Busy, busy and lots of changes

So much has happened in the last several weeks! 



The three older kids started school in early August, S and I flew to Texas for a few days to visit family. My mom flew back home with us and ended up staying almost 3 weeks. 






All the kids' fall activities have started up. C turned 9 in mid August and I had a birthday in late August. Then the day after my birthday.. the day my mom was supposed to fly home... my husband had a heart attack! He is okay for now (more on all this later) but our lives were turned upside down during the week he spent in the hospital and things are just starting to get back to normal (new normal) around here. My mom ended up staying an extra week.. I don't know how I would have managed without her. We also decided to move back to Texas to be closer to family... although we probably won't move back until May. 



So, things have been crazy!! Our weeks are busy, busy, busy with three kids in two different elementary schools across town from each other, Girls On The Run, baseball, choir, soccer, American Heritage Girls, working at church and much more!! We had to cut out dance this year with everything else we have going on and may cut out Trail Life. 



Our first Disney trip is coming up in about 6 weeks! The kids are super excited and I'm having fun planning everything! Any and all Disney tips are welcome! 



I've gotten so far behind... I'll try to catch up on everything in the next few posts.

Weekend Wrap-Up

I can't believe how fast this summer is flying by! The kids go back to school on August 6th and August 8th! 





Dressed up for Cow Appreciation Day last Tuesday. We ran into friends as we were getting there and they shared their masks with us.

We ran into more friends inside. One of them told the kids they could trade in unopened kids' meal toys for a free icecream. Well my kids had already opened their kid meal toys but that didn't stop L and S for asking for free icecream anyway ha! S turned over her opened, already played with toy and got two free icecreams in return. I always tell them it never hurts to ask! Who could resist such sweet, tiny little girls going up to the counter and asking nicely for icecream anyway? After that I bought cones for the older two. 

Last week was busy with more camps for the older three. JG was in Girls In The Run camp every morning from 8 to 12. And C and S went to a Music & Art camp every morning from 9-12. The camps were across town from each other and I tried to rotate who I picked up late. The teachers knew my dilemma and were awesome about keeping the kids a little later when I was running late. 

JG had so much fun! These are a few pics her teacher took. You can tell by her face she was having a great time!! 

Friday morning L and I went to pick up several little horses, stable and farm toys... all for just $5! And all the kids have been playing with them for days. L loves horses and I had been looking for a deal like this for her for awhile. After we picked up the toys we stopped at Starbucks. She was so excited to get chocolate milk! You would think having just 1 kid for a few hours every morning would be easier than having 4 but that wasn't the case. She wanted to be entertained constantly and would not give me a minutes rest ha! She's used playing with her siblings and doesn't like being on her own. Kind of a prelude to what next school year is going to be like when she's the only one at home with me every day.

C and S had a lot of fun at their camp too! Friday night they had a little performance with instruments and songs they learned followed by an icecream social! (Videos on Instagram)

Saturday morning we went to the big Back 2 School Bash! So much fun! The older three each got a free pair of tennis shoes, backpacks and some school supplies! They also got to pick out some clothes. They served free lunches (hotdog or pizza), had bouncy houses, snowcones, popcorn and cotton candy. There was a little petting zoo, face painting, animal balloons and few other booths we didn't get to. JG and I definitely want to volunteer (indoors!) next year! 



S was super excited to get her first bit of school supplies! She's getting more and more excited about starting kindergarten! 

L finally got to pet a real little pony! She was so excited! 

 And twin baby goats! So cute! 

S got to pet a turtle! Turtles are her favorites! 



They also got to pet a sheep, donkey, cow, baby goats, a llama, rabbits. There were the cutest baby piglets, birds and guinea pigs too. 

The older three kids loved this obstacle course bouncy house! It looked like a lot of fun! (Video on Instagram.) 



We wrapped up the busy weekend with life group at our house yesterday afternoon. 



J is off work this week and the kids have zero activities on the schedule (thank goodness!) We're planning to stay home, sleep in and spent lots of time at the neighborhood pool this week! Next week will be crazy again so we'll be using this week to relax and decompress before we hit the ground running again next week. 

I'm linking up with Hello Monday today. 

Life Lately

Just a cute pic of the little girls twinning at church a few weeks ago! They both wanted to sit with us in service that Sunday. S does great but L was crazy ha! I think we'll wait a while before letting her sit in service with us again. 

Bath time! They got the frogs and ducks (and matching loofahs) in the their Easter baskets! Great choice! They LOVE them! 

We stopped by the police station a few weeks ago to turn in the kids applications for kids police camp. They have a nice memorial set up for the officer who passed away last month. The large blue piece is the hood of a race car. 

After the police station we stopped by the post office to mail the orthopedic boots we found off eBay for L last fall. She was sad to see them go but there's no way they'll fit her this fall. We sent a little note to the girl with spina bifida who bought them. I hope she gets great use out of them! Such awesome shoes! They had some surface wear when we got them but held up great the few months that L wore them and still have lots of life left. 

The year end badge ceremony for American Heritage Girl was earlier this month. J is excited to participate in AHG again this fall! And S will be joining her! 

L went to her first ever VBS a couple weeks ago! The first hour or so was a little rough and she wanted me to stay with her but I eventually managed to sneak away and she was fine after that! She's going to her third VBS this week! She's practically a pro now! Yes, I signed them up for three different VBS's three weeks in a row ha! The big kids didn't want to go this week since they have kids police camp every morning this week but the little girls are so excited to go again! I ask them every day if they want to go and they always do. I think we'll skip next week since my MIL is coming out and it's the week of the 4th (I'm not sure there will be a VBS going on anyway) but I may try to sign them up for a couple more in July. No shame here. If they want to go I'm happy to take them! Both little girls are with me 24/7 during the school year so it's nice they can get out and do something fun (and free!) during the summer! 

