What's Up Wednesday

Linking up with these ladies for another installment!

What we're Eating This Week:

It's been a NUTTY week, Rachel and Alayna have had VBS all week, Alayna had her last game (consolation champs!) and we have a birthday dinner with friends.  Luckily I had prepped some meals last week so things would be easy.  Sausage and mashed potatoes, tator tot hotdish and sandwiches!

What I'm Reminiscing About:

I think this is always the same answer, but my kids being little.  My sister is due soon with her first, so lots of remembering those crazy awesome baby days!

What I'm Loving:

Our friends.  We are so lucky to have such amazing friends.  We just got some news last week about a friend of ours being diagnosed with colon cancer.  The outpouring of love and support has been so cool to see.

What We've Been Up To:

VBS and softball.  Rachel volunteered for VBS and Alayna has been attending, they both have really enjoyed it!  Plus, Brad and I have gotten some one on one time with Emma, love that!

What I'm Dreading:

School starting.  I really am not ready.  I love our easy mornings and late nights, haha!

What I'm Working On:

Just trying to survive this crazy week!

What I'm Excited About:

We have some really fun cabin weekends coming up, 2 of them with friends and one with family, really looking forward to being lakeside!

What I'm Watching/Reading:

Currently I'm reading the book "Cold Black Earth", it's a really good murder mystery.  I just started "Orange is the New Black" and I love it!

What I'm Listening To:

I am currently obsessed with Elle King.  She has a KILLER amazing voice and would love to see her live.

What I'm Wearing:

Jeans and a boyfriend shirt from Old Navy, currently obsessed with those shirts.

What I'm Doing This Weekend:

We have no big plans, a family reunion on Saturday, but that's about it.  This is our only open weekend in August!

What I'm Looking Forward to Next Month:

Not sure, I'm not ready to send my kiddos back to school and especially am NOT ready to send my oldest to high school, ugh...

Lately...

This is what we've been up to...

Softball!  Alayna has her last game tonight, it's been so fun watching her play, she's such a peanut out there!

Her team placed first in the regular season!  She was SO excited to get a medal, haha...

Alayna and I got a night out last Thursday so we hopped on over to Kay's Kitchen for supper!

Rachel and Alayna have VBS this week (Rach is volunteering) so last night Emma got a daddy night which also meant Kays Kitchen!

This past weekend we went to our friends cabin and enjoyed a late evening 4 wheeler ride, it was so beautiful!

We unfortunately got some bad news that a good friend of ours was diagnosed with colon cancer.  He is a year younger than me with 2 small kiddos.  It's time's like these that really make you put your own life into perspective.

We don't know what God has in store for us and we know that life isn't always going to be easy.  I think since getting this news, Brad and I taken more time to enjoy the little things, life is too short.

A Play, Baby Shower and Triathlon!

I am exhausted.  Like can't hardly move completely exhausted.  It was a fantastic weekend but crazy busy!

Friday Emma had her performance as she was in theater camp all week.  The play was "Frozen" and she had a blast, but was super bummed she didn't get a better part (she was a narrator).  She is such a natural up on stage though, always knows her lines and looks so comfortable!

Saturday morning Rachel did the Color Run with some of her friends, they had a blast!

She got home around 11 and then had to shower and get ready so we could hit the road for my sisters baby shower 2.5 hours away.

The shower was so fun and it was so great to see her!  We cannot WAIT for baby Noah to come!!

We got home around 7 and I promptly made a yummy garlic and chicken pasta dish (thanks to freezer cooking!) to help me fuel up for our triathlon the next morning.

Oh my word, yesterday was such a trip!  Cory, Tonia and I signed up to do the Heart of the Lakes Triathlon in Annandale.  Cory is a stud tri-guy, as in he's placed in the top 5 several times.  Tonia is a biker and I run, so we thought it was a perfect fit!  The race started at 8, with Cory swimming a half mile.  He came in first in his heat!  Tonia was next, biking 22 miles.  She was hoping to do it in an hour and a half, and actually finished in 1:15!!  I was SO proud of her, she was really nervous.

