Life Lately-August {Day 8}

I'm still wrapping my brain around how it can possibly be October. I'm enjoying the cooler weather but am thankful that the last few days have been warm! Winters are long and cold in the Midwest, and I'm not quite ready to face that.

So perhaps this Life-According-to-Instagram post will help me NOT miss summer, with all the heat and bugs and sweat 'n stuff. Right?

I decided to write the captions I originally wrote on Instagram as captions on the pictures here. Starting out, my sweet kiddos at church! There's this great lighting and they're relatively still and in nice clothes... I find myself catching pictures of their sweet faces a lot during church!

Jesus loves you...

...this I know...

...for the Bible tells me so!

We made a point of going to a little lake a bunch of times this summer. I didn't know this would be the last time, but we enjoyed some lazy afternoons cooling off in the water at Wagon Train Lake. Usually I'd go out for awhile, then go enjoy the quiet of my picnic blanket and read a magazine while my boys played in the water or in the sand next to me.

Perfect day for a swim at the lake!

We're homeschooling again this year. This is about the time we kicked it up a notch for the "school year". One thing I love about homeschool is that you can tweak your schedule to meet your needs. We kinda started early, but then my mom visited and the boys' cousins were here for a day, sometimes we go to a friend's house for a short science lesson and some free play while the weather's nice, or we feel like going to the Children's Museum or taking a walk around the lake by our house... so we do!

Jared loves school! 

I'm impressed by Jonathan's handwriting!

Josiah always wants to participate.

Or it rains and I let them play outside instead of sitting still "doing school". We make it up later.

I am THAT mom. 

I like how cozy the boys' shared room is now. It's long and skinny with the beds lined up in a row. Hanging this quilt really helped with the cozy factor. You can see more (terrible pictures) of their room here and here.

Rainy days are for feathering ones nest, right? #alsocleanedoutacloset #kidsarewatchingclassicdonaldduck #ineverentertainwithmovies #exceptonrainydays

We take lots of walks. We were really good about getting out every day, but summer is just so gross sometimes! We're not as disciplined as we used to be, but we do make it to the park 2-3 times a week. It's half a mile each way, so it's a nice little exercise break that we all need.

*True story. If you were around my family or my blog back in the fall of 2010, this shirt was used by Jared to announce HE was becoming a big brother. Jonathan had a matching shirt. I got cheap black t-shirts at Target, cut out the letters from an old gray t-shirt, then sewed them on with my sewing machine. Here's a link to that evidence. Josiah just wears the shirt. Not an announcement!

"I are a police man. I are a road blocker man!"

Some days you just need to get out. And get a little treat.

I snuck out for eggs and a few minutes alone this morning. And coffee. I really wanted Starbucks but the nearest actual store is several miles away. (I usually go to the one at Target but it's not open this early on Sundays.) So I went to Scooters, paid more, and don't like it as much! But it's coffee, and I got my alone time!

Lincoln, Nebraska, is in Lancaster County. We had planned all week to go to the Lancaster County fair on Sunday. We got ready and excited and drove over to the fairgrounds and the parking lot was empty! The only people around were obviously packing up, and we saw one of the big trucks with a ride all ready for transport... Apparently it ended on Saturday.

So we googled "county fairs, Nebraska" and learned the next county over was just starting their fair! 20 minutes later, we were there, free parking, small enough to see everything! We had the best day!

Enjoying our day at Seward County Fair! #itsallaboutjohndeere

The tiny trains and replica 1950s town has been our favorite exhibit so far!

Our pilot.

Jared and Josiah wanted to ride the train. It's a kid-sized roller coaster-but they had no idea what they were getting into!

Judging from the series of Fair pictures you just saw, this shaving of the heads happened before I posted this picture. Grandpa was going through chemo and even though we still haven't seen him, Gary and the boys wanted to support him.

In solidarity of grandpa. #cancer #chemotherapy #chemo #justlikegrandpa #nohair

Back to school sales, for the win!

Say what you will about #Walmart but where else can I get $5 tennis shoes for my boys to thrash?

Our neighbors gave us more cucumbers than we could eat!

When life gives you cucumbers you make pickles!

