Goodbye summer!!!!

As much as I love warmer weather and being at the pool, splash parks, lake etc...I am ready for the fall. I am over the 90 degree or higher weather and ready for jeans and hoodies. I am ready for some pretty leaves on the trees, halloween, boo at the zoo and everything else that comes with fall. But since it is not here yet we have been back to the splash park to cool off a little. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the other day.

Lessons I hope my Kids learn

We are all either in our 30's or close to being in our 30's. By now most of us have learned a lot of life lessons. We have learned that it doesn't matter what you drive, or how much your purse costs, or how big your house is that defines you as a person. Most of us realie this. We realize that what defines us is who we are as a person. That life is not a popularity contest. No one cares if you have one friend or 1000 friends. We have learned that it is the quality of people we have in our lives not the quanity. Some of us learn this early in life and some later and sadly some not at all. Some people go through life doing anything they can to make people like them which really makes them a fake person. We all have our personalities and we all traits that other people might not like. I know that I am sarcastic ( everyone who has ever met me probably knows this), I know I am stubborn and I know I am opinionated. But the people who are my true friends and really love me for who I am also know this and they either deal with it or tell me to shut up when I am going to far. My husband loves me for who I am ( sucker!!) j/k. He will stand up for me when he needs to and he will let me know when I am wrong. He will love me on my best days and on my worst days and that is how it should be. Not just with him but with friends as well. No one is perfect. People mess up. That is how we learn. Rob and I tell our kids all the time that the choices they make can either be good ones or bad ones and if you make a bad choice than you face the consequence. We grow up thinking what is important is being the most popular kid. No one wants to be the loner. We think that if we have 50 friends than we are so cool. But that we get out of highschool and into the real world and you realize that having 50 friends who are not truthful, supportive, understanding people are not really friends. Friends are the ones that will tell you to your face when they have a issue. Will understand that sometimes you are going to disagree on things. It doesn't mean you are attacking them or them yo, it just means that you do not agree. True friends are the ones that will fight for you jst as hard as you will fight for them. Friendship shouldnt feel like a job. it shouldnt feel like you are always giving and someone is always taking. Its a 50/50. I know my kids are still young and they will go through the popularity stuff at school. And they will want the same shoes as someone or a toy because someone else has it. But I hope they learn early to really see people for who they are. To find out if they are real or fake. If they are a good person or not. If their friends would look out for them. I hope they realize that REAL friendships cant be broken by some stupid disagreement but only become stronger. That a true friend woldnt talk behind your back but to your face. That when they are older and married and have kids a true friend will love their kids as much as they do. I know I have friends like this. I also know that I had friends who were not like this and I no longer speak to them. In the end I have my amazing husband, I have 3 beautful, adorable, smart, athletic, creative, wonderful kids. And I have the friends that would jump in front of a bus for me just like I would for them. I feel sad for the people who are adults who havent learned this yet and I pray that my kids will learn these lessons before someone really hurts them or lets them down.

Sibling love!

These two are like peas in a pod!

I am not surprised since they are 2 yrs and 1 day apart. Zach wakes up in the morning asking to get Addie out of her bed and Addie wakes up asking for Zach. They will play together all day with minimal fighting ( after all they are still kids and have their fights). They are always giving eachother hugs and kisses and telling eachother they love each other. Don't get me wrong Addie and Zach love Alex too and play with him but he is at the age where at times he is too "cool" for his little brother or sister. But if you mess with one Alex will get you. I think these two will be close forever. They have a special bond and Zach takes being her big brother very seriously. I love watching their relationship grow and can't wait to see how they are in the future!

Yeah he might be a pro athlete one day

Yesterday we were at a BBQ for one of Robs co workers and we brought the kids. Everytime we go somewhere and people meet Alex for the first time they always talk about how athletic he is. ( yep he gets it from me) :) Yesterday he was throwing the football, playing bags, playing soccer and overall just being a boy. But the kid has quite the arm and ability. And I know all parents say that but EVERYONE says it about him. This is the kid that at age 2 could hit a pitch really well. He could drive a golf ball farther than me. He excelled in baseball when he played it and was the only kid on flag football that couls throw it the right way ( with the spiral) and catch a ball. And when we bought his first big boy bike when he turned 4 the training wheels were off within a month and he was jumping curbs. Now he jumps off ramps and over 3 tonka trucks! When it came time to learn to swim I never paid for lessons. ( waste of money in my opinion) but within 5 minutes of being in the pool with me he was swimming by himself. If he doesnt grow up to be a athlete or at least excell in a sport through highschool and maybe college I will be surprised. Yesterday he was throwing the football and playing with some older kids and was doing better than them. Hes fast and tall and built to be a quartback. He has been in almost every sport we have been able to put him in for his age and we are letting him decide what he really likes and wants to pursue but whatever he chooses Im sure he will be great at it.

1 week down...how many to go??

Alex has conquered his first week of second grade! I wish I had pictures to post but the only one I got is still on my phone! And since I had to leave Wednesday before he was ready I asked Rob to get pictures and all he got was alexs backpack as he walked onto the bus. ( Seriously!!! And somehow he has a masters!) Alex is loving it so far. HE has always loved school, minus the first couple months of kindergarten because he thought it was too easy. He really progressed last year and this summer in his reading so I think he is happy about that as well. When it comes to math and science Alex was at a almost 3rd grade level by the end of last year and he loves both. He also loves thinking he is such a big man taking the bus with all his buddies from our neighborhood and hanging out with his "group" at recess. I swear this kid thinks he is 17! He said he likes his teacher and has some of his friends from last year in his class so so far so good. Granted it has only been 3 days but I think he is going to have a great year!

