My family (Amy's family) got together last night to celebrate!  My cousin from Alaska was back in town for the week with his family, so we all got together at "The Farm".  I haven't seen this cousin in over 10 years! It was so good for everyone to be together!  We were missing a few people but overall had a great turnout.   "The Farm" is where my mom and her 4 siblings were raised.  After my grandparents passed, my uncle and his wife bought the property, updated the house, and added a barn.  This is where we get together for family events.  Spending time out there always makes me nostalgic.  I'm so proud of my grandparents and how hard they worked to make sure we could have a better life.  And I think they'd be proud of how it turned out!  You could just feel the love last night; this is a family that loves God, loves each other, and works hard to make the world a better place.  We are blessed to be part of it. 

This big kid is on his third round of swim lessons this summer, and he is crushing it! He has improved SO much; it is so fun to watch him learn more and improve each session.  I snapped this pic last night and thought those goggle rings were adorable 😍

Cooper made corn casserole for dinner!  It was yummy and he did a really good job. He periodically shows interest in cooking/baking, but is scared of the flame on the stove so his options are limited haha! This week he asked if he could help with dinner, so he whipped up the casserole by himself and I put it in the oven for him.  Nick grilled us a yummy pork tenderloin.  It was a good team effort! 

We went to a parade on the 4th!  Cooper received about 3 pounds of candy 😬 and was so excited to see the floats, marching bands, old cars, and more.  Our favorite part was a police officer who rode his motorcycle down the street while STANDING on the seat!  It was incredible! 

We had a fun weekend celebrating the 4th!  Sparklers and pop-its were each on our summer bucket list.  We also crossed off "watch a horse race" and "learn how to tie shoes" this weekend!  Success! 

"Car wash" is a fun activity we learned from our neighbor.  Cooper had a great time playing it yesterday!  They use washable paint and brushes to get matchbox cars "dirty", then wash, rinse, and dry.  The kids LOVE it because they get to make a huge mess, and the adults love it because the kids think the clean-up is part of the fun! It's a win-win in our book!  

Our neighbors have a pond where we love to hang out in the summer.  This week they had sand delivered to make a beach, so we went to check it out.  It looks great!  We love spending time at the pond, and it just got even better!  

Yesterday Cooper requested a picnic on the berm.  Sounded like fun, so we did it!  Cooper packed his own lunch - a "homemade Lunchable" with some fruit - and then Cooper and Nick headed out on the golf cart.  The berm was created when our neighbors dug their pond.  They took the dirt and piled it into a berm to separate the pond from a nearby walking trail.  It's fun to ride the golf cart up  there because the views are fantastic!

This weekend was pretty low key.  We had some fun plans that were spoiled by a covid exposure so we ended up staying home, playing games, and watching movies.  We ate pizza twice - which is abnormal -  but no one complained about it 😂  

Cooper and his cousin Payton went to a petting zoo with Grandma yesterday!  He said his favorite animal was the bunnies - and now he thinks he wants one for his birthday 🥴 Hopefully he'll forget about that before his birthday gets here hahaha! 

Yesterday was SO HOT here in central Indiana!  We went to the splash pad in the afternoon (along with everybody else in town 😂).  It was a perfect set-up because there was a splash pad and a playground right next to each other.  We played on the splash pad and then ran over to dry off in the sun on this saucer swing, then we'd get too hot and head back to the splash pad... over and over and over!  We lasted about an hour and a half before we were ready for some AC (and popsicles!).  We are having so much fun this summer! 

One of the things on our summer bucket list is to visit 5 different parks!  Today we crossed off the first.  We had been to this cute park maybe twice before, but it's not the closest to our house so we sometimes forget about it.  We were on our way back from the library and remembered it was just a few minutes out of our way.  Cooper climbed up this rope tower and was pretty proud of himself!  He is typically a pretty cautious kid so this was a little out of character for him.  We had a great time! 

