A little vacation with a Wedding thrown in for fun

This past weekend the boys and I headed out on a road trip with my mom to Ohio for my nieces wedding.  This also included lots of laughs, time with family, and swimming!  I made a few observations as I drove through Ohio.  1) There are random construction signs.  For example, at one point there were signs saying that the left lane was closed ahead so everyone moved into the right lane.  Then, we drove about a mile and there was not a lane closed at all.  OR, there was a road construction sign that said "Road construction 4/10 of a mile; followed quickly by an "end construction sign".  Really?  2) The roads really ARE better!  3) The random speed limit changes from 55 to 70 to 65 and back to 55 keeps you on your toes! 

Our adventures started out with a Bridal Shower for Marisa.

 While my mom and I attend the shower, Josh and Nate enjoyed Donuts with my brother Kelly before heading back to where Kel was staying to hang out until later.

Following the shower was the rehearsal and dinner.

 Josh and Nate loved playing with their cousins.

We finally headed back to the hotel where the boys and I went to the pool and had some fun.  After swimming, we headed down to get some ice and ran across a gentleman with a pizza.  Josh commented on wanting pizza and guy said, "Hey this is leftover from a pizza party I just left, you can have it"  HA!  So yes, we enjoyed pizza from a stranger at about 11:00 at night before heading to bed!

Sunday started with attending church where my niece attends.  It was a really great service and I'm so glad we went.  We then headed to lunch with family where we had a cook out.  Then, we went back to the hotel where Josh, Nate and I spent a few hours in the pool and ended up with my brother Ken there too.  The boys loved getting to spend time in the pool playing frisbee!  Oh, and the boys spent 30 minutes in the work out room excercising!  That evening many of us gathered at Applebee's for dinner after my other brother, Jeff, and my niece and her husband arrived from Texas. 

The boys had been waiting for Uncle Jeff to arrive because he promised to solve the Rubix Cube and he did not disappoint!

Monday was the big wedding day.  We hung out at the hotel until time to leave and the boys and I enjoyed the pool one last time.

 Finally, it was weddindg time! 

These young men looked very handsome with their bow ties :-)

Wedding time:

Finally, before heading for home, some of the family gathered at Cracker Barrel for breakfast together before going our seperate ways.

 Uncle Jeff solved that Rubix Cube in 2 minutes 8 seconds.  The boys were very impressed. 

Such a great time with family!

Lessons from the Laundromat

Periodically I have to use the Laundromat for an extended period of time.  Right now is one of those times.  My washer was on it's last leg but I could make it work . . .but then my dryer burned up and that made things a little crazier.  For a few weeks, I just hung all of the clothes up to dry but we got tired of crispy clothes HA!  Going to the laundromat is not all bad and I thought I'd share some lessons I've learned at the laundromat:

1. It is wonderful to complete all of the laundry - washing, drying AND folding in about 2 1/2 hours a week (two trips a week!) . At home, I do one load a day which takes about 2 hours (55 minutes in the washer and 1 hour in the dryer!).

2.  Every one is considered your friend at the laundromat.  There is something about shoving your laundry in a dryer next to someone else that causes a conversation to begin.

3.  It's ok to wear your bathing suit bottom as a "skirt" on laundry day just so you can do ALL the normal laundry. 

4.  9:00 AM is the best time to do laundry - weekends are not.

5. I enjoy my quiet time while the laundry does all of the work :-)  (I sit in my truck, set the timer on my phone, and read!)

6.  It's ok to wear your jeans with holes to the laundromat so, again, you can do all of the laundry as well.  What's NOT ok is to have a huge hole in the butt of your jeans AND not wear any underwear!

7. It's all about perspective!  There are good things about the Laundromat but, eventually it will also be nice to replace the washer and dryer and not have to carry laundry anywhere! 

A Wedding!

Today my sweet niece Marisa (My Sweet Marisa - that's my knick name for her).  She started out as a little curly, blonde haired pixie with a little doll voice. 

And she grew into a beautiful woman getting married to this great guy today!  I'll have photos to share soon!

Summer Plans Week 2

A week and a half ago or so I wrote about our summer plans.  Well, here it is at the end of week 2 and it's time to share some plans - what was planned and what didn't happen as well as some photos!

