Weekly Happenings - 6/8 - 6/14

1.  Peyton's summer has been nothing but amazing - her field trips are the best!  This week she went to Emerald Gym and climbed this huge rock wall.  She went all the way to the top, one of only a few that made it up there!  Then, the next day they want to a park with lots of climbing structures and again went all the way to the top.  She obviously did not inherit my fear of heights!  I am so proud of her willingness to try things like this and amazed by her strength.

2.  On Thursday, I celebrated my birthday - we don't have to talk about what year it is! :)  But, everyone around me made me feel so very special on my big day!  My co-workers decorated my cube and brought lots of goodies for us to snack on and took me out to lunch.  Chad and the kids brought me beautiful flowers and got a tasty DQ ice cream cake to celebrate that evening.  All in all, it was a great day!!

3.  On Friday night, Peyton tried her hand at hosting a sleepover with 3 of her friends - Camrie, Hailey and Addie.  We invited all of the families over for pizza and ice cream before everyone left and the girls had a great time playing outside, dressing up and of course a little TV and TONS of giggles!  About 8:30 they started to settle down with popcorn and a little Netflix and everyone was fast asleep by 9:30.  In the morning, Garrison & Daddy made a donut run for everyone to have breakfast which was followed by lots of games and then it was time to head home.  Overall, it was a great first sleepover!!!

3.  Garrison was a great little brother and played well with her friends when they were over.  When he and Daddy went to get donuts, he wanted to wear a hat like Daddy.  But he wanted his Mickey Mouse ears as his hat.  Pretty adorable I must say!

4.  Later on Saturday, I took the kids to get haircuts.  Peyton intended to only get trim but decided to go for a big cut.  Man, she looks adorable and her new cut is great for ease of care as well - double win!!

5.  On Sunday, Grammy & Grandpa came up to visit and celebrate my birthday!  We spent the day at the zoo and had an absolute fabulous time!  The weather was near perfect and the crowd was small at the beginning of the day.  The highlight for Garrison was the Cheetah (which he had recently learned about on Wild Kratts) and Peyton liked the penguins.  We rode the carousel, train, tram and Skyfari, visited both Afrida and Australia, found the new orangutang exhibit and had lunch at the Tuxedo Grill before heading home.  We had such a fun time and were glad Grammy & Grandpa could come along for the trip!

Summer 2015 School Pictures

Here are a few of my favorites from the kids' school pictures a few weeks ago.  Granted, I am biased, but they are beyond adorable if you ask me! :)

Weekly Happenings - 6/1 - 6/7

1.  This week started with our anniversary on Monday - 13 years.  It is still hard to believe we have been married 13 years (together for almost 16!) - time really does fly when you are having fun!!

2.  Peyton started into her summer camp schedule this week and she had a great time!  On Monday they learned about staying safe in public places at the police station and Tuesday they went to Powell Gardens for a tour.  Both were fun activities and I'm glad she is getting the opportunity to be so active this summer!!

3.  On Wednesday, we went 1/2 way to the lake and spent the night with Grammy & Grandpa.  On Thursday morning, we were up early (not sure why the kids always wake up SUPER early on days when they don't have to) and arrived at the lake before lunch.  Grandma & Grandpa Todd arrived just after lunch to join in on the fun.  The weather wasn't super cooperative as there were a few storms during our visit but we had a great time!  We stayed busy with lots of jet ski rides (Peyton's favorite), fishing (Garrison's favorite), playing games, exploring nature and a few yummy meals out.  Grandpa took Garrison fishing a few times and he caught one (that we got a picture of) that was pretty small and a 2nd that was big enough to break the fishing line so it got away.  On Saturday, the 4 of us even took one of the jet skis over to Cabana Jones for lunch on the lake - fun!  We also tried a new (to us) place on this visit - Shrimp Daddy's which was very good!  We also squeezed in a visit over to the outlet mall.  The kids were less than thrilled with the shopping part but had a good time running around none the less. :)  By the time Sunday rolled around, the weather was on the up and up but it was time for us to head home after a fun long weekend!

4.  On the way home, we stopped by Grammy & Grandpa's to pick-up Apollo after his extended vacation with them while we had several things done around our house.  I think he may be a little lonely at home during the week for a while but hope that he is happy to be back with us - we are happy to have him back!!

5.  Check-out this garden!  I harvested enough salad for one meal for our family and you can't even tell I took anything out.  Here's to hoping our zucchini plants make it this year and we have lots of great tomatoes this year again!

6.  One of our many additions for this year is new patio furniture - love it!!  Now if the rain would stop long enough for us to spend some time outside and enjoy it! :)

Weekly Happenings - 5/26 - 5/31

1.  This week wrapped-up our activities before we take a break for summer - the kids had their last swim lessons.  Both did really well but they are excited for "fun" swimming this summer!  Peyton is working on her side breathing when doing the front crawl and Garrison can swim almost 1/2 way across the pool completely on his own - we are very proud of both of them!!

2.  On Friday, Grammy & Grandpa came to pick the kids up for a weekend visit.  They kept really busy, even though the rain almost had other plans!  The weekend started with shortly after lunch on Friday.  On Saturday, they kept busy with games, counting piggy bank money and making Nutella Pops before it was time for Garrison's rest.  Since he of course didn't want to rest, he cuddled with Grammy while Peyton & Grandpa went on a park tour around Clinton, visiting 5 different play areas - I was shocked there were so many they could find!  Saturday night they went to a nearby town to their festival for lots of fun carnival games and rides - Peyton & Garrison both even liked the roller coaster!  After church, the kids wanted to make Chad & I a cake for our anniversary - they did such a great job!!!  After lunch it was time to come home and get ready for a week after a super fun visit!

3.  While the kids were away, we had a little time to play (and a lot of time to work on projects!).  Friday night was our play time and we went to see Avengers Age of Ultron in the Cinemasuites.  The movie was great and since they were introducing a new menu, our dinner was basically half-price - bonus!  On Saturday we got to work preparing and painting our laundry room.  I am super excited for the project to be completed - it is looking great!  Sunday brought more project work and picking up the house to get ready for the week.  Overall, it was a fun and productive weekend - the best kind!  Of course, we were most excited for the kids to get home and for our awesome anniversary cake!  Check-out those sprinkles in the picture above! :)