Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Miscellaneous May

In May we welcomed the warm weather and broke out our hammock and soccer ball in the backyard. Mr. Sprinkles FINALLY visited our neighborhood allowing Maybrie to redeem her free ice cream coupon she had received on her school bus! I once again appreciated Pinterest for its quick and easy gift ideas... I had lotion, just needed a saying to go along with it for teacher appreciation week for Maybrie's school teacher. We took the Hirschi family to the zoo for one last visit before they moved to Oregon. They are such a great family and will be greatly missed. The boys and I took a walk and had a stray cat follow us and run into one of our friends' houses... me and cats don't mesh well, especially an unwanted one that won't leave me alone! (Thomas loved him though, of course!) We also broke out the sprinkler on an especially hot day... Maybrie and Thomas had too much fun, Ezra is still hesitant about spraying water.




Brian and I went on an awesome overnight getaway to Brian's classmate Anna Marr's lake house in Northern Indiana. Their other classmate Kristen Brunner came with us as well. We made a yummy dinner of burgers and corn on the cob and then relaxed in the hot tub by the lake. It is such beautiful home which made for a luxurious evening alone. The next morning we drove a couple hours to Sandusky, Ohio to Cedar Point... the roller coaster capitol of the world! It was a bucket list item of ours and we had a great day. We were a little cold because it was overcast and being right on Lake Michigan made it extra windy. We survived the cool temperatures and wind burn to get several big thrills in. The top thrill dragster was our longest wait and was the most terrifying anticipation... but was actually a lot of fun and not as bad as I thought it would be after the fact. Thanks to the Kenney and McFarland families who watched our kids so we could go behave like kids!







A couple days later I got to help Brittney, Andrea, and Holly shower Alisa and her baby girl. It was a beautiful brunch shower with a great turnout. Always so fun to do cute and pretty things with the ladies!


Brian and I began our bunk bed makeover on one we picked up out by the dumpster! We bought screws, stripper, and white paint and got to work! Brian and I spent many nights over a couple weeks painting together... it was good bonding and we were pleased with the end result. Thomas was especially excited about the project and kept pulling out his play tools to help daddy... pretty darn cute! Ezra has become just as much of a daddy's boy as Thomas now, and cries when he leaves. I finally broke down and bought Birkenstock sandals... $90, actually cheaper than the normal $140. They have been magic on my feet, worth every penny. I love them!





We went downtown to the Indy 500 Festival parade. The kids enjoyed it so much! Ezra entered nursery, and is having a rough time adjusting. Me going in to lead singing time and then leaving to primary isn't helping anything. Hopefully he adjusts soon. On Memorial day we drove to Cincinnati, Ohio and met up with Brian's Aunt Laurel and Uncle Pat and their daughters and Brian's brother Darin's family. We ate lunch at a cool park, under the freeway... the kids loved it. Then we walked across the Purple People Bridge that crosses the Ohio River, separating Ohio and Kentucky. We also went to Jungle Jim's and international marketplace... super fun! They had food from lots of different countries so we grabbed some Brazilian and European favorites. We had dinner at a pizzaria next door... good food, most horrible service! Everyone, the kids especially were getting antsy with the hour wait for our food to be made! It was a fun day in another new city. Whew! What a month!














Sunday, July 5, 2015

Lori's Wedding

Brian's sister Lori got married over Mother's Day weekend and Brian and I were lucky enough to fly out to Washington for the wedding. Ezra came with us since he can still fly free and Maybrie and Thomas stayed with our good friends the Bunkers, who they love. All had a good weekend. We flew to Pasco, WA Friday night and stayed at Lisa and Jaime's house.
On Saturday morning my mom watched Ezra while we went to the temple sealing (she was in town watching my sister Jessica's kids next door while they were in Hawaii! Crazy timing!). It was so neat to be able to see both our moms over Mother's day weekend. The sealing was wonderful... so great to be there with all of Brian's siblings and their spouses. I forgot my temple recommend... oops! Luckily they got a hold of my bishop and I made it in with no problem! Lori and Stuart make a very good looking couple, and Lori was simply glowing all day, such a beautiful bride! We had a luncheon at the church, tacos at Brian's parents house and then the reception at the church that evening. Lisa headed up the decorations, Emily made the cake and Christy made the daisy cupcake toppers... all turned out beautifully. I loved the daisies and burlap... so Lori! I was really excited to figure out printing on Burlap for their wedding gift, one of my favorite Pinterest finds! 
The next day we went to church with Brian's parents and celebrated Mother's day with them in Grandview. We were able to visit with my sister Jessica and family later that night in Pasco before we flew home the next morning. During our layover in Salt Lake we volunteered to delay our flight to receive a $400 travel voucher each and spend a few hours with my family. My brother Spencer picked us up from the airport and we met my parents and two sisters Ashley and Noelle at In 'n' Out... heavenly food and company, so lucky! It was a quick but fun weekend and we are so grateful to our friends who cared for Maybrie and Thomas so we could be with Lori on her special day! And P.S. Ezra traveled SO much better than we thought he would, slept pretty much every flight! Yay!