a day at the lake

My parents went up to the lake today so we decided to tag along.  No better way to pass the time while Jason is away than a relaxing boat ride!

 

 

Feeding the ducks was the first priority.

Emmy would just rather eat the bread for the ducks.

 



 

If the ducks got food, it was only fair that we got food too!

 

A little mid-morning rest. No one actually rested!

 

After a little "rest" they were ready to hit the water.

 

Picking a few clam shells.

 

A rare picture of me with the kids.  I debated revealing the old lady legs, but what the heck!

 

Big girl.

 

Bryce helped Pap clean the boat.

 

It was a perfect day for the lake.  Despite a little sunburn on my back, we had a great day!

another fun day

It's been so hot this week so I decided to take the kids to the outdoor water area at the Children's Museum.  Of course it was cloudy and cool this morning.  The kids didn't seem to mind.  They had the place to themselves and my mom and I weren't roasting hot while we watched them play!  They had a blast.  The pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

When we left, we did a little shopping and got some lunch.  I took the kids home for naps and I did some time on the treadmill and started reading my new book!

 

 

After naps we headed to my parents house to ride their new golf cart to the pool so Bryce could test out his new Batman kick board.

 

Bryce got brave in the water today and just started going under on his own.  After he did it once, he wouldn't stop!

 

 

He was also having a great time jumping in!

 

I found this picture on my phone that I forgot to post on Saturday.  All the kids laid with Jason as they sang Happy Birthday to him.  So sweet!

 

We've had a fun week and I think I've kept us all busy enough to help us get through the week without Jason.  With that said, I'm planning on tomorrow being a lazy day around the house!

half way there

Bryce and I made a chain to count down the days until Jason gets home.  He only has to go to bed three more nights without DaDa!  I think we'll make it to Sunday!

 

We started the morning off at the library for Emmy's "Mother Goose" story time.  Her friend Avery was there and we tried to get some pictures, but you know how well that goes with active children!

After story time, we dropped Emmy off at the pool with my parents and then headed to the movie theater for Bryce's first movie!  He has only seen the Cars movie at home before last night when we watched Monsters Inc. in preparation for Monsters University today!  His friend Aiden and his mom invited us and we couldn't wait to go.  Bryce did really well and enjoyed the movie.  We also had plenty of candy to get us through!

 

We went to Chick Fil A for free kids meals afterwards.  Tonight while the kids had church, I went out to eat with another couple from our small group since we were the only ones in town this week.  It was so nice to have that adult time (even if I was the third wheel, ha)!

surviving

Surprisingly, we are surviving our days without Jason (thank goodness for grandparents)!  Saturday afternoon I took Bryce to a birthday party for one of the boys on his t-ball team.  I was glad to have something fun for him to do after Jason left to help get his mind off it.  After the party, we met Emmy and Chase and Taylor at the pool with MeMa and Kelly.  We went to Nana and Pap's for dinner and then came home and went to bed.

 

 

We went to lunch on Sunday after church.  Bryce had fun playing dress up in MeMa's van on the ride. 

 

 

Bryce had fun playing in the sprinkler while Emmy napped.  We met MeMa, Kelly, and the kids for dinner that night so we could say goodbye to Chase and Taylor before they left on their trip.  Bryce spent the night with MeMa that night. 

 

Since Bryce was with MeMa on Monday morning, Emmy and I went to the mall.  I spent the rest of a gift card on a new shirt from Macy's and then used an old Chick Fil A coupon from school and Emmy and I split a free ice cream.  We picked up Bryce and headed home for naps and then the kids spent the night at Nana's so I could go out for some girl time with a good friend!

 

I picked up the kids this morning and we went to the pool with Nana.  Once we got home, MeMa picked up Bryce and took him to Bass Pro Shop for their family summer camp. 

 

He got a badge for archery and fishing and made a fun slap bracelet.

 

 

If you're looking for something fun and free to do this summer, check it out!

 

My Nanny took us all to dinner tonight and then we got ice cream afterwards.  Emmy got her own ice cream for the first time and she fed herself every bite.  I'm sure we could all live on ice cream if we had to.

 

When we got home we got cleaned up and then my friend Beth took some pictures for us.  I gave my mom a "four generations" photo shoot for Mother's Day and we finally scheduled a time to take them.  I can't wait to see how they turned out.  Now Bryce and I are having a sleepover in my bed, watching Monsters Inc. for the first time and eating popcorn.  Oh the life of a little boy.  He misses Jason, but I'm keeping him busy!

VBS and Mexico

Last night was our Kingdom Rock VBS finale.  Bryce did a great job on stage performing with his class.

 

 

MeMa took Emmy up on stage with their class so she did a little dancing too!

 

Just a little snippet of their song.

 

Emmy enjoyed getting to join the ice cream truck fun this year.  Here's a look back to last year.

 

Bryce's friend Thomas joined us this week too!

 

Jason left for Mexico today.  Our youth minister had shirts made for the trip.  These guys found them to be a little offensive so to make matters worse, they showed up for the trip with their own Mexican mustaches. 

 

The kids thought it would be fun to join the fun.

 

Here was the team before they left.

 

Bryce shed quite a few tears this week in anticipation of Jason leaving, but he held it together today as we said goodbye. 

 

 

Tonight after I put the kids to bed I was cleaning up in the kitchen and noticed this double rainbow as I looked out the window.  It's going to be a long week, but this was a great reminder that God will get us through it!

fun in the country

We headed out to the country today to have lunch at my friend Donna's house.  It was fun seeing the girls I used to teach with. 

 

 

The highlight of Donna's house is riding the golf cart around her property.

 

Back at her house the kids were enjoying some berries from the garden.  Bryce would have picked and eaten raspberries all day.

 

There weren't many, but I'm pretty sure Emmy picked and ate all of the ripe blueberries.

 

Our afternoon of fun was smack in the middle of nap time.  The kids weren't bothered by it one bit, but they did take good naps on the way home!

 

Thanks for a great day and a delicious meal, Donna!

whirlwind week

It's been a whirlwind of a week and there is no sign of slowing down!  We have VBS this week at church so we've been getting home late each night.  I don't have any pictures since Jason and I are off doing activities with the middle schoolers.  Hopefully I'll get a few pictures at the closing on Friday night!

 

 

I took Bryce bowling on Monday for a play date with some of his preschool friends.  As always, a big thanks to Thomas' mom for the pictures!

 

Bryce insisted on rolling the ball himself each time.  He wasn't going to win any awards for fastest ball, ha!

 

He finally decided to use the ramp on the last frame!

 

Emmy and I had a little girl time while Bryce napped yesterday afternoon.  I was so excited to paint her toenails for the first time! 

 

The rest of this week will be spent getting Jason ready for his mission trip to Mexico on Saturday.  We're also going to squeeze in a birthday party Saturday morning to celebrate Jason's birthday before he leaves.  Bryce is already crying that Jason will be gone so long.  I'm not sure how well we're all going to handle him being gone for nine days.  Pray for us!