staycation

Last Saturday Darren and I waved goodbye as the boys headed out for a long weekend at the lake with their Uncle Clint, Aunt Michele, Braden and GramPat. Darren and I had originally planned to go to Dallas for some shopping and relaxation to celebrate our 14th anniversary. However, when we found out the kids would be heading to the lake (rather than staying at our house with GramPat), we just decided to save the money we'd spend on a hotel and gas and stay home instead.

We hopped in the car as soon as we saw the boys off. We wound up having lunch at On the Border. After that we came home to nap and just enjoy the quiet until Darren had to go to work. He just had to work for a few hours on Saturday night and I had planned on spending that time cleaning and organizing the boys rooms, but I did not get a single thing done. I spent the evening looking online at paint colors since I determined a while ago that the entire house was going to get painted this summer (bye bye builder beige, hello color!). It was so relaxing, but honestly I just felt sad and lonely without the boys (or Darren) home that evening which really caught me off-guard because I usually really enjoy my alone time.

On Sunday Darren and I woke up early and had breakfast at Mimi's Cafe. I love having breakfast at Mimi's and it had been way too long since we had been there! We spent most of the day shopping and had such a great time together. After shopping we came home, tried on all of our new clothes, freshened up and headed out for dinner. We went to TGI Friday's for steak (currently Darren thinks theirs beats out Outback and everywhere else in the steak dept!?!). We then toodled around Academy for a bit before coming home to watch a movie. We rented Just Go With It which was cute and funny. Darren thought he'd hate it, but I caught him laughing quite a few times. I think he liked it, but I know he'll never admit it.

We pretty much slept Monday morning away and then ran a few errands before the boys came home around 3. The kids had a great weekend and so did we! We needed it and in the future I won't hesitate to take a staycation again. I liked it so much better than leaving town. We had all the comforts and conveniences of home, but without the kids! It was wonderful, but {for the moment} I can honestly say that I'm glad to have a little bit of noise back in the house again!!!

father's day 2011

Cale with my mom and dad at Disney World in May

(Cale says that Poppy is his best friend...love it!)

I am so thankful for the men in my life on this father's day. I have an amazing dad who I love and admire more than I could ever say. I am so thankful for Darren and love watching him with our three boys. And I'm thankful for my father-in-law who helped shape Darren into the man he is today.

We went over to mom and dad's for a family cookout tonight. It was fun and I was really excited that the entire crew was able to come. The kids had a great time swimming after dinner.

Macy is the only grandchild missing in the above pic

Coby wears his goggles WAY too tight so he always gets these lovely marks!

Waiting to make s'mores. Mmmm! (Didn't get any pics while making them because I was way too busy stuffing my face with the yumminess!)

Happy Father's Day to all of the special men in my life!!!

fourteen

Darren and I got married fourteen years ago today. I can't believe it's been that long (truth be told, I just can't believe that we're old enough to have been married that long). We've had great years, good years, in between years and some really rough years in our fourteen years of marriage. I am happy to say that the past year has been the best we've had so far. It's been so good and I can't wait to see what the next fourteen years bring. I know it won't always be easy, but no matter what, it will always be worth it!

We are not going to celebrate our anniversary until later this month with a getaway to Dallas for some shopping and relaxation. I can't wait!!! For today we didn't really do a thing to celebrate. Darren had tactical team training all day which always wears him out. I made a quick dinner once D got home as we were planning on rushing out to both Connor and Cale's ballgames tonight. They both ended up being cancelled due to some stormy weather so we came back home and as I type this D is already in bed sound asleep (it's only 9:30 pm!). Not an exciting anniversary, but one that's true to our real life.

I did get some pretty flowers though...

That man of mine is such a stinker! I knew what he was up to and I told him NO flowers because I already had a dozen beautiful roses filling my vase (I got them from D when my grandpa died last week). So, D went and brought me home a smaller arrangement that he said was just enough to fill my smaller vase. They're beautiful....and so is he!

D gave these to me last week. So pretty and so thoughtful.

at Disney's animal kingdom 2 weeks ago

Can I just say that I could've never imagined that this is what our family would look like fourteen years after we were married!?! Never in a million years would I have dreamed that we'd be the parents of THREE brown-eyed boys. But goodness am I thankful for the blessings God has bestowed upon us!

grandpa

Grandpa and Cale (Aug. 2008)

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my beloved Grandpa's death. Today my other beloved Grandpa passed away unexpectedly (we think he had a heart attack).

