The Big Trip to The Big House

Last weekend, Brent and Luke had a boys' road trip to Michigan to watch the University of Michigan play University of Utah football at The Big House.  Brent has been to The Big House a few times before, but this was Luke's first experience.

My recap of their experience (as captured from their stories) follows:

They stayed at a hotel in Kalamazoo, MI, also the home of Western Michigan University.  I mention this because WMU was playing Murray State on Saturday and the Murray State football team stayed at their hotel.  Luke was impressed by the size of the players in person:)

On Saturday, game day, they drove to Ann Arbor and spent some time checking out the Michigan campus before the game.  They also went into the stadium early to watch the teams warm up.  To their surprise, there was an air show before the game because the Aerospace Engineering Program was celebrating its 100 year anniversary.

The game started out with nice weather, but during the second half of the game an announcement was made about severe weather coming in the direction of the campus.  Brent and Luke stayed for a few more plays then decided to leave.  Once they left their seats the storm came, and brought lots of rain with it, so they ran back to the car six blocks away and got soaked.

They drove back to Kalamazoo, stayed the night, and headed back to Rochester in the morning.

I asked Luke to contribute by telling me his favorites from the trip.  His top six are as follows (and, yes, in this order:))  

Top 6

#6   The air show before the game celebrating 100 years of the aerospace engineering program at University of Michigan.

#5   Seeing the size of The Big House in person

#4   Watching the players practice before the game.

#3   Learning to pee in a bottle in the car and then successfully doing it.  (An important life skill for a man...sorry I missed this experience...)

#2   Watching Earth to Echo in the hotel room

#1   Running in the rain from The Big House to the car parked six blocks away.


A few other pics from Brent's phone from their trip:

Sports Bar & Grill at the hotel

Checked into the hotel room

The boys had a great time on their get away, 

but we were all happy to be reunited after three days apart:)

Something Old, Something New

I learned about a fun store, called Next Act, Inc, via Facebook sometime in the past year.  They "refurbish and repurpose 'previously loved' home decor and furniture."  The store is in Apple Valley, MN, about an hour from us, so I didn't check it out in person until this summer.  Thankfully though, the owners share lots of pictures of their inventory on Facebook so I fell in love from afar.

The trend of refurbished furniture follows my thought processes exactly: reduce, reuse, recycle.  I love solid, wood furniture with character but I don't have the confidence/experience to refinish furniture myself.  So...I love finding places like Next Act that share the creative abilities of others in refreshing older furniture for me to enjoy:)

Last month, I learned that Next Act also custom paints furniture and I found these beauties:

I talked with the owner to have them painted black with an antiqued finish and we picked up the finished product today!

Exactly what I wanted!

Ok, back to reduce, reuse, recycle...the furniture in our basement started out almost completely as hand-me-downs from family.  After I brought home the end tables today, we said goodbye to the last hand-me-downs (after eight years).  I still remember being with my parents when they bought the end tables below.  I think I was in later elementary school.  They served my parents and our family well.  Tomorrow they will move to my friend's new house to fill in his finished basement:)

Before: Mom and Dad's end tables

After: New end tables plus a Nora

And they have storage!
One drawer for exercise bands

Another drawer for remotes

Next time you're in the market for a new piece of furniture, I highly recommend Next Act!  

If nothing else, check them out on Facebook:)  

Side Note: These solid wood end tables were $65 each custom painted.  A great price when compared to composite wood end tables like these from a big box store.  

What a Gift

Brent and Luke are heading to Michigan for Luke's first trip to The Big House for the Michigan vs. UTES game on Saturday.  I am so thankful for my sweet husband who wants to make this a fun daddy-son weekend away and I know Luke will remember it for years to come. 

Today, though, Brent came home with a special surprise.  A surprise even to him.  Brent's boss gave him a card addressed to Luke and said it was for both of them.  Luke opened it tonight and they were both blessed and surprised....

Brent already had the tickets,
but the card and Visa gift card were from his boss

Tonight I am not only thankful for my thoughtful husband who planned the trip and my sweet son who is excited for a daddy-son weekend.  I am also thankful for Brent's employer and his incredibly thoughtful boss who made a special experience extra special by lifting up a daddy even higher in his son's eyes through a meaningful note and surprise gift.  

