Happy Feet

When Nolan was 3 we attempted the Happy Feet summer soccer league.  Nolan was so shy he did not like to participate in the games, but sat on my lap along the sidelines.  Fast forward a couple of years and we are attempting the Happy Feet summer soccer league once more with Nolan and Carter.  Nolan has really come a long way with his shyness, but Carter not so much.  Anyway the boys' first games were on June 25th.  Carter's team, orange Cheetahs, played first followed by Nolan's team, gray hawks.

This picture is the closest Carter came to playing soccer.  He would not go out on the field by himself and once the other kids started to warm up he was done.  Carter found his spot on my lap and we eventually moved into the car where the AC awaited us until Nolan's game started.

Nolan on the other hand did great this year!  He went out on the field and warmed up with Bill for a little bit. Once his team started to arrive, Nolan was soon in soccer mode and ready to play.

I snapped a quick picture of Carter and Nolan before the game started.  Carter's face says it all. 

Nolan was a key player in the game.  I was super impressed with his ball handling skills and his ability to complete different soccer moves to get around a player or take the ball from the opposing team.  I hope Nolan continues to enjoy soccer because it was my favorite sport to play.

Towards the end of the game Nolan came up to me and said he was hot and ready to leave.  I told him it wasn't fair to his team if he left.  Nolan then informed me, "my team has 6, the other team has 5, my team is winning so we can leave."  This kid is too much sometimes.  Since it was extremely hot and Nolan's face was bright red, we went back to the car and sat in the AC while his team finished the game.

Good game Poot!

Glen Carbon Homecoming 2016

The evening of the race the Homecoming festivities took place, so I took Carter and Nolan to ride some rides.  Bill had helped some friends move earlier in the day and he didn't feel like being out in the heat in the evening, so he stayed at home with Blake.  Nolan and Carter really enjoy rides and they had a blast at the homecoming.  First up, the dragon roller coaster.  Carter covered his ears because it was a loud ride, but was all smiles at the end.

The boys and I made our way over to the little kids ride area, because they weren't tall enough for the other rides by the dragon roller coaster.

Nolan and Carter had enough tickets to ride 3 rides together and 1 ride by themselves.  They chose to ride the dragon roller coaster, helicopter, and dune buggie rides together.  Nolan opted for the fun house by himself and Carter chose to ride the dune buggies again by himself.

The trip was short and sweet.  The boys walked around and rode rides for about an hour and then we made our way back home.  No one was overheated, tired, or cranky which is a successful trip in my book!

My First 5k!

My sister, Kelby, talked me into signing up for a 5k race Father's Day weekend.  The 5k was the Covered Bridge Run in Glen Carbon.  From the day we signed up until the day of the race we had about 3 weeks to train.  Leading up to the race it was miserably hot out and I was worried about the weather, I had been running outside but it was in the evenings when the temperature was cooler.

June 18th, race day morning arrived and the weather could not have been more perfect!!  Low 70's, sunny, and not a cloud in the sky.  Kelby and I went down to the race a little early to get lined up and take a few pictures.

We decided to pace ourselves in the middle of the pack.  I didn't really know what to expect going into the race.  My goal was to not walk, I know its only 3.1 miles but I haven't ran since high school soccer!

The gun shot and we were off.  I didn't realize Bill had brought the boys down to watch the beginning of the race, but I was excited he did because he got some good pictures of us running.

On our way back to the finish line.  The race was a big loop along the bike trails.

 We finished and did not walk one time!

Once we were able to catch our breath, we realized the results were posted at the finish line.  Kelby and I could not believe our eyes.  Kelby ran the 5k in 28:51 with a 9:18/mile pace.  I ran the 5k in 28:52 with a 9:19/mile pace. Kelby beat me by 1 second, but because she was in a younger age group, placing her in 4th for her age group, I placed 3rd for my age group!  Sometimes it pays to be older!

 Blake was pretty excited to see my chunk of wood!

 Below are some professional pictures taken at the race.

I had a great time training and taking on this new adventure with Kelby.  We would text each other everyday on our times and distances when training.  The energy I felt while running was what I felt when competing in sports during school.  I don't know if I will ever run anything higher than a 5k, but Kelby and I are already planning our next 5k run.  I feel so blessed I was able to complete this with not only my sister, but one of my best friends by my side.

Our Great Wolf Lodge Vacation!

The next day after Nolan's graduation, our family of 5 headed out to Kansas City, KS for our first family vacation since Carter and Blake have been born.  We decided on Great Wolf Lodge because it was an indoor waterpark, close enough to drive in one day, and had activities for all 3 ages of the boys.  We left around noon on Friday, May 20th which was luckily around nap time, so for the first couple of hours the boys took a nap.  Blake was diagnosed with a sinus infection on Thursday, so he was not feeling well most of the trip, but he was a trooper and kept a smile on his face most of the time.

