Community Days

This past weekend was the annual Community Days...it's a lot more fun now that we live in town!  I don't feel like we have to plan out our weekend so much - if we want to go to something, we can decide at the last minute and we don't feel like we have to stay long!

The weekend started with a BBQ in the downtown park on Friday night.  It was fun to catch up with friends, even though the kids were hot and crabby!  We debated whether we should keep them up late to watch the fireworks that evening.  Lane was super excited about them, so we decided he could stay up.  I found us a good place to watch them down by the lake, but sadly, it was about 10 feet too far for Katy's monitor to reach!  So she got to stay up just because everyone else was.

I was really excited to see my friend Emily and her husband Kevin!  They drove back from KC that night and stopped by our house so they could watch the fireworks too.  They got here a little early (just in time to distract the kids from their crabbiness) so we had some time to catch up.  It was my first time to meet Ayden and he was so cute - and so well-behaved.  Makes me a little more anxious for my own :)

The fireworks were really good!  I was impressed by the show - big and pretty!  Super loud, probably because we were pretty close, but luckily the kids weren't scared.  We heard from some friends in Harvard that they were able to see them from their house!

The next day began with the parade.  I think Lane was hoping for more candy, but it's hard to get a bunch when you're not very aggressive :)

We ended up going home for lunch and to cool off.  It was really hard for me to be out in the heat so much - I'm just not used to it!  I walked around the car show for about 10 minutes before I had to go back inside and take a long nap!

After naps, we headed back to the park so that Lane and Katy could play on the inflatables.  Lane loved the slide and wasn't scared at all, even though he tumbled head over heels a couple of times.  Katy thought the little "maze" was fun, but she was more content to sit in the shade, eat graham crackers, and laugh at Lane.

The kids and Curtis played a round of miniature golf before it was time to head home for supper.  Lane was pretty sure that he beat Daddy because he got his ball in the hole first every time.  We let him think that :)

After supper, we walked across the street for the home run derby.  We thought it would be a lot more popular than it was.  Curtis signed up - and won in his age group!  (Do I need to mention that the only other guy was Brad?  And Brad said he hadn't hit a ball for years?)  Lane even took part and actually hit the ball once!

By that time I was really hot so it was time to go home.  We planned to go to the community church service in the park this morning, but I decided against it when I realized that it would already be 83 degrees by 10:00!  We enjoyed our church's air conditioning instead (and Curtis thought it was cold in church - I wanted to hit him!).

A good weekend - Lane said he had sooo much fun and can't wait until next year.  As long as the kids have fun - that's what it's all about, right?

4th of July Fun

This is the first 4th of July in about 5 years that I actually got to enjoy fireworks - yay for kids that are growing up!  4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays, but since 2008 when Lane was a baby, I've had to peek at the fireworks out the window or "hide" from them with a scared toddler.

We started with the fireworks show in York Tuesday evening.  I really wish I had remembered my camera - the kids were so cute!  We went swimming beforehand so that they didn't have time to get grumpy.  By the time we headed to York (about 8:45) Katy was pretty sleepy.  She tried to take a little nap on the way, but Lane kept jabbering too much.  Once we got there, they did great!  We met my parents, Bret and Laura, and Craig and Christine and kids and "tailgated" in the parking lot of the fairgrounds.  We all brought lawn chairs and blankets and munched on popcorn, sugar cookies, M&Ms, and Twizzlers (thanks, Laura, for satisfying my Twizzler craving!).  I was a little worried how Katy would react to the fireworks.  I "prepped" her for them all day by saying that they would be loud, but we could cover our ears and just see how pretty they are.  She did great!  We were far enough back that it wasn't loud at all and they really were pretty!  Both kids thought the fireworks were a lot of fun.

Wednesday evening, Craig and Christine invited us to their house for supper and more fireworks.  We weren't sure if we'd stay real long since the kids were beyond tired from the night before...but we ended up staying until just after 10 (the TV has been my friend today!!).

Boys and fireworks...need I say more??

