Memorial Day 2012...

What a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!

It started with John beginning his long time-off (it’s so rare and weird – he will be off work for over a week, which is so unusual for him!).  I got out of work early and when over and watched Ry-Ry and Zora in the waterslide and hung out with the neighbors.  John had been smoking some sausages in the smoker all day, so we had an impromptu cookout with the neighbors.  Kylie had been planning a big sleepover, so she had four little girls over at the house for the night too.

Saturday morning I got up and made a big breakfast of French toast and bacon.  After all the girls got picked up, we headed over to Joshie’s baseball game.  It was so hot out, even at 11:00 AM!  After the game, we went home and had lunch and then just hung out around the house while Ryan and Colton napped.  Kylie actually fell asleep on the couch for a couple of hours!  John and Josh went on a bike ride (Josh actually likes riding his bike now, which is so nice!), and I got to read a little while lying under the sprinkler because it was so hot!

When the boys and Kylie woke up, we headed to the pool for the first time.  We went ahead and got a membership this summer, and the kids were super excited about going.  Since it was around 5:00, it wasn’t too crowded, and we saw quickly that Colton is not afraid of the water!  We only stayed 45 minutes since it was dinnertime.  We went home and had a little cookout of our own and then everyone crashed into bed.

Sunday we went to church and then came home and ate lunch.  After lunch, Ryan and Colton took a nap, and Kylie, Josh and I headed to the pool while John mowed the grass.  Our neighbors were there, so it was fun to swim and hang out with them.  Again, it was 93 degrees, so the pool felt amazing!  I worked with Josh a lot because he is horrible in the water – I can’t wait for swim lessons to start!  After the boys woke up, John brought them over to the pool and we swam for a little while longer.

That night for dinner, we decided to go through a drive-through for the kids, go to Giant Eagle for salads for John and me (although Josh and Kylie ended up getting salads too), and then headed down by the river for a picnic.  It was still so hot, but the kids had fun and Colton kept pointing out the “boats” and “waer” (water).  When it was time to go, he kept saying “bye-bye boats,” “bye-bye waer.”  At home, we finished the night off with some ice cream cones and sitting on the porch.  Again, everyone crashed into bed from the busy day.

Monday morning we woke up and went to our local Memorial Day parade.  Josh got to walk in it with Little League, so he was excited.  It was another scorcher, and it was hard to sit there at times, but Colton actually did really well staying in his stroller the whole time and we got through the heat!  It was a nice parade, and afterwards, we headed over to the military ceremony and then had some hot dogs for lunch.

Once we got home, John, Ryan and Colton all took a nap and Josh, Kylie and I headed to the pool.  When the boys woke up, they met us over there again, and again, we had a blast.  After the pool, we came home and had another family dinner.  Ryan had a hockey game, so after dinner, we all headed downstairs to watch him.  The evening was finished off with ice cream cones on the front porch again.

I was off work Tuesday for Kylie’s “Pioneer Day,” so we had a nice morning of getting the kids ready for school and then John, Ryan, Colton and I went down to the playroom because the cleaners were there.  We got the playroom cleaned up and organized, and after that was done, we headed out on a little walk.  After that, it was time for me to head out to Kylie’s school thing.

Pioneer Day was awesome!  Almost every single kid dressed up like a pioneer, and they got to do things like square dancing, candle making, leather stamping and biscuit making.  They learned how they used to have to carry water and wash clothes.  Even the lunch was very “pioneery,” which is where I helped out with, having fried chicken, noodles, corn, green beans and fruit.  It was so awesome!

After I helped out with that, I can home and helped John trim the bushes while the boys napped.  Then I went and picked the kids up from school (they normally walk themselves, but Kylie wanted me to come and get her), and then they all played for a while.  Kylie’s friend Rachel came over, and we headed out for Tuesday night park night.  We went through McDonald’s (for the kids) and then Wendy’s (for John and I) and then headed to the park.  The weather was gorgeous and the kids had a blast playing!  After that it was back home to baths and bed.

John is still off work and doing work/fun things with the littlest ones.  I am back at work for two days and then off on Friday for our annual day at the Memorial Tournament!