our week in review ... otherwise known as the longest post ever

This last full week in June has been busy for us!  It has been packed with fun activities and late bedtimes all week.  I can't believe this week got away from me when it comes to posting our memories to the blog.  I am thankful for a quiet Saturday night at home with the kids so I can update!

Monday we took the kids to see Monsters University.  It was a cute movie and I'm glad Gary got to go with us.  The kids were so excited to have daddy at the movies!

Tuesday Gary left early in the morning for Austria.  He had a dealer event in Austria and I have to say I am a little jealous of his over seas adventure.  I don't think the airplane ride is anything to be envious of, but all the fun food and drinks look amazing!

Layla was trying to see if she could fit her little body into his suit case!

The pups watched daddy drive away and I couldn't help but capture the cute moment!

Tuesday afternoon was full of fun in the sun.  We knew the rest of the week would be full of thunderstorms, so we decided to have fun while the sun was here!

We looked over at Hayden and he was meditating.  We all just laughed so hard.  He is so funny and we found out he learned about meditating from a TV show.

The kids were all posing and this reminded me of Charlie's Angels!

The clouds rolled in on Wednesday so we all decided to grab lunch after Zumba class and then hit the bowling alley.

Mrs. Erin treated the kids to a Hershey bar, and Hayden stopped to pose with his.  Gotta love the cool bowling shoes!

Meanwhile in Austria Gary kept texting me photos of himself all week.  It looked like he had an amazing time!

I am quite jealous of this beer fountain.  Pretty cool huh?

Today's picture was the best of the best...this is the golf course he played!

It looks like a postcard!

We kinda had a post card moment here on Friday evening while eating dinner out with friends.

We saw an entire rainbow!  It was gorgeous and if you look closely you can see a faint trace of the double rainbow!

Today we swam with friends and splashed and played in the pool.

Hayden has been nervous and cautious so far this summer.  Today he busted out of his shell and had an awesome time swimming.  He was jumping into the pool and swimming like the fish he was at the end of last summer!

I am thankful Gary is coming home tomorrow.  Summer days get busy and long and I really enjoy having a break from the kids.  I enjoy chatting with Gary after we put the kids to bed.  When Gary travels in the states I get to talk to him multiple times a day, but with the time difference of 6 hours in Austria I haven't talked to him much.  We miss him BIG!  

How was your week?

milk bubbles - wordless wednesday

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Swedish MidSummer party

Gary and I are truly blessed by all the friends we have made here in Ohio.  We are surrounded by many many amazing people.  Some people are neighbors, some are friends we've met at work, some we met while working out, and others we've met through the kids schools.  We are so happy to know so many different people from so many different groups here in town.  I want to know as many people as I can, and in my opinion, you can never have too many friends!

We had so much fun last night when we attended my friend Annika's Swedish summer party last night.  We learned about Swedish traditions.  Annika made a pretty awesome Maypole and I didn't even know Maypoles existed before last night.  It was a fun party and I am so thankful I got a peek into Annika's life in Sweden.

We ate Swedish foods and we all wore flower head pieces.

We played games in the backyard.  The games were so fun and it was really fun to play boys against girls!  Some of us actually got paired against our husbands.  Oh it was so much fun!

Someone captured this fun picture of me in a relay race.  I'm carrying an egg on a spoon.  The girls won all the games!!  Look at the cute dog Gunner.  He's looking at me like I've lost my mind.  Ha! He might be onto something! ;)

Gary and I enjoyed our time out as adults.  The summer is fun, but momma is always ready for a fun date night.  I'm around the kids non-stop all summer, so I really enjoy getting some kid free time!  Thanks for a fun night Annika!  Love ya!!

my favorite day is Friday

{some of these summer days get tough and tedious, but i am one blessed stay at home momma!}

a picture is worth a thousand words

This picture tells an amazing story.  It is a wonderful peek into our summer mornings.

*I am sitting on the porch with my camera in my hand, in my gown drinking coffee with Daisy on my lap.

*Layla is filling Lily's pool with water while still wearing her pajamas.  Her hair is all scraggly and her face still shows fresh lines from her bed sheets.

*Lily is one happy dog.  She is part lab and we all know labs love water.  The dog goes bonkers when the hose is turned on.  She bites and scratches and drinks the water all at the same time.  This $10 pool was the best purchase yet!

*Hayden was cuddled up on his porch chair with a pillow, but he decided to go check out the situation.   He grabbed the first pair of shoes he could find and they are dads shoes.  He was clomping around like a boss.