Nick's favorite dessert of all time is ice cream.  Any kind will do, but chocolate chocolate and more chocolate is his fave.  We took a quick trip to DQ this weekend to beat the heat and celebrate our favorite dad!  Nick has matured so much over his 6 years as a father.  He is patient, kind, consistent, loving, and fun.  He has been a fantastic dad to Cooper, and we can't wait for him to have the opportunity parent a second child! 

One of the things on our summer bucket list was to have some science fun with Coke and Mentos explosions!  It was the highlight of our day yesterday!  We bought a kit with nozzles to make the Coke spray in different patterns.  This one was our favorite.  Cheap and easy fun! 

Cooper had a sleepover with Amy's parents and had a great time!  He loves playing at their house - sprinklers, bikes, climbing trees, outside movie nights, and playing the Wii in the basement if the weather is crummy.  He has sleepovers with them probably once a month and loves the special time with them.  Yesterday they took him to a county fair where Amy's cousins were showing cows (they won grand champion!).  What a fun day! 

We had our 18-month old neice over for a sleepover this weekend!  The kids had so much fun playing in the sand box, swingset, and riding around in Cooper's Jeep on Friday evening.  Then Saturday morning we took a trip to the library and read books and played.  It was so fun to watch Cooper interact with his little cousin; it was a glimpse into how he'll be as a big brother.  It was just the sweetest!  He was so kind and gentle with her.  He encouraged her to use her manners (she can sign "please") and was so great at sharing his toys!  We can't wait for him to get to be a big brother!  

We have been loving this warmer weather! Cooper wanted to get out the water table, but then quickly decided it was too boring... so he started filling buckets of water and dumping them on his head! 😂 Whatever works, I guess! 

We took a quick trip to the library yesterday.  We are participating in their summer reading challenge, and Cooper earned a free paperback book for reading 5 hours so far this summer!  He was so excited.  We are big believers in education and encourage him to read as much as possible! 

Cooper decided a few months ago that he wanted to learn tennis!  I love the idea of him playing a sport that he can enjoy into adulthood.  He started lessons this week and is having so much fun!

Our neighbor "Farmer Mike" lives just about a mile away from us and farms several hundred acres immediately surrounding our woods.  He has this great pile of topsoil that he has accumulated from various jobs over the years that we refer to as "Mike's Mountain".  We often watch Mike plant, fertilize, and harvest out our back window.  He sometimes offers the boys tractor rides!  We love to take golf cart rides over to the "mountain" so Cooper and the neighbor boys can play.  They have so much fun throwing rocks and climbing up and down over and over.  It's a great way for them to get out some energy! 

Nick's cousin got married this weekend!  We had so much fun celebrating with the happy couple.  A few things are clear from this weekend:  1.  Cooper is too big to hold 😂 2. We have officially reached the stage where he is embarrassed by my dancing 💃  

Summer is officially here!  It's our first week off school, and our evenings are filled with fun!  Last night we hung out at our neighbors' house, and Cooper and I taught our little neighbor boy how to play tic tac toe.  The kids had a blast playing with chalk, going on a dinosaur hunt to find "fossils", riding their power wheels, and drinking Capri Suns.  We love nights like this! 

We crossed the first thing off our summer bucket list last night:  Indians game!  We LOVE spending summer evenings at the ballpark.  Last night we went to the game with about 8 friends and had the best time.  The weather was perfect!  We were out past our bedtimes so we are all dragging a little today, but it was so worth it.  Can't wait to catch another game or two later this season! 

I don't know about you, but we are SO ready for summer over here!  The countdown is on for the last day of school, and we have big plans for making this summer the best one yet!  This weekend we drafted our "Summer Bucket List" - 25 things we are excited to learn or explore this summer.  A few things on our list include: make a lemonade stand, learn how to tie shoes,  and visit 5 different parks.  What are your favorite things to do in the summer?  Send us a message; we'd love to chat! 

It's March, which in our house means enjoying the madness!  We love watching the NCAA tournament games.  We have done a family bracket every year since we got married - winner gets a kiss! This is Cooper's second year participating and it's so fun to watch his competitive side!   We are Butler fans, and while they didn't make the tournament this year, we did enjoy catching a game earlier this season.  The sign behind us reads "The Butler Way demands commitment, denies selfishness, accepts reality, yet seeks improvement every day while putting the team above self."  A great motto for the school and for us!

