July 2012

I'm not sure where the summer has gone or what we have even done! Last summer we did so much and this summer not as much. We took a little trip to Kansas City at the beginning of the month. We stayed at Crown Center and visited Sea Life, Lego Land, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. This was a vacation for the boys, not for Doug and me. It is safe to say that I finished the vacation needing a vacation and yearning to go somewhere relaxing and more for me. Ask Doug. I spent the weeks following researching our next trip and it will be somewhere GOOD!

 Lego Land was a little bit of a disappointment. The boys were in a hurry to get through it, because we had promised them a Lego set at the end. They wanted to rush and get to the gift store to pick theirs out. And then they wanted to quickly return to the hotel to put them together.

One of the restaurants we visited at Crown Center was Fritz's. Friends had told me about this place, that the food wasn't the best, but go and see the trains. The boys LOVED it. They thought it was so awesome that little trains delivered the food that we had ordered by phone. And yes, the food wasn't the best, but we had fun!

The next day we went to Sea Life. We liked Sea Life a little better than Lego Land, but our zoo has a pretty great aquarium that is hard to beat. So it wasn't super exciting. The boys enjoyed answering the quiz questions throughout the aquarium.

The next couple of days we visited Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun. The weather was nearing 100 degrees the day we went to WOF, so we opted to visit during "twilight hours." That meant we were there from 5pm until close. And let me tell you, we stayed until the very end. It was perfect, though. No one was there. We didn't have to wait for anything. Jack, our non walker, still complained of being hot and not wanting to walk, but Charlie loved it. He has no fear when it comes to rides. He rode on anything and everything. He even went on the Mamba at 9:15 pm in the dark by himself, which, for the record, did not make me happy. I don't do roller coasters, though, and Doug, in his old age, gets sick from them. So....that leaves Charlie. Jack did go on the Boomerang at the start. He then was reminded that he isn't a big fan. Charlie would go on a scary ride and then when it was over he would say, "that's it?" No big deal. 

We drove home from Kansas City on the July 3rd, ran home, unpacked and then drove out to Glenwood to celebrate the 4th with family. The boys love the lake. They love swimming out there and hanging out with everyone. Most of all, they FREAKING LOVE fireworks. 

Some random photos:

Fritz's

Swimming at Jen's

View from my Sunday morning run at the Wabash. An awesome 7 miles! 

My BFF. I love her so much. 

Our new beach bag...It's huge! 

June 2012

Summer is flying by! How do I make it stop or at least slow down? The beginning of June seemed like an eternity ago. Now it's July and summer is half over. Sad.
I somehow didn't seem to take a lot of photos in June. Not sure why. We did a lot of things around town. We've been to the Lifetime pool a lot. The boys love it. We've also been to the lake a few times and the boys love that even more. They love swimming around the lake in their life jackets. They could do it for hours.

Father's Day was in mid June. This is the first time in four years we did not go to Great Wolf Lodge on Father's Day. We decided it was time for a break. Instead we spent Father's Day at the lake with family. It was a great day. We grilled out, had good food and lots of swimming. The boys were excited to have picked out a movie gift certificate for Doug and Hawkeye and Steelers mugs. We also made Doug an iMovie with photos and videos of him and the boys going back to when they were born. It was my first iMovie and I loved the end product. I think Doug enjoyed it too.We got to attend the Olympic Swim Trials this month. Doug's coworker does a lot of work at the event, so she got us some great seats. We were in the second row right at the starting line. I am not sure how much the boys enjoyed the trials, but I really did. It was exciting to see the big names and see them compete.

Charlie also turned 8 1/2 this month. I can't believe he's so big. He asked to have the M&M and Kit Kat cake like Jack had for his birthday, so I obliged and we made a big cake.

