August

Here's a lot of our August...

Brian spent the day with buddy's at a beer festival-

Then came home and immediately- and I mean immediately, as you notice he is still in his utili-kilt from the festival- began helping Tate paint his chair- 

Because of bedroom size, the kids swapped beds in this new house- Macy got the full size and Tate got the twin loft. They were both delighted with the arrangement. The loft has a desk attached and the chair Macy had was pink. Not what Tate wanted at all. So he and Brian's took it apart and spray painted it blue- his choice. It came out perfect!

For bible study one night, Brian made some fancy little watermelon ice cream treats- and Macy joined in to help-

 He even had look-alike watermelon seeds-

Tate and Brian have started making burgers together. It's their thing. And they are amazing.  Here Tate gets first hand instruction from our pro- 

 Because again, fatherhood is NOT a spectator sport.

When Belle lays on her side, her tumor shifts and she looks like a 1 humped camel-

 Okay, okay- not funny. Well, kind of.

One day Michael came over, but was grounded from video games. Okay, no biggy here with a room full of Legos and Nerf Guns-

Sister Katelyn and Macy got some slime made-

 Yup, we are still making slime...

And then these creative minds decided to go outside and play Fortnite. Nope, not the video game- but an actual game! Brian got in on it too and they had a blast. 

 Thanks for being grounded from video games Michael!

 Our neighbors went on vacation and asked Tate to water their garden, and they paid us in fresh vegetables! It seemed like everything was ready to pick, so we helped ourselves all week long. This was just the first day-

 But what the heck was I going to do with all those little tomatoes? Turns out they, along with the swiss chard too, made a great sauce-

  Tate brought along his buddy Jonathan to the pool this day and they had it to themselves-

 One morning we had a few extra kids here from a sleepover the night before and I made these little breakfast sausage bombs-

The kids devoured them and asked if I would make them for each sleepover! (Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage (cooked) & shredded cheddar cheese, wrapped in a Pillsbury crescent roll)

We hosted our first bible study in the new house- and I loved seeing all the kids together (minus 1...) at our table-

 Christine and I had a hilarious time getting Eve registered for baby!

I guess white t-shirts and plaid pants are popular sleepover attire- Jamison and Tate had no idea they'd grabbed the same pajamas!

 Diane and kids came over for the afternoon of her birthday-

Another day when we had the pool to ourselves-

I'd heard that the Batmobile was on display at the Smithsonian American History Museum, I knew I wanted to take the kids in to see it- so off we went one rainy weekday morning-

The Batmobile from the Tim Burton-directed superhero film “Batman” is on view. The film—starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker—was the first installment of Warner Bros.’s initial “Batman” film series. Originally built on the chassis of a Chevrolet Impala, the Batmobile was designed by Anton Furst, drawing inspiration from Salt Flat Racers and the Corvette Stingrays of the 1950’s and reflecting the Art Deco influences that Burton’s depicted in his Gotham City. The vehicle is on loan from Warner Bros.

The kids know how I am with museums and I think the sensed that this was going to be a quick trip- but they asked to see some of the other exhibits (we all really do like the American History museum the best...) while we were there. I obliged and went right over to the customer service desk to ask what was new since we'd last visited- besides the Batmobile!

We ended up seeing a fascinating exhibit called City of Hope- 

City of Hope commemorates the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s daring vision to end poverty in the United States. With newly discovered photographs and videos, the exhibition encourages visitors to explore this important chapter in U.S. history.

As the United States emerged in the 1960s as a global model of wealth and democracy, an estimated 35 million Americans lived in poverty. From the elderly and underemployed to children and persons with disabilities, poverty affected people of every race, age, and region. Although President Lyndon B. Johnson had declared a “war on poverty” in 1964, social inequalities and unequal access to opportunities left many Americans struggling.

In response, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph David Abernathy, organized a Poor People’s Campaign to confront poverty as a national human rights issue. As a multiethnic movement, the six-week, live-in demonstration in Washington, D.C., attracted protesters nationwide to mark a new era in American history.

And while I didn't take many pictures- the two I did get capture the heart and weight of this very powerful exhibit and a heartbreaking, frightening time in our American history-

We have a lot of board games. We love to play games. Well, honestly- we like the ideaof playing games. We just don't always make it a priority. The games were always in the basement in our old house, out of sight. But in this new house, the games ended up in the living room- right in plain sight. And while I sometimes think they are an eye soar, I quickly smile and remember that we do have two kids living here!

And I am happy to report that since we moved those games up onto the floor that we actually live on, they have gotten almost constant attention! Michael, Macadger and Tate playing Monopoly-

Truth be told, when the boys are all at my house, I regulate video games into 1 hour increments- they have to take an hour off after playing video games for an hour. So while they most likely wouldn't choose to play a board game over a video game- my rules make it possible for them to do both!

I love seeing the boys and girls playing together. Here it's a mean game of Trouble- 

Macy and Hannah grabbed Chinese Checkers and I had to send this picture to my grandmother- it's her favorite game and a childhood memory for me.

The game playing sometimes moved outside!

Macy decided she wanted to try out cheerleading this fall. And much to my dislike, fall sports start the first week of August. UGH! Come on people- please give me August to enjoy, travel, etc. No luck.

She was thrilled that Maddy, a friend from swim team and Girl Scout camp was on her squad-

Goof ball.

And here we are at the end of August... time for back to school events! Macy was thrilled to hear that she got Mrs. Akremi this year- along with so many of her other girlfriends. But the coolest part about the year ahead was going to be that there was a hamster as their classroom pet- 

This was exactly how I felt in August. It'd been a bumpy road getting here and I didn't know what the road ahead looked like, but I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and contentment with life.