Vacation/Event Overload in August

Life has been busy to put it lightly. August has been a giant whirlwind. Brian had a lot of travels this month and we had a lot of vacations and events that all seemed to happen back to back. Its all been fun, but extremely exhausting for this mama in her 3rd trimester. :) I am feeling pretty good but this baby is growing leaps and bounds and sticking straight out as my babies tend to do. I literally groan every time I sit, stand, lay down, pick up a kid, or pretty much do anything and everything. I find my patience runs out very quickly and I lose my mojo quite quickly. I cant complain too much as I know many women have a lot more aches, pains, and problems towards the end so I still consider myself lucky and blessed despite the uncomfortable state I find myself in constantly.

We met my dear friend Leigh Lindstrom's newest addition a few weeks ago. Olivia is the sweetest thing. She literally slept, ate, and slept some more despite the craziness that was surrounding her. Leigh's older 2 combined with mine does not make for a calm or quiet environment. It gave me hope that lil' Paxton will survive his first months home with two of the craziest brothers he could be blessed to be gifted. Ben was in LOVE and awe of the precious baby girl. I hope he loves on lil P just as much.

Meeting baby Olivia...Benny cant wait for his own baby brother to arrive!

Easton has started T-Ball. Since soccer was a bust we decided to try something that was a little bit more individual based even though its still a team sport. Easton is VERY unaggressive and soccer just wasn't going to be something he was ever crazy about. The league we found is amazing and they spent most of the 8 weeks learning about the different skills and running drills. They will start mini games within their "team" next Saturday to start putting their learnings into practice. He is fast, smart, and determined and LOVES it! The weeks that I am unable to go to practice he cant wait to tell me all about it and how well he did. Its so fun seeing his confidence grow! He is my perfectionist so having him work at something and be proud that he is doing well makes my heart swell!

stretching out before T-Ball lessons

batt'er up

Meeting a Storm Trooper at the Boys Town Healthy Kids Carnival

We had a Kalasek family camping trip 2 weeks ago. We got the Governor's cabin at Mahoney State Park. It was 6 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a full stocked kitchen. It was definitely more my style camping (if there is such a thing lol). I am definitely NOT outdoorsy, and the heat/humidity index of 3 digits wasn't on my side either. If I wasn't pregnant I think I would've weathered a lot better, but I found myself very tired. The kids had a BLAST which is all that truly mattered. I had fun too, just wasn't able to be as active as I would've normally liked to be. The kids were able to enjoy their amazing water park, do the paddle boats, play at the park, climb the giant tower, go on a bear hunt/hike :), putt-putt golf, play at their indoor play center, and paint pottery. As a child most of my cherished memories involve summer trips and get aways with my grandparents and cousins. I love that my kids are now starting to get those same experiences. Both sets of my grandparents wanted to spend time with just us kids/cousins, and I feel so lucky and blessed that both my parents and Brians are the same way.

Not to shabby for a cabin

Everyone climbed the Mahoney Tower (except me....gotta keep this baby from wanting to join the party until Oct)

The two babies.....for now

Standard Baylor pic....her lil buns crack is ALWAYS showing :)

gearing up to fish

Benny the brave went first

followed by Baylor....the other brave soul

daddy/uncle Brian

and Papa K

Ben loved our morning walks to see the horsey's

very serious about painting pottery

E could've spent the entire day doing this

Angie helping lil Brynlee paint

Baylor and Easton at the water park

dads took the kids to the play center so the moms could go to the Outlet Mall :) 

paddle boats!

We returned home from Mahoney the same day that Easton and Baylor had a rehearsal for Brian's cousin's wedding. I wasn't sure how Easton would do, but he did AMAZING. Not only was he the cutest thing I have ever seen he was so composed and calm on his walk down the aisle. He even sat still and quiet through the entire ceremony (and it was a Catholic wedding so it was at least an hour long). By the time the reception came around they were all a little worn out from their week at the cabin, but they still had fun dancing and running around.

Rehearsal night for these two

"I am SO HANDSOME"

my lil stud muffins

obviously they are over photos...Easton is giving me the finger (without knowing it) lol

They did SOOOOO good! 

double fisting babies 

The morning after the wedding Brian and I flew out to Napa Valley, CA for one of his work trips. Packing for Mahoney, the wedding, the boys staying with my parents, and Napa all in one shot was a LOT but it got done and everyone had everything they needed when they needed it. My parents of course were over the moon for the opportunity to have the boys all to themselves for 4 days and 4 nights. My mom especially eats up these opportunities. They took them to Target and of course got them the Mario and Luigi dolls I have been avoiding getting them for months (although they cherish these dolls like no other...bc Nana bought them. If I had gotten them for them I am sure they'd be in a bin someplace already never to be played with again), they got new sandals that matched Papa French's, and got to eat at Tanner's, Dairy Chef, and McDonalds!

