Grillin' and Chillin'...

As most of you know, I am on the PTO executive board at Sullivan's school.  That means CRES often becomes my second home after I get off work.  There are many, many hours that are spent on meetings, events, planning, and more!  There is definitely a love/hate relationship with my position.  Mostly love.

My friend Kara and I were in charge of our most recent event, Grillin' and Chillin'.  Grillin' and Chillin' is a night where the PTO serves up the hamburgers and hot dogs, and the CRES families provide the fellowship.  It really is a spectacular event bringing in about 800 people.

Grillin' and Chillin' has consumed my every moments for the past few weeks - calling to get donations, emailing volunteers, coordinating people's schedules, and shopping for food.

Kara's daughter, Audrey, has become a PTO member-in-training.  

She helped us shop for the food...

That's a lot of water - 36 cases to be exact!  

The night went by faster than fast.  You plan for weeks and in what seems like minutes, it is over. It was a huge success and so much fun.

Quinn was off playing when I could slip away to say 'hi' to the family and the Powells.

After all was said and done, these sweet girls and Ryan delivered some leftovers to the local firefighters.

The firefighters were very appreciative.  So much so that they allowed the girls to take a tour of the firetrucks.  Pretty cool!

My friend, Dodi, who serves on the board with me, invited our family over to do our own version of chillin' after the event. It was nice to unwind with some good friends and some good laughter.

Dodi tried out her son's new hoverboard despite her husband's pleas to not

...

That made Ryan want to try it too...

Thankfully there was no broken bones, no banged up walls.  

Only good memories of a night full of fun!

Now on to the next PTO event!

High Fliers...

Our neighborhood hosted a "Balloon Bash" this weekend.  It was neighborhood block party and a fundraiser for Best Buddies (a special needs club at the high school).

The Balloon Bash consisted of a balloon artist, face painter, a DJ, Kona Ice, and a ride in this amazing thing...

The girls were super excited to take a tethered ride in the balloon.  We waited in line for a LONG time - but it was all worth it!

A family selfie inside the balloon...!

The balloon pilot said it was a "windy day" which in the balloon world it might have been.  But it certainly was not windy by the average person's standards.  Because of the "wind," we could only go up about 50 feet.  Instead of going up and staying still in the air, the balloon rocked back and forth a bit!  This was because of the wind - I guess the pilot knows what he is talking about after all!

We had a great time at the bash - the girls are looking forward to a repeat again next year!

Ball State

Quinn went to Ball State last week on a field trip.  She had a fabulous time scouring the campus, attending the planetarium and museum, and going on a scavenger hunt. 

But the best part of the field trip?  

Handing out with her bestie, Madelyn!

Two peas in a pod!

Weekend Latelys...

We had a very low key weekend.  Ryan had been gone for quite some time, so he was excited to just be home and get into his yard for his weekend "therapy."

The Pooley ladies made their way to the dentist, where this superstar had ZERO cavities.  

Quinn also had a great report card with ZERO cavities. Wahoo!  They did take a panoramic x-ray of Quinn and happily printed her off a copy.  She thinks it's the coolest picture in the world - "really freaky!"  

On Sunday we scouted out a park  that we had never been too.  We are getting family pictures taken this fall and the date for the photo shoot is already on the books.  We just have to find a location and clothes (yuck!).  Poke my eyes out!

The park was beautiful and has a lot to offer.  We found some photo ops that we couldn't pass up, although I don't expect them to make it to the official family pictures!

My favorite peeps - Q, R, and S

Sweet Dreams...

Ryan was out of town for the past week and a half.  Whenever he is out of town, the girls always beg to sleep in my room with me.  They take turns sleeping on the floor and then in the bed.

They got so used to sleeping with me that when Ryan returned, Quinn and Sullivan asked if they could sleep together in Quinn's room.  Something about having some company...!  I walked in last night to see this sweet sight.

Don't they look so peaceful? 

Melted my heart.

What an Honor...

We are so very proud of Quinn McKenna.  

She was chosen as the Student of the Month for September.  

Quinn's teacher wrote a very nice note about her that is displayed near the office with the other students from different teams that were also selected.

It's hard to read on the picture but it says, "Quinn is the student of the month because she always puts forth her best effort and sets a great example for her peers.  She is always prepared and treats all of her classmates with respect.  I enjoy Quinn's enthusiasm for learning and her tremendous work ethic.  Keep up the great work Quinn!"

Melt.my.heart.  It is nice to hear someone reinforce what you already know about your child.  She is kind, compassionate, respectful, and hard working.  She puts forth great effort and loves learning.

Way to go, Q!

A New Hobby...

