InstaFriday

Oh happy Friday! The weather is gorgeous, I'm in my workout clothes ready to go walking outside, and I plan to use my extra calories earned when I go to the rodeo tonight! I am sooo looking forward to that elephant ear :)

Here's what the cell phone camera has seen this week:

What's funner than pretending to be a mannequin in Old Navy? 

(Obviously Blake didn't get the memo on blending in...)

Cooper's last baseball game of the season was July 3rd - a beautiful evening - and we won!

 Free balloon toys made by the clowns who passed us walking home after the 4th of July parade in our hometown.

 After all the fun of the Fourth we came home and made comfy beds on the trampoline to watch the Buckeroo rodeo fireworks display.

 Playing around waiting for the show to start.

 My new swimsuit arrived in the mail yesterday! The stripes may look red but they are actually orange and I love it. I ordered it from LimeRicki.

  

I decided to join my blog friend Megan in logging 40 miles of walking/running in the month of July - tracking our progress on Instagram. (We're copying what we saw a bunch of other people do in June.)

Another solid example of procrastinators uniting... only a month late to the party :)

Now I'm off to log some more miles! 

Have a great weekend, everyone :)

Happy 4th!

From Russ and I, 

 Cooper, Kendall & Blake,

And the dog (who's feeling especially patriotic today).

Adventuring

{friend Aaron, Cooper, and Blake}

 

Boys are awesome. They like to dress up just as much as girls do... just in different kinds of dress-up clothes. And then they go adventuring into the woods... and take their little brothers with them, making the staying back at home to hold down the fort even more calm and peaceful for this mama. 

I'm getting my nail polish on! 

Ahhhh, summer. 

(Check out that cutie on the right. He'll charm your socks off in 2 seconds flat, that one!)

Some Monday musings...

When the weather stays in the 60's/low 70's and it drizzly rains most of the weekend, the best thing to do is read a good book and watch a bunch of movies. Like maybe 4 or 5 :)

(This is assuming you have no extra spending money. Otherwise, of course shopping would be the best thing to do.)

Watching movies without eating the coconut m&ms your sister brought you from Vegas is very difficult... nigh impossible. Thus the treadmill must be used again, even though you hurt your hip on your HIGHLY STRENUOUS 4 mph half mile run. Thank you, Lord, for Friends. 

Trix krispie treats may sound like a neat idea to do with your kids, but there is a lesson to be learned: if you heartily dislike Trix, the krispie treats will still taste gross no matter how pretty they look. Don't worry, your kids will still love them though.

Raising boys in the country has it's downfalls. Like going to Costco and leaving your 9-year-old son in the car with his almost 11-year-old sister while you run in really quick, only to come out and find out that the 9-year-old needed to relieve himself so just went in the bushes. IN THE PARKING LOT. You know, because that's just the same as going out in the Christmas tree field on your property. *Shakes head in dismay*

Watching the women's gymnastic US team trials is just as exciting as watching the Olympics itself and is made even more fun with an enthralled daughter to watch along with you. Did anyone else pick their favorites and cheer out loud when they made the team? So excited for two weeks from now!

Sidenote: I remember from the earliest age being mesmerized by the Olympic games on TV and watching for hours on end. I haven't changed and I fully plan on encouraging the same enthusiasm and patriotism in my own children. Go team USA, and Go team NZ!

InstaFriday

Hello, my blog friends. The nephews have gone back home, the husband's basketball team camp is over, vacation bible school just finished, And I've made it up to season 5 of Friends while using my treadmill. (Which is unrelated but leads to the following...)

What's encouraging: after walking at a BRISK PACE for an hour last night, I ran for half a mile. Without stopping.

What's discouraging: I couldn't log it in my fitness pal because 4 mph is not listed as a jogging speed. Whatever, fitness pal. I was totally running.

Anyway, here are a few instagram shots from this past week.

 Things I'm loving: 

- zucchini by the bucketload. 

- homemade muesli (not homemade by me though because I have people for that)

- chocolate chip oatmeal cookies (homemade by me because I do have priorities)

- super cute mug filled with coconut m&ms from Vegas, Baby! (aka: Kelly and Dave, who were grateful I kept their boys alive while they were gone.)

What is it with Russell and birds?
He found this little baby and saved it from Miley, our wannabe bird dog, before reuniting it with it's mama, who was one chirp away from a birdy heart attack in the bushes nearby.

Today for the last day of vbs the kids performed a mini-concert for all the parents. It was so cute and included hand motions, a little dancing, and some loud interruptions from Blake who A) had to go potty midway through and announced it for all to hear while jumping up and down holding himself, and B) came running to say hi and give me a hug mid-song when he noticed me in the crowd. 

 Still taking the nap time snuggle shots. I can't seem to help myself.

When it doubt of what to do with five children: fill them up with sugary shaved ice and then let them loose on the trampoline, telling them it's nap time as soon as they come back inside. Mwahahaaa. The backyard suddenly became very interesting that day.

And now I'm ready to enjoy the weekend with my peeps. Happy what-the-freak-it's-almost-4th-of-July-already?!! Have a great one :)