Blessings to my boys on their get away:)

"Everything you can imagine is real" ~ Pablo Picasso

Nora's imagination has flourished the past couple months and it's so fun to watch her play:)

We've seen her pretend the following:

• Story Time Leader - Nora and I try to get to story time at ABC Toy Zone when we can and she loves story time with Peter.  He sings a few songs and reads a few stories, then always closes with Nora's favorite: Baby Beluga, a book/song.  Recently at home, she has been gathering a few books, sitting in her little chair, and conducting her own story time.  She will also ask me to have story time with her which results in me sitting in her little chair to read/sing to her (with book facing out like Peter does so all the kids can see).
• Going to Work - Nora carries her purse (actually one of my currently unused purses) and says she needs kisses bye bye.  
• Exercising - She pretends to exercise next to use when we stretch or do exercises at home.  
• Bear as Baby - Nora's favorite bear plays many roles in her life.  He is truly her constant companion.  She often pretends bear is her baby and feeds him with play utensils, gives him drinks from her sippy cup, and snuggles him while cooing "aww, bear bear" (as she often talks to babies).  Nora also has a shopping cart that she puts bear in as baby and pushes him around saying she is going shopping.
• Stuffed Animals on Walks - Nora got a double, toy stroller for a gift last year and she likes to walk around the room with multiple stuffed animals in her stroller saying she's going on a walk.
• Video Games - We have two remotes for our Xbox and we give Nora one remote without batteries so she can pretend to play along while Luke plays.  This works out great until someone else wants to play with Luke...
• Computer - Nora likes to sit on our laps while we're at the computer and she taps away at the keyboard acting like she's typing.
• Telephone - She has a play cell phone that she walks around with chatting to Papa and Gma or anyone else she thinks of.

All of these are very cute, but her imagination has also caused some troubles at bed time.  She's developed a fear of the dark and has had a difficult time getting to sleep.  She used to sleep with her door closed and didn't care about having a night light.  Now she sleeps with the door open, the hall light on, a night light in her room, and wants one of us on the same floor as her while she falls asleep.  In addition to her fears at night, she regularly tells us she's scared if she is startled (like when I walk in from the garage to the entryway and she wasn't expecting it) or by loud noises (think hairdryer, vacuum, power tool, faucet running into the tub while she's in it).  

If "everything you can imagine is real", then Nora's fun and fears are both real so we're working on being patient with her fears to help her feel safe and comfortable going to bed.  Hopefully, though, the fear will be a short lived phase and she can have fun with her imagination in play:)

I'm in Love

I've been considering cutting my hair shorter when fall came.  Well, today I decided it was fall:)

Here was my inspiration:

Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting

I don't typically aspire to celebrity hair, style, makeup, etc, but I fell in love with his cut the first time I saw it!

It felt like a big change to my hair so I actually thought ahead to take before and after pics:)  

Before

After

And, all of the credit for my new lovely cut goes to Miss Cindy!  

Love her and her baby bump:)

High Five for Friday

I cannot remember the last time I "High Fived" so thought I'd post a quick one:)

#1

Our lovely third grader told us today that he has gone up another reading level at school!  I'm so proud of his diligence and enjoyment of reading.  I'm also glad that after the summer, when many kids slide backward in reading level, he's actually progressing!

#2

We have a retention pond behind our house, which is part of the reason we chose the lot when we built ten years ago (no neighbors immediately behind us).  Anyway, some of the natural growth around the pond has gotten out of control with young willows that like to creep into our yard.  I've been meaning to contact the city to see if they could check it out and decide if anything could be done to keep it under control.  Well, today I finally thought of looking up a contact on the City of Rochester website.  To my lovely surprise, my email to the storm water department within Public Works was responded to within the day!  I'm excited to see what options they present to deal with the wild willows.

#3

We're two weeks into the school year, football seasons (Brent's and Luke's), and my new job/work schedule.  We've had more stressful mornings than I'd like, but I think we're starting to move in the right direction.  Luke and I like order and do well with routine, Brent is a morning person and a great help before he leaves for work, and Nora....well...she's two and likes control and attention.  My plan is to use our strengths and get a routine going that works for Luke and I, continue to utilize Brent's help, and hopefully those two efforts will result in more patience on my part with Nora in the morning as well as her sense of peace knowing the rest of the family is running smoothly:)

#4

I don't meal plan all of the time, but when I do it's so nice to have done:)  With our busy fall schedule, I decided to try more crock pot recipes so we could eat at home but still get a nice, warm meal between football games and practices.  So far, so good on my two week plan!

#5

Brent had a retreat with Leadership Greater Rochester, a leadership program through the Chamber of Commerce, at Camp Victory.  He had a great time away with the group, getting to know them better, and kicking off a year in the program.

Summer Lovin

Man it's been a great summer!  

I realized, however, that I haven't blogged much about it.  

Since we've officially closed out summer, I decided to recap a few of our favorites.