A few weeks back, our friends invited us out to their house to enjoy a day on the reservoir.  When we got the invite, Quinn and Sullivan were thrilled.  They had so much fun last summer, and were anxious to do it again!

The day couldn't have been more gorgeous.  It was more than ideal for boating and tubing!

Quinn got Ryan out on the water too!

The girls even tried a brand new sport - water skiing!  Both of them were hesitant to try it, as it looked scary and they had no prior experience at all.  They watched both Hazel and Zander do it, which built up their confidence!

 Finally, Quinn gave it a whirl.  She even got up on her skis the very FIRST time!  

She did a very good job and had a blast. 

Next, it was Sullivan's turn.  She had a lot of pressure on her, as all the other kids got up on their first try.  Lucky for her, she too got up on her FIRST try!!!

Yay!!  Sullivan had a great time too, but found out that she had muscles she never knew she did.  She was SO incredibly sore afterwards.

The day was a blast - there is something about being out on the water with the wind in your hair.  Something that is easy to get used to!!

Sullivan agrees!

Homework

The girls' homework this year has been nothing, if not creative.  

Sullivan has an amazing teacher that believes in empowering children to make choices and  take ownership in their school work.  This philosophy has spilled over into Sullivan's spelling homework.

Sullivan was given a slew of choices to practice spelling words last week.  Of all the choices, she chose to write her spelling words in shaving cream.  She thought it was super fun, I thought it was super messy! But you only live once...

Sullivan was having so much fun, that her sister was a bit envious.  So out came the shaving cream for her too.  After the spelling words were practiced, the two of them had the best time playing around!

Last week the girls asked if they could have a "homework party" with the neighbors.  All four of them had homework to complete and wanted to do it together.  Seeing no problem with that, I sent them next door.

Little did I know, their 'homework party' was in the back of Ms. Jen's car!  I think they brought every pillow that the Powells own into the car to make their cozy, little nook!   

Homework... much more fun than I ever remember it being!!!

Labor Day...

Labor Day was filled with a whole lot of laziness and I loved every.minute.of.it!  

A group of us from the neighborhood decided to go to the high school football game.  The weather couldn't have been any better.  It had a tinge of Fall in the air.  Pure perfection!

The rest of the weekend was literally spent at the pool.  It was the last weekend before it closed and Quinn and Sullivan were anxious to take advantage of it!

The pool was a ghost town on Saturday....

My neighbor, Cheryl, came down at one point to lay out and enjoy the pool too.  She ended up playing in the pool with the girls and together the three of them had the best time!

Sunday we again planned to hit the pool.  But before we left for the pool, the girls asked if they could "call Ms. Cheryl to see if she wants to play with them at the pool."  I had to explain that if Ms. Cheryl feels like swimming, she will come down on her own to the pool.  Nothing like a 10 year old and a 7 year old asking their 50 year old neighbor to "play."

In Quinn and Sullivan's defense, she is a pretty amazing person and has the heart of gold!  Lucky for them, Ms. Cheryl showed up on her own about 15 minutes after we got there.  Quinn and Sullivan were beyond thrilled!

Labor Day itself, brought another trip to the pool.  Because the past two days had been a ghost town at the pool, I expected the same to happen on Labor Day.  We walked through the gate of the pool and were blown away at the shear number of people.  Like nearly wall to wall.  Where did all those people come from anyway?

The weekend was ended enjoying some of the sweetest treats...

Who can pass up a little fro yo!?

The Perfect Picture

While at the wedding, we did our darndest to capture some family pictures while we were all dressed up.  Mer and family had taken some, we had too.  We needed one last picture of the five kids with Grandma Jane.

Little did we know, that might be a feat similar to moving mountains.

It was near impossible to get all five little ones and one big one to cooperate at one time.  They took turns passing the "I don't want to do this for one more second" baton.  It was quite entertaining.  Hilarious really!

Judson started with the baton.  He was NOT happy and refused to smile.

He passed the baton to Elsa, who was obviously more entertained by something on her shoe.

Elsa kept the baton, but rallied Crew and Sullivan to join in...

Oh, and by the way, Judson is still not happy!

Quinn got aboard the "I'm Distracted" train.  She took Grandma Jane with her.

Can we settle for 3 out of 6 looking?  

At this point, we'll just take looking.  We don't even have to smile.

Judson is trying to get the heck outta Dodge.  

Crew is less than impressed that he is the only person paying attention.  

 Getting closer, but it's Grandma Jane this time that is distracted....

Let's call it a day.  This is the best of the best.

As you can tell, never a dull moment when all the cousins get together!

Wouldn't trade it for the world!