Rough River Weekend

We just got home from a weekend at Rough River Lake.  While the boys are napping, I am finally catching up on the blog. Our friends got us into a beautiful lake front cabin for free!! woohoo-love a good freebie. They had friends that gracioulsy let us stay for the weekend. We got in a lot of great boating time and the kids had a blast! They love to stay with their buddies and play inbetween all the boating trips.  Thanks Missi's, Vaughn's and Thomas' for a great weekend!  We are worn out and sunned out....but in a good way. ha!

 Braden, Lydia and Judd hit the tube right away. They love it!

 Braden showing his "tricks" while tubing.

 Crack me up! Only my child would wear his life jacket, mine on top and a white floating cushion while swimming. ha!

 Ethan goes through the snacks like it's his job!

 Nick, Addi and Carson going fast

 We do a lot of eating!

 The big boys sure play well together

Mommies cooling off with the little ones. Thanks gang for such a fun weekend!

Girl's Boating Trip...finally!

We have been saying for a year or so that we need to take a girls only boating trip.  I wanted to make sure I felt comfortable handling the boat and all that it entails before I tried it.  Even though there's not much to it, I don't want to be the first one to put a big scratch in the boat-ouch!  So finally the day came...Chris was sweet enough to drive us up to Hardy and put us in and come back.  It worked out so well! It really couldn't of been a more perfect day-just relaxing and girl time...except for any and all boys on the lake that thought they'd try to come talk to us. ha!  Couldn't they see that this was a "girl's only trip?" :)

 Alicia came prepared with some fun fruity drinks

 Self portrait by Janelle-she's a pro at getting us all in. :)

 Check out the snacks-we've got the important part covered!

 We relaxed on the big island that was tied to our boat. After some sunning and eating way too much junk, we headed out for some skiing.  Every girls skiied and I was so glad I was able to pull them and get the rope back to them each time. Yay for a successful, fun day! Can't wait for the next one!

Uptown Art

Last week I was invited to go to Uptown Art with a group of girls.  This place is such a neat concept (why didn't I think of it?? Probably b/c I can't paint but genius idea!). They provide you with the canvas and teach you how to paint a specific painting all while you enjoy snacks and wine.  So fun!  Thanks for the invite Alicia! I had a blast. :)

 Getting started...this would become the vase but you don't really know what you're doing...she just says, paint a circle, now paint these lines. So even though they are look similar, everyone's is a little different.

 Adding some colors....I guess this is art-where you just slop some pink here and some purple here. :) I need to work on my blending. ha!

 Alicia's painting and mine halfway through

 Ta-Da!

The whole group-great job ladies!

Family day at Hardy

Last Monday we headed up to Hardy Lake for a quick family day trip. I love being teachers for days like this! The lake was empty since it was during the week and it was just me and my little family enjoying the day. :)

 Braden loves to play on the tube when we are anchored...he's showing off his new "tricks."

 Ethan likes to tube now if Chris goes with him.

Thankfully he'll take a nap on the boat too when he gets sleepy. He's big stuff these days!

Father's Day

Father's Day morning was special for me this year because I had my parents down from Chris' show the night before so I got to spend the morning with my dad and Chris. :) We all went to church together before they headed home. Braden gave Chris his present which was a trail camera (I know you are like what is that?!?! Um....it's to put in your deer stand and it will take pics based on motion-something he's always wanted that I'll never understand. ha!).  The kids were excited to give it to him.

My boys are SO blessed to have a hard working, loving and fun daddy! We love you babe!

Nervous Wreck's 2nd Show

On June 16th, Chris' band played their second show at Bearno's on the deck. My parents came down for the big event and Dad came to the show and Mom was nice enough to stay home with the kiddos. :)  The band did great and Chris is really looking like a natural these days. I know he's "living a dream" being able to play in a band a few times a year and I'm so glad he gets to do it.

 All of our friends come out to the shows-so fun!

 My dad and Chris' mom were cutting a rug! They danced and danced all night long. They were having some fun for sure!

Not my dad's best picture (Dad you forgot to smile) but he was there and smiling the night away for sure! :)

Big boy haircut

Just like Braden when he was little, Ethan's hair was starting to get out of control! They both have such straight hair and it just sticks up when it's long. I wasn't quite ready for a complete buzz cut yet since he would definitely look 4 years old so we went for an inbetween. Gma Cindy went to work with her scissors. :)

Handsome boys!

Big Boy Bed!

It was time to move little Mr. Ethan to a big boy bed.  Like I said, he's been able to climb in and out for a long time but really doesn't much-unless he wants a toy. :)  But with a yard sale approaching and summer giving us some time, I thought it'd be the perfect time to do it. His crib became a full bed so we gave that to Braden since it's so high off the ground. Ethan moved to Braden's room where the theme was already his favorite-sports.  :) It worked out perfectly. I still want to paint Braden's furniture and walls but for now, it actually all matches.

Braden's new room 

 Ethan's new room

 He slept like a champ! No issues.  We started him in his big boy bed on June 11th and he still hasn't got out of bed. He calls for us to get up in the morning. Love that boy!!! Hope it lasts. :)

CHEESE!

Rough River

Get ready for a billion boat posts...now that it's hot, hot, hot I have a feeling we will be on the lake a lot. :) I'm pretty sure Chris and the boys could spend everyday on the boat. I'm so thankful they love it so much and gives us family time together. On June 9th and 10th we boated at Rough River Lake with The Missi's and Vaughn's.  I bought this tube at a yard sale and the kids are loving it!

Braden and Jackson thought it was pretty cool that they could walk on  water "like Jesus." :)  This was a sandbar in the lake.

Little Boys Campout

It's been time to move Ethan to a big boy bed for awhile now...actually he can climb in and out if he wants but mostly stays and calls for us to get him (thank goodness!).  But with our yard sale coming up, I wanted to convert the crib and get the rooms switched over so I could sell some baby stuff (sniff sniff).  While Daddy was changing over the bed and we were organizing the rooms, Ethan got to camp out with Braden on his trundle bed.  The nights we boated and they were pooped, this worked well. The nights they weren't tired, it was a complete party due to a little 2 year old. :)

VBS Show

Braden got to attend VBS at Georgetown Christian Church the first week of June again this summer.  We love this VBS! It is so organized and the kids learn a ton and have a great time.  On Friday they put on a big show complete with songs and tons of food for families-they had nachos, chili dogs, popcorn, funnel cakes, cobbler,and cookies. Needless to say we gourged ourselves! ha!  Such a wondeful program. I can't wait for Ethan to be able to attend. :)

Last Baseball Game for Braden

On June 7th, Braden had his last t-ball game of the season.  I am so proud of how well he did! He went out every game with a good attitude and tried his hardest.  Coach Chris did a great job too. :) 

 Braden had quite the cheering section with the grandparents. :)

 Pop was the third base coach again...Braden loves that

 Starting to look like a real ball player here-check out the hustle for the grounder and the turn for the throw to first. Good job buddy!

Go Cubs! #1

Big Boys Campout

After Country Lake last Sunday Chris and Braden thought it was the perfect night for a campout in the backyard.  They've been waiting for the perfect night for awhile...Chris had to be home and it had to be not too hot and not too cold. :)  This night was it.  Braden was super excited! They made it all night...I wasn't sure if they'd be in mid night so left the backdoor unlocked but they didn't come in until 7:30 a.m. :)

 Setting up camp :)

 Braden included "Frankie" in the campout. Chris played a few campfire (minus the fire) songs :)

All bundled in...with ipad in hand. I'm pretty sure when we camped as kids all we had was our flashlights and spooky stories! No ipad :)