Flower Girl

Emma posing in her flower girl dress for Lindsey's wedding in October! So Cute...even with her shorter hair ;)

Baseball

Braeden had two make up games this week. He was so glad that they made up a few games. He was the bat boy until after the 4th of July. It was a long time coming for him to get to play. We were so proud of him that he still wanted to go to every game and be the bat boy. What a great team player he was. We gave him the option to quit but he didn't want to. He wanted to be able to play when his cast came off. I love how he is so much more excited for baseball now. He likes being pitched too versus the T. He is so excited that next year the kids will get to pitch some of the game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Golf Clubs

Braeden got golf clubs for his birthday from my mom and dad. He broke his arm the Friday after his birthday and the golf clubs were going to be picked up Saturday. We didn't want to put salt on the wound so we thought we would wait for the golf clubs until Braeden got his cast off. My dad took Braeden Friday to pick them up and have his first lesson. He is so proud of this new clubs and that he had a date with Papa! He had to show everyone how they worked and what they look like. Now we all have to get out on the course to practice with him.

Bug Bites

The bugs love Charlie! Check out his back. We were at my parents' swimming today and this happened as soon as the clouds came over. Poor kid!! (Notice his shorts are on backwards. He dressed himself and I don't say anything. I enjoy that he can do it!)

PINTEREST.COM

What to do with ribbon? Well I have been asking myself that question for months. I have tons of ribbon that I use for my business. It was just in a rubbermaid and getting to be such a mess, until yesterday! My friend Rachel showed me www.pinterest.com. I had fallen upon it before but when she said she spent hours on it I had to scope it out again. Saturday I stayed up until 1am dinging around on pinterest.com. I stumbled upon this awesome idea for a ribbon organizer. I was amazed and had to do it with my ribbon! I think I should've bought a bigger container but for now this will work! I didn't have dowels so I used straws because I couldn't wait. I will get dowels this afternoon.

LOVE!

Scissors

I thought we were passed the worry of scissors being used by kids for hair cuts. Braeden is 8 and Emma is 5. Emma is more into using crayons and coloring on everything. Yes, that is a toddler behavior but those of you that know Emma know that it is a total Emma behavior. I believe we have finally nipped it in the butt though so that is good. This morning I went down to Braeden and Emma's bedroom and found a BIG chunk of hair on the ground. Here is the conversation...Emma what is this? 'Hair' Who's hair? 'Mine' Who cut it? 'Braeden' When? 'A little while ago' Braeden why did you cut Emma's hair? 'Because' AWESOME!!

Before:

Long Blonde hair that was so beautiful and flowy

After:

Short Hair :(

I think Braeden cut about 6-8 inches of a chunk off. But there is a spot that is up to her ears that he cut. I couldn't let it get that short so it will have to grow out and be fixed later. I called my stylist, Noelle Busch, at Aveda. She was able to get Emma in this afternoon and fix her hair. Boo...so sad!!

Thoughtful Thursday

Remember to say I love you, give a hug or just take in the moment. You just never know when the moment won't be there anymore. A good friend of my sister, Patsy, lost her mom to cancer a few years ago. Yesterday her dad and brother were in a severe car accident. Her father was airlifted and her brother was brought to ISJ in Mankato. We are saying lots of prayers for her and her family. How devastating! Prayers are needed all around. Just give a few extra hugs! My thought for the day is that the little annoyances are just that little so let them go.


On another note here are a few pictures of the week:

Look at these cute boys!

Cousins are so much fun even if they are only 5 months old!

The new counters and the updated back splash.

LOVE

Ali these are for you! Miss you lots. Thanks for the great talk last night!

Heat...baseball...t-ball...pool

Well as most of us know it is really REALLY hot outside! It is a reminder of our summer in Kansas last year. I am thankful Braeden's baseball game was canceled for today. It seems a little too hot to do anything but sit indoors or sit in the pool. We did just that this morning. Patsy and her boys came down so we met at my parents this morning. It was perfect! We just sat in the pool while the kids played. Looks like we will do a repeat tomorrow. Mankato could really use a sprinkler park. It would be perfect on a day like today. The kids and I found a few last summer and had a blast just running in and out of them. It would just be one more thing to do in this town. I am hopeful if the heat stays this way Emma's game will be canceled tomorrow too. These kids shouldn't have to play in this heat. If she does I think I will be the mom bringing a pool for the kids and I to sit in ;)

Amazing people...

Have you ever met something that you wish everyone could be like or at least learn from them? I had the pleasure to work with a bride who is that person. I delivered and set up her wedding this afternoon in the torrential downpour and storm warnings. She was so laid back and calm about everything. She said what can you do about it. They had to rearrange everything as her wedding was set-up to be outside. She is so friendly and was the person you would want to sit down and chit chat with for hours! I wish her and her hubby to be all the luck and I hope that the sun comes out for them at some point tonight.

50 Cents

Really who doesn't love getting flowers? I know I love getting them but lets just face it my hubby isn't always the greatest at buying them for me. His excuse is.."they are too expensive and die in a few days." Well so what they always cheer me up and it brightens my day. I have come to the conclusion that I will just buy them for myself instead. Today I was picking up a few things at the grocery store and noticed roses were 2 for $1! I wasn't about to leave without picking out some roses. I got myself a dozen roses for $6. Yeah!! Brightened my day and they look fabulous in the vase on my new counter!

Countertops....

Yeah...I don't have to work on plywood anymore! We have 1/2 the kitchen counters in. They look amazing and I couldn't be happier with the choices we made!! The house really is coming along! I am looking forward to a week and a half from now when t-ball and baseball are over. We will have more time to enjoy our house. Don't get me wrong I love watching my kids in sports BUT I will love having a couple nights a week to do other things. My list is growing with things we can do in the evenings as a family...walks, park, bike rides, playing ball together. I can't wait!! This summer is going by way to quickly. I just want to bottle it up and have it slow down a little.

Cute Puppy Alert......

 

Macey all stretched out and napping on the couch.

Happy 92nd Birthday Grandma Ruth!

What a great day to celebrate a birthday! We were able to be at the lake on a beautiful day for Grandma's birthday today. We had coney dogs for lunch with root beer floats. I don't think it can get any better for her birthday. It was great to see some of the cousins but we sure missed the ones that weren't able to make it! Here are some pictures of the day.

Pictures from the 4th of July

FINALLY...I have finally had 5 minutes to go through the pictures and get them uploaded from last weekend. We had so much fun! Here are the pictures! Enjoy!

North Mankato Parade

Today was the North Mankato Fun Days Parade. Westman Freightliner, where Nick works, was having a truck go through the parade. I suggested we all join and walk in the parade. It was a hot one but we all had a great time. Nick sat in the truck with Charlie and helped fill our buckets with candy. The kids had a blast!

 

 

 

 

Braeden's First Baseball Game

Braeden finally got his splint/cast off and was able to play his first baseball game this past Wednesday. He was so excited to finally be able to play and not have to be the bat boy! He did a great job!

 

 

 

Meet Macey!

We found our new puppy. She is so adorable and we picked her up today. The kids love her and Bella thinks she is okay too.

KARMA

One might say that we have had quite the bad Karma or luck for the last couple years. I believe it just turned around! A storm just blew through and took a huge branch off of our large very mature tree out front. It landed where Nick's car had been parked prior to me going to Target. We are so lucky!! Thank goodness I needed to get out and walk Target for a few minutes and decided to pull his car in the driveway! The cops have been here and now the Park and Rec guys will be coming to cut it and get it out of the way. It is a great night for the Otto kids!