I don't really know what to say except that I just can't believe it. He was supposed to live forever. He was my last living grandparent and I really thought he'd live forever, or at least past 99...he was 89. Up until last August he was the hardest working man I've known. He farmed and boy did he take it seriously (but he knew how to have fun too...he snow skiied with us when he was in his 70's and he had a motorcycle too :)). This grandfather of mine, he had more energy than 10 teenagers combined. Yes, he DID! Then the accident happened in August 2010. A HUGE bale of hay fell on top of him. He was lucky to live through it. He was extremely banged up, but he rebounded fairly well (for an 88 year old), but never quite got back to his "normal" self. He never did go back to farming, but thankfully he did get to move back to the farm. He still had his sense of humor though...that is for sure. He always had this little sideways smirk that told you he was up to mischief even after the accident. Just minutes before his death he was joking around. That is how I will remember him.

Connor asked me tonight if I thought Grandpa would still be alive if he hadn't had the accident last year. I can't answer that, but what I do know is that God has it all planned out and His timing is always PERFECT. I won't sit around and second guess His timing. I am so thankful for the time that I got to spend with Grandpa because of the accident. I am thankful that he was brought here, a mere ten minute drive from our house (he was medi-flighted here because the accident happened in smalltown, USA and we happen to live in the big city). I, along with the boys, have many special memories of that unexpected gift of time with a grandfather we otherwise wouldn't have had the chance to see as frequently. For that I am eternally grateful. I have so many memories of visiting him with Cale (while Connor and Coby were still at school) while he was here in a rehabilitation center. Grandpa had so much fun spending time with Cale and I just smile when I think of the fun things grandpa did to get a giggle out of Cale. Those memories will last me a lifetime.

For today I'm thankful knowing that my grandpa has been reunited with grandma again after nearly 12 years. What a reunion they must be having tonight! Even better than that? I'll be seeing them both again one day. What a beautiful day that will be!

Goodbye for now Grandpa. I miss you already, but I'll be seeing you again.

Grandpa and Lincoln (Nov. 2007)

last day of school: May 25

The boys last day of school was May 25th. So far summer break has been good to us. We had a flight out to Orlando at 6 am the day after the boys got out of school and we returned home on Thursday night. We had a great time and have so many special memories from our week at Disney World, but boy was it exhausting! We needed to get home so we could get rested up from our vacation.

For now I'll start with the boys last day of school....

The 5th graders had a promotion/awards ceremony first thing that morning. From there they went bowling and then to BFC's family life center to play games and eat lunch. Connor had a wonderful last day of elementary school! I still can't believe that it was the last day that all three boys will attend the same school....ever. WOW. That's all I can say about it at this time. I still can't think about my baby going to middle school in a few months. I can't go there just yet. Thankfully I have a few months to work through my feeling on this!

Connor's teacher handing him his certificate of completion of elementary school

Connor's class

After the 5th grade ceremony it was time to stop by SNU to see Coby. His class had walked over there to play and have a picnic.

Coby was bored and ready for lunch! Surprise, surprise. What can I say? The boys LOVES to eat.

Cale wanted a pic with Coby. Sweet!

Cale had spent the morning going with me to his brothers' functions and finally it was his turn. The Pre-K and half-day Kindergarten classes met up at a local park away from the school for a little playtime and picnic. We made a short stop there to say goodbye to his teachers and then we hurried home so I could pack. At this point I hadn't packed a thing! Not good.

Sadly I didn't get much of Cale playing with his buddies because he was busy, busy, busy! He had a blast and it was not fun explaining to him that we could only stay a short while!

And finally, this is Ellie Mae on the boys last day of school. She is getting so big. At this point she had no idea that she was about to be dropped off to the vet for 8 nights! I'm happy to report that she had a good time at the vet. I enrolled her in social club while we were gone so she was able to play outside for three hours every day with all of the other doggies while we were gone. I think she did fine, but she was sure happy to come back home!

I'll start recapping our Disney trip in a few days. I want to document it all so I won't forget a thing. But for now I'm too tired to even begin thinking about it. Soon....