It's Been a Long Time

Wow, it's July already! School is a distant memory, and summer is already slipping through our grasp. We've traveled to the Black Hills, mowed lots of lawns, had fun with fireworks, stayed up really late, been boating and fishing, completed summer PE, celebrated 18 years of marriage, volunteered as a camp counselor, and walked many miles with friends very early in the morning--not in that order! Currently Braylen is taking Driver's Education and we're all adjusting to Derek's shift change, and July holds more summer fun that will go by too fast. It always does.

Highlights from the second half of May...

Last day of 9th, 7th, and 4th grades

Braylen's birds before...

...and after!

Playing games with  the family

"Working" with GoPro videos

Memorial Day Weekend at the lake

Where's Braylen? In the tree!

Kaleb flying his kite

Aaron with his Minion kite

So, what's different for us this summer? Aaron is craving more independence. He wants us to treat him like the older boy he is becoming. Yes, that is hard for me to do. What his brothers did at his age looks different than what he's doing now, and I'm working on that. Kaleb still works out his middle position in the brotherhood pretty well, but I hear him say how much he misses Braylen when he's not around. Which brings me to Braylen. He's a busy guy, and he never complains about getting up early to work, attend PE, or Driver's Ed. I admire him for that. When given the chance, he will sleep in like his brothers, and sometimes they don't stir until 10 or 11 AM. Ah, summer. :)

Some moments from June 1-16

Aaron & Derek

Braylen & Kaleb, fishing buddies

I love having more help around the house in the summer.

Dad still wins :)

Go Aaron!

I love Kaleb's face here.

Derek had a visitor one morning in his Cruiser. 

When a strawberry truck crashes, look what we get!

They keep getting bigger, or is Big Mable shrinking?

Playtime

Kaleb and Aaron's haul after fishing with Grandma and Grandpa!

Getting the camper ready for the Black Hills

Working with wood while I pack up the food for our vacation.
I think they were making a birdhouse here.

The pool is up before our trip!

Brothers

June 17th we left for our camping trip in the Black Hills, which I hope to capture in another post. Someday. Meanwhile I will try to soak up all the summer moments I can. Maybe I can find some time to rest? I think if someone asked me to pick three words to describe my life with my kids right now, I would say, "Busy, tiring, and exciting." I guess I can rest later!

Life Goes On

Well, so much for writing about our spring break trip to Colorado. School is ending this week and we are caught up in the whirlwind of May activities. Saying that it happened, and that we had a great time celebrating family ties and relationships, will have to be enough. Derek and Braylen made lots of memories snowmobiling with the guys in our family, while the rest of us hiked at Garden of the Gods, explored the Air Force Academy, and enjoyed good food at Red Robin and Chick-fil-a. The cousins made a game out of counting slug bugs, PT Cruisers, and Smart Cars. It continues to this day!

My parents packed up and moved away this month, leaving Illinois behind for a new stage of their life. Before the big move, they came here for a visit. We squeezed in a track meet and my dad's 64th birthday, along with basketball games in the driveway and Snoopy Sno Cones made my Kaleb and Grammy. 

When it was time for my parents to drive home to Illinois, I went with them. For a few days it was just me, Mom, Dad, and Eric at home together. I called it my goodbye tour of where I grew up. We ate at our favorite restaurants, visited our high school, walked through the mall, attended church at FVBC, and spent an afternoon with my grandma and extended family. I got together with some special friends one evening, lifelong friends of mine, and came away feeling incredibly blessed to have these women in my life. Eric and I helped Mom and Dad pack, and I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that 37 years in this house was ending. Leaving this place I've always called home, and saying goodbye to a part of my life I will never have again, wasn't easy. "Do the next thing" became my motto this spring, along with lots of prayers! The time I spent with my family during those days is a gift, really. I'll treasure it always.

Giordano's!

All together at church

I spent countless hours in this gym growing up.

My sweet grandma and me :)

Fradillio's!

Jacobs High School

Remembering Station 1 on the Fox River

The only original piece of playground equipment left from Eastview.
In the background are the T-ball fields.

Goodbye #13

Derek met me at the airport, and just like that--I was back in the reality of my present life. :) We had the May whirlwind in front of us, which brings me to today. 

DQ after Kaleb's band concert

Aaron at the Trails & Rails field trip, my favorite one of all.
We made cornstalk angels as part of Pioneer Days.

Braylen keeps reminding me he's very glad to be done with his freshman year of high school. He'll soon be driving himself wherever he needs to go, which brings me a mixture of terror and relief. I'm trying to hold on to each day we have left of this stage of life, for I know it will be over in the blink of an eye.

Derek officially turned 40 last week, and honestly, I feel like I'm having an out of body experience. My parents moved states away, my son is on the brink of 16, my husband is 40--it feels like I'm observing someone else's life! 

Derek and his parents

Happy 40th Birthday with my Love!

This past week was National Police Week, and I wrote an article about what it's like to be a police officer's wife. Another web site posted it for me since I needed to keep my name off of it. If you saw it floating around Facebook, and wondered if it was mine, it is. :) Derek's mom helped me put up some blue ribbons around town, and the police wives did a fantastic job bringing food into the station for our officers all week. LESA (Law Enforcement Spouse Association) is being revived, so hopefully next year we will have an even bigger impact on our town. It would be wonderful for the community members to rally around the officers, but until they do, the wives will take care of it!