We spent about $10 on "daylight" fireworks for Lane...smoke balls, parachutes, snappers.  He thought everything was so much fun!!  He would get so excited and start talking in his deep voice with all the hand motions.

Craig lit off a "giant" parachute tube...so everyone lined up to catch them.

Turned out to be a handful of parachutes that were all tangled together...and landed on top of the house.

Katy wasn't too sure about all the loud noises and boys running everywhere!  When I asked her if she was having fun, she replied, "Yes.  Toys.  Bret."  She likes being around her uncles!

She was much happier playing with trains and all the toys inside.

By the time we finished our homemade ice cream, it was almost dark out so we decided to stay for the fireworks...

Katy was a little more apprehensive about these fireworks (closer means louder!) but as long as I covered her ears, she was fine.  I'm pretty sure Lane enjoyed them, but by that time he had discovered more toys and was pretty busy with a combine and auger wagons.  But he jumped at the chance to play with the sparklers!

After that we loaded up the kids and hustled them home to bed!  Unfortunately, neither one really slept in this morning.  Looking forward to an early bedtime tonight...and Lane's already talking about next year's fireworks!

More pictures from Katy's party!

These are pictures that my mom took at the party - she wasn't as busy as I was!

Feeling overwhelmed?

Katy loved this caterpillar tunnel that she got...

...Brooks wasn't so sure about it...

...but his daddy thought it was great!

Laura and Bret and Grandma and Grandpa Reimer

Mother's Day...or Father's Day?

Curtis recently found a good deal on a jon boat (a tiny little fishing boat) and decided to get it since Lane has liked going fishing.  Curtis has been trying to find a time to take it to a lake, but it seems like we were always busy.  So, since he went with me to Lincoln on Saturday (shopping for maternity clothes) and is spending the weekend with my family next weekend (trip to Buhler) I suggested taking it somewhere on Mother's Day.

Curtis decided on Mormon Island since it's fairly close and we would have to drive two vehicles.  (Seriously, we have no need for a crew cab pickup for how long and as soon as we sell it we have a need for it...)

We all piled into the boat when we arrived.  I wish I had a picture of us actually fishing, but the boat was too crowded so I couldn't get any pictures!  We caught quite a few tiny bluegill.  Katy entertained herself by playing with a paddle in the water.  Lane wanted to copy her and tried using a net - but then he dropped it and it sank. He then decided to be a nice big brother and let Katy try out his fishing pole.  She did pretty good for awhile...but soon that too fell in the water and sank.  At that point it was time for lunch!

I picked up Jimmy Johns sandwiches for Curtis and I and the kids got Lunchables.  Lane thought it was so much fun - "Mom, we're pretending to have a picnic!"

After we ate, the kids threw sticks in the water for awhile.  Curtis wanted to take the boat out again, but the kids were too restless for that.  We thought there might be a playground at the campground, but nope.  So, we played in the sand for awhile until Lane got annoyed at all the rocks and said, "Mom, we have better sand at home."

Then, the kids hopped on their bike/trike and pedaled around.  They soon grew tired of that and Lane said, "This is too bumpy.  I like the bike path at home!"

So, back to the boat we went.  We tried to fish some more, but since we forced Katy to wear her life jacket, she threw a tantrum for the next 10 minutes until I told her we could go home.  She was really tired (she does not do good with missing her nap!) so I packed up the van and took her home.  She fell asleep right away, but unfortunately woke up around Aurora.

Lane decided to stay and fish some more with Daddy.

They caught a lot of bluegill and Lane wanted to take them home.  Curtis tried to cut them up, but they were so small that the only thing they will be good for is in traps as coon bait!  I felt bad when Lane asked me later, "What are we having for supper?  Fish that a little boy caught?"

So, the whole day felt more like Father's Day (fishing, Jimmy Johns, me spending the afternoon with a crabby girl) but Curtis did take us to Wendy's for supper and then cleaned the house when we got home.  It was a good day :)

Today's project: Tree Fort

Lane has been asking for and drawing up plans for a tree house for the last few months.  Curtis finally figured out something that would work and he got busy today!

