This & That

We had to take one of the boys' Build-a-Bears to get repaired. Naturally that means we had to get two more.  Luckily we had a coupon so it wasn't too expensive.

 Sometimes I don't understand why we have a big sectional.  Most of the time everyone piles on me and the rest of the couch is empty.

 I've been trying to be more mindful about teaching the boys to care about others.  I thought it would be cute to do a little something nice for our garbage man.  The boys worked on a card and then we all went to the store and got them muffins and orange juice. 

 We set it out on the garbage can just in case we didn't notice when they came but we happened to see them heading our way and the boys handed it to them.  The boys were all smiles and the garbage men seemed surprised and appreciated the gesture.

I challenged the boys to do acts of service for strangers.  We hung out in a grocery store parking lot for awhile and they offered to help people load their groceries in their car and put their cart away.  It was really cool to see people's reactions and with each act of service the boys started standing a little taller.  They left that parking lot feeling proud and excited about how they made those stranger's days a little better.  One lady wanted to tip them.  They told her no thanks but she gave them money and told them to donate it to their church. It was a cool chance to talk about you kindness begats kindness.

 Keller's been excited to have a few birthday cards roll in.

 We have been doing LOTS of evening swims when Chad gets home.  

 Vance wanted to try his skills at cooking dinner.  He picked out a steak with herb butter recipe and parmesan green beans.  It was so delicious and he didn't need too much help.  However I did have to give him a budget for future dinners.  I like him cooking but if he keeps picking dinners like this I'll have to up my grocery budget.

 My mom went to the Crayola Experience with us.  The boys had a blast showing Grandma around.

My good friend Caitlyn is moving to Utah :( Dani and I threw them a little going away party.  I will SOOOO miss Caitlyn and her family!

Vance sold his Traxxas remote control truck.  He has really enjoyed reading lately so he bought himself a Kindle.

Chad and I went to see School of Rock with Jennie and Rob.  It was a much needed date night.  I haven't seen any Broadway shows in like three years and have missed it.  I love a good musical! 

Annual River Trip

Last year we took a river down to the Guadalupe River with three other couples.  We had so much fun we decided to try and make it an annual trip.  

I made sugar cookies and cinnamon rolls in preparation for the weekend -

Julie and Will went down early to celebrate their anniversary and the rest of us drove out together.  Notice Chad catching up on some sleep in the back row. Haha! It's really hard for him to get away from work this time of year so he worked some long days leading up to the trip.  Thanks babe for making it happen!

 Friday night we chilled at the house we rented.  We made dinner at home and swam in the pool.  It was a perfectly mellow and fun night!

 Our balcony looked over this huge grassy area, then there was a big tree line, and behind that was the river.  Every morning there was about five deer roaming around.  It was so beautiful and relaxing.

Becca always wears a kimono so this year Julie brought one too.  Well Chad kept talking about them so they made him wear it instead.  All weekend he kept talking about his "mono." 

 Saturday morning we all loaded up and headed to the river!! 

 In spots the river was a little low so there wasn't much current. Luckily we have some awesome hubbies who would swim us forward when they needed to.  We did a 5 hour float and it wasn't long enough.

 We laughed and laughed and then laughed some more.  This group of friends are some of the most fun people you'll ever meet!

After we were done floating the river we went home and got ready.  We went out to this cute little historic district in Gruene.  We listened to live music and played corn hole and Jenga.

 Then we headed to dinner.  It was possibly the slowest event ever.  We were planning on going out afterwards but after dinner everyone was tired so we headed back to the house and hung out there instead.  We are old! 

 I'm so grateful for these ladies.

 Quick side note - Friday at the pool Chad took off his glasses in preparation to jump in the pool.  Well he doesn't really see well in the dark if he doesn't have his glasses in.  He went all in on a cannon ball but failed to notice a random decorative boulder in his path.  He took a CHUNK of skin off his big toe.  He was a trooper and didn't make too much of a fuss but I'm confident it had to be throbbing.  I took a picture after he got home from work on Monday. It looked especially gross because it had been wrapped up all day and needed to be aired out.

 The poor guy came home from work wearing only one shoe.  I'm hoping it will heal quickly but I'm not so sure.  

A huge thanks to my parents for keeping the kiddos so we could enjoy 48 hours away.  Until next year river!

Friends @ Home

We've had friends over all summer for the kiddos and decided it would be fun to have a back to school BBQ for our friends!  We had 6 couples over for kabobs and games.  It was a blast!!!

I had all the kabob stuff prepped so everyone just assembled them the way they wanted and Chad threw them on the grill.

 While the food was cooking we played corn hole and hung out.

 Dinner was delicious!!!

 After dinner we played a game called "Left, Center, Right."  We played with money and played three rounds.  Each round the winner got like $45.  I wasn't sure how it would go over but it was really fun and everyone had a good time.

I have the best friends.  They helped do dished and clean everything up so I didn't have to do anything after they left!

 Later we went inside and played foosball and shuffleboard.  It was fun to use the game room with our friends. I have loved having the game room!

   

 We have some of the best friends ever! What I love most about them is how much fun they are.  With this group everyone jumps in the fun and the nights are filled with laughter.  We even had a toe-touch competition on the trampoline in the rain and played crack the egg.  

I think this may have to be an annual thing!