Today I'm thankful for....

Snow days!!!!!!!!!

When we looked at the forecast yesterday, it said we might get 1-3 inches of accumulation out of a storm that was supposed to come in overnight.  We went to bed knowing that we (meaning Bryan) should probably plan to get up early and clear the driveway.  Little did we know....

Our deck view

No matter how old we get, when the phone rings at 5:45 to let us know there is a snow day, we celebrate!  So, I laid back down and waited for the kids to wake up so I could tell them to go back to bed.  Once we got up for the day, lets be honest, it was still early when we got up, but we didn't let that get us down.  We played dominoes, made Christmas goodies, baked banana bread, built giant marble mazes...all before lunch!  After lunch the snow stopped, so we ventured outside.  Here is just a small sample of the fun we had: 

Mmm....snow

I think he might have missed

Not our Christmas Card picture, but maybe it should have been!

Sam LOOOOVVVEEEDDD sledding.  His squeals were wonderful.

Brothers

A very happy home ready for a White Christmas

I hope that wherever you were today, you had an enjoyable day. If you were one of the lucky ones that got a snow day, I hope you took some time to enjoy one of life's great joys...no matter your age!

Weekend project

When we first saw our house, we were in love with the location and interior of it.  We didn't realize when we moved in that there would be so many hidden gems.  We found some great old bricks that we used to create a flower bed...

and border for our flag pole: 

When we expanded our chicken coup to include more of the building we were using, we came across some old doors.  So, we decided to put them on Craigslist.  Well, procrastination has its benefits. They never got posted on the site.  As luck would have it, we decided that we needed something for our deck so we embarked on a journey to make something out of the old doors.  What follows is our adventure in furniture design.  

First step: sand off the flaking paint (wearing masks of course!)

Help from the youngest members of the household.

 

Let the assembly begin!

Careful

Hmmm...is it going to work?

 

Taking a break

 Time to start painting!

Drying Paint 

 Finished product in its place on the porch.  We are very happy with the finished product! 

Today I'm Thankful For...

Summer Vacation!

As we wrap up another summer, it is fun to think back on all the great times we have had.  I didn't spend much time posting about it because we were out living it!  Just in case you wondered what we were up to, here you go:

"BARRETT Coolest family ever" Mason's sand art

Petting the rays at the Denver Aquarium

Baseball fun

Mason turned 8!!

Cleaning up after the Cattleman's Ball.  What a great event to be a part of.  $1.3 million dollars were raised through the event. 

Checking out the local wildlife

Picking strawberries at WindHarvest Farms

Check-out day!

Pool fun of course!

Swimming Lessons

Fishing

Oregon Trail Days, Grant Firecracker run

Flying kites with Grandma Sue

Cousins!!!

Meeting Tim Miles

Kindercamp to get ready for Preschool!!

Lake Mac with cousins!

Sam's first concert!

Going to the County Fair.

All this fun is exhausting!!

After a great summer, we are now off to another great fall full of school, Husker games, and road trips. I will hopefully keep you updated a little more frequently on those!

Celebrating America

Well, I don't know if you knew it or not, but last week America turned 238 years old on Friday.  True to form, we decided that we couldn't just stay put, so we packed up the boys and headed to Elsie to spend a night there.  

Cousins!!

I was excited because there was the Firecracker 5k that my brother, Nick and his wife, Rachel were going to run in Grant The kids even decided to participate in the races.  My mom and Aunt Shelly joined in on the fun, too! 

Our running crew 

Headed to the 1 mile fun run

Let's do this!

On your marks, get set, GO!!!!!

Finishers!!!
Sam really did have a good time, he has just decided to become shy when the camera comes out! 

After the race (and a quick trip home to shower) we came back to Grant for some fun.  The local 4H group had set up inflatables and a climbing wall that for only $5, kids could do them all afternoon. I cant think of any place we have gone that has such a good deal! All the kids had a blast. 

Mason and Max on the Climbing Wall 

Reaching the summit!! 

Bounce House!!!

Weee!!!!!! 

Waiting in Line

 Not only was there a great deal on fun in the park, the pool was open for free. So of course, we had to have some fun there!

It was another great 4th of July in Perkins County. It was fun to be back in my home county and see so many people. It is truely a great place and I am so happy to share some of it with my kids! 

Our little firecrackers!!