Lane and Katy had lots of fun building their own stuff too:

Curtis used some leftover decking that my parents had - it should hold up well!

Lane was thrilled to finally get to try it out; Katy, not so much.  She was pretty scared the first time she was up there.

All finished!  Curtis just needs to get some heavy duty screws to reinforce it a little bit and I'm thinking about making an awning for it.  Lane loves it!  So far he has just pretended to build a house up there, but he's already talking about it being a spaceship and a fire station.

I'm very thankful for a handy husband!

6 dozen eggs...

Once again, we had to get together to dye Easter eggs!  What a difference a year makes - last year Lane was the only one participating, but this year Katy and Brooks were able to too!

We gave Katy her own dozen to do what she liked with...she couldn't quite get it that she was only supposed to dye one egg at a time and only one color per egg.

We had ALOT of eggs!  Lane really enjoyed it and dyed most of them.

After a little while, Katy figured out that she could break the egg open and it was a yummy hard-boiled egg.  She had no interest in dyeing them after that - only eating them!

Lane and Brooks both had colored hands - Brooks' were completely green!  A fun get-together!

A little late...

...but here are a few Christmas photos any way.  I've been having blogger issues (sometimes when I upload pics, add one, and then go back to add more, the rest have disappeared.  Any one know what to do?) and things have been busy!  I've been working on my year-long menu plan and getting those grocery lists typed out, playing with my Silhouette, and re-painting an old desk from my parents' house.  

Lane and Katy have really been enjoying their Christmas presents.  I think the favorite right now is Duplos - both kids love to play with them, and since we have plenty, they can usually play without fighting!

We've all been sick with sore throats, headaches, and coughs.  I think we're finally on the mend!  Lane still has a cough and Katy is still teething, but we finally feel pretty much normal.

We finally decided to sell our bedroom set and it sold pretty quickly!  We've had a log/rustic bedroom set since Louisville - while I like the look, it pretty much locked me into living with camouflage and hunting decor for the rest of my life.  We got almost what we paid out of it, so I'm pretty happy about that!  Curtis is going to make a headboard, I'm going to repaint his dresser, and my dresser is going to be this huge not-so-pretty-to-look-at dresser that we got from my great-aunt Helen a few years ago.  It's going to fill up the whole closet, but it has to be hidden :)  We want our bedroom to feel as uncluttered as possible, and 2 dressers just won't fit right!  Now I just have to wait for Curtis to finish a little drywall - then I get to paint and pick out new bedding and nightstands.  So much fun!

Katy has been talking a little bit more - saying words like "string cheese", "stuck", "ball", "balloon", and "green".  I really hope that she starts talking earlier than Lane did!

Lane is really glad to be back at preschool after Christmas break.  He missed his friends!  It seems that every one of his friends got some Cars stuff for Christmas - so they've all been bringing their stuff to preschool and playing with Lightning McQueen and Mater everyday!  Lane also says silly stuff - just the way he says things now seems more grown-up.  He actually used the phrase "I tend to do that" yesterday!  He also feels the need to explain things more - I asked him who his friends are.  "Hmmm...Miles.  Oh yeah, and Braden.  You know, the one who belongs to Kara and Luke and Brad."  Yes, Lane, I remember who Braden belongs to ;)

Hopefully I'll get over my laziness and get back to sharing more pictures soon!  (Sorry, Grandma, for not updating more!)

Christmas cookies

With only a few days until Christmas, it was time to decorate sugar cookies!  Casey baked a batch of cookies, then we met at Mom's to decorate.  Lane has been excited about this for weeks - he loves decorating cookies!

He still doesn't quite understand "just a few sprinkles on a cookie" - most of them ended up covered in sprinkles!

Brooks did really well - he helped Casey with cookies last week, so he knew what was going on!

Katy wasn't too into it!  I showed her how to sprinkle on the cookies...

...then she did a little on her own...

...but then she discovered that eating them is more fun!

In the end, all our cookies were decorated (and only a few were eaten along the way).  Mom might be sweeping up sprinkles for weeks, but we all had a good time!