back

Saturday, October 10, 2020

Leah turns 8

This birthday was extra special for Leah because not only did she FINALLY turn 8 but she FINALLY got the cast off her arm too. After two long months it was beginning to feel like she would have it on forever. Since we were already in Overland Park to go to the hospital, we decided to make a day of it by visiting the mall and Red Robin. This is the first time we have visited a sit down restaurant on one of the kids birthday. They were completely surprised and laughed all night about having the waiter yell out that it was Leah's birthday.


This Dragon's Breath Kiosk caught our eye while we were feeling adventurous so we gave it a try. It was big cereal balls soaked in dry ice that gave off little smoke puffs when you bit them. They were fun but not very tasty. 



On Saturday we had our usual small family party. Leah and Naomi painted some chocolate themed party decorations.










Sunday, August 30, 2020

Summer 2020

 Every summer we make a bucket list to keep us from being too lazy through those summer months. It's always nice to be able to look back on the list and easily remember all the fun we have had. 


I had been painting inside where the kids begged to help but I wasn't really ready for a whole painting crew inside yet. As a consolation I told them they could pick some colors and help me paint the swingset.


After we read the book, my sister put on a Harry Potter party for us where the kids got to watch the movie for the first time. It was magical for everyone! She even hand delivered invitations, had us go through platform 9 and 3/4 and got all the best HP treats. 








We had several nights that fell under the cousin sleepover category. The kids are still hoping for one giant sleepover with all the cousins. We will have to wait and see about that. 


A hotel was seeming a little iffy at the beginning of the summer but we made a quick trip to Branson for a short getaway and to knock a few things off the list.

Ella-3

 Get excited for a post dedicated to your favorite three year old! Ella is so fun to have around and the perfect kiddo to complete this family. She gets along unbelievably well with Eve and enjoys being pampered by the older three. I worry everyday about her being spoiled. See what I mean?



Regardless, though, she is just the sweetest thing and I love watching her grow up. She could play for hours with barbies, loves taking baths, has an out of control sweet tooth, and is much more independent than any of her siblings. She, of course, wanted a unicorn birthday party complete with chicken nuggets for dinner. Grandma even knocked it out of the park by bringing 80 McDonalds chicken nuggets. I bet they don't get an order like that everyday.

















Monday, August 10, 2020

Quarantine Gets Expensive

A few weeks into the covid shutdown, we realized that we would never have a better opportunity to do some DIY around the house. With no church services, sports, school activities, or ANYTHING we had what felt like endless hours on our hands. And since Jake has always wanted to reorganize the master bathroom and closet area, he put together a design and jumped right in.

These are the before pictures. The area had a small closet and one sink on one side of a hallway and a clothes closet and shower/toilet on the other side of the hallway. Even though it's a good size space, all those doors and doorways made it feel small


We tore out all the sheetrock, walls, and everything.



It ended up looking like a very big space. And that's when the real work started. Ha, who am I kidding, all I did was pick fixtures and paint colors. Jake worked literally non-stop, though. He started the minute he got home from work and worked straight through till midnight night after night for about 3 weeks. Our dad's helped out too when they could which was wonderful and before I knew it, we were painting and adding fixtures.









And here's the finished product. Shout out to Jake who put in every single detail I ever dreamed including jetted bathtub, ledge in the shower, double shower heads, and super sturdy shelving. Would you believe he build all those shelves entirely from scratch. My hero! Joke is in him now because I am never, never moving. Forget the home in the country with acreage, I have everything I need right here in this bathroom. 







Friday, July 17, 2020

Quarantine Days

I must say, after we got used to the idea of staying home almost all the time, it wasn't near as bad I I had first imagined. We had lots of time to eat fun food and do fun activities that I had been meaning to get around to for ages. 

Somehow everyone ended up with a stomach bug during the first few days of quarantine. Just our luck. Thankfully, my parents came by with St. Patricks Day Krispy Kreme to cheer us up. 

Legos is first on the list of activities we have much more time for these days.


 and picnics!

We caught a couple of poor unsuspecting turtles and kept them captive for a couple of days. I feel like I should go on record saying that when I suggested hunting for turtles I had no idea someone might actually find one. Turns out my kids CAN be good finders when they want to be.




This is what too much screen time plus a little ingenuity looks like.

This Easter was very different with no church services, new dresses, or big gatherings but we still managed to have a fun socially distant holiday. 




We spent one day each week with my parents and they always came up with fun ways to break up the boredom while remaining socially distant. I'm so thankful for those fun days!




For a while, the highlight of our days was doing lunch pickup at the school. They were packed with favorites we don't usually buy like canned fruit, chocolate milk, and yummy breakfasts treats. 

On the last day of school, there was a reverse parade where we could drive through and wave to the teachers. I was completely crying by the time was drove all the way through. It was a form of closure to the school year but just seemed like such a hard way to say goodbye. 


Other highlight of quarantine included slime, fishing, curbside popcorn from B and B theaters, puzzles, and just a little rule breaking toward the end there.