Summer 2k15~ Day 22 & 23

Girls' road trip!!! This weekend has been on the calendar since February when the days were short, dark, snowy, & cold and June's summer sunshine seemed like eons away.

I LOVE me some Beth Moore & Living Proof Live. And what better way to enjoy the experience than with three of my favorite besties??? I love doing life with these ladies & am so thankful for the opportunity to escape with them this weekend. I can't speak for them, but I definitely came back from Cincinnati refreshed, encouraged, & ready for life's crazinesss. 

And after multiple {ahem} Starbucks stops, just slightly overcaffienated. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 19

I'm sitting here, enjoying coffee & the quiet of the morning after sending all 3 kiddos off on adventures yesterday. 

After months of anticipation, Audrey headed off for a week at camp with her cousin Katy. I went to the same camp, oh..... 27 years ago? It was my first summer adventure away & I loved it! I can't wait to hear all about her cabin mates & counselor, games, arts~n~crafts, & chapel times. I kinda wish I didn't have to be an adult & I could go too! And I'm pretty sure that Ed is trying to tell her in this pic that he would make a great camp mascot~

Lexi & Austin settled in at their grandpa & grandma Hosmer's for a week o' fun. Lexi really wanted to go to camp too but it was all kinda last minute with planning & we weren't able to get any of her friends to be her camp buddy. I didn't want her going by herself & I didn't want her being the third wheel to Audrey & Katy's dynamic duo so she had to sit this year out with the promise that next year we'll plan ahead so she can get in on all the summer camp action. Her grandma offered to have her over for the week to help ease the disappointment of being left out of the camping fun & at the last moment her brother decided to join her. 

So here I sit, kidless for almost a whole week. Ed's not quite sure of what to think of this quiet house & he's already missing the freely handed out snacks. 

Me? It hasn't even been a full 24 hours & I'm missing the kiddos like crazy, but with a dirty, messy house & an overgrown garden & landscape, I think I'll be able to find something to occupy these next few quiet days.....

Summer 2k15~ Day 16

Hosmerville took our show on the road & headed over to the Jackson area for the day. We spent the morning with Tom's family, inhaling the delicious newborn baby smell of our new cousin, sweet baby James, & hanging out with our other 3 favorite younger Hosmers. 

Later in the day, we caught up with my side of the family & celebrated my cousin's graduation from high school. The kiddos hit the pool after consuming massive amounts of yummy food & cake. {We love us some cake!}

And since we were late getting to the party & completely missed seeing my grandpa, we swung by his place on our way out of town. He loaded the kiddos up with pop & sent us on our way with crisp lettuce straight from his garden~ yum!

Summer 2k15~ Days 13-15

Basketball and more basketball. Austin participated in a camp hosted by his school so we were back to an early morning schedule. Ugh! {At least there were no lunches to pack.} And he had friends over every day after camp so it was a full~on boy invasion of Hosmerville.

He's got some great friends. And they're at the age that as long as the food keeps coming, they entertain themselves nicely. They even included the girlies in a couple of rounds of Lightning out on the basketball court. 

And, yes, Audrey's in the van, too. She was just "conveniently" cropped out by the photographer. Ahhhhh~ sibling love....

 

Summer 2k15~ Day 9

How lucky were we that the day we had tickets to the Tigers' game was the same day Hudsonville was scheduled to serve Tiger Traxx outside the stadium?

We headed downtown & met up with our 2 favorite scoopers & had some delicious ice cream before game time. Yum!

I'm convinced that~ after multiple trips to the bathroom & time spent waiting in concessions lines, not to mention the people constantly climbing over you to get in & out of the aisle, plus the dude 5 rows in front of you that chucks his beer at somebody walking by then promptly gets himself a personal escort out of the stadium~ no one is actually there to watch the game. But it's the atmosphere & experience that draws us in. 

Plus, it's a good excuse to shell out $27/ticket to take a selfie. 'Cuz what's the point in going to the game & cheering on your team if you're not gonna document your experience?

The Struggle Is Real

Audrey has been busy doing laundry duty to earn spending money for her week at camp. 

With kiddos that toss anything & everything into the dirty clothes so that their rooms are "clean", laundry is never ending. Add to that a washer that constantly spins unbalanced & attempts to fix itself {with a slim~to~none success rate}, Tuesday & Friday laundry days are the most dreaded days of the week. 

So when Audrey volunteered to fold Mt Laundry I figured I might as well reward her for her efforts. I was already planning on sending a bit of camp cash along with her {but she didn't know that....}

She was thrilled with the money. I was thrilled that laundry was folded and put away. A "win~win", really. 

