Pool Fun with Friends and Family

TK buddies celebrating Asher

On Friday Preston was invited to Asher's pool party with many of his TK friends.  I have to say that I was a bit nervous when I arrived and it was a backyard pool  . . . with no lifeguard, no rope for the deep end, and a diving board!  Preston had only been swimming for a few days on his own and now this??  He was completely fearless though and for an hour and a half went off the diving board time and time again.  It was quite impressive!  He had a blast and slept well!

Cousin fun at the YMCA pool

Then early Saturday morning we braved the cloudy skies and storm forecast to meet the Page family at the YMCA pool for the morning.  They couldn't make the birthday party but came this week to celebrate with the kids instead.  I guess the threat of bad weather and lack of sweltering sun kept everyone away because we basically had the place to ourselves!  It was such a fun morning to see the kids playing and having a blast together.  After a picnic lunch they headed home but we are already looking forward to seeing them again in July!

The Most Amazing Daddy!

The scene after church today, before lunch was served . . .  

I really can't even express what an amazing dad Dave is . . . but I know that he's exactly what our kids need.  Here are a few of my favorite moments to watch him in action:

* When he "jams out" with Preston to For King and Country
* Playing games again and again and being patient to teach the hard ones
* Helping Savannah brush and dry her massive head of hair
* Reading to the kids
* Playing "the animal thing" at bedtime with Preston
* Exercising with the kids
* Helping the kids brush their teeth every night

This is only a partial list  . . . not even scraping the surface of what Dave does for our family and the way he loves us even when we aren't lovable.  He gives and gives, all without complaining.  He loves and loves without boundaries.  I thank the Lord for an amazing husband that loves Him and serves our family daily.  

Ice cream for daddy-o on Father's Day

This video is a perfect summary of Dave.  Only I have to say that I probably wouldn't have allowed that pillow fight and sat calmly reading a book. :)  Check it out!

http://skitguys.com/videos/item/man-of-god

An American Girl Movie ~ Girls Day Out!

While the boys were at Chuck E Cheese (Preston's birthday tradition), Savannah and I enjoyed a girls morning out with one of her best friends, Ruthie, and her mom.  We were able to preview the American Girl movie Grace at Southpark.  It was so much fun seeing the girls together with their dolls.  I'm so thankful God placed such sweet friends in Savannah's life.  :)

Happy 6th Birthday Preston!!!

It's hard to believe that our Preston turned 6 today! We had a fun day planned with lots of special things for Preston however, it got off to a rocky start with the severe storm that rolled through around midnight.  Our little guy, who is not only very afraid of storms but also can't stand to be alone, woke up and was terrified because of the lightening and thunder.  So we agreed to let him sleep on the floor in our room.  Let's just say that made for a long night and an early morning too . . . so we started the day on very little sleep.  :(

Anyway, we made it as fun of a day as we could and kicked it off with letting him open the long awaited circle present.  It was a saucer swing for under the playset!  After breakfast I headed out with sissy while the boys stayed home to play and then head to Chuck E Cheese.  I forgot to tell Dave to take some pictures, but we do have this one memento from their morning of fun.

After Savannah and I got home from the American Girl movie we all had lunch and then spent more of the afternoon playing.

Preston decided that he wanted cake batter pancakes for dinner instead of going out so we happily put a candle on the pancakes and sang Happy Birthday!

To finish out his birthday fun we all headed to Baskin Robbins for dessert!  Yummy!

Preston is truly a special child.  He is adored by so many people and has a way of winning the hearts of everyone he encounters.  Here are a few special things we love about our big 6 year old:

* He uses amazing manners that others often comment on (generally only when outside of the house)
* He is very inquisitive and is always asking questions
* He continues to be super generous and always saves part of his treats for the rest of the family
* He is super fast on his bike and running in soccer
* He loves his sister dearly and would follow her to the end of the earth
* He has good math skills, even at this age I'm impressed with his mental math ability
* He still loves his "blue b"
* He still says "roosters" for Brusters, "kretzels" for pretzels, uses "for" in the wrong places in sentences
* Lastly, he loves his church, teachers, and friends beyond measure.

Preston we're so thankful for you and the joy (and laughter) you bring to our home.  We are excited to see what God has planned for you as you begin big school this coming Fall!

11 Years Ago . . .

6/19/2004

I said "I Do" to one amazing man.  At the time I had no idea what the next phase of life would hold for us . . . that it would be filled with moments of terror, sadness, frustration, but also joy beyond measure, endless love, and blessings to numerous to even count.  I'm not sure how I even deserve to be married to such an incredible guy, but I thank God for the gift He gave me 11 years ago.  To the man who still plays cards with me, picks up the slack where I leave off with the kids, encourages me in all my crazy ventures, isn't afraid to speak the truth and obey the letter of the law, and loves without conditions, I love you dearly!  Here's to many more years together.  I can't to see what's in store for us.

.

Now that flight better be landing from Vegas soon . . . 4 days in this heat, with these crazy kiddos, is about my limit. :)

A Peak into Our First Full Week of Summer

This week is our first full week of summer fun!  Although much of the first few days have been spent running errands, doing laundry, and trying to catch up from a crazy weekend, there still has been plenty of time for fun too!  Savannah's running club started again today.  She was thrilled to see Coach Diane and start earning more charms again, even though it was smokin' hot outside.  After running club we headed home quickly to pack our lunches for some afternoon pool fun. . . but only after swim lessons!

Monday our swim lesson started back up with Ms. Doris.  The kids absolutely adore her and so do I!

