Summer 2k15~ Day 29

A day's worth of yard work equals a big ol' bonfire & a nite's worth of fun. We drenched ourselves in Off {anybody else's yard completely overtaken with mosquitoes???} & spent the evening playing baseball, catching fire flies, & playing hide~n~seek in the dark. 

And if there's anything I've learned as a parent of 3 kiddos it's that "It always ends in tragedy. Always." 

This time {well, aside from Lexi's tears over a baseball mishap & a slightly twisted ankle} it was the bench that experienced the tragic ending. 

And when we realized the little Hosmers would easily outlast the neighborhood fireworks displays, we took the party inside. 

Fun times all around. Unless you're the fire pit bench. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 26

This girl came home from camp today!!! She even survived a trip to the doctor's & 2 nites in the medicine teepee after coming down with strep throat. Whew! What a week chock full of adventures. 

She spent an extra nite at her grandma & grandpa's so that we could do the Tigers' benefit so I was super anxious to hug her & her sister's necks when Austin & I finally arrived to pick them up. 

Tom's mom treated us to lunch & Inside Out with the cousins before I took my kiddos home {but not before some photo booth antics}.

And for the record, the excitement of having everyone home together lasted approximately 35 minutes before they were back at irritating & squabbling with each other. 

And that's something I didn't miss. 

Summer 2k15~ Day 25

Tom, Austin, & I were invited to attend "Keeping Kids in the Game" hosted by Miguel Cabrera at Comerica Park. And when Miggy says "come"..... well, who are we to turn down an invite? So we did our part by~

Sitting in the dugouts. 

Playing catch infield and making some stellar plays in the outfield. Not sure why the Tigers haven't signed me yet???....

Touring the clubhouse. 

And meeting players. 

Rajai Davis was my favorite because he complimented Austin on his bow tie and thanked us for coming out. Super nice guy.

And then there was the food. The. FOOD. No truer words have ever been proclaimed by any napkin of mine.

And the fireworks. Which were really, for me, an excellent opportunity to digest the copious amounts of chewy chocolate chip cookie & rice krispy chunks drenched in dark chocolate that I had for dessert. 

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!