Now *this* is my idea of camping! Cute little cabins that were quite private, slept up to 6 people, had a small couch, fridge, picnic table and grill, and real showers just a little walk away. The only thing better would be to have a sink and a bathroom IN the cabin, but we sure had a fun weekend!

Good morning from Wild Turkey 6! Platte River State Park

Perfect day for a hike!

Playing in the creek.

Gone fishin'. #wheredidmylegsgo

King of the waterfall!

Back home on Monday, I finally tried butter in my coffee. I liked it. Better than coconut oil. It's weird though to think you're drinking BUTTER. They say butter's good for you... Still trying to wrap my brain around that one.

Trying buttered coffee. #yum

We got the boys fish for their birthdays this year. We've lost a whole bunch of them! Their 10-gallon tank can have 7-10 fish, if they're little, and it seems we were losing about one a week for awhile. We've stopped buying more and the remaining three have been hanging on... Who knew fish would be so difficult to keep alive? And who knew mice would be so funny! The boys were laughing until I pushed the slow-reacting button to capture the hilarity...

Boys + mice = giggles #sogladthemicestayatthepetstore

Gary started classes in August! He's taking a half load for this semester and next, so by May he'll have a Theology degree! So proud of him!

It's official: I'm married to a hot college guy! #firstdayofclasses

Jared is coloring with Grandma Joycie's picture as inspiration.

You know those times when you finally do something for yourself that you've been needing to do? Those moments need to be commemorated. For me it was a day care client that stressed me out, made my boys act up and in general just didn't jive with our family. I finally cut the cord and (two months later) we kinda miss the income but it's so nice to be a nice mommy!

I love Ben & Jerry's. I can't keep it in the house because it disappears too fast. But when the occasion calls for it, that's what I get. Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz is my favorite, but I can't eat it before bed. I get Chocolate Fudge Brownie and it is amazing!

This just happened. #celebratoryicecreamrun #benandjerrys #iamsmiling

And to bring us full circle, another shot of another beautiful boy. At church. Told you I'm always in their faces with the smart phone at church!

My beautiful boy. #imeanhandsome

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Thanks for reading!

The Apple Orchard {Day 7}

You guys! It feels so good to be blogging again! Now if I could just stick to a walking routine I will have conquered mountains!

Thank you for your continued prayers for my nephew Malcolm. I will continue to update you, probably in another week or so. Thanks also for the birthday wishes, that made me feel so special!

For my birthday this year, I lucked out because it was a Sunday. I feel that's the only day grown-ups really get a break from the routine and demands of being a contributing member of society, or at least your own family. I did no dishes, no chores, had no appointments or demands and had a great day with the four men in my life; my husband and our boys!

We started out by going to brunch. My husband spent a little time on google trying to find a new place to try, and boy did he pick a winner! We loved this Engine House Cafe in historic Havelock, NE. The atmosphere was fun, it was super crowded but people were so nice, the coffee was great, service was fast, and the food was so so good! Besides, the boys were thrilled with the idea of eating in an old firehouse, and they got souvenir fire hats!

Next we headed to Martin's Hillside Orchard and enjoyed the perfect weather, tart and sweet apples, bright orange pumpkins, a corn maze, a butterfly garden, corn kernel (sand)box, and a tire hill the boys loved to climb.

Now can somebody tell me how we spent most of our time picking apples and walking up and down the rows in the apple orchard, and I have NO pictures of the bright green, yellow and red apples and our wheelbarrow full of them? Good question!

Baby Malcolm Update {Day 6}

Happy Monday! I know, I'm weird. Weekends are great but I'm one of those people who don't hate Mondays. It's good to get back to the routine of the week. We had a nice weekend with church activities and birthday celebrations, including a trip to the apple orchard that I'll be sharing with you soon.

But today I wanted to share an update on Baby Malcolm, my nephew, my brother and my BFF's son. He was born on September 25 and yesterday (October 5) was the first time his mommy got to hold him! I first wrote about him here, in case you missed that.

It seems every day the updates we got on Malcolm were big steps in the right direction. Oxygen turned down, different kind of ventilator, off a certain medicine, this or that tube out, one less IV in his tiny body.  Malcolm still has a way to go. He's still on oxygen, still in the NICU, still in needs our prayers.

Thank you so much for praying for Malcolm. It has meant so much to our family!

Happy Birthday {Day 5}

... to me!