May 2012

School got out this month! Woo hoo! That is obviously the most exciting part of the month. We all had a good end to the school year. Jack finished kindergarten and Charlie finished 2nd grade. Both of them had good years; they learned a lot, made many new friends and did new things!
I also had a good end to my fourth year teaching at AL. The past two years I have been teaching Reading and this year one section of English 10. I was a little burned out on teaching Reading. It just wasn't my thing. Although, it was probably the most rewarding teaching job I have had. I applied for the open Librarian Teacher position at AL and found out a few weeks ago that I got it! I couldn't be more excited. It worked out so perfectly. I have three more grad classes to go until I receive my media specialist endorsement. I am taking one this summer, one in the fall and one in the spring and then DONE! For now. Maybe I will go back again someday for some technology classes or an endorsement or something. I am thrilled to be starting this new position in August.
We decided this month that Charlie was way too big for his bike, so he got a new one--a big boy bike! He was so excited and just loves riding the new one. The new bike for Charlie prompted Jack to learn to ride his bike without training wheels. His got the hang of it in two outings. The first outing didn't include much trying. He was tired, he said. The second time we went out, which was Mother's Day, he learned within minutes. Now he claims to need a new bike, as well.

Mother's Day this year was May 13th. It was a beautifully perfect day. I slept in a little and then we went to the park with the dog and the boys rode bikes. We hurried home after Jack learned to ride his bike to pack up our stuff to head to Bruce and Susan's Lake. We grilled, swam, played games and had a few drinks. It was a lot of fun. The boys love going there.
Charlie had his last cub scout meeting/picnic for the year. He moved up to the next rank, which I can't think of what it is! Bear??

 Photos from the lake:

I chaperoned on Jack's school field trip to the zoo in May. I am glad I got to go. It was fun to hang out with him, his friends and some mom friends for the day in beautiful weather.

And I have to throw in a photo of the dog...because I love her...and she loves me. I call her my BFF.

April 2012

Julie came back for a visit in April and we spent a couple of days looking at wedding dresses. She hasn't nailed down the exact date of the wedding, but it will either be this fall or next summer. She found some really beautiful wedding dresses. So many of them were different from when I looked ten years ago.

Over spring break, the boys held their first lemonade stand on our street. They stayed outside for nearly 7 hours selling their lemonade and they made $30. I was surprised they made so much and were so determined to keep making money. Charlie loves his money. 

We had a pretty quiet Easter this year. My mom had gone to visit Julie in Denver, so Doug, the boys and I stayed home. We went to the park and then had dinner down the street at the neighbor's house. Doug was worn out from work, so he stayed home. 

We had the yard fenced in and some landscaping done this month, too. I had wanted a fence for a while, so I was excited to get one. 

Jack was sick on day in April and neither Doug nor I was able to stay home. So, I took Jack to work with me for a few hours until he could go to my mom's. He LOVED it. He loved meeting the kids, talking with them and seeing the school. Charlie was jealous and the next day happened to be Take You Child to Work Day, so Charlie spend the afternoon at school with me. He really enjoyed it to. I was surprised by how shy and quiet he was. 

Also this month, I was a chaperone on Charlie's class field trip to the zoo. I was happy to be able to go with him. It was a perfect day for it. 

 We also got a fire pit this month, and had our first backyard fire. We roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. The boys loved it!

March 2012

A few things happened this month. First of all, Jack turned 6 1/2. The boys love getting a special cake for their half birthday. Our kitchen was out of commission for the remodel, so I had to pick up a cookie cake at Hy-Vee. Jack still liked it!


One exciting thing that occurred was that Jack had his art work from school chosen to be displayed at a local mall. We got the news and then headed out to see it. He was pretty proud of himself and excited to see it at the mall! Charlie might have been a little jealous.

Our kitchen remodel was completed this month. It's so nice to have it done. Now we want to do a lot more and will be working on new lighting, new fireplace/mantle and some new painting, woodwork and doors! It's pretty exciting and I can't wait for it to be done.