The plan for June 3rd-June 9th was as follows (what we really did is in red!): 

Sunday - Book club for me!  Followed by seeing my oldeset brother share his missionary update at a church in Grand Rapids. This was a fun outing - getting to see and hear my brother and sister-in-law share their hearts about their mission is always such a proud moment for me.  I totally planned to just take a quick photo with my phone but . . .the battery died just before we got to the church!  Boo! 

Monday - Haircuts for the boys!   We are going to have a picnic at a cute park afterwards to celebrate the little princess' last day of school! This was a perfect day for the park - cooler and breezy!  

 This was not technically our last day but close enough - when you homeschool, any day can be the last day right?  Hard to believe that Josh will be in 4th grade! 

 And Nathan is heading to 3rd grade! 

The park is always fun but we tend to avoid it once the summer heat hits!  Having such a perfect weather day was great.  

Tuesday - I have a leadership meeting for our homeschool group in the morning. Today went just as planned :-)  Nate came with my to my meeting to hang out with some other kids while Josh stayed the night at my mom's so he didn't have to go. (Well, he actually jus tlikes hanging out with her at the camper HA!)  

Wednesday - It's the munchkin's last day of school so I have a few fun things planned (like silly string and squirt guns!)  Well, sometimes you just have to accomplish life so today I did laundry and went to the grocery store!  I never picked up the silly string or squirt guns so instead we all stood on the porch and cheered with the munchkin got off the bus HA!  We did have some family fun tonight though! 

 Josh and Darryl eating Ice Cream and talking Minecraft. (Nate was already playing on the playground since he is not an ice cream fan)

Yep, we enjoyed some icecream from Mooville and summer drive with all the windows down :-) 

Thursday - Head to Cascade Fountain to have a picnic and play in the water fountain.  This is kind of like our "kick off" to summer! The weather has been a little cooler lately so we stitched and went to the Airport Viewing Area to have a picnic and watch the airplanes.  

Friday - A craft!  So here's the truth - even when I planned my summer calendar and put a craft on this date, I knew we wouldn't do it.  Why?  I'm getting the boys and I ready to leave for a wedding and getting stuff ready for Darryl to stay home.  Instead, we made another trip to the laundromat and then I worked on packing and getting things set at home.  I'm planning to do this particular craft at a later date :-) 

Saturday - The kids and I are heading out of town for a wedding! I'll post lots of pictures from our wedding weekend this coming week! 

Our week in photos Week #41

I debated whether to keep doing this post with my summer posts going on too but I think this a good way to include all things family.  Sure, there will be some overlapping but that's ok !!

 This past week we visited a car show.

 Played at the park (and got awesome haircuts!)

Got Ice Cream

 We love our cat - and he loves our shoes :-)

And we enjoyed a fun trip to Airport park where the boys made a new friend, played hide-n-seek, and got to see planes take off and land.  One of the best things said today from Josh: "Mom, someday do you think I will really fly one of those planes?"  Yes, Josh, I believe you can do just that (Yes, he wants to be a pilot)

Weekly Menu

This week we will be spending some time with family which makes it easier for me to cook because we will be eating out HA!

Friday - McDonald's is on the menu for tonight :-)

Saturday - There is a wedding shower that we will be attending so dinner is taken care of!

Sunday - This is a family day with everyone in town for the wedding so we will eat where ever we eat!

Monday - Wedding night!  The bride (my niece) is having pizza brought in for the wedding dinner - how awesome is that!!)

Tuesday - Taco Bell or McDonald's to keep things easy

Wednesday - The boys are attending day camp followed by VBS so the plan is easy and their top favorite foods.  Chicken Nuggets and Fries.  For the adults?  I'm not sure.  I'll go to the store on this day and figure it out based on what meat is on sale.

Thursday - Same busy day!  Mac and Cheese for Nate and Pizza for Josh. Adults - same as Wednesday - I have to figure it out.

Friday - Today is the last day of Day camp - I have a feeling I will have tired kids.  Tacos are usually a hit and they are easy.

This is a super busy week on all fronts so I have a feeling by the time we hit Friday evening we will be tired and ready to do not much of anything.