Memorial Day Weekend!

Winding up a wonderful 3 day, Holiday weekend! What a beautiful, fun, relaxing weekend it was! Friday the weekend started with Dylan's pre-school graduation, aaaahhhh! Neither of us can believe that in just a few short months we will have a Kindergartner on our hands! Oh my WORD! This was an entire family event and Brad and I more than enjoyed ourselves and are so proud of Dylan and how much he has grown up this year! You can find more about this year on his own post: www.dylanholub.blogspot.com

Saturday morning brought some relaxation at home while Daddy helped Uncle Nick shingle his roof and went to the shop to drop off some paperwork for his work. Lincoln Log building time is a favorite of Dylan's and Danielle loves to sit and watch him any chance she gets...always with a baby in her hands!

Saturday early afternoon and evening we spent at our friends the Owen's! We let the kids wear their little buns out, running thru the sprinkler, trampoline time, soccer of course too! The Daddy's even taught the boys a little bit about golf with a short little putting lesson! Evening brought a BBQ, smores around the campfire and glow in the dark frisbee with their glow in the dark necklaces! We had a fantastic time, the weather was warm and it cooled off nicely in the evening. This was a fantastic start to a super fun weekend!!

Sunday's forecast was HOT, HOT, HOT! We were SO anxious to have a pool day so we started our summer tradition with the Hahn and Eddins family's! Late morning the fun was in full swing! It was some 83 degrees by like 11 o'clock, and it was warming up fast! We had the 3 pools out and the CrAZy sprinkler. The kids dove in to the water right away and splashed their little hearts out! We grilled a very yummy, refreshing lunch, drank a few ice cold beverages and frozen margaritas and soaked up the sunshine, every bit of it!!!

The giggles were non stop, the Daddy's found themselves participating in a game of football and us Mommy's enjoyed catching up and taking it all in! It felt so good to start the Summer off with a bang and what a better way to enjoy family and friends than on a long Holiday Weekend!

Just listen to the voices of our wee ones, SO cute!

Last evening Brad and I put the kiddo's to bed as they were wiped out! We moved out to the deck and it sure was a beautiful evening. The temps cooled off nicely, we grilled and shared a steak and enjoyed the quietness that surrounded us! What a lovely day!





Today we all slept in and enjoyed one extra day added onto the weekend! We had Dylan's choice of chocolate chip muffins for breakfast, got ready and headed out the door for our Annual Memorial Day visit to the Cedar Memorial Cemetery salute. It is so powerful pulling into the cemetery amongst hundreds of cars and seeing nothing but Red, White and Blue amongst the bright green grass and beautiful flowers on the markers.

We made a stop at the marker of our loved ones and brought out our cleaning kit to dust off the dirt and polish up the resting spot of our beloved Grandpa and Grandma Kinney and our very own Dalton James. Dylan was a very big helper today!

As we have experienced the past few visits, Dylan asked a lot of questions about Dalton today. What his last name was, if he was big in heaven or little, if he liked to laugh and if they had birthday party's there, oh and how old he was. Very curious about his big brother, and we gladly shared answers to all of his questions. We find it very peaceful when we visit the cemetery. Visiting on Memorial day is so powerful as we not only mourn the loss of our loved ones, but we think about and thank those in the Military who have sacrificed their lives for us so we can live ours. It is truly moving seeing all of these people come together for a day of remembrance. This is something we want our children to remember and appreciate as well.

As we held hands and said an our father before we left, Brad got a little choked up, I witnessed Dylan put his hand on Brad's shoulder as if to say, 'its ok daddy.'

 As we stand in the shadows of our loved ones we feel the presence of their love all around us.

This afternoon we spent on the deck! It was calling our name so we transformed the table to our own craft station for our Monday Fun Craft Day!

 We finished up our teachers gifts, painting and coloring. Dylan is quite the budding artist so he really enjoyed this afternoon craft time!

We think they turned out pretty cute and can't wait to deliver them to Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Kray tomorrow before school!
What a lovely weekend we had spent with wonderful family and friends. We couldn't have asked for better company, more adorable kids or more beautiful weather for a long weekend spent with the ones we love!

Warming up!

What a be-a-utiful weekend we had! The temperatures are warming right up and we took full advantage this weekend preparing for all of the fun we hope to have this summer! We were so eager to get out and have some fun play time, so that is exactly what we did!     Saturday Dylan had soccer and he played awesome! He is really getting the hang of it and loving each Saturday when play time comes. You can tell the kids have really learned the skills over the past several sessions and even are starting to do throw-ins now, Dylan is really good at those. The kid can throw and kick a ball like you would not believe! We really enjoy watching him play, this week he was just a hair shy, literally, of getting 2 goals.....the balls hit the goal post each time! That's ok, we just try again next week!

