Housewife Olympics

The summer Olympics are spectacular.  When I think of how hard these athletes work (even those people shooting clay pigeons) it is mind boggling.  All those hours.  All those injuries.  Stress.  Lost sleep.  Missed time with friends.

You know what? I think I'm an Olympian of sorts.  No, I can't do a triple flip off a diving board or on a balance beam.  I certainly can't run.  God knows you won't catch me riding a bike for 34 miles.

If you look at the list of what it takes to be an Olympic champ, most moms can check off every single one.  Hours upon hours of time dedicated directly to achieving the goal of raising up a decent human being.  Countless hours of lost sleep nursing an infant, catching puke in an old ice cream bucket, or sewing a Halloween costume.  And injures?  Cracked nipples, stepped-on toes, stretch marks, bad bladder, pregnancy brain, and so on and so forth.

Hey, if surfing Pinterest was an Olympic sport I would at least win a bronze.  

Sure, watching the Housewife Olympics wouldn't be nearly as entertaining as the real thing.  No one wants to watch a 33-year-old woman in yoga pants and an Obama '08 t-shirt bake scones while listening to 1990's hip hop classics.

To all parents out there, you are all champs! Now, let me get back to my Malbec and women's gymnastics. While the Housewife Olympics happen every day, the summer Olympics only happen every four years.

Room to Grow

Something that our house lacks is room to grow.  Our big family fills this house from wall to wall with no room to spare.  Colby already has plans for the kids' rooms as soon as they move out.  I admit, I have a lot of stuff: scrapbooking stuff, crafting stuff, cooking stuff.  My kitchen is always, always stuffed with groceries, and I was tired of having boxes of food sitting out everywhere because we had no where else to put them. 

Thanks to a good sale at ShopKo and a handy hubby who will do anything for some extra "special time" with his wife (side note: yes, I'm a whore...if it gets all my honey-do list completed, I will gladly put out) I now have a lovely pantry!

This thing is HUGE and holds tons of snacks, pans, and mixers.  That makes me a very happy housewife.

Happy 7th Birthday, Peapod!

It's hard to believe Evelyn is seven...because she acts like she's 13.  Surprisingly, she chose Red Robin for her birthday supper.  We haven't eaten there in forever, but she chose it because they (and I quote from her sweet little mouth), "celebrate there and bring you balloons and ice cream!" 

They DO give you ice cream!!











Evelyn with Red Robin's  Lady Liberty
 

She was so happy with the gift we got her, which was nothing more than a hand-me-down Nintendo DS (donated to our cause by Dade) with a case and a game.  She's wanted a DS for awhile, and thank goodness Dade was done playing with his.  

She invited some friends over to our house for a birthday party.  Colby built an awesome sprinkler (one of these) for the party, as well as a neat kid-friendly game (this).  Luckily my good friend was there taking photos because I pretty much forgot to take any. 

I made some lovely decorations...

We had a rainbow and pinwheel theme.



I hand made all those pinwheels.  Thanks, Pinterest!

The kids had a great time with the sprinkler and slip and slide even though it was about 110 degrees outside.

HELLOOOO Birthday Girl!

Brody doing his rock star slide



Go Soren!

Evelyn in action

Lots of our friends brought their kids, and some grown-ups even toughed out the scorching heat.  It was ridiculously hot.

Mr. Gavin!

Soren

Andrew (aka The Cutest Boy Ever)

Here's Soren's bestie, Taver

There were, of course, cupcakes.  I also made some vegan brownies for a guest who has dairy allergies, and those things flew out of the pan quick as could be.  I guess a brownie is a brownie to little kids.

  

Blow out the candles!!



Thanks to all my friends and family for helping Evie celebrate!  She's a very blessed little girl!

Home Improvement

Goodbye, teal siding circa 1990!!  Hello fancy new exterior and gutters!  After nearly five years of living with teal siding, we finally got the money to replace the old, rotting wood siding with vinyl.  My favorite neighbors, who have lived in their house since it was built a year after mine, loved the color of our house and were sad to see it go.  I took a few quick "before" photos, so I hope you can appreciate the "awesome" teal color:

Here's how the house looked on July 3rd...

And here's how it looks on July 19th...

