Flip Flop Summer

We are soaking up the last little bit of our flip flop summer before we start the new school year. Here's a few of the things we have been up to this month:

Grandma Bonnie fell and broke her shoulder, arm, and a few ribs. She is in a lot of pain, but she is seriously one of the strongest people I know. Despite being in pain, she tries to find joy in everything. 

When we got back from our vacation, we stopped by to see her. Grandma Bonnie is one tough granny and someone I really admire. 

Brynnli's friends, and our neighbors, the Moffats, asked her if she wanted to go to a bakery that was celebrating everything Barbie... Apparently you could get a discount if you dressed up in pink, so Brynnli got every pink clothing and accessory item she had to go with her friends. 

Look how cute these girls are. The Moffats have 4 girls all really close to Brynnli's age, so she ends up playing with at least one of them every day. 

We are so sad because the Moffats are going to be moving next month to Florida. They plan to stay there for a few years. Brynnli is so sad because she plays with the Moffats almost every day, and when they move she won't have any friends to play with in our neighborhood. 

Who's going to play restaurant with Brynni now? I guess Grandma Kathy will have to do. 

These two cuties got back to school haircuts. Don't they look so grown up?

My mom and I took Bella to feed the ducks in the canal by their house. Both Grandma and Bella had a great time. 

Brynnli had a few friends over for a late night movie. These girls are so cute and had so much fun. I don't know how much of the movie they actually watched because they were giggling the entire time.

Don't let Makayla's face confuse you. She loved this ride at Lagoon. 

That smile is much better. 

Thanks to Tyler he timed our ride on the Ferris Wheel perfectly to have the perfect view of the sunset. 

Our kids are so lucky to have Tyler as their dad. I mean what 40 year old dad would do flips on the tramp?

Brynnli loves her new playroom and spends hours just playing up there. If you ever have the chance, go to her store.. it's one of the best places. 

My parent's new house is starting! They dug the concrete footings. They will hopefully be in their new house by February or March. 

Makayla is a little bit nervous about 7th grade and opening her locker. Tyler took her to the school so she could practice. 

My niece Hanna got married on August 19th. She makes a beautiful bride. 

I loved this picture of Hannah in her wedding dress with the picture of Hannah's mom in her wedding dress. Hannah's biological mom, Amber, passed away in a car accident when Hannah was just 2 years old. I love that she was able to honor her mom this way. 

Bella really is the most spoiled dog around here. We just love her. 

She's a walrus!

I wanted to document this moment because this will be the last time my dad grows a huge garden. My dad has always had a huge garden filled with corn, squash, tomatoes, eggplant, raspberries, and cucumbers. I remember summer nights when we would just have dinner from the garden, and I loved it. I think moments like this are bitter sweet. I know this yard is so much work and my dad his getting so tired trying to keep up with it all, but I am going to miss my childhood home and the memories I had there. 

I walked past Makayla one afternoon and just had to snap this picture of her. It was a "glimmer" moment for me. A moment where I wondered how she grew up so fast and marveling at how she's become such an amazing young woman in the blink of an eye. Makayla is an excellent student, a loyal friend, a great sister, and such a fun daughter. Don't let people try to tell you that teenagers these days are difficult because I think the rising generation is pretty great. 

This one too... they don't come any more thoughtful, hard working, funny, and smart as Caden. 

Saturday mornings are made for quick trips to the local farmer's market and library. The kids got to plant some seeds in a pot. 

And a huge shout out to Tyler for always making our back yard look amazing. 

I found this picture of me and my best friend in elementary school, Staci. Tyler was laughing so hard that the two of us would get matching clothes and have professional photos taken. Tyler said Caden looked exactly like me and made Caden do the same pose as me. What do you think? Does Caden look like me? I couldn't see it. 

Just in case you didn't know... our kids are really talented. Just look at Makayla. She said this was a really comfortable way to watch t.v. 

Back to School Time

Wasn't it just yesterday that I was posting end of the school year pictures? I really have no idea where this summer went, yet here we are... heading back to school.

Makayla is in 7th grade this year and I just can't believe I have a middle schooler. This year brings a lot of new changes with a new school. Makayla has 7 teachers, and 7 different classes. I know she's going to do amazing this year and really love middle school. 

I should try to find a picture of me in middle school because I'm pretty sure I was the typical awkward 7th grader. I don't think it's fair that Makayla got to skip the awkward years and just went straight to stunning.

Caden is in 6th grade this year and his home room teacher is Mrs. Rendell. The cool thing about 6th grade this year is that they are trying to prepare the kids for middle school, so Caden has 4 different classes and teachers he goes to throughout the day. 

Brynnli is in 3rd grade and her teacher is Mrs. Vail. 

I love that these two get to be together for one more year at the same school. 

The first day of school I walked a few steps behind Caden so I wasn't the weird mom... which was really hard for me. Caden met up with his friends Logan and Tanner. 

Brynnli didn't want me to hang around much either, so I gave her a hug and went about my way. 

Why do they have to grow up so fast? It's fine. I'm fine... every thing's fine. 

It's Taken 40 Years to Look This Good

It's taken 40 years to look this good. 

You all know how much I love my birthday, but this year I'm not quite sure how I feel about turning 40.

We started out my birthday weekend with dinner at Tepenyaki. 

And I opted for skillet cookies for dessert. 

Caden is seriously the cutest and most thoughtful kid. He woke up early on my birthday and walked over to Duck Donuts to get me a birthday donut with his own money. He even picked out my favorite flavor!

The kids spoiled me with lots of presents. Caden made our whole family out of Lego. 

Brynnli made me some cute crafts with the cutest rainbow beads. 

And Makayla made the most hilarious video where she changed the lyrics of "Party in the USA" to things all about me, like "My tummy's turning cuz I forgot to feed the doggo, She's my favorite but I don't want to let the others know. That when google dropped my favorite tune and the Kenny song was on... and the Kenny song was on. So I put my hands up they're playing my song, and I'm singing it really loud. Nodding my head like yeah, cooking some food like yeah." It was seriously so funny and I was laughing so hard. Makayla is so creative!!

I got spoiled some more with pie from Flake. 

 I really loved my 30''s, and I'm excited to see what my 40's bring. I'm proud of the person I've become. I've grown a lot and become more confident in me. I am blessed with a great family, good health, and lots of love and laughter. Let's do 40!! Maybe I can convince Tyler to go on a little vacation later this year to celebrate both of us turning 40 this year... because you know, that's quite the milestone!