Summer Fun

Rodeo Days!

Estelline Rodeo Days is quickly becoming a tradition for me and Preston.

We went last year and Preston loved it.

This year, Preston and I brought my friend Kayla and her two kids.

Next year, Lilli Jo gets to go with!

 

 

Preston seriously needs a cowboy hat and some boots. He looks pretty darn good in that hat and loves that Camden lets him wear his (that's Camden in the background). But he's not getting boots until I do!

 

And next year, I either need to sit up in the bleachers or get up next to the fence so my pictures turn out better. Not sure how much I want to get up next to that fence though. The stock gets pretty crazy and those horses and bulls were bucking the fence pretty good!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Dustin's parents, the brave souls that they are, took our children, and our nephew Cyrus, for the week.

 

You know me ...

 

We can't just sit and enjoy our time off without children!

 

I took the week off work, while Dustin took three days.

We relaxed on Saturday and Sunday ... went to softball practice both days, enjoyed an awesome outdoor church service (probably the first time in 4.5 years that I've been able to pay attention to the sermon) and then bloody mary's at Cubby's afterwards. And enjoyed a fire each night. It was quite lovely.

 

Monday we got busy.

Our landscaping was in dire need of some refreshing. If you recall, we did the original landscaping project in 2008 (darn near five years to the day).

While I loved the wood chips, I grew tired of getting new bags every year to fill in all the holes.

 

So ...

 

 

We got rid of all the wood chips and brought in Dakota river rock.

 

A HUGE thank you to my husband, as he did all the rock by himself while I was busy working on our other project.

 

He also decided to take care of the back of the house as well.

 

Dustin tried a garden here the first year or two that we moved in. But neither of us is really all that interested in gardening so that didn't last long.

And our neighbor has turned basically her entire backyard into a garden, so we just take her stuff!

 

 

So we added some rock back here too.

 

The BIG project was the basement. I had come to the conclusion that we either start using our basement more or we buy a new house. We had simply outgrown the upstairs living space and needed to do something. Buying a new house isn't an option right now so the basement it is!

 

 

{Ugh. Do you see why I was never down here. Yuck.}

 

After removing wood chips Monday morning, I spent the afternoon cleaning and clearing out downstairs.

 

Tuesday, I painted. All.Day.Long. Seriously. I started around 10:00 am and finished up around 6:00 or 6:30 pm. Uffda. Then I cleaned the carpet.

 

Wednesday morning we took a break from all the hard work and went golfing. We had to have some fun on vacation!

Wednesday afternoon we moved furniture.

 

And the final result ...

 

 

And upstairs ...

 

 

I love the changes we've made!

See that big empty space above, and to the left, of the tv? I'm doing another Ladie's Night at the SD Art Museum, so hopefully I have an awesome painting to hang there!

 

I'm heading to Sioux Falls in the morning to get the kids and I can't wait for them to get home and see everything we've done. I have no doubt they will love having all their stuff downstairs and all the room that comes with it!

 

Maybe some day I'll take a week off work and just relax and enjoy the time off.

Or not.

T-Ball!

Allie is participating in t-ball this summer and had a home game a couple nights ago. It was a beautiful night, after all our lovely rain, so the kids and I headed to Volga.

 

Taking a swing at coach pitch first.

And then the t-ball part.

Home run!

She was the last batter, so it was kind of an automatic home run. But still!

 

I don't know if Allie is interested in pursuing a career in softball, she spent some time laying down in the outfield and was very interested in the kids playing on the football field. In her defense though, all of the kids seemed very easily distracted!

 

 

While Allie was playing ball, Preston took advantage of the awesome playground equipment at the school.

And Lilli Jo stealing my chair.

Old Timer's Day 2013

Old Timer's Day was this past weekend and kicked off with a party at the golf course. It was a beautiful night with great food, great company and a FANTASTIC fireworks display. This has quickly become my favorite part of the weekend.

 

Saturday it rained. And rained. And rained some more. ALL.DAY.LONG.

That did not stop us from going to the pancake feed, which was delicious. It did stop us from doing the race at your own pace, however.

 

The parade went on as planned and our decision a few years ago to purchase this crossover vehicle really payed off! The kids were able to stay dry waiting for the parade to reach us.  :) 

 

 

It was a great parade and the entire route was lined with people! The kids got way too much candy and had a blast.

 

The afternoon festivities of food, vendors and music were moved to the high school gym and the place was packed! And the street dance went on as planned as well, moving inside to the auditorium on main street.

 

A little rain can't dampen the spirits of us Volga folks! It was a great weekend!

Batting Practice and More Bubbles!

Preston took a break the other day from riding his bike to get some batting practice in.

I know that I'm his mom and I'm completely biased, but this kid can hit! He's just at the end of our patio here and can hit the ball, in the air, all the way to the play set. I'd say that's pretty good for a 4-year old.  :)

 

Being outside just wouldn't be complete for Lilli Jo without her bubbles. I've never seen a kid so excited about bubbles. She loves them! Our neighbor's niece has a little bubble machine that shoots out tons of bubbles. We definitely need to get that for this little girl.

 

HayDay at VBS!

Preston had an amazing time at Vacation Bible School last year at Faith Church so we were very excited to receive an invitation to attend again this year. Even better, Allie and Turner joined in on the fun!

 

If you recall, my mom's friend Jennifer and her family are members of this church (that's just down the road from us).

 

The theme this year was "HayDay! Growing In Friendship With Jesus!" and instead of a few hours each night, they went all day on a Saturday. They finished things up Sunday morning with the kids participating during worship and then had a grill-out afterwards.

 

We're so thankful to the congregation for opening their doors to our families!

 

Preston's favorite part was probably all the great songs they learned.

Lilli Jo and Grandma watching the kids sing.

More singing!

Checking out the brand new (as in 24 hours old) calf!