KC's Creations

I'm in disbelief at how fast this summer has gone! Kyndal will be starting 1st grade in less than 3 weeks. We started a tradition last year before Kind.....a "Last days of summer chain". It was fun coming up with all the different things last year and some new ones this year. Kyndal helps make it each year.....she LOVES projects!!! But I don't let her see what I write on the inside. It was harder this year, now that she can read!

To make it, I come up with a list of 20ish things to squeeze in before the end of summer. She cuts out 20 slips of paper and I write one per slip and then link and staple them together to make a chain. I cheat by looking ahead on the calendar to see what we may already have planned (like camping, visiting grandparents, etc.) and plan to where the trip to the zoo, pool and back to school shopping are on weekend days or a day I have off work. Let me know if you want a list of things that we do.

Each morning she gets to read the new link. Some of the things we do as a family, others just her and me or Casey and Kyndal. We do it that day if at all possible, but "life" happens and she's pretty understanding if we have to delay a day!

Just 'Horsin' Around

We are so blessed....Casey's sister, Erika, and her family moved to Lincoln just a little less than a year ago. They have been such a huge help to us in so many ways! Her husband, Jimmy, takes Kyndal to school (along with their two sons) and picks her up each day. It gives me such peace of mind knowing she's in good hands. Kyndal and Corbin also take full advantage of the "sleepovers" at Aunt Erika's house! And we've recently been reaping the rewards of her first garden....cucumbers anyone?!

Last week Casey decided to take the kids over to ride her horses. The kids hadn't ridden them since we visited Erika last summer in Cheyenne. Kyndal especially was looking forward to the adventure and she wasn't disappointed. She got all decked out in her "riding clothes" complete with cowgirl hat.

Aunt Erika's horses are very gentle. She actually had a therapeutic riding business in Cheyenne for special needs children. We are very excited that our kids have the opportunity to learn to ride on them!

First, they got a lesson on brushing and saddling up the horses and why they should walk directly behind the horses where they can't be kicked.

Then they learned which side to get on and off. We're not sure how much Corbin absorbed, but Kyndal was hanging on every word.

Once they got going and Erika taught Kyndal how to show Annie which way to turn, Kyndal took off on her own on a walk. We were pretty stunned at how "brave" she was.....we (especially her Grandma Hudson) would love for her to get attached to riding. She talks about riding now non-stop, and has been riding once again since then. We'll see if it sticks!

Cooley Family Fun

Clockwise: Jeremy, Karon, Cody, Earl, Zach, Kara, Me

Karon and Kara are my sisters, the boys are all the cousins on this side of the family, except one that couldn't make it (Jason).

We spent part of Saturday afternoon and evening at my Aunt Leota's house, played a game called "Mafia" till the wee hours of Sunday morning. The actual "reunion" was at the Lake/Park on Sunday. It was fun seeing several of my extended family and catching up!

Hey sister! ....the pink ladies!

The whole gang

Another fun pic (my sister's idea!)

(Almost) all the great-grandkids!

Lowe Family Fun

Both my Mom's and Dad's sides of the family are within an hour's drive of each other, so when we take a trip that way we try to organize a gathering on both sides. We left Friday at noon and spent the first part of the weekend on my Mom's side, on the border of Iowa and Missouri. Both of my sisters and their families met us there as well as several of my cousins and aunts on both sides and their families. Good times!

My Uncle Neil has a good fishing pond full of bass---Casey was pretty stoked!

He and the kids brought one fish back and roasted it on the fire.

Roasting hot dogs on the fire with my cousin, Chris.

Corbin sitting in timeout because he was throwing apples!

No napkins handy, so Kennedy tried to "lick" her elbow off!

KC's Creations

I wouldn't consider myself the craftiest person around or a parenting expert, but every once in awhile I come up with something, or run across an idea that was created by someone else that sounds sweet.

I plan to share the ideas that have worked for our family here on my blog as "KC's Creations". I'd love to hear your ideas too!

For my first "creation", I'm sharing my dishwasher labels. I was tired of hearing "are these clean or dirty?!" So I created these labels, cut them out and laminated them. I put a piece of tape on each one and whichever isn't being used I keep on the inside of the cabinet door above the dishwasher. Kyndal and Corbin are responsible for unloading the dishwasher, so they know when it's "blue" they have work to do! And they know they can find a clean cup in there too! Once they unload it I put the red tag on. And after I finish loading it and turn it on, I put the blue one on so I don't forget.