Nana spoiling my boys while we were away....per usual :)

and wearing them out! 

We were in Napa from Sunday through Wed. Now obviously being 8 months pregnant in wine country is not ideal at all. The vineyards we went to were amazing and gorgeous, the resort/spa was the nicest in the Valley, and being able to sleep and veg out as much as I wanted was a dream! The nice thing about these trips are that there is a lot of down time. We had the day at the vineyards and a few dinners but other than that I was able to get a entire day at the spa, shop, order lots of room service (my favorite thing EVER), and lay in the most comfortable HUGE bed for hours on end. Thankfully the Olympics were on so there was always something to watch on TV no matter the hour! It was also nice for Brian and I to get away and spend some much needed quality time together before we are outnumbered by baby boys lol

Peju Winery...Napa Valley, CA

lunch outdoors at the Vineyard...gorgeous

Pregnant in Napa....not ideal

Hall Winery

The whole Crew

I was thrilled to get back home to my crazy monkeys! They were pretty happy to see me too. Its been busy busy since the second I got home as well. We are gearing up for Pre-K at Gingerbread House to start and I am going to be a mom helper as well. I will be doing all the take home/crafty projects so I will be able to do them on my own time at home which is ideal for me. We've had lots of birthday parties and Church School has started up again. This year Ben is able to go into the youngest classroom of Church School. I dropped him off Sunday and he seemed fine. He was sitting at the table with the other kids happy as a clam when I walked out to take Easton to his classroom. I went to the service and then went to pick up the dudes. When I walked into Ben's class the teacher was holding him and he was crying. She said that he had a rough time when he realized I wasn't staying in class with him, and she had to hold him the entire class lol. Poor dude. Hopefully he gets used to it after a few more times. He's never went to the nursery at Church and the only people he has been left with are grandparents and Mary Pat. All of those people have been loving and caring for him since infancy so he has no memories without them....this was a whole new ballgame for him. Being in a room with strange kids and strange adults had to have been scary for the little guy and I guess I never imagined he wouldn't handle it so well bc he is my touch adventuresome kid.
We also had little Charli Layne Parson's 1st birthday party celebration and T-Ball on Saturday this past weekend. Charli is such a dollie and her mom, Kati, has been like a little sister to me for over 20 years. Charli's grandpa is actually Brians boss, Kati's mom is like a second mother to me, and Kati's husband's mom and my mom grew up together....Its a very incestuous situation lol. Charli is a lot like Benny personality wise so we are excited and dreading the days when those two run around together.
The boys had dental appointments this past week as well and this was Ben's first time. He did so great. He laid still far better than Easton (which we expected) and was so proud of himself after words. If anyone is needing a great pediatric dental experience I HIGHLY recommend Smile Station. They have two west Omaha locations and the place is amazing and 100% geared towards kids. They get them in and out and don't push things when they can sense the kids are getting uncomfortable. Their main concern is making the dentist experience a good one for the kids so they keep wanting to come back every 6 months and are excited about it.

Boys super excited to see mama back home....I was pretty excited to be back home with them too! 

Benny rocking his first dental apt. 

Benny and Charli...double trouble for sure!

Happy 1st Bday sweet Charli Layne

Back to Sunday School...Benny gets to go this year...although he wasn't thrilled that I wouldn't be there with him 

St Andrew's back to School Carnival

all the kids of Church! So Blessed to be apart of this wonderful Church!

The boys had a day to spend with Brian today. They get me a LOT and are always excited about a day for just the boys to do "boy stuff". They went out for donuts, followed by a trip to the Wildlife Safari Park, a picnic, naps (for all 3 boys lol), and then I was home from work to hear all about their fun day! I know its a huge deal for Brian to get them all to himself and I know its SO special for the boys as well. Although I am always wishing I am with them and wondering what they are doing its so fun to hear all about it from 3 different perspectives afterwards. All 3 of them spend the next couple days telling me about their favorite parts, special moments, and fun things that happened. I fear I will be hearing the noises that a wolf makes for the rest of this week though lol. Hope everyone's summer was just as fun as mine, and that if you have kids going back to school the transition is going well for both the kids and the parents :) God Bless!

Boy day at the Safari park for these monkeys and their dad