She volunteered to help me every laundry day until she left for camp. Score!

So I headed off to the gym last nite leaving Audrey enthusiastically folding clothes. 

For real. 

This is fun for her. 

She promised to have all 6 baskets done by the time I got back. And she did. 

Until I got home & promptly dumped my sweaty gym attire into the dirty laundry basket. 

"Mom!", she sighed, all exasperated.  " I just got done with all the laundry!"

Welcome to my world, Miss Audge. 

Welcome to my world. 

Teenager in the House

Happy birthday to the most handsome precious pup. At 13, the kiddos felt it was time for Ed to snaz up his wardrobe a bit.  What a dapper dude!

Summer 2k15~ Day 8

This day has been on the calendar since it was waaaay too cold out to even think about swimming.

A lake day with friends. And when you're already wet from splashing what's a couple of raindrops, anyways?

Tom & I even scored a semi~date nite. While the kiddos stayed at the church with some older teens, the adults went scavenger hunting. In 90 minutes time, we racked up 25,500 points bouncing, bowling, & high five~ing our way around town. Winning!

Summer 2k15~ Day 7

Zoo time! The wolves have finally arrived at the Detroit Zoo. We've been waiting for their debut ever since Audrey & I were there on a field trip this last April & saw the wolves' new habitat under construction.

I love that we live close enough to just head over for a couple of hours & hang out with the animals.

We're already finding our favorites to watch. And naming them, too. 

These rockhopper penguins crack us up! They are constantly walking laps around the rocks. We have "Rocky" and his friends "Kevin" & "Steve".

We caught the otters on their lunch break. They're smart l'il guys {and fast, too!}, using the glass to pin the fish into their paws. We determined that Eddy would love to have an otter around for company.

We didn't pay the extra $5/person to see the dinosaurs but we did manage a quick selfie while running for safety. 

And here are the mister & missus {he's the black blob in the background}. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 4

All 3 junior residents of Hosmerville have summer wheels and we have lots of "bike~able" destinations on our "Summer 2k15 To~Do's". 

I don't have wheels {although I did score a "new" bike for Audrey at a garage sale a couple of weeks back and could downgrade her to her smaller set of wheels if needed} so "Game Plan #1" involves me running alongside the kiddos when we head out on our summer adventures. 

If all goes well, it'll be a win/win situation. Kiddos get fresh air, exercise, and fun & the momma doesn't lose all the progress she's made in running because she can't get to the gym as frequently now that the kiddos are on summer break. 

Yesterday, we successfully implemented "Game Plan #1" and headed to a park about a mile away. The kiddos played for about an hour and then we returned home, maintaining about an 8:00min/mile pace. 

I got in a 2 mile workout. They got in several rounds of "Hosmerville Ninja Warrior". 

Not bad. Not bad at all. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 2

Hello, summer sunshine! We spent the day at Stony Creek Metropark.

Sun, swimming, grilling, great times with with great friends. The essence of summer all wrapped up in the perfect beach day. 

We had so much fun I didn't even get a chance to snap some pics on the beach so I made the kiddos pose in the van while Tom ran into the store to get some last~minute essentials.

Summer 2k15~ Day 1

We didn't waste a second kicking off the start of our summer vacation.

First stop, a book sale hosted by friends of the Warren public library. Audrey has had this sale on her radar for a couple of weeks, Austin..... not so much. But we all spent a good hour browsing through the stacks & came away with a lot of new titles for summer reading. 

Then, my favorite stop of the day~ Krispy Kreme. It was "National Donut Day" and Hosmers are not ones to pass up donuts. Ever. Especially when they're hot off the line and FREE!

Yum! The peach pie & lemon cream donuts were ahhhh~mazing! Total carb overload but totally worth it.

Finished the day with some baking {pecan pie bars~ mmmm!} and gardening {so. many. weeds.} Lovin' that the next few months are going to be full of laid back summer days. 

86 Days of Summer~ Opening Day

But who's counting? The Hosmers, that's who!

After starting school in the middle of August down south and finishing school into the month of June up north, there are 3 minis and 1 mama resident of Hosmerville that are completely and totally burned out on everything school. 

We kicked off summer with awards assembly {honor roll, science, vocal, & language arts awards~ 2/1/1, respectively}, school picnic, field day, and the inaugural night of the Dodge Park Farmers' Market. 

Food, sunshine, and fun. Let's get this party started!

Welcome to summer 2k15!