Lucky 13!

My birthday was Monday, the 13th...the big 32 this year. I'm at the age where it's getting harder to remember how old I am! I blame it on the fact that when you're little people ask ALL the time how old you are; how could you forget?

We didn't do anything major, but I did come home from bible study to see a very sweet card homemade from the family and a pile of bright bags. Casey will be the first to admit, he is not a "big gift person". Meaning, he is not crazy about receiving or shopping for them! One of several areas that we are opposite on! Even though he hates it, he knows how much I appreciate it and he always does a great job. And pictured is our "free" birthday cake from Russ's! They give a free 8" cake on the birthday of the account owner. It is delish!

The decorations hanging from our ceiling fan were Corbin's idea! We just finally got the rest of the decorations down from his party (June 22) so the idea was fresh in his mind. These were mobiles he made at daycare. He's so thoughtful!

Flowers from my MIL and SIL!!! Thanks for making my birthday special!

We Survived!

We ended up having a pretty good weekend, a little up and down, but overall it went well. Saturday morning we played with play-doh, went to the Y (selfishly for me--my weekend always seems to go better when I squeeze in a good sweat!) and on our way home ran into a neighborhood garage sale. I found several pairs of good jeans for Corbin for the fall, yay!

After Kennedy's nap we hit the grocery store---it's funny, I don't hesitate to take all 3 kiddos with me, but usually at least once during our trip I get one of those comments "Wow, you're really brave!"

We stopped at our local Dairy Sweet for a treat and then to Antelope Park to burn off more steam!

We invited Grandma, Aunt Erika and our friends, the Koerwitz's over for pizza and a movie. A good day!

Sunday was busy too....church and then off to an early t-ball game. Thanks to Grandma and Aunt Erika for keeping Corbin and Kennedy during the game as I filled in for Casey as one of the coaches.

This week Kyndal and Corbin are attending Vacation Bible School at Hope Community Church. They are having an awesome time learning more about how big our God is on "Crocodile Dock"!

And this weekend is our family reunion (my Dad's side) in Missouri. Have a great weekend everyone!

Single Mom for the Weekend

Casey took off Friday morning to Chicago for a weekend with the boys. They are going to the Nascar race tonight. So that leaves me with three bambinos and a wide open weekend!

We started it off with our first trip to the Cooper YMCA pool last night. It wasn't super busy, and not too hot. Kyndal has been going to Summer Adventure Club there so she took the lead on where to go and what the rules are! Aunt Erika (Casey's sister) and baby Ryder met us there. Kennedy adores baby Ryder so she was ecstatic....until it was time to go. She threw a pint sized tantrum. Macaroni and cheese crackers helped everyone's mood, but it was still a whiny evening. I could tell we all needed some zzzzz's; they were all out by 9:00. That left me some time to organize my next scrapbooking project and do some blogging!

Good "Clean" Fun

Lately my kids have been begging me to go through the car wash when we drive by it. I guess that was a pretty good indication of how grimy my car had gotten! They love going through the car wash, but I explained that while it's nice out this summer we're going to wash the car at home. I didn't think it would be tough to convince them it would be fun.


They loved the big sponges I found at a garage sale for a quarter, and they did the trick! Corbin didn't get in on the action, he was busy helping Daddy mow :o) The scrubbing at home worked, my car is now black again, and who knew "work" could be so much fun! (Don't tell the kids it was work!)

4th of July Part 2!

After our visit with the pigs we headed to Lake Mac for the weekend. We met up with several friends and a LOT of kids---12 of them ages 1 to 7! Our good friends, Nate & Charity Wyatt invited us to come and we joined them, the Jones's, Whitmore's, and Lister's for some fun. We got our camper all set up and the kids started exploring!

It was a chilly weekend, perfect for camping but not ideal for much swimming in the cold lake. It didn't stop us from testing the waters though, who can resist the sandy beach at Lake Mac?!

Camping wouldn't be complete without breaking out the s'mores!

Saturday night we set off some fireworks at the Jones' home and then enjoyed some homeade ice cream to celebrate Allison's birthday.

We rounded out the night watching the Ogallala fireworks, a really sweet show for such a small town! Thanks for the fun times this weekend everyone!