We made a visit to Coco Keys in Omaha on St. Patrick's Day. We hadn't been there before and thought we'd give it a try. The boys had a lot of fun and it was nice to get some pool time.

One of the most highly anticipated events happened this month! The Hunger Games movie was released. Two teacher friends of mine and myself went to see the midnight viewing, which I have to admit was a little late for me. I can't say I will do that again, but never say never. I was zonked out for most of the next day. The movie was very good, though, and Doug and I went to see it again that weekend.


















Next up was the Pinewood Derby for Charlie's Cub Scouts. He loves this and placed second last year, so he was looking forward to placing again. And he did! He got 3rd place and had a lot of fun. Jack can't wait to do it next year and I am sure Doug is looking forward to making two cars instead of one!

We saw the Harlem Globetrotters this month. I wasn't sure what to expect since I hadn't seen them before. I can't say I loved it. The boys had a good time, but I am not sure they loved it either. Charlie played his first season of YMCA basketball this year and he LOVED that. He has become a big basketball fan, so we all enjoyed filling out our NCAA March Madness brackets. I think I won out of the four of us. The boys enjoyed checking their brackets after the games.




Grandpa Denny, Aunt Jessie and Grandma Barb all made visits out to see us this month. The boys loved that.

 The boys had been asking (especially Jack) about having a lemonade stand. Doug helped them set it all up one morning while I had my grad class at UNO. The boys sat outside in the 85 degree weather for 7 hours selling lemonade. They had quite a few more customers than we thought they would and they made roughly $30. People were very generous and the boys loved it. They want to do it again and again.

The most exciting thing that happened this month was our purchase of a dog! I had been wanting one for quite some time and debated for months about what kind to get. I researched, talked to people and researched some more. I couldn't decide if I wanted a big dog who would be able to run with me or a little dog because they are, well, little. I knew having a big dog would be a lot like having another child...it would take up more space and eat more. I was constantly on the Nebraska Humane Society website checking out the dogs. Finally, I found a little rat terrier who caught my eye. I emailed to get information about her and the lady who was fostering her and I emailed back and forth for about a week. I decided to meet Kiki and take her home for a trial to see how we liked her. I am happy to report that I LOVE her. She is perfect. She is 1 1/2, potty trained and kennel trained. She's pretty good with our cats and she runs! I ran 4 miles with her over the weekend and she loved it. The boys love her and she's the perfect size for them. She sleeps with me at night, is the best cuddler and jumper and is just plain awesome. It's great having her around.

February 2012

I never take ANY photos in February, and this year was no exception. It's just a boring month! Well, except that it is our anniversary month and this year, we celebrated 11 years....but guess what?! No photos! We got a sitter and went out to dinner at Bonefish Grill. It was really good. Then we went to the bar where we met (The Green Onion). We sat by the fire and had a drink and then we were home by 10pm. Wow, we are exciting! We did have fun, though!

Then there's Valentine's Day. We got the boys some Legos for a little present and we celebrated at breakfast with heart-shaped pancakes. For dinner we had heart-shaped pizza. I took a half day at work and went to the boys' parties at school. My mom also went along.

The other thing keeping us busy this month is our kitchen remodel. We have gotten new cabinets, countertops, backsplash, peninsula and sink/faucet. This week the new hardwood flooring goes in on our first floor. Finally, the cabinets will be painted mid-March. I am so excited for it to be done. But then we move on to an electrician and first-floor painting, new furniture, etc. So, it will be a long process. I can't wait to see the end result.

We also attended Disney on Ice this month. I hadn't been in years and the boys hadn't been at all. They really enjoyed it and sat and watched the entire time. Jack was sick when we went, but luckily he was on the mend.

And I almost forgot! The most exciting thing to happen this month was that Julie and Nate got engaged! He proposed after dinner while they were on a walk. It was the 13th anniversary of their first date, which was on February 13th. Julie is really excited and happy to finally be engaged, after waiting 13 years! It sounds like they plan on getting married late summer/early fall of this year!