Happy Father's Day!

this look is priceless!  Love it!

Hope everyone had a great Father's Day!  I am so grateful and blessed to have such great Fathers in my life....my dad, father in law, and husband!  in particular!

We celebrated with family, having lunch with my parents and grandma (and early birthday celebration), then Randy's family in the evening.

As you can see in the picture Sam likes his Father's Day Gift....just to leave you all in suspense, you will have to ask him what it is!

Garden Pictures

Catch Up!

Wow...where is the time going?  I have been meaning to post, haven't gotten a chance until now....Derek is napping and the older kids are with Randy working on the garden!  Summer vacation is in full swing and with the hot weather, we have made one visit to the pool last weekend.  Derek is going to be a pro with swimming, not afraid of the water at all!  Swimming lessons start next week, so the kids are very excited for that!

We have also been busy in the garden and things are really growing well, weeds included!  I will post some pictures soon!

I ran my second 5K of the year last night, despite not feeling well.  I think three days of traveling for work this week has really caught up with me....good thing it's the weekend!It was fun to catch up with some friends and have a little adult time! 

Today is full of cleaning house and catching up....and working in the garden again.  We are also prepping for some Father's day/birthday celebrations coming up this week....and of course a birthday chocolate cake:)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend, despite the clouds and rain showers! 

Weekend Projects are back!

After a little bit of a lul in the house projects at the Sabelka house, I am happy (?) to say that we are back in business with getting this house and yard work done!  After a family trip to Menard's on Saturday, on Sunday the job of burying the tiles in the yard was tackled!

As you can see, Nolan wanted in on all the action with the guys....he had no hesitation of getting right in the action!  He's a great help though and loved every minute of it.  How do I know??  He shook off my requests for him to eat lunch well after 1:00pm because the guys hadn't eaten yet either, AND he followed suit when it got hot enough out, his shirt was off just like the other guy:)

Eryn and Derek were great spectators as well, soaking up the summer sun and heat!  We even got out the sprinkler and the two older kids ran through that for a  while.  Derek, on the other hand, would rather just watch and play with the water in the cooler!

After the work was done, we spent some time with friends relaxing in the shade! We were all outside the majority of the day, and slept well last night!  We are so thankful for great friends to help us with all of our projects!  I don't know what we would do without those wonderful people in our lives!

Vacation Bible School

Eryn and Nolan performing

This past week was the first week of summer vacation.  The kids got adjusted to staying up late and sleeping in!  They participated in Vacation Bible School each night at Calmar Lutheran from 530-830.  They had a blast!  By Thursday night, however, both kids were feeling a little tired and grumpy...Nolan slammed his pinky finger in the door at church and I think Eryn cried more than he did:)  Needless to say, they throughly enjoyed the week! 

SCHOOLS OUT and Big Boy Bed!

School has been out for about a week, and we are adjusting to the new schedule.  The kids have been busy this week at vacation bible school, so needless to say, they are pretty tired at night!  They are liking that they can sleep in a little in the mornings too!

I took Derek to the Doctor yesterday as he has just not been his happy, smiling self lately.  He has a severe sore throat, and is also working on those 2 year molars.  The rapid strep test came back negative, so we are treating with Motrin.  He still has his moments where he is not feeling well, but he's better than he was yesterday.

Derek took a "big boy" step this past weekend in that he now is sleeping in a big boy bed.  Bye bye crib!  I certainly have some mixed feelings about that :') but he's doing pretty well with the adjustment.  I think he and Nolan will have many a night where they keep each other up by playing and looking at books!  Reminds me of when Cindy and I shared a room way back when!

Upper Iowa Graduate!

My cousin Tim and I, both graduating Cum Laude!

My support team!  Randy, Eryn, Nolan and myself.  Derek stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Sabelka.  He would not have been a fan of waiting and sitting in a hot gymnasium!

Yeah!  I did it!  And, it was much cooler outside than in the gym!

Yesterday was a big day for me.  In December I finished my online studies at Upper Iowa for my BA; yesterday was the true finish....graduation!  I contemplated for a long time whether or not I would attend the ceremony.  I have to say my cousin Tim was an inspiration for me as well, as he also went back to school to pursue his BA.  I didn't particpate in NICC graduation in 1999, so I figured, why not?!  I was SO glad that I did!!  All those years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice have paid off.  I also have to mention that I could have not made this accomplishment possible without the love, understanding, support and (most of all) patience of my family, most of all my husband!  I love you all, and thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!