After a couple of bathroom breaks and snack breaks, we arrived at Great Wolf Lodge around 4:30.  It was perfect timing.  Bill checked us in and each family member was given a pair of wolf ears.  Nolan and Carter were proud to represent their wolf ears.

I chose a room with a "wolf den" because it had bunk beds for Nolan and Carter to sleep in.

I don't think we even unpacked our bags, the boys changed right into their trunks and headed straight to the pool area.  Since the water is cool, the indoor water section is kept at 84 degrees so it felt good to be in the cool water.  Blake got a little wet, but felt better wrapped in a towel on my lap while the older boys played with Bill.  After a couple of hours of playing, we ate dinner and went to bed.

The next morning the boys were ready to get back to the pool and play.  We had breakfast and made our way to the water.  The pictures below include most of the pictures from the water area, so I'm not really sure if they were from Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.  Anyway you will get the idea, the boys had a blast!!  Nolan and Carter weren't tall enough to go down the big slides by themselves, so either Bill or I went with them.  Life vests and towels were provided, so we didn't have to pack anything extra that would take up a ton of room.  Blake hung out on either my lap or Bill's lap while the other took the older two boys down the big slides.  There was also a section called the "hot tub" but it was for kids so the water felt like warm bath water.  Blake loved splashing around in this section of the pool area.

There was a younger kids section and it's slides went into a walk out pool which was only about a foot deep, so Nolan and Carter didn't need to wear their vests.  At the end of the walk out pool were sprinklers and little things for Blake to play with.  Nolan and Carter would race each other down the slide over and over again!

Nolan really liked the huge water gym.  Nolan was so brave, he would go all the way to the top of the tower by himself and go down the long slide where I would meet him.  Nolan was like a little monkey climbing all over the place.  Carter didn't like the water gym too much because it was kind of loud with all the water spraying everywhere.

The water bucket was fun for the kids to watch, but they didn't want to get under it when the bucket tipped over.  At least they posed for a picture with Bill.

The lodge also offered Mini Golf, so of course we had to dabble in it.  Bill and I decided we are too competitive to golf with the boys around.  Neither of us could fully concentrate while taking our putt because the boys were talking, running to the next hole, or swinging their golf clubs at each other like they were swords.  We made it to hole 12, I think, before we called it quits.  The lodge also offered craft time, so Carter made a button and asked to have his face painted like a wolf before we played mini golf. 

Bill had homework to do, so whenever it was nap time for Blake or Blake wasn't feeling that well, Bill would take him back to the room and try to work on his homework.  Bill is such an a amazing dad, he did a great job balancing school and family time while on this trip.  I know it was hard for him to work on school, but he managed and the boys had so much fun!  

Another fun amenity the lodge had was an arcade, we went to the arcade a couple of different times.  I don't know who had more fun us or the kids.  Bill and I were addicted to the game where you try and knock down the most clowns with baseballs.  We kept saying, "one more time" until we used all the kids' money and then we had to stop.

Nolan is the luckiest kid, you have to hit the button when you think its the right time and of course he hit the button on the number with the highest amount of tickets.  He won 200 tickets on his second game!

Another trip to the arcade.  This time Blake was allowed to roam and he had fun in the claw machine doors!  Blake loved the hot dog truck!! He would ride it over and over again.

Blake was asleep, Carter and Bill were resting, so I took Nolan to story time at the clock tower.  Story time helped to keep Nolan quiet and out of the room while the younger two fell asleep.  Plus it was fun spending one on one time with my oldest love.

On Sunday, I took Nolan and Carter down to spend some one on one time with them, while Blake took a nap and Bill attempted to work on homework.  Nolan opted for the face paint this time and Carter chose to color a wolf mask.  The boys and I decided to grab lunch.  Bill and Blake surprised us right when the food arrived. Perfect timing for B, he loved those french fries.

We decided to go to the outlet mall and walk around to get out of the lodge for a little bit.  On our way to the car we saw a rock.  When you see a rock, of course you have to take a picture on it!

Sunday night we took a family picture in bed, since it was our last night at the lodge.

Monday morning we woke up, checked out of the lodge, and headed to IHOP.  If you stay at Great Wolf Lodge, IHOP offers free kids meals as long as you wear your bracelets.  Once our bellies were full, we jumped in the car and made our way back to Illinois.  

One more family selfie as we left Great Wolf Lodge.  The car ride home was pretty quiet because the boys were exhausted.  We made it home on Monday around 1 and relaxed the rest of the day, preparing ourselves for the following day back to work.

I would have to say we had a great first family of 5 vacation!  Nolan and Carter ask everyday when we are going back to Great Wolf Lodge.  I believe we may have started an annual tradition with a trip to Great Wolf Lodge.