July Catch Up

KEVIN'S parent's sold their house and are now living in Charlotte!! That is the biggest and greatest news of all. They have been in transition mode as they are living with us for a few weeks. But honestly it could not be better. They are and always have been the least invasive people. I know from experience that it is not easy to be without your regular routine, and I can't imagine how it feels when your Richard's age. But I saw him literately jump UP and DOWN in my kitchen to make the boys laugh. I think this was already the best thing ever because he is going to get younger in his age.  And Yvonne has been doing things that I just have not gotten to like cleaning my washer and dryer (it was so yucky), my fridge (again super yucky) and my lazy susan. It's a nice surprise since I'm the only one to pick up any cleaning product in the house. It definitely has not gone unnoticed and I appreciate it so much. Thank you Yvonne! We are thrilled to have them here and are looking forward to doing simple family things together.

Here are a TON of pictures throughout the month!!

At the zoo! They actually got to pet the giraffe! 

Seriously love them all. 

 Super fun at the splash grounds! Looks like Jack and Caleb are holding hands! Cuteness!

No one loves the water as much as Landon. He was wildly happy here. 

 HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! 

Parade in the  neighborhood with our besties! They all look really happy in this bottom picture. 

Brecken is totally rocking these glasses. :)

The parade and festival in Unionville! 

Love Birds!

 Another "free" museum with our awesome pass and awesome friends! 

This is seriously so cool!! 

Goof balls. 

Jackson says "I don't know which way to go mom." in his most serious voice. 

Poor Brecken gets left in the dust. :) 

Grayson and Jackson look so cute here. Jack didn't want to get to close to the ledge because he might fall in. Safety first!! 

 Free bowling! And it was actually the kids first bowling experience. Jackson was very animated. He was cracking Melissa and I up! So fun. 

Kaden was an awesome bowler....Thanks to Wii. 

Brecken thought it was a jungle gym. 

We only lasted 5 frames and I have to give Jackson credit because he bowled under Brecken's name. LOVE!

Ekkk!! Kaden and Grayson's most awesome birthday party!! Look at those snakes! I couldn't believe my kids actually held them! 

Happy 4th Birthday Gray! 

This picture cracks me up!! We were at the Nature Museum and they loved this thing! Can you tell who is who? 

Leah, one of my very best friends, had a baby boy this month!! Welcome Holden James Bruns! We have already loved you for 10 months!! 

Can Leah and Kyle look anymore like a model family??!! I love this very first picture. Beautiful. 

Kevin was very concerned that he had to be the first guy there so he could be called "uncle". And I was concerned that I mixed up a delicious strawberry martini!! 

YUM!

Everyone LOVES baby Holden! 

Kid's First Camping Experience

The last time we went camping was August of 2008 and then I got pregnant with Jackson in September. It is something both of us missed terribly. A few weeks ago we decided the kids were old enough to go and we planned a trip with Paul and Jackie and their two girls, Molly and Bethany.  Jackie had never been camping before in her life and was a little concerned about how it was going to fair.

When I finally got everything packed I swore I would not EVER go camping again and we had not left yet. It was SO MUCH WORK! And the more you want to get stuff done, the more my kids are wild and naughty. Brecken probably cried the entire morning, no joke. I wanted a bloody mary before 9AM.

Luckily it did not rain until after we set up our tents, which was nice, and we had hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner. It rained on and off through the night but nothing too big. Saturday we lucked out because the rain didn't stop us from doing anything.  We still got to play in the creek with the waterfalls, have a scavenger hunt AND Aunt Jackie (she is so awesome) brought all the kids goodie bags with bubbles, ring pops, paint and glow sticks. We found rocks to paint and the kids LOVED that. The men chopped down dead trees with their tiny little hatchets and we had PLENTY of firewood. It was fun. Jackson asked me about 4 times if I liked camping because he REALLY liked it. He also asked Paul. :) But I think he likes camping so much because he can pee in the trees like "Caillou". Even Bethany liked peeing in the woods. :)

The morning we left it was monsooning !! Kevin and I were soaked. Everything we owned was soaked! NOT FUN! But looking back on our trip I loved every second of it. It makes good memories and even the not so fun parts we can laugh at now that we are in our dry homes. And Jackie loved it like I knew she would. She said she was going to sell her house and live in a tent. She slept very well and so did Jackson. He acted like a teenager.

A few things I learned...

#1.  A camp fogger is a must.
#2.  A potty training potty is a must and it was used several times by each child!
#3.  Listening to kids tell "ghost stories" is priceless.
#4.  Sleeping in a tent with two children isn't so bad when you have a 8-man tent.
#5.  Camping in the rain has "few" downfalls, or downpours.
#6.  Not that I thought it was possible, but I love the Koehlers even more! Thank you for such a great trip!

Our car was packed to the gills! Here is our campsite! 

LOVE!

 Check out Jack's shirt! Go Griz! 

Molly is overlooking this awesome little cove next to our site. Beautiful waterfall!

There is no need to even comment on these pictures! Adorable. 

This picture of Jack the kids thought was hilarious. Molly made me show her like 300 times. They belly laughed forever about this. I especially like Jacks shorts on backwards and they are jean shorts. Molly said he looks like he is from the 80's!! Where did she come from!? She was so funny! 

The kids before we went on our scavenger hunt! Aunt Jackie is the BEST! 

I have to admit, I love waking up to this. 

Daddy's little helper with Breakfast! Yum!! 

Painting rocks! Look at how precise Bethany is. 

I'm obsessed with this kid. :)

 Look at that butt! Cuteness! 

 They had a wrestle fest in our tent. Molly's exact words were "Party in the O'Hare tent!" Again where did she come from! I love her. 

 Waterfalls! 

 Fighting!

Jumping and digging for salamanders! 

ummm..dance off?? If you're sexy and you know it? 

The cornhole was out for exactly 20 minutes before the rain started. Thank you Jack and Roo for taking the time to actually play with it so it was worth bringing them. 

 Manly men. Look at those axes and the size of those trees! I'm impressed. :)

More Random Summer Photos

Seven year anniversary dinner! 

Jackie and Paul also had their 11-year anniversary! We all celebrated together! 

Happy 31st birthday to me! We had a small gathering of friends and it was so fun. What a crazy night and bar for that matter. I will never forget it that is for sure. These ladies mean so much to me. 

The cul-de-sac crew!! The girls in the picture are Ericka and Lilly. Hunter is the older boy and my boys IDOLIZE him. 

I love these series of pictures. Especially the last one where Brecken is biting his toe nails. I have not had to clip his toes or fingers in months. 

My sweet little girl Brecki ;)

Jackson is giving me attitude in bed. 

Brecken and Jackson were WILD while I was getting an oil change but I manged to get this cute picture. 

Brecken never ceases to ask for help. :) 

The boys with Hunter! 

They are so dang cute. 

LEAH's 30th Birthday BASH!

We ended up getting a hotel room and having the boys stay with Yvonne and Richard overnight for the first time at their new home! The boys of course did perfect, and we did not worry about them for ONE second! We are feeling very blessed. 

Beautiful birthday girl!! 

Chelsea, Leah, Me and Jackie at our first stop of the night. 

We ran into our neighbors, Ken and Jen! We love them!! 

As bad as all these pictures are since they are taken from an cell phone, I LOVE this one!! It pretty much sums up the night. Laughter, silliness, friends. Happy 30th birthday Leah!

Summer buttcracks. 

Ha! More silliness.