We went to a friend's birthday party last Saturday morning. The food tables looked so cute! 

The "crab" sandwiches were amazing! 

Pinata time! 

Saturday afternoon J had several friends over for a "late over". We don't do sleepovers and most of our friends don't either. The girls came over to swim, have pizza, make icecream sundaes and watch a movie. They ended up starting "Anne With An E" on Netflix which they all seemed to enjoy! They also played fushball for awhile and painted their nails. 

The kids passed out flyers on our street Sunday afternoon. Our community will be having a "Sip N Dip" at the pool this weekend. We're on the committee and like to help out with flyers, volunteering, closing the pool at night, etc whenever we can. I think it's great for the kids to be involved! The older kids passed out most of the flyers while I followed closely in the van but the little girl really wanted to pass out the last few right by our house. :) 

I just caved and bought my first Erin Condren planner in years! I used to buy them every year then decided they were too expensive so the past few years I've found cheaper options but haven't liked any as much as EC. I love this summery print and can't wait to get it in the mail.. my current planner ends in June so hopefully I'll get this one by July 1. 



I'm actually on another "diet" at the moment. I'm drinking lactose free Slim Fast and having a few small meals or snacks a day. I'm also trying harder to stay gluten free. I've known I have a gluten sensitivity for quite some time but lately I've been noticing how much it effects me. I get muscle and joint pain, migraines more often, nauseated, tired and more irritable. When I stay gluten free several days in a row it makes a HUGE difference! I lost weight on Slim Fast years ago (before I had kids) so figured I would try it again. I actually love the taste and it fills me up pretty well too. Next step is exercise (starting again is always the hardest part) and drinking more water each day!



My husband and I just celebrated our 11th anniversary! Hopefully we can get away for date night next week when my mother-in-law is in town. 



Hope everyone is having a great week! 

Hello Monday!

Wow, it's been over a month since I posted last! I'm determined to write a lot more this summer!! 



Of course we have been crazy busy!! The end of the school year is always insane.

The little girls finished up soccer towards the beginning of May.

S ran her first Fun Run at J's Girl's On The Run 5K last month! 



She's been accepted in the kindergarten, dual immersion program. I think we got like 3 acceptance letters in the mail ha! She isn't super excited going to a 90% Spanish classroom. She really wanted to go to school with C. I feel terrible because I talked up C's school so much and got her all excited about going to school there... then we found out she was eligible for the dual immersion and really felt like that was too great an opportunity to pass up. We passed up the same opportunity for our older kids back in Texas and really regret it. I think S will be really glad she can speak both languages in the long run and we hope to get L in the same program in a couple years. 

C finished up baseball and can't wait to play again this fall! Their coach took the team out for ice cream after one of their last games. 

He also finished up Trail Life. It was hard to balance both Trail Life and baseball but we really want him to do Trail Life again this fall. He loves it even though he had to miss quite a bit with baseball. Hopefully his baseball schedule will look a little different this fall. 

Just looking cute after a haircut last month! 

J's GOTR team painted one of the school rocks right before their 5K. They went with the spring theme that J chose! And she was named Rockin' Creative Thinker on her end of season award! Her coaches were both SO sweet this spring! I wish they could coach her every season. 

GOTR ended with the 5K last month. My husband ran/walked with her for the first time! 

J is just about finished up with American Heritage Girls as well. Their awards ceremony is next week!  



I've been super busy with buying and selling. I love it and I'm making money but it's a lot of work too! My husband has been working hard to make extra money as well. 



We're trying to save for our Disney & Lego Land trip this fall. Tickets are bought but we need plenty of spending money too and we don't use credit cards. 



S and I are also planning to fly out to Texas in August for my sister's baby shower. This will be S's first time on a plane! 



We're hoping to get to the beach once or twice this summer! I really want to go to the Outer Banks for the first time. My kids and I are dying to see the wild horses and I've just been wanting to go to Outer Banks since we moved out here 2 years ago. 



I can't believe we've lived out here 2 years already! We moved out the day after school let out for the summer back in Texas in June 2017. 



If everything goes as planned we'll have grandparents visiting in June, July and August (three different sets). 



We had our big, season grand opening/20th anniversary of our neighborhood pool party Saturday night! The pool actually opened mid-May but the first pool party date was rained out so it was rescheduled for June 1st. We had a great time with food trucks, face painting, games and a water slide! 



I'm on the social/pool something committee so we stayed until the end to help clean up. J and C enjoy helping out. They go around closing umbrellas, putting away pool toys, cleaning up, reclining chairs, etc.



I'm cleaning the pool house once a week for extra money again this summer. I hate it because there's no AC and it's always hot, sweaty work but the extra money comes in handy! On the plus side I can wear a bathing suit under my clothes, rinse off any time in the outdoor showers and take short breaks to cool off in the pool! And the kids can swim while I'm cleaning! My husband helped clean last week. (Thank you Lord!) and cleaned the boy's bathroom for me. I hope he'll continue to help out all season. :) 



It's bittersweet (mostly sweet) that the kids can all jump in the pool and swim around without me being right there with them. The little girls are still in Puddle Jumpers but are totally independent with them on. S is 5 1/2 now and ready to learn to swim without a floatie. J and I have been working with her a little bit. She's kind of terrified but making a little bit of progress.. I think. I'd really like to put her in swim lessons and may look into it pretty soon. 



Anyway, enough rambling. This post is long enough ha! I'm going to try and post a few times a week this month and keep the posts a bit a shorter. 



Thanks for stopping by!!