Raking Day

Denny and Judy got me a carpet rake for my Birthday.

It's amazing how great this can make your tired carpet look.

Not upgrading our carpet is one of the biggest regrets I have from the building process.

Makes me so anxious to think of how expensive it will be to replace this all someday.

#Besties

Look familiar :-)

Tonight Hannah had Megan over for a sleepover.

Dinner with devices and making shirts with mom.

I love this machine.  I may never leave the house again!!!

 

I miss being creative. I miss having craft projects and I miss scrapbooking!

One of these days I need to get back at it.

Whenever I look at pictures of pages I have recently made it gets me in the mood to scrap.

I have so many good pictures just sitting and waiting to be turned into something great.

One of these days....

BFF

Tonight Chloe is sleeping over.

Judy borrowed me her Cricut machine to work on the visors and I had so much fun with it that the girls and I decided to make some t-shirts. 

The possibilities with this machine are endless!!

Exceeds

The Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) are the state tests that help districts measure student progress toward Minnesota’s academic standards.

We got the results from the end of this year and couldn't be more proud of Hannah's Math scores. 

Team Steel

This year for softball we got the girls visors with their jerseys.

I decided to bling ours out with the team name.  They turned out pretty cute :-)

Guitar Center

Hannah has a school assignment to make a homemade instrument.

She had worked on a design and asked Brian if he would help her in the garage.  She wanted to build a guitar.  I think it's pretty special that she thinks that there are no limits in daddy's workshop.  And for good reason too because within the hour, she had a working guitar!

Almost Everyone Is Welcome

I will never get sick of this view.  A driveway full of bikes and a sign that the kids are playing with friends.  Although it can get exhausting sometimes having a house full of kids, I love that we are in a situation to be exhausted.  I couldn't imagine how different life would be if our girls didn't have friends.  I often wonder how different life would be if we were still in our old house in our old neighborhood without access to a block full of kids.  

Not sure what happened here- lol

Thankfully I was still allowed in so I could tuck her in and kiss her goodnight.

Baby Names

Hannah is so excited for another cousin this summer.  I have been finding post it notes around the house with lists of names that she has put together to help Kimmy out.

Funny how this also resembles a class list :-)

Although Clementine and Violet, those gotta be originals.

Jalapeno Popper Wontons

My newest favorite appetizer found on Pinterest

Jalapeno Popper Wontons

12 Wonton wrappers

4 oz cream cheese

1/2  cup sour cream

12 oz bacon- cooked and crumbled

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3-4 jalapenos seeded and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray muffin pan with cooking spray

Place one wonton wrapper in each muffin cup

Bake 8 min

Mix ingredients, once the wonton cups have baked for 8 min, take out of the oven, fill with the mixture and then return to the oven for an additional 8-10 minutes

Chocolate Bunny

Hannah brought this home from school today.  It's a bunny that is chocolate scented.  She got it from a boy, Micah, at school.  So adorable!  She however was not impressed with the situation. 

Hopefully she didn't give those feelings away when he gave it to her.  I hope when these little boys at school do these sweet things for them that they act as though they appreciate the gesture.  I hope they don't hurt their feelings or say something mean.  They always tell me they are nice about it but I hope that's true.

Reunion Tour Day 2

We leave tomorrow which means today is our last full day here.

 

We went downtown last night and the people watching did not disappoint.  It is more and more of a freak show there each time we visit.  It's a little sad knowing how low key and dependable it used to be.  We had a crazy Uber ride there that left us in tears from laughing so hard.

Today our plan is to do more of the same.

Enjoy the weather while enjoying the company.

 

This man has my heart.

It has been so nice being with him without the daily distractions of life getting in the way.

No schedules or agendas, no drop offs or pick ups, no one complaining about what we made for dinner or arguing about picking up their dirty socks.  No one to tuck in (which I kinda miss) and no one to fight with in the morning so that I can get out of the house.

I am excited to see the girls tomorrow but until then I am so happy to have this time together.

 We've decided we need to do this more.  It doesn't always need to be Vegas but it always needs to happen.  There is a special energy in Vegas.  There are so many memories here and there's so much to do.  You don't need fancy plans, you don't need a car or a map.   All you need is friends.

