Year End Photos!

I always love to see photos from the beginning of the school year and the end of the school year.  The changes in the boys isn't always noticeable day by day but seeing photos 9 months apart - wow.  I will admit though that this year, I already knew how much they had changed because they both jumped 3 sizes in clothes and about 4 sizes in shoes over the past school year.  Still - I love seeing them grow!

Nate - September 2018 at the start of 3rd grade

Nate - June 2018 at the end of 3rd grade. 

Josh - September 2018 at the start of 4th grade

Josh - June 2018 at the end of 4th grade. 

Sunday Worship - Church

This is fitting for a Sunday - Take Me Back to Church!

Our Week in Photos #23

Here's a peek at our week!

 On Sunday the boys had an amazing Piano Recital on Sunday.  They were both nervous but did a great job. 

 Monday night Nate had Tae Kwon Do.  He loves it and does such a great job! 

 On Tuesday we had our year end picnic with our online school.  It was a perfect day for the Fun Run, great activities, swimming in the lake, and hanging out at the splashpad!

 On Wednesday the boys had running club (sorry no photos!) and we got our new washer and dryer.  

The boys also had running club on Thursday (again no photos!) 

On Friday the boys attended a VBS for the day.  This photo is of Josh as a "Ninja" - actually all the kids got headbands to match their team.  :-) 

So, we had a busy, fun week!

Weekly Menu

Since I didn't post a menu last week I thought I'd make sure that I share what we actually ate because I know that you all wait to see just that HA!  Plus, I'm trying to get "my groove" back and plan meals again!

Friday - Hamburgers and Potato Salad

Saturday - We are celebrating Father's Day!  I'll let Darryl pick what he wants to eat today - whether we grill or go out - it's up to him!

Sunday - Pineapple Barbecue Chicken, Rice, and Broccoli

Monday - Sloppy Joes and French Fries

Tuesday - Chicken on the grill, Crash Potatoes, Fried Zucchini and Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Pulled Pork, Mac and Cheese, Green Beans, and Rolls

Thursday - Pulled Pork Pastry Puffs, Fries and Salad

And what we actually ate last week:

Friday - We really did eat Brats and Papa Fries

Saturday - I picked up a Rotisserie Chicken, Potato Salad, and Chips for Darryl and I; Mac and Cheese and Pizza for the boys (One loves pizza and one loves Mac and Cheese HA!)

Sunday - My mom made lunch!

Monday - Tacos :-)

Tuesday - We had a field trip today and the last thing I ever want to do after going all day long is cook so we stopped and picked up a Papa Murphy's Pizza to throw in the oven once we were home.

Wednesday - Spaghetti :-)

Thursday - The boys ate with my mom as I had book club!

Summer Fun - Week 2

This weeks list will have a slight overlap because I needed to shift it by a day!  This is our first official week without any school hanging over us.  Our extra friends are still in school this week though so we are enjoying that even though we look forward to fun this summer with them too!

Thursday (I shared this last week) - We had the board meeting :-)

Friday - Swimming! The weather was perfect.  My mom treated us to a picnic lunch and then we swam for a few hours.  Despite our 50 SPF sunscreen, our un-sunkissed skin got a bit pink! 

Saturday - There are a few things on the "maybe" list but honestly, I think we will stick close to home. I spent some time in the basement doing some cleaning/organizing.  Due to our sun-kissed skin, we decided to not swim today. 

Sunday - It's piano recital day! Today was church, lunch at my mom's, relaxing, and then the boys piano recital. 

Monday - Nothing :-) We actually have a busy week so I'm keeping today clear.  Rain is in the forecast so we will just stick close to home; maybe organize the boys room some; maybe not.  Or Maybe I'll look at my goal list and pick something easy to check off (Like counting page protectors HA!) We did this - well I went to the store, did laundry, and finished up a few things to get ready for our new washer and dryer.  It was actually a busy day but a good one. 

Tuesday - Today is our Year End Field Trip with Connections Academy! As always, this was a fun day at the park! 

Wednesday - Running Club! Today was the first day of running club for the boys (this missed Tuesday due to our field trip!).  Our friends had a half day and my washer and dryer were delivered so it was a busy day! 

The boys did not start their "summer schedule" I wrote about last week.  Our week, with the exception of Monday, is busy every single day.  They will be draggin' by Friday evening so I didn't add more to their plate.

Summer Time Lunches

This is the last week of school for our (not-so) little friends so next week it will be time to fix lunch for four munchkins instead of two!  With my kids, I'll admit, I get into a serious rut of serving 2-3 different lunches over and over again.  When I'm feeding extra kids, I feel more responsibility to provide a few more options.  Truth be told, though, kids really like what they like and often could eat those few foods 2-3 times a week.  Needless to say, I've spent some time on Pinterest looking for some inspiration and I came across Family Fresh Meals which shared over 30 Summer Camp Lunch Ideas.

Not only are there a few "main dish" ideas I will use from this list there are some great "sides" too.  I think sometimes I struggle with what to serve with things other than chips so having some other ideas will be helpful.  Only one of the four likes salads - the rest are a little harder to please!

Here's this list I've come up with for main dishes.  Ultimately, I'd like about 10 lunch ideas - so a two week rotation.

1. Corn Dogs
2. Pizza - I have a couple of new recipes to try for different styles of pizza plus just regular frozen pizza are all options!
3. Spaghetti
4. Waffles or Pancakes
5. Sandwiches
6. Tacos
7. Meatballs
8. Chicken Nuggets
9. Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
10. Sloppy Joes/Pulled Pork/Pulled Chicken
11. Lunchables - store bought lunchables are my go to lunch anytime we are going away - a picnic in the park, a field trip, anything like that just to keep life easy!

You might notice that Mac and Cheese is missing.  I have one child (my own!) who has very specific tastes so I'm reserving Mac and Cheese (his favorite) to serve on days I make things he doesn't like.  Sometimes he will get Mac and Cheese and sometimes a Peanut Butter Sandwich.  Just depends on the day (and what's for dinner!)

So, what about sides?  Here's a list of ideas
1. Chips
2. Any kind of Fruit (depends on sales)
3. Applesauce
4. Cheese and Crackers
5. Goldfish
6. Mini Muffins
7. Pretzels
8. Popcorn
9. Rolls
10. Cheese sticks
11. Hard Boiled Eggs
12. Carrots/Ranch
13. Salad
14. Mini Candy bar/Kisses
15. Cookies
16. Rice Krispy Treats
17. Water melon Slushies

Now, to keep it real, I think only the princess eats anything on the vegetable side of things but I still put it on the table just in case one of the guys decides to taste something!! I also don't serve a sweet every day at lunch so some days it's a nice treat.

We won't even get into snacks! HA!  Actually, they get to pick their own snacks - Poptarts, Cereal, Crackers, fruit, or even a cookie.

What we miss . . or don't miss!

A friend of mine shared a great blog post on Sunday on Facebook.  It spoke words that I've thought and even said.  So, I thought I'd share it here too!

The article is called "You say, I'm going to miss this, but am I really?" and is from Today Parenting Team.

It's basically the concept that when a parent is in the middle of the long, tiring days, someone will often say, "You are going to miss this some day!".  When, in reality, there are a lot of things that I won't miss!  Sure, there are cute things I'll miss - their little voices, the mispronounced words, and tiny little feet.  But some of those other things, I just won't miss!

So, if you feel so inclined take a minute to read this short article - it's a pretty good read.