Backyard Baseball

We are blessed to have Grandpa Hudson as a frequent visitor to our home. He works for the railroad out of Fremont and often stays with us between trips....Lincoln is soooo much closer to Fremont than his lake home in South Dakota! He loves spending the evenings with his grandkids and we appreciate the extra hands around the house :o) Casey is very close to his Dad so I know he really cherishes this time he gets to have with him too. Growing up, I only saw my Grandparents once or twice a year so I know how blessed my children are to be able to spend this time with them and really know them.

Last week an improptu game of t-ball started up in our backyard and it was fun to see Grandpa jump in on the action......

Coach Daddy


Corbin's broken arm hasn't slowed him down much!

Did I mention we got it re-casted a week after his red cast? The swelling had gone down so much we could tell the red cast was way too loose. He went with a mean green cast the second time around!

My sweet girls!

Grandpa's on the mound!

Silly monkeys!

A Camping We Will Go....

So Casey has spent the last few months with an eagle eye on craigslist and has bought (and sold) several big ticket items including multiple vehicles, pop up campers and a pontoon boat! You could say it's his hobby these days!

He finally landed a camper that he is satisfied with that will hold our energetic family of six. My favorite qualities about it....it's super clean inside, big beds (two king size) and it has an a/c.

The kids were begging to try it out so two weekends ago we took advantage of the warm weather on Saturday evening and broke it out in our backyard. We got a late start due to some other activities that day so we didn't make it out to the lake, but the kids were satisfied with the compromise and soon we were having a picnic and setting up camp. Chase and I bailed and spent the night in the comfort of our home, but the rest of the family enjoyed the cool night air.

Although we're anxious to get it off our land and next to some water, we know we will be spending many weekends in it this summer!

Casey and Corbin setting it up.

Kyndal making up the beds.

Dinner time!

We didn't set up their picnic table so they used the box our new cabinets came in!

Nightfall

Casey is trying to figure out the electricity.

Kyndal is definitely her Mother's daughter...she had everything perfectly organized!

Sleep tight!

Project Purge

This winter I began working on ridding our home of unused items and clutter. In January I decided to make my plan of attack as simple and approachable as possible. I decided to focus my energy (and enlist Casey's support/help) on one room at a time.

One week per room seemed feasible for most of the rooms in our home. I'm pleased to say that we've (I've) done pretty good so far. I'm taking the opportunity to deep clean the appointed room-of-the-week as I go too. Casey hasn't helped with the actual project as much as I hoped, but has helped with specific projects when needed and entertains the kids if I'm working when they're awake :o)

So far we've crossed off the kitchen, Corbin's room, living room, and both bathrooms. We took a week break when Corbin broke his arm, then for the girls' birthdays, a week to prepare the clothes I wanted to sell on a local consignment sale and currently on another break as we're tackling a bigger project....

Remodeling our upstairs bathroom! This is a project we were hoping to tackle all winter just couldn't find the motivation. Then one day I decided to see how hard it would be to peel off the wallpaper border. Before I knew it I had the whole thing off. Evidently that sparked Casey as we soon found ourselves at Home Depot picking out new tile, a toilet and accessories! He ordered the new cabinets and countertops and we were on our way to a more modern space.

So far it's been a pretty easy process, but it's starting to drag out......I'm ready for it to be done! The cabinets, countertops and toilet are installed. The tile is down but needs grout. I completed the painting this week. New mirror and hooks are up (can you believe we went over a week without a mirror?!)

So hopefully the space will be complete soon so I can resume my "Project Purge!!" Here's some pictures of our progress....

Good-bye purple flower border, you will NOT be missed!

The border matched this still existing shower curtain. Soon, it will be retired!

Installing the new cabinets/countertop. I'm so blessed to have a handy-man!!

The white is disappearing....no more white cabinets or trim, yay!!

White trash??? Here's the old sink, cabinet, etc. ....on.our.deck. That's how Casey rolls!

Let's go Exploring....

....with Dora!

My girls' birthdays are two days apart and we love celebrating birthdays so that week gets a little crazy around our house (as if it isn't crazy already--ha!)

Kennedy chose Dora the Explorer for her party theme and had no trouble coming up with her guest list (and her list of gifts as well....)

We were so excited to have such a great turnout for her party, we had lots of exploring to do!

Posing with her Dora cake...waiting for her party to begin after church!

The treatsGifts and party favors

Activity sheets/station
Dora memory game and a bracelet making activity

The boys and their video games!

"Grandpa, I'm 4!"
Kennedy and Kamree!

Ali and her Mom, Jill

Aunt Erika made her this sweet cupcake birthday shirt, we LOVE it!

Making bracelets...

Pin the tail on Swiper!

I tricked my nephew, James, which they all got a kick out of :o)

Aunt Kara and cousin Lizzie

I came up with a special scavenger hunt. They paired up and each group got a set of clues. They were going up and down the stairs to find Dora related items: boots, flashlights, maps, backpacks and stars!

When they found the boots, they each had to put one on for the rest of the game.

Off to search for the next clue.

The backpack, they had to wear together.

Finding the maps

Most of our guests, ready for cake and ice cream! Grandma Hudson, Aunt Erika and Uncle Jimmy, and Lora, our daycare provider are all pictured above

My baby girl is four!!

Making a wish!

A special thank-you to Chantel for taking pictures for me!

Chantel's daughter, Lauren....Kennedy was so sweet, she gave everyone a hug after opening the gift they brought for her (without prompting!)