Time really does fly by....

Remember when you were pregnant or just had your first baby and everyone told you time would fly by and they would grow up fast. Its something you do not think about or even realize until you are a parent yourself.Alex was born at 7lbs 5oz and the next thing I knew he was a little toddler walking and talking and exploring the world..

And now he is 7! He has started second grade. He has gone on trips without Rob and me, he has a vast knowlesdge of the world, he thinks like a engineer, and my god is he athletic!

Then you have my Zachy! I remember the day he was born and thinking about how excited I was to have our family grow. I was going to have my boys! He came out aa a 7lb 1 oz little man!But in a blink of a eye I felt like his baby moments were gone!

From a baby to almost being 5!!! To being in pre-k! Its crazy! I can not wait to see what he learns this year, he is so smart already. ( I know every parent says that)but i really think that since he has Alex, whom he wants to be just like, he has picked up a lot of knowledge earlier than others. At four and a half he walks around my house adding, spelling, subtracting, and counting. And boy s he sweet. Constant hugs, kisses and I love you's from that one. Ellie is going to be one lucky lady when they get married. :)

And then we have my peanut...who isnt a peanut anymore! She was the smallest of the bunch weighting in at 6lbs 12 oz! Our little squish! When I was younger I never wanted girls but I love having one. I love that she watches her brothers and just thinks they are the most amazing things!

I feel like we just brought her home yet here I am trying to figure out what kind of cake I am going to make for her 3rd birthday. ( holding back the tears) I can not believe she will be 3 in a few months! And her vocab is amazing! One day she went from speaking jibberish to speaking clear english! I can not wait to see what life has in store for her but seriously when and how did she grow up so fast!

Time really does fly! I love watching my kids grow. Watching what they become interested in and watching them learn but it does make me sad to think about how fast time goes by! Alex has about 10 and a half years left till college. I know that sounds like a long time but I feel like it will fly by since the first 7 and a half have flown by! And even though we have days where I want to pull my hair out and days where I think I could totally handle one more baby ( never going to happen) I love our family. We arent perfect, we have days where everyone is fighting, but we have days where everyone is getting along and you can just feel the love. I could not imagine my life any other way and i wish there was some way to just bottle it up and keep it forever!

Hes back!!!!

After 2.5 weeks Alex is back. And he had quite the trip. He flew out to Colorado on July 27th with my dad. He spent a few days with my parents doing some yard work, going to parks, going to the farm and hanging with jackson (aka dopey dog). Then they drove up to Jackson Hole Wyoming to visit with my brother and his girlfriend Lindsay.

Everyday there was something new for him. He did a junior ranger program at teton national forest and got a badge. They went to yellowstone. I warned him ahead of time about how bad it smells but he said it did not bother him. They saw old faithful go off along with some other gysers that were erupting while they were there. They took the tram up to the top of the tetons and also did a little hiking. My brother had a bike race one of the days they were there so while he was off they took Alex to a friends ranch where he got to play with the dogs and do some horseback riding before meeting matt at the finish line. He also did a little paddle boarding and swimming in the lake with Matt. They made cookies, played games, went shopping and hung out. He bought gifts for all of us which he was super excited to give us when he got home. They headed back to Colorado last Thursday where he did some more yard work...the kid loves it, always have...and he did some skateboarding and played at the park. He got home late Sunday night and has told us all about it. Overall I think it was a pretty good way to end his summer vacation! Tomorrow school starts ( scary) and he will be starting second grade! Its insane but I am ready to get back to our noraml routine!

Camping

Since Alex is off on his vacation Rob and I decided it would be nice to take Zach for a weekend of camping. Since we have 3 kids it is almost impossible to give a kid one on one attention..especially for a whole weekend. On Friday we packed up the car, droped Addie at grandmas and headed off to Indiana to go camping at Pokagon State Park. I spent every summer there and it is awesome to be able to take my kids there. Zach was very excited. We took him camping last year and he loved it so he was ready for the weekend.

Can you tell he was excited??? Friday we got there in the afternoon and set up our campsite. We headed out to get some food and just hung out and let Zach play. On Saturday we headed into Michigan to go by my old summer house and do some swimming in the lake and visit some of my old neighbors. Zach had a blast jumping off the dock and playing in the sand...until we saw a snake swim across the shore..then he was done swimming. We headed back into Pokagon to go to the big beach there. Rob sat and played in the sand with Zach and I swam with him in the lake. He loved it. The kid is a water kid for sure. He loves jumping in, being thrown in, and has no problem going under water and doesnt even plug his nose. He is so close to swimming by himself too which is great.

We headed back to our campsite to grill some dinner and not to long after the rain started coming in. We made a last minute decision to just pack up and head home..especially since they were calling for 70 mph winds and telling people to head to their basements and evacuate their mobile homes. We figured a tent probably wouldnt be much fun. So even though we came back a little early it was still a fun time. I hope we can go back next year..if you ever want to do some family bonding I hightly suggest camping.