• Staying Active - Luke decided against playing baseball this year, so we had a lot more flexibility in our evening schedules.  We were able to get to several All Comer Track Meets and Luke participated in kids' sprints at the Go for the Gold Childhood Cancer Research Fundraiser (more here), the Eyota Days Kids Obstacle Race, and his first triathlon organized by TritonKids. Brent and I kept busy too.  Me with a few 5Ks and Brent with a 5K and the Tough Mudder.  Luke also took some community education classes/camps during the days while we were at work.  He got a big variety with basketball, football, and kickball.

Luke and Ethan in the Eyota Days Kids' Obstacle Race

Obstacle Race Accomplished!

Tough Mudder Accomplished!

Worn out after 10 miles and 22 obstacles

Luke finishing the triathlon

• Visits with Ericksons - Our friends, the Ericksons, who live in Baltimore, were in Minnesota for a week and a half and we got to spend lots of time with them while they were in Rochester as well as a fun day in the cities shopping and swimming with the kids.  Brent, Luke, and Nora also got to spend a few days with them at Pine Haven Christian Assembly for family camp.  We are always blessed by our time together:)

Swimming with Jael

• Date Time - Brent and I got to have a few extra fun dates this summer including two nights at the Basilica Block Party, a few nights away for my cousin's wedding for the groom's dinner and wedding/reception, and a day of shopping at Oronoco Gold Rush!  All were great time together during the summer of our 11th anniversary:)

Dinner before Basilica

Beautiful night at Basilica

Steph and Richie's Groom's Dinner

Steph and Richie's Wedding

• Celebrating Growing Family - My sister, Bridget, and her husband, Ross, had their first baby on August 1!  Piper Marie Moyer arrived a few days ahead of her due date and is the sweetest little thing!  She had a few bumps in the road to begin (long labor and some time in the special care nursery), but she's been doing great since.  In June, my mom and I hosted a shower for Bridget with family and friends and we also attended a shower with Bridget's friends.  It's so fun preparing for and then enjoying a new arrival!  Piper is a content baby who does great being out and about with Bridget & Ross already.  I am so very proud of Bridget and Ross as they have moved into parenthood so smoothly:)

Piper's Baby Shower
Gma (Mom's mom), Mom, Bridget, Me

Holding Piper in the hospital

The new family of three:)

Already one month old
and playing with Nora

These guys love babies:)

• Wisconsin Dells - We spent three days in Wisconsin Dells with the Picker crew in July.  It was a great get away!  See more here.   
• Staycation - Brent and I took a week off work to spend at home with the kids.  See more here.  
• Watching Our Kids Grow - Nora turned two in July and has been becoming very conversational this summer.  She will tell us about her day spent with Papa and likes to play pretend around the house.  Luke grew nearly an inch over the summer and, unfortunately, had many growing pains to go with that growth.  He's also shown much growth in his maturity as he's more confident in new settings and has shown more independence and responsibility.  It's hard to believe that next summer we'll have a nine year old and three year old.  

Heading to family camp with Greg, Cally, and kids
 and NO mom and dad.  He was so excited:)

Saying goodbye before family camp

Ribbons from an
All Comer Track Meet

Learning to climb the ladder

Man, it was a good summer!  

Many memories made:)

Third Grade!

Our Luke started third grade yesterday!  And, I am happy to report it went so much better than his first day of second grade (see last year's post).   

We met Luke's teacher, Mrs. Durst, who seems like a low key, gentle lady, at meet the teacher last week.  This is Luke's first year upstairs at school.  Gibbs is laid out kind of like a split level house with a walk-out in the back.  There is only one level accessible from the front of the building, but two stories in the back.  This year he's in the back, in the second story.  

Luke was very excited to see that a few of his best buddies from last year were in his class again and that he's even at a desk grouping with two of them.  

As I started mentioning school in mid-August, Luke pretty much ignored me, which I took as a not-so-good sign.  But, once the week before school came, he was super excited for meet the teacher and even more excited after.  He kept saying all of Labor Day weekend that he wished school would start tomorrow.  

The first day came and he did not show any hesitation.  He and his cousin, Ethan, had started walking to and from school last spring, so they picked up where they left off and walked to school without a hitch.  No tears this year!  

Luke and Ethan were also pretty excited that this year the second and third graders eat lunch together and have recess together.  So, Luke gets to see Ethan and another friend in second grade more throughout the day:)

Wearing his favorite jersey and
color, neon green

Oh, how I love that sweet face.
I wonder how many teeth he'll lose and gain this year???

Caught a pic before they walked to school
(Luke's sleeping:))

Off they go! 

 In addition to Luke's first day of school, we parents also had a little assignment to complete for Mrs. Durst. 

Brent did a beautiful job of describing Luke and I hope it helps Mrs. Durst connect with him quickly:)

(I also loved seeing an entire page in Brent's handwriting.  I feel like we hardly see hand written notes from people in our lives anymore.)

Here's to a great third grade year, Luke!