It sure is fun watching the kids evolve and develop their own skills, you can't help but cheer them on! I think at times Brad and I get just as excited as the kids! No doubt Dylan loves playing with his buddies from school too. It was just a coincidence that 3 of the boys are on the same team but it has really worked out great and we hear from the teachers that the boys play non-stop at school during their outdoor time too. It is fun hearing things like that!
We took advantage of the beautiful warm weather and hit up the park for lunch and a play date with a couple of Dylan's friends from school. We grabbed some lunch and a picnic table at Thomas Park. What a beautiful day for a day with little friends!

 Dylan, Wesley and Ian are like the 3 amigos. Wesley and Dylan became great buddies last year and Ian came right in this school year and these 3 play non-stop. It was really fun for them to get together outside of  school. After their lunches were finished the 3 of them went running about chasing, playing, climbing, digging, anything and anywhere their hearts told them where to go, they went. The sand ended up being a favorite and the Mom's dug in our purses for treasures that the boys could bury. I mean, of course the boys would pick sand and digging over slides and climbing walls, what were we thinking! It was a very fun morning and afternoon for these 3, sadly Ian had already left when Dylan and Wesley got their picture together, but there is no doubt these two are pretty good pals! A very fun time was had by all.

Sunday we got up and ready and took a little morning road trip to New Vienna! We left the house and gave Dylan 3 choices of where he wanted to go for breakfast. Well one of the choices was not the place he chose, but how could we say anything otherthan yes to such a sweet little guy. McDonalds it was for a Sunday morning breakfast! We got all charged up for the rest of our journey! A little before 10 we arrived in New Vienna to pick up Brad's new work truck! The kids had only been to his shop one other time and Dylan didn't remember much, so he was excited to get a peek of Daddy's work that starts with a 'T' as he explains it!

It is a beautiful setup with a very large pond welcoming as well pulled into the property. The cornfields surrounding and the shop buildings set behind the pond, shop keepers house and miscellaneous equipment elsewhere. We parked as Brad got out and finished loading a few things into his new truck. The shop guard dogs noticed us right away and came over to check us out! Dylan was in awe as the dogs are HUGE, and seriously the size of small cows! They were pretty funny, they came over, sniffed the car a bit and then wandered away following Brad about. The female, Dora, came back and sat right at my car as if she was protecting or guarding because we were inside. Brad says they are huge dumb teddy bears, but an evening prowler on site I am sure wouldn't have such a warm welcome!

It was fun for Dylan to see all of the equipment that Daddy uses over the course of a year, and boy there is a lot of it. Dylan just kept looking around asking names of this and that and everything, he was a little curious fellow today! We waited while Brad got all of his paperwork from the Superintendent and then headed home. Congrats Brad on your new journey, we are proud of you and know you will do great in your new role!!
This afternoon all Dylan wanted was to play football, so that is exactly what we started doing! The girls sat back and watched Dylan punt, pass and kick the ball to his Dad. It was pretty funny watching because of course he didn't want the big football, he just wanted the little Hawkeye football to play with.

We have been eating out on the deck quite a bit and Dylan made his own perfect little set up! So today was no different than any other day, other than Skylar made sure she sat close enough to grab any scraps that Dylan may drop!

I have mentioned before that these two are pretty good buddies, well each weekend brings something new it seems. Sometimes Skylar listens really good to him and other times, well she is no different than a child about the age of 6, those listening skills wander here and there at times. Today was a day that she wasn't listening to Dylan too well and he became rather frusterated! I think that the birds responded better to Dylan today than Skylar did!!

We get a kick out of his 'whistle' when he tries to do it like the big boys do. Some day he will certainly get it figured out, and for now, this is pretty cute to listen to!!
Also this weekend we took advantage of the temperatures being just warm enough that a little cool water felt pretty good! Definitely not warm enough to bust out the big pools yet, hopefully next weekend, but this worked out great and broke Mom and Dad in getting out all of the toys that come with pool time fun too!

 And there was that puppy right by his side all afternoon. She just couldn't decide if she wanted to get in with him, just take a drink, or steer clear of the splashing and just watch what he was up to!

After a bit she gave up and just went and laid in the sunshine. This weather is perfect for a little doggie sun bathing too!

 Danielle really enjoyed being outdoors this weekend! It is amazing the big smiles on our faces when a little sunshine hits our skin and warms our souls!

 Oh the giggles and fun we will have this summer when the sun gets real hot and we can all have some pool time fun! For now kisses and extra loves from Dad will do while brother is having his water fun!

There is one thing for sure, the smiles these two little ones put on our faces happens numerous times throughout each and every day! The temperature is warming up and we are super excited for all of the fun we will have together this summer!

 And just when he didn't think she had been listening to him all day long, she came with zillions of kisses and he got more of her than he could handle! All we could do was sit and laugh, I am pretty sure that this puppy is this little boys childhood best friend!

And ice cream cones before dinner, yep, those are allowed in summer time too!!! YUM! Come on Summer! We cannot wait to come out to play!