Summer "vacation" starts in 4 days and if only I could find a way to make it last and last...

And that's where I'm at right now. Living it out one day at a time. :)

Our Youngest is 11

I love all of my kids' birthdays, I really do. But today just seemed extra great. Maybe it's because Aaron's birthday fell on a Sunday this year. Maybe it's because Derek didn't have to work. Maybe it's because the kids are getting older, and birthdays take on a whole new meaning when you realize there are only a handful of them left before the kids are all grown up.

Aaron loves his brothers. He told us last night that if he had one day left on the earth, he would spend it playing with them.

13, 11, and 15 years old. They're growing up so fast.

Between church, lunch with grandparents, and his friends coming over this afternoon, Aaron had just a few minutes to open his presents today. His favorite one? A disco ball from Grammy and Grampy!

We've had disco ball parties in the bathroom and in his bedroom today. I bet you've never taken a shower in a dark bathroom, with only a disco ball to light it up. We have! :)

More minions from Grammy, and my only picture with my 11 year old son today.

As a mom, I've learned to become a student of my children. Aaron loves to go 4-wheeling, and he really enjoys spending time with his closest friends. That would be his brothers, his friend Carson, and another friend from our church. What a perfect way to spend his birthday! Everything came together to be a perfect day for Aaron.

Derek really went above and beyond for Aaron today. The boys drove 4-wheelers. They got stuck in a mud pit and high-centered on a hill. Derek saved the day every time! They explored the island and all of its trails, while Derek and his good friend each wore Go-Pro cameras to record all the fun they were having. I was there to supervise, and to provide snacks and water. I was also treated to rides by Braylen and Kaleb. I love to see their personalities come out through their driving. ;) Everyone stayed safe, and everyone had more fun than I ever could have imagined. A couple times throughout the day I thought about the day Aaron was born, and how I never thought we would be doing this 11 years later!

Hopefully I can post some pictures of the 4-wheeling party some day soon, but tonight I'm pretty tired. There are other things I would like to write about as well. We went to Colorado Springs for spring break, and Derek went snowmobiling with his dad, brothers, and Braylen for an early 40th birthday celebration in Breckenridge. Yes, Derek will be turning the big 4-0 this year!

For tonight, Aaron is 11 years old. I feel like we honored and cherished him on his birthday. Even his brothers took extra good care of him this weekend. I hope and pray they stay close throughout their lives. Our years with them in our home are so very short. Yes, these are the years we will one day look back on and long for.

Aaron blesses our family with his inquisitive mind and attention to detail. He is fearless, determined, and persistent. He tries extra hard to prove to us that he's not a little baby anymore. But you know what? He still brings me dandelions. I'll hold on to that as long as I can. :)

Happy Birthday to our one and only Aaron William!

Hockey rink cake, with lego goal posts and nets knitted by Aaron and me!

Family of 5

Meat Party in March

When life gets busy, as it always does, plans change and change and change! This year Derek and the rest of the crew FINALLY completed their meat processing in the middle of March. March! And as it turns out, they got it done just in time.

Aaron's favorite part of this process is making "noodles" out of the meat.

Derek's ever-faithful parents love to help out.

This would not be the same without Shawn. He's been with Derek from the beginning!
Hard to believe it will be 10 years this fall since Derek's first deer hunt with Shawn.

It's a lot of work, but they all have fun and make lots of memories while working together.

During this meat party Rebekah and I took her kids to the park, prepared the meals for everyone, and helped with dishes Friday night. We also escaped for a bit to her hotel to swim with her kids, along with Kaleb and Aaron. Fun!

Aaron and Kaleb spent most of their time on the big water slides.
Here they are in the kiddie pool. :)

So, why did all of this get done just in time? Well, Derek got sick. Really, really sick. The kind of sick where you go to bed at night and don't get out of bed for 2 days, and then it takes about a week to recover. I'm sure he had Influenza B, since our entire town was stricken with it recently. Turns out every adult working in the garage ended up getting sick. I stayed healthy, thanks be to God for that! (Good thing I didn't work in the garage--ha!)

Now, the deer sausage is not contaminated--I promise! I worked very hard for 2 days, baking all of the sausages in the oven. I felt like a walking sausage when the process was complete! Between the seasonings, cure, and the heat--the sausage is safe to eat. We have it all vacuum sealed and in the freezer for lots and lots of snacks! 

Now that Derek is healthy again and back at work, we're back to our normal schedules and plans. The boys are on spring break--yay! It feels like spring outside and we have some fun things ahead of us.

Before moving on to next week, here's a look back at the first half of March. We're in one of those seasons where we are either having fun or we're bored. Obviously these are some of our fun moments. :)

Fun at the hockey game with cousins and funnel cakes

Aaron's basketball team

Happy Birthday Great Grandma Muriel! She will turn 92 on 3/25.

Fun at the IMAX theater with the girls.
Aaron really enjoyed the movie--it felt like it was made just for him.

Aaron and Analise loved the rock and mineral display at the museum after the movie.

All tucked in, but not in bed! Silly Aaron.

Aaron's character award with Braylen along to watch the assembly.
It is so hard for me to believe we only have one more year at this school.

Kaleb called me Ma'am and tipped his hat before I snapped this picture.
When Derek works we find things to do around town. :)