights gave him)

Favorite thing to play outside: Soccer

Favorite breakfast food: Fruit Loops and pancakes

Favorite Holiday: Christmas

Favorite thing to sleep with: his dog Stanley

 

Garrett had his doctor visit this past week and is growing right on track.  His Height was 47 inches and his weight was 53.6.  He was in the 75% for both.  She asked if he was reading chapter books yet.  He hasn't really read any.  We picked up some at the library and he is really enjoying them.  Garrett is growing up so fast!  He is such a sweet boy and we are glad he is part of our family. 

Getting Hot!

This week we had weather that finally felt like summer.  I love it! We got out the kiddie pool and blew it up.  I haven't had it out of the box since we lived in Mississippi.  We used it all the time down there.  I didn't feel like heading down to the pool and thought this would be perfect.  I played in the kiddie pool in the backyard all the time growing up.  My sisters and I had a blast out there together! I have fun memories of long summer days going down the slide over the edge of the pool and playing pretend.  My kids loved it too, they were so excited to fill it up and get the slide out.  Nolan had no clue what to think and was a little overwhelmed at first. 

 

 Once he figured out it was fun and the water wasn't to bad once you got use to it he was so excited.

They had a blast hanging out in the pool together and then heading over to the sand table.  I poured in some new sand so they had plenty to share.

 I loved sitting there watching the three of them play together.  I love that Nolan wants to be in on the big kid action. 

 Somehow recently Nolan turned into a little boy.  He doesn't feel like my little baby and he acts so big.  His chubby feet and dimpled hands still remind me he is a baby still.

 We still spent time at the pool everyday this week.  We went to our pool and visited another pool that some friends live in.  Garrett learned to do a backwards somersault under water and is so proud of his accomplishment.  Lucy enjoys running into friends at the pool and hanging out in the deep end now that she can swim better.  Nolan keeps me busy running around all over the place.  He loves to be in his floaty, loves to go down the slide, loves to play in the water fountains and just roam around.  Seriously so busy! 

 While Nolan naps I try to think of little things to do with the kids or things to keep them busy so I can get things done.  This week we froze some little toys in a small bucket.  One day we gathered the toys and froze them in layers.  They loved checking on it in the freezer to see if it was frozen.  Then this afternoon they had fun digging them out of the ice block.  It was a fun activity and kept them busy for a while.  Thanks Pinterest for a fun idea! 

 Lucy started softball this week and she was so excited.  She has waited so patiently for her turn to play.  She has been practicing with JJ a lot in the backyard.  She had a good practice and did a good job with the drills and hitting the ball.  Half the season will be coach pitch and then the other half one of the girls will have a chance to be the pitcher.  It was really funny during practice Garrett became buddies with one of the Dads.  He talked with him for almost the whole practice, Garrett is such a talker!  The Dad even played catch with him and practiced fielding ground balls. It was so nice of the Dad to spend time with Garrett.   

 It was helpful to have Garrett occupied and having fun so I could chase Nolan around.  We walked around the grass and watched Lucy bat.  Then we headed over to the playground so he could play on the slide.  He saw them and kept saying "slide".  Garrett joined us for a little bit towards the end.  After chasing him at the pool all afternoon and then at practice in the heat I was exhausted.   

We also enjoyed the slip and slide with neighbor friends one evening, bike rides as a family and getting a treat at Dairy Queen.

Garrett's Baseball Pictures

 

 

Garage Sale

This weekend was our neighborhood garage sale.  Our neighborhood and a few other surrounding neighborhoods participate so they are usually well attended.  We participated this year selling a lot of the kids clothes, baby things and a few random things.  Lucy wanted to set up a lemonade stand and talked with her friend Madi at school for a long time about doing it together.  Lucy was funny, she said Madi had a lemonade stand with her sister one summer so she has experience.  Lucy was so excited and worked hard on making a poster with pictures and prices.  She set up her lemonade stand Friday evening as we were setting up.  Several of our other neighbors were doing sales too so we were all out setting up our tables.  Everyone came out and bought lemonade while we visited and set up.  It was hot and the sun was right on us so cool lemonade hit the spot.  My parents came over that evening as well and brought some of their things for me to sell at my garage sale.  I was making cookies for Lucy to sell and we visited, unloaded and organized their things and enjoyed a few cookies together.    

 Saturday morning Lucy got up bright and early ready to set up her lemonade stand.  She was also selling donuts and chocolate chip cookies.  We made her pay us back for the donuts and lemonade and we donated the cups and cookies.  She made a ton of money and is so excited!  She shared the stand with Madi and Garrett so they divided the money three ways.  Garrett had a baseball game and Jacksons Mom and Dad took him to the game (they play on the same team).  It was so helpful and worked perfect.  

 Our garage sale was successful as well.  I was so excited to get rid of all that stuff!  I have been organizing and collecting it for a while and I am happy to have my organized storage room back. After we got everything cleaned up and had lunch we headed to the pool.  It was hot and the water is finally starting to warm up.  Madi stayed and had lunch and went swimming with us.  Lucy loved having her spend the day with us.  There aren't any girls in our little cul-a-sac, she's the only one.  So when we ride bikes with everyone she is the only girl and the oldest.  It was fun for her and we really like Madi.  