We LOVE having bonfires in the fall! There is something about putting on some layers and relaxing by the fire that is just so peaceful to me.   Nick built a small fire that we spent some time around yesterday afternoon and evening.  We had fun throwing sticks and walnuts into the flames and seeing who had better accuracy.  We're all pretty competitive, so we end up making games out of just about anything! Our neighbors came over and the boys played tractors, picking up sticks and leaves with their frontloaders.  After dinner we roasted some marshmallows for dessert!  

We had so much fun dressing up for Halloween this year!  Amy loves to do family costumes, and so far everyone goes along with it 😂.  Cooper wanted to be Darth Vader, so that set the stage for Amy to be Princess Leia and Nick to be Han Solo. We think the costumes turned out pretty well!  We have this great Halloween tradition hosted at the farm that used to belong to Amy's grandparents.  When they passed, her aunt and uncle bought the property, remodeled the house, and added a huge barn.  Every year for Halloween, we all gather at "The Farm".  Everyone dresses up!  We have a pitch-in dinner and then set up stations around the property where the kids can walk around to trick-or-treat.  It's so nice to spend time out in the country and enjoy God's creation with our family! 

This weekend we had our third annual Fall Fest!  Our neighbors hosted, and we had the best time!  There were games, crafts, music, food, and prizes.  And the crowd favorite -- a hay ride!  The kids LOVED it (and who am I kidding?! - the adults loved it too!!!).  Hay rides always remind me of our wedding.  We took one from our wedding ceremony to our reception and it still brings me joy to think about.  Just our closest friends all together celebrating love.  We have so much more love left to give -- send us a message if you'd like to chat! 

This weekend was so special.  Nick's brother got married! 🤵👰💍 It was such a fun weekend spent with friends and family celebrating the happy couple.  The day was perfect (other than the rain, but it's supposed to be good luck!).  There's something about watching the groom as the bride walks down the aisle that brings me to tears every time!  The ceremony was lovely.  Nick and Amy were both in the wedding and Cooper got to sit with Grandma and Grandpa right up front to have a great view.  There was a taco bar (!!!) for dinner and lots of dancing at the reception.  Cooper and some other kids were busting moves and living their best lives 😄  Weddings are the perfect time for us to reflect on our own marriage - to evaluate what we are doing well and where we can grow.  After 11+ years, we are by no means perfect, but we are as happy as ever!

Wanna know what a regular Tuesday looks like in our house?!    LEGOS!    Really most days around here involve Legos, haha.  We all three love to play Legos!  Cooper is mostly interested in building and collecting sets.  His faves are Star Wars, Marvel, and Ninjago.  He spends hours playing with the sets after they are built and recently dedicated some book shelves in his room to Lego storage for sets that he put together and doesn't want to take apart.  Dad (Nick) loves to create things with his own imagination -- usually a huge garage or sporting event venue.  Mom (Amy) is usually the "piece finder" but also loves to build sets and pretend to be the crazy old lady who  needs rescued by the Marvel team 😂   

We just finished a staycation and it was soooo good for the soul. We've lived in Indy for about 8 years now and it still amazes me how much there is to do here!  Over the past few days we visited the zoo, an incredible water park, and the State Fair! We also did a little bit of shopping and had a picnic at the playground 😄 all within 20 minutes of home!  Indy is a great place to raise a family- and we can't wait to add to ours! 

One thing we LOVE to do in the summer is spend time at our neighbor's pond! The pond is about 1 acre in size and is a favorite way to spend a summer afternoon. There's a great dock with a kiddie pool- when the little guys get tired of swimming they can chill in the pool and splash! 

We had the best time at Cooper's baseball game!  It was the biggest crowd of the season - neighbors, aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents came out to watch our sweet boy play.  Only a couple games left before the season is over.  Here's to hoping we have a sweet baby to bring along next season!  Cheers 😀