Savannah showing off her twist jump

Savannah working on the butterfly stroke

 Preston was a little hesitant on Monday and definitely bit nervous.  However, it didn't take him long to "warm up"!  Today (day 3 of lessons) Doris had him jumping in the deep end of the pool and swimming solo to the other end.  He is so very proud of his accomplishments and frequently asks me "mom are you impressed?" :)

Working on swimming arms and turning his head for air

A high five at the end of their lesson!

 So after swim lessons we headed to the Y pool for a few hours.  It was super hot so the kids had a blast just playing together in the water.  I surprised them with a movie night too . . . thankfully it was just the bribe I needed to get them to get out of the water and go home. :)  After we got home and all showered we put on our jammies at 4pm (ah, this mama loves the flexibility of summer) and watched Annie.

Pool time fun!

We are doing well even with daddy in Vegas.  It's super hot, but at least there are things we can do to stay cool.  Here's to a few more days of swim lessons and then we'll start celebrating again on Saturday when our little guy turns 6!

Happy 9th Savannah Grace!

Can it possibly be true that Savannah is 9 years old today?!?  We had a super fun day starting with swimming lessons at Ms. Doris', going to Savannah's favorite place (the library), and finishing with a yummy dinner at Red Robin!  I am so thankful for our first born that is such an over-achiever.  She LOVES to read ( which is evident by her 700.1AR points this year), enjoys American Girl dolls, playing games every night as a family, shopping, running club with Coach Diane, teaching her brother all about math, and going to church on Sundays.  We are blessed beyond measure to have such a wonderful child and role model for Preston.

Happy Happy Birthday Savannah!  We love you to the moon and back!!

Savannah & Preston's Family Birthday Party 2015

Sunday after church we hosted a family birthday party for our kids.  We had a simple lunch of Chick fil A nuggets, fruit and chips . . .but it was the Bruster's cake that we all couldn't wait to dig into. :)

Happy Birthday to my 6 and 9 year old!!

 We were so excited that Pawpaw, Uncle Mark, Grammy & Papa, Susan & the girls, and even Great Grandma made the trip to celebrate with us.  The kids loved opening all of their gifts and then proceeded outside to continue playing together.

Preston was pretty excited about his $5 from Uncle Mark and then another $5 from Great Grandma

One of my favorite pictures with my grandma!

I knew it wasn't far from happening, but around 2:00 Preston had a royal meltdown.  I didn't exactly set him up very well with two super late nights, poor eating, and tons of excitement, but he really fell apart and told everyone it was time for them to come inside and leave him alone.  Then, as he was coming in, he tripped and really scraped his knee pretty bad, which was the last straw. ;(  Everyone started packing up as I cleaned him up and sent him to bed.  It wasn't long before he was fast asleep . . and slept for several hours.

Yep, I knew this was coming . . . and long overdue!

All in all it was a super fun day and a super special treat to have everyone here to celebrate my two amazing children.  We are so grateful for our family that travel to visit and are always so generous with their time and gifts.

Great Wolf Lodge Birthday Celebration

They were THRILLED to try out their unlimited free icecream birthday bands!!

Savannah & Preston loved their birthday bands that gave them unlimited ice-cream throughout the visit!

Crazy kids, I mean wolves, in their den ready for bed Friday night

Instead of two separate birthday parties this year, the kids decided to take their cousins to Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate!  We arrived around 3:00 on Friday afternoon and had a blast until we left today around lunch.  I have to say the water park was very clean and much better than I anticipated.  We all had a blast and enjoyed tons of time in the water . . . to the point where we were all ready to come home by early this afternoon, completely exhausted.

Ready to hit the water park Saturday morning!!

Family picture Saturday morning

But not too exhausted for a neighborhood movie block party!  That's right.  I organized an end of the year/going away party for one of our neighbors tonight. We borrowed a projector and all of the neighborhood kids watched Big Hero 6 outside while the adults chatted.  What a fun night!  I'm feeling a melt down is coming soon though.  My 7:30pm bedtime kiddos have been up past 10 or 11pm two nights in a row with way too much sugar and over the top excitement.

Savannah's School Birthday Celebration

Savannah & Katie

Today we celebrated Savannah's birthday at school, exactly one week before her real birthday!  It was a special day that daddy came for too. We enjoyed lunch with her BFF, Katie, at the special parent table and then handed out cupcakes with purple icing to all of her friends.  Here's to the beginning of a week long celebration . . and then some! :)

When Sissy is Still in School . . .

Preston & Ben with Monkey Joe

Faith's pool party

We are trying our best to stay busy!  This week has been a bit crazy with Savannah's school activities and lots of errands (and a welcomed later Y aerobics routine), but there has also been time for some Preston fun. :)  On Thursday he had a play date with his buddy Ben at Monkey Joe's.  They played super hard for 2 solid hours and then were finally ready for lunch.

Today Preston had a blast at his friend Faith's birthday pool party.  Their TK class was so excited to be reunited for a fun morning of fun.  After that (and a few more errands) we came home for lunch and I sent Preston to his room to rest.  A little later I noticed it was super quiet and sure enough he had fallen asleep.  He slept for a much needed couple of hours.  Only four more days before we're ALL out of school!!!!

2015 Celebration of Nations ~ Italy Style

Mrs. Langeland's class circle

Savannah & Katie

Today was Savannah's annual Celebration of Nations day at PSE.  This year her class researched Italy and had the cutest outfits . . although those hats didn't stay on very well during their dance. :)  The rain poured right up until the parade started, but once it was show time the skies cleared up and it was cool and overcast for what is usually a scorching hot day.  This is the last year I'll have my little sidekick with me since next year he'll be participating too!  Only 7 days of school to go!!!