Polar Bear Exhibit

The zoo just finished a new Polar Bear exhibit.  They had a member preview Friday and we were excited to go check it out.  From the pictures we saw it looked like it was going to be similar to the polar bear exhibit at the Memphis Zoo.  We loved the polar bears at the Memphis Zoo and seeing them was one of our favorites.  We were excited to have a similar exhibit at our zoo.  They have lots of outdoor viewing areas and when we got there the polar bear was out walking around.  That is where we could see him the best. 

 They also have indoor viewing areas and a pool that he can swim in.  In order to get to that part you have to go through the penguin exhibit.  We love the penguins too, one of our favorites!

 Nolan was completely fascinated with the penguins!  It was so cute watching him look at the penguins and try to figure it all out.  He was so excited and would clap his hands a lot.  He kept trying to reach in the water and touch them when they would swim by.  I love watching the kids experience things like this, it is one of my favorite things as a parent. 

 

 

 

After looking at the penguins and polar bear we got a free popsicle and headed to the rivers edge.  We saw the hippos swimming.  It is fun for the kids to see the animals they can see up close. 

 We saw the elephants on our way out.  They were up close eating and playing in the water.  One elephant was spraying himself with water and swinging his trunk around.  Nolan just stared at it and had a funny confused look on his face.  I'm sure he didn't know what to think of the big elephant!

It was fun to go down to the zoo together and see the new exhibit.  We went to Culvers for hamburgers on our way home.  After walking around all afternoon it hit the spot.  It is fun to do things together and spend the whole day as a family. 

Summer Break Begins

Summer break has officially started!  The kids are enjoying all the time they have to play and do whatever they want.  Summer break started cold and rainy which has made it hard to think of fun things to do.  We have been playing at home a lot and enjoying all the time to relax.  Lucy had a play date with a friend and a swimming party with the activity girls.  We have done a few little projects and the kids like browsing my pinterest board looking for things to make and do.  One day they made these caterpillars with the rainbow loom.  They were cute!

 It is hard to plan big things to do with the kids right now with Nolan.   He still takes two naps so big outings are hard to plan and organize.  Luckily he does good if he needs to miss the afternoon nap so we can go do something.  I could tell the kids needed to get out of the house so one evening after dinner we headed to the playground as a family.  The weather was perfect and the kids had fun running around and climbing.  It was easier to manage with JJ since all the kids seem to go in different directions.  Nolan loves to play too, the slides are his favorite.  He is getting better and better with walking.  He will now walk across the room and was walking a lot at the playground that evening.   

 We went to the library to sign up for the summer reading program.  They had some fun activities for the kids to do.  Their favorite was making slime.  We got new books and the kids are looking forward to doing the reading program.  Lucy is a fast reader and can get through a book pretty fast, so library visits happen a lot.  Garrett loves to read too and it amazes me how well he can read already.  

 We were grocery shopping on National Donut day and they were giving out free donuts.  It was perfect since it was getting close to lunch time and we were all getting hungry.  The kids were pretty excited and so was I, I love donuts!

We are still finding our summer groove.  It always take me a few days to figure out how our days will go when there is an adjustment.  The kids have a few things they want to do go do this summer so we will have to try to make those happen.  Thankfully it has warmed back up and we can visit the pool often. 

Cardinals Game

Each year JJ gets two tickets to the cardinals game.  The retina specialist the company refers to a lot gives all the doctors tickets.  We submitted several dates and they randomly gave us tickets.  Last year he took the kids since Nolan was so little.  I was looking forward to going this year.  I have never been to the new stadium and thinking back it has been probably 12 years since I have been to a cardinals game.  I was excited to go and looking forward to a date night with JJ.  Well it wasn't the evening we were hoping to have and maybe in a few years we will look back and laugh.  Pretty much everything went wrong.  Starting with JJ getting the time of the game wrong and rushing to get the babysitter so we could leave on time.  We also almost got in a car accident, a lady ran a red light and flew through the intersection.  Luckily JJ saw her and was able to stop before she hit us.  We have had such a rainy spring and the weather forecast was not promising for the evening.  As soon as we got into the stadium it started to pour rain.  The game was on rain delay and hadn't even started.  It rained on us for about 2 1/2 hours.  We stood outside in the rain trying to stay dry under walkways.  Finally around 9 PM they threw the first pitch of the game, 3 hours later.  It was still raining and it was freezing cold and windy.  The wind would blow gust's of rain onto us.  It was miserable, we were wet and cold.  After the first inning we called it a night and headed home.  We hadn't planned on being out that late and didn't want to stop to get more money to pay the babysitter.  Between all the drunk obnoxious people, the rain and the lack of seeing a game it was a horrible night.  We tried to make the most of it but it was hard.  My Dad said well at least you got to spend time together, I guess that is one positive thing.  The evening was such a disappointment for so many reasons.  In between pouring rain a rainbow came our and we did get a picture of us with the arch in the background.