My run was next and I was a nervous wreck, I really felt the pressure even though we all said it was for fun only.  I started at 9:32 and it was getting pretty hot.  My run was around Pleasant Lake, 5.3 miles.  I started to really feel the heat around mile 2, there were a lot of water stops and one stop even gave out cold sponges, that felt awesome!  I had my Polar watch on so I could watch my time and keep on pace.  I did stop to walk a few times.  My goal was to do it in under an hour and my actual was 55 minutes!  10:42 minute miles, I was very happy with that considering the hills and the heat!

Game face on.  

After we were done.  I was SO hot and tired.  My only pain/soreness is in my side.  I've been feeling it for the last couple weeks, but after the run it was CRAZY sore!

I am so, so glad we did this, it was an awesome experience!

Life Lately

Gosh it's been crazy since the 4th!  I feel like I haven't hardly sat down, lots of stuff going on!

Last week Emma and I had a mommy-Emma evening.  We went to Olive Garden to eat (I love that she still lets me take pics of her!) and then to Barnes and Noble to get the latest book in her favorite Chris Colfer series.  It is so much fun hanging out with them individually!

Lots of this going on, basketball!  The girls love playing, I think Emma and Alayna might try basketball this year.

I was able to score this awesome electric piano from my boss (for free!) and Emma has been playing on it no less than 1-2 hours everyday.  Besides practicing her weekly lessons, she is teaching herself how to play quite a few songs, so fun to listen to!  (Unless you ask her sisters, then it's not fun)

We were also able to get some school shopping done.  I know it's only July, but you gotta start early when you have 3 kids.  :/  We are pretty much done clothes and supply shopping for Alayna, praise Jesus!

This ecard made me giggle only because you have never shopping with Alayna.  You would have thought we were torturing her by making her try on clothes...

Brad and I celebrated 17 years of marriage on Saturday.  17 sounds so long, it's a little strange.  It's been a wonderful, crazy, fun ride!  I am so lucky to have him, and to have the marriage we have.  It's not easy, it's a lot of work, but we BOTH make it work.  I am so proud of the life we have built together!

4th of July 2015

We had an absolutely WONDERFUL weekend!  I love the 4th of July so much, it's right behind Christmas as one of my favorite holidays!  We started festivities on Thursday (well, the girls and I), Brad was out of town, so we went and got our nails done up for the 4th!  After that we got home and got busy making food.

We had three parties to attend on the 3rd, and then going to the farm on the evening of the 4th.  We made Rice Krispy bars, sugar cookies and Mel's strawberry shortcake bars (they were delicious!).

Alayna and I also made some hostess gifts, colored rice citronella candles.

We colored the rice, layered it, sprinkled some lemongrass oil in and the put a citronella tea light candle on top, they turned out super cute!

Rachel made these 4th of July q-tip fireworks with the kids.

And Alayna made this Uncle Sam, so cute!

Our town has a huge festival on the 3rd called "Joe Town Rocks".  Our town has about 8,000 people, but this festival brings in about 20,000 people.  Insane.  They have beer gardens, kid games, music, food, everything!  They do fireworks at 10, this is us with some of our besties!

On the morning of the 4th they have a big parade (where Brad proposed to me 18 years ago!) and thankfully the girls still love to go, haha!

This was a selfie they took that morning, after Alayna had a tantrum about losing her ipod, *sigh*...

After the parade we checked out the kid games, and then headed home for naps!  That evening we always go to the farm for a bonfire and fireworks.  It was SUCH a great weekend!  Sunday we were all exhausted and unmotivated, haha!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

The Weekend

Not too much to say about this weekend, except that it was GORGEOUS and we loved being on the water!  We went out to the lake around 12:30 on Saturday and laked it with friends.  The girls tubed and swam, it was beautiful out.  Saturday night we stayed at our friends cabin, unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate to have a fire, oh well.

Sunday we got back on the lake and met up with friends.  We soaked up (literally haha) every bit of the summer sun.

I figured I would get fancy and cut out some watermelon stars, Alayna thought that was so cool!

Mousey and I made some patriotic rice krispy bars.

Enjoying the lake!