 We love to be outdoors.  When the kids are home they are playing outside.  I haven't set up the DVD player or Wii yet since we moved.  Hayden lost his iPod touch, so he doesn't play it.  Layla is using her iPod touch mostly for music.  They don't really seem to care about electronics right now and I am okay with it.  I'm happy they love it here in our new yard.    

The yard comes with challenges.  Hayden will pick up any bug he finds.  He was playing with a bee the other day and he killed it with a stick.  He wanted to show Layla the 'dead' bee, and he lost it and then stepped on it.  It stung him.  Poor little guy, but he learned a lesson.  

Before we could get some of the brush and shrubs cleaned out Layla and Gary got poison oak.  Both kids were eaten by mosquitoes.  I was too.  We've seen spiders and all kinds of creatures.

But the yard also has amazing moments.

We've watched deer play in the morning.  We watch squirrels play all day and the kids have named them.  We think we saw a bunny rabbit.  It's like animal kingdom around here and there is never a dull moment.  

I hope one day the kids look back at this picture and remember what a fun memories we made in our little farmhouse!

Monday Funday

Gary and Hayden played golf today and had an absolute blast.

I love his little red golf glove.  

Honestly I was a little worried about Hayden, but he did great for an almost 5 year old.  Gary said they went into the clubhouse after 9 holes and Hayden said, "What daddy are we done already?"   He wasn't ready to be done, so they played 9 more holes and had a fun time!

I sure do love my guys!

Layla and I spent the hole day together.  She went with me to my Zumba class and then we had lunch together.  We went to a nail salon to get pedicures, but we got annoyed and left.  We ended up going to Big-K and getting our own foot spa thingy.  We came home and gave each other pedicures.  Layla got to pick out some "Lee press-On nails" except they are modern day fake nails.  You know you remember Lee Press-On nails...haha!

  

She did a fine job giving me a pedicure and we had a fun time playing around and just doing girly stuff.  When the guys got home we all played in the swimming pool and double slip n slide.  The water was so freezing cold though.  I'm adjusting to the cool summer, but it is quite different than all the other June months I have experienced in the past.  We are usually hot hot hot buy now.  I'm loving the weather, but I do hope the water warms up so the kiddos can splash and play without chattering teeth! 

I hope your Monday was great!

Father's Day 2013

I'm pretty sure Gary had an amazing Father's Day!  This is one of his first days off in several weeks, so just that makes things great!  He got to relax on the porch and drink coffee with his family.

He wanted to go out for cheeseburgers for lunch, so we did.  Who are we to say no to cheeseburgers on Father's day? 

Silly boys...they make me laugh!

Layla is posing with her Butterfinger shake!

We had friends over on Father's day night and we ate blue crab nachos.  Gary requested them and they were amazing!!

We had our first bonfire of the season.  It was a fun way to celebrate the day!

I am so thankful for my three people.  At the end of the day they are all that matter to me.  We are making some wonderful memories here in our new state and we all couldn't be happier!

Foodie Friday

I'm in the cooking mood again! 

If you've known me long or followed my blog for any amount of time you know my favorite room in the house is the kitchen.

I've been wanting to cook Spicy Sausage Pasta for months, but I just didn't want to do it when I lived on 5th Street.  I wasn't a fan of the kitchen in that house.  I cooked it and it was good.  We all loved it and it was gone the next day by lunchtime.

Our new kitchen isn't my dream kitchen by any means.  BUT it is better than the other one.  Our house is a little farm house and the kitchen is totally vintage. There isn't a dishwasher. GASP! The cabinets are old, but sturdy and kinda cool looking. The range is straight from the 60's-70's.  It is going to be replaced next week because it seems to have a gas leak.

I have to be super careful when I bake in the oven and the stove top only lights whenever it wants to, but it's cool looking huh?!?

Have you ever bought a snack you think your kids won't like just so you can eat it all by yourself?  Well, I bought Gary and I Tapanade and crackers all for us and only us.  Whatever....the kids ate half the container before Gary even got home from work.  Gahhhh!  Little stinkers.

I am obsessed with sausage lately.  I love to throw it on the grill and snack on it while sitting on the back porch.  I guess that is another reason why the Spicy Sausage Pasta sounded so good.  I know it is processed and probably not so good for us, but I found a Vidalia Onion flavor at Wal-Mart.  The brand is Sam's Choice.  It is so good. Mmmmm!  Get some.

My next summer cooking adventure is to see what I can do with this Eggplant. 

I'm buying a new and interesting veggie every time I go grocery shopping.  Our family needs more veggies in our lives.  

Happy Friday!