Summer Fun - August 15th

 This week we focused just on summer fun.  I don't even have great photos to share!  Now that swim lessons are done, the boys had more freedom to stay at the campground.  They went to Nana's on Sunday and finally came home on Thursday.  Then, guess what, they went back on Friday HA!  They loved their freedom at the campground where they got to take the dog for a walk around the park, got to go on a hayride on Friday night and, of course, we swam almost every single day.  A couple of the days we took the munchkin and princess with us and enjoyed hours of fun in the pool in the afternoon.  Other times we swam in the evenings.  Summer is winding down and we are just trying to soak it all in before Nana returns home and school takes up part of our days.

My Playlist - Breathe

I love this song.  I love the way it begins in almost a double time and then . . .changes.  The verses reflect the words - a busy life; rushed days; falling behind; and then comes the reminder to just Breathe. 

This song just spoke to my heart over the past 6 months because so often I felt like I was a hamster running on a wheel; barely keeping the plates spinning.  The chorus says it all:

Breathe, just breathe
Come and rest at my feet
And be, just be
Chaos calls but all you really need
Is to just breathe

Family Fun - Darryl's Birthday

This year the boys requested that Darryl take the day off work for his birthday so that they could enjoy the whole day with him.  The morning started with breakfast at McDonald's. 

Later in the day, we attended the boys parent "watch" night for their gymnastics class.

 After gymnastics, we took Darryl out to dinner at Applebees where he even got a free dessert (which Josh promptly ate.)

 Once we returned home, Darryl got to enjoy his gifts.  I didn't get a photo but I did get him 5 balloons to tie on the banister.  (5 for 50 years!) So, the boys and I had stopped on Saturday morning and picked out the balloons.  It was REALLY windy.  I got them to the truck but as I was tucking them in, I lost not one, not two, but THREE balloons!!  I was so stinkin' mad!  We had to race to AWANA games practice so after the practice we had to stop at the Dollar Star and buy THREE more.  All for the birthday boy!

 Gifts came next.  I tried to steer the boys toward gifts that Darryl would enjoy.  They bought him some of his favorite treats and some games. I got him a weekend away which was scheduled in April.

Finally came the cake.  And yes, there are 50 candles on that cake. 

Weekly Menu

It's been a quiet, yet busy week.  Not busy as in rushing around but more just staying busy with things so I didn't get a chance to write this week like I usually do.  Instead I focused on swimming, cleaning and marking things off of the to do list. I usually try to do alot of writing on the weekend too so I'm ahead of the game but this past week was busy too :-)

It's hard to believe that August is winding down and we are quickly edging towards fall . .. school . . cooler days.  It's been a record setting hot summer so I am getting ready for those nice crisp fall days.  BUT I've also enjoyed the pool at the campground soooooo much that I'm not quite ready to lose the warm days for that yet!

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Sloppy Joes and French Fries

Saturday - I'm going to leave this open.  Darryl has a concert so we will be gone a good portion of the afternoon AND the concert is at a festival so I think we will eat fair food after his concert.  If it is cancelled due to rain, we will have to grab a pizza instead.

Sunday - Chick-Fil-Lay Sandwiches, Coleslaw, and Fries.

Monday - Cheesesteaks, Cabbage and Noodles, and Mac and Cheese

Tuesday - Beefy Noodle Casserole, Spaghetti,  and Salad

Wednesday - Darryl usually has practice so we have dinner with my mom

Thursday - Taco French Bread Pizza, Cream Cheese and Chicken Taquitos, Beans and Rice

Summer Fun - August 8

This past week, my kids hit their exhausted point.  They have been going strong since we went camping several weeks ago.  Super late nights, tons of swimming at the campground, really physical swim lessons (swimming 4-5 laps in the huge YMCA pool), and playing outside.  We were swimming at the campground one night and Josh said, "mom, I'm so tired, I just want to go home."  HA!

Our days were pretty much the same this week.  So I'll just share some photos.

 We finally broke out the Slippy Slide this week.  Our friends who I babysit bought this in the spring when I mentioned I wasn't putting a pool up but was just going to get some yard water toys to use instead.  At that point, the events hadn't unfolded which led to my mom being at the campground with the pool.  Since we swim almost every evening, this hasn't had much interest.  But, this week it was so incredibly hot that the boys wanted water fun all day long.  The second day they added bubbles to the slide and that was a big hit!

 Priceless.  The boys love to learn.  Here, they were listening to songs about the countries and capitals of the world. 

This was the last week of summer swim lessons.  They did some hard swimming this week but wow, what improvement.  They went from being afraid of the water to swimming without life jackets on and swimming underwater.  I'm planning to enroll them in lessons for the fall so we can keep up their skills.

The boys also got to enjoy their first real "friend" birthday party by attending the 6th birthday of their friend who I babysit.  It was at the local bowling alley and the boys where beside themselves with this opportunity!

Family Fun - Valentines Day

For our family, Valentines Day is just fun.  A few little gifts, dinner, fun treats and just hanging out.

 My three boys

 A few of their gifts - new t-shirts and highlighting books.

 Our favorite strawberries!

Weekly Menu

I decided to start printing recipes.  You know the ones - all of those recipes that get "pinned" but lost in a folder that gets to big and full of recipes.  I print a handful every few days and put them in a binder.  They are not in order and my basic plan is to try at least one recipe each week, just taking them in order from the binder.  This next week I pulled more than one and added them into the rotation.  I had gotten a little bored with the same stuff all of the time and these new recipes add some excitement and who knows, we might love them and . . .if not, you don't know unless you try, right?

Friday - Hot Dog Bar and Salad

Saturday - Burgers on the grill, Haluski (Fried Cabbage and Noodles)  and fries

Sunday - My mom is taking us out to lunch :-) 

Monday - Amish Breakfast Casserole, Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Breakfast Cookies, and Fruit

Tuesday - Slow Cooker Enchiladas and Mexican Rice

Wednesday -Dinner with my mom

Thursday - Ham and Cheese Pockets, Crock-pot cheesy green beans,  and Pasta Salad