It's the Reunion Tour!

The weather is perfect.  The company is perfect.  This idea was perfect.

We did what we always do when we are here.  Cocktails for breakfast, slots, casino hopping, lots of laughing and carrying on as if we were just here together last month and making new memories.

I miss spending time with these guys.  It's nice that even though so much time will pass by without talking or seeing each other, it doesn't seem to matter when we are together.

These guys were such a HUGE part of our lives for so long.  It's sad that we don't get together as much and it sucks that we don't talk as much as we used to but I guess this is what happens when life gets in the way.  It's harder to get together when you have kids that are involved activities.  It seems like when you finally get time to do something fun you have responsibilities at home to take care of or you just want to spend time at home with your family.  This is my least favorite part of growing up.  I understand why things have to be like this but it doesn't make it any easier.  I am thankful that we are still friends and that we make an effort to see each other, even if only a few times a year.

It was so nice to be on vacation alone with Brian with no kids.  Our kids complete us, they are our world however we need to do more of this. 

It's Been Way Too Long

A few weeks ago we were at the Busta's for Maddie's Birthday.  We were talking about how fun it would be to go to Vegas.  We haven't been there together since Hannah was born.  By the end of the night we were looking at flights and talking about which weekend would work.  It was fun to talk about but I truly didn't think we would pull it all together.

The next day I got a text from Stacey informing me that she has a sitter all lined up and she had found some decent priced flights.  This is for real?!  I texted Judy, she said she is willing to take the girls and that day we purchased our flights! 

We took a late afternoon/early evening flight to Vegas and by the time we got settled in it was starting to get dark. This is home for the next few days :-)  SO excited to be here with our old friends!

It's All You

I was in the office today and I glanced down at the computer and saw that Hailey had signed it.

She actually used a pen and wrote her name on the computer!  What on earth goes through these kids minds?!  In what universe has she been raised where the adults write on things other than paper?

Of course when I asked her about it she thought about telling me it wasn't her....she thought twice and realized that that excuse probably wasn't going to work.

I know she isn't doing this stuff to be naughty.  She's not trying to get back at us or didn't do it because she was mad about something.  She just was in the computer room, watching You Tube, saw a pen and had the urge to use it.  I'll never understand why she didn't just grab a piece of paper.

Happy Birthday Party Baby D

 This morning I got a text from Bobby.  Such a sweet surprise that sure made my day!

Today is Davis' 1st Birthday party.  Crazy to think he is already old enough to celebrate his first year.

He has brought so much joy to this family.  He is the happiest kid on earth and has a smile that is contagious.   Hannah and Hailey are crazy about him!  Hannah wasn't able to join us at the party today because she has basketball.  She is super bummed.  She made his birthday card because she knows how much he loves Elmo.  It turned out so cute!

Just a typical Friday night

Just hanging around at home tonight with Katie and Hannah.  Katie and I were talking and when we looked over we both just broke out in laughter.  What in the world is that little one doing?!  She was creating a Musicly video and holding her phone with her foot.  I guess, whatever works- LOL

Bean Machine

My girls are growing up so fast.  This picture of Hannah really got to me.  She looks so gorgeous and grown up here.  I know I can't slow time down and I don't want her to not grow up- she's good at it.  She's a great kid and has proven to be very compassionate and extremely helpful.  We let her get on Snapchat.  I was a little worried about it at first but then I saw how she stayed connected to her aunts and friends this way.   My day is made when I get these random messages from her.  I love getting 10 second updates of her day :-)

It is an Honor

These girls almost lost their minds tonight!

They were between games and we looked over to see Theo John and Sam DuBois, boys from the Champlin HS Basketball team.  We pointed them out and without any encouragement from the parents, the girls decided they needed to go over and talk to them.

They walked right over and told the boys "It is an honor to meet you.  You inspire us."

The guys were so nice, they stood and talked to them for a few minutes and then Mark, their coach, walked over to snap a picture.  The girls came running back over informing us that they will not be washing their clothes or hands ever again!