We have now replaced the windows, fencing, deck door, attic insulation, water heater, fridge, oven, dishwasher, heater/air conditioner, and basement flooring.  So, basically we have a new house.

A Night Out

Now that our kids are older, Colby and I find more time (and willing babysitters) to go out with our friends.   The boys even got to ride along with Grandpa and Grandma all the way to California!  There are benefits to being a "big kid," namely that you can wipe your own butt and you sleep through the night.  Both great things not to be taken for granted.  The girls went to my parents' house in Seward where I'm sure they were fed candy and each given a turn on grandma's sewing machine.

Colby and I headed out with our friends Amanda and Heath.  We posed for some photos at her house before we went downtown.

Happy Couples...Happy KID-FREE couples!!

We took our friends to one of our favorite local eateries, Brix & Stone Gastropub, a place they had never been before.  The food was spectacular, and the company was spirited, as usual. 

And just so I don't miss out on the duck face photo trend...

Happy Birthday, America!

It was a much quieter 4th of July at the Vescapades home with the boys in California with their grandparents.  The girls still enjoyed lighting of smoke balls and some other small fireworks.

We also got to spend a little time at the home of one of our best friends...and they have a pool!  Yay!

You can see Colby's cool octopus tattoo in this photo.  He's so proud of it. 

Me and my man...

Deciding what I love most about America on this July 4th has been difficult.  There are a few things that I am not proud of in our current political climate.  My hope for America this year is that we can find a place where life, liberty, and happiness will be more valuable than money and wealth.  America is a great nation made greater by the struggles and achievements of its citizens.  May our greatest achievement this year be found not with a dollar sign i front of it.  May we find a place of grace, forgiveness, acceptance, and generosity - all things sorely missing from Washington politics but found in each and every American family.

Naan Bread

Make this naan.  Do it now. It's awesome!  The one drawback: my house was all smoked up from the browning butter on my grill pan.  I'd say a little burnt butter smoke is worth it.

The family ate a whole pile of this stuff with was tzatziki purchased from a local restaurant.  It looks a little like chicken breasts in the photos, though.  Hmmmm.... I bet this naan would go great with some grilled chicken...

It's a Wedding!

Everyone loves a wedding, right?  Free food!  Free drinks! One gets to dress up in nicey nice clothes and dance!  It's so fun!

Colby's little sister Carrie's wedding was on June 30th in our hometown of Norfolk, NE. I was the Matron of Honor, or as I liked to call myself, the Matron of Holla!! Carrie even made me a shirt:

Little did she know that at her reception when I gave my toast I would truly showcase my skillz (with a z)...I rapped! I am the Matron of Holla! after all.

All good wedding weekends start out with manicures/pedicures for the wedding party.  Soren loved getting her nails painted.

I posed for a photo with my sisters-in-law...the bride is in the middle.

Evelyn got her nails painted yellow because not only is it her favorite color, but it was one of the wedding colors.

I got sexy red toes for my man.

The rehearsal supper was great fun.  We got to mess around with props for the photo booth.

Colby and his brother got to eat, drink, and make rude hand gestures.

And I snagged a photo of the original Mr. and Mrs.

Soren even let me take her photo with the groom, a man she actually "hates," or so she says... This doesn't really look like the face of hatred.

The groom, Jacob, served in Afghanistan for 8 months as a Marine, and returned home just this April.  All the kids proudly wear their Marine Corps t-shirts.  Mom and Dad do, too! 

The next morning, the girls all got their hair prettied up, which required lattes...

...and mimosas.  Soren took the champagne corks for her own activities.  Ever heard the saying "beer goggles"?  Well, Soren had champagne goggles, I guess.

I could show you how cutesy and princessy my babies looked as flower girls, but you all know how cute they are.  So, here are how the girls really are...

I took a few photos before the ceremony, before all the excitement began!



And I didn't take any photos at the reception.  Not one.  I was too busy having fun!!  I did, however, get a few photos the next day at gift opening/final good bye.  Jake and Carrie left for California the day after the wedding (and took Dade and Brody with them.  More on that to come.)  So, we all said good bye, some of us with tears (me and Carrie).

Wishing many more happy days ahead for Mr. and Mrs. Sunderman!!  And thanks to them, I have an excuse to visit California!