more family fun

We've had some long days, but we still are trying to fit so much into our days. We slept in a little this morning but then went to Yankton to have lunch with Grandma and Allissa. My mom usually walks after she is done eating so I joined her for a few laps before heading to the dam to go fishing. 

Tom, Tanya, Madison, Hunter, Morgan and Brooklyn met us at the dam as well. It was such a hot day so when they got there we set up the pop up tent and let the boys fish while the girls sat in the shade. We didn't catch much of anything. I'm pretty sure we only pulled up two little fish. But Jayen was intrigued and even touched one. Whether we caught anything or not, the kids got to play with their cousins. They made memories and shared experiences. Nothing beats that! The ice cream at the Dairy Shack afterwards was a close second though!

When we got back to grandma and grandpa's that evening, Allissa had some gifts she wanted to share with the kids. She gave Brilyn and Brooklyn coloring books called I'm the Flower Girl and asked them to be the flower girls in her wedding. They were a little too excited and thought they were doing it right now. Not sure they will be able to wait an entire year!

Then she asked Jayen to be her ring bearer. We tried to explain to him what she was asking him to do, but I'm not sure he understood. He was just excited to get a present. Dalan, Madison and Hunter were asked to serve.

We helped put the kids to bed and took advantage of having family around and headed to the bar to help Adam celebrate his birthday! It really made Matt and I feel old but we enjoyed being there with him.

jam packed fun

Tanya invited us to join them at the Hartington library for story time this morning. I didn't realize they had this. It was so amazing. The story teller was so animated and had these amazing crafts for the kids to do after the story. I miss going to the library with the kids. I'm so glad she told us about this. After the story the kids ran off to the different activities, but Jayen hung pretty close to Morgan. The two of them went to the cup stacking activity. 

The kids tried the activity the way it was instructed but inevitably decided to try their own method. Even the parents got in on the fun! When it started getting a little competitive, my teacher instincts kicked in and I convinced them to work together to build the tallest one possible. We played for about an hour then decided to go back to Tom and Tanya's house to ride horses.

When we pulled up, Matt spotted a mulberry tree outside and took the kids over. They didn't even wait to wash them. They were stained from head to toe with mulberry juice. But enjoyed eating them right off the tree.

As scared as this kid is of dogs, I can't believe how willing he is to get on a horse. Although I think he would do anything Morgan told him to! And if he wasn't willing to do it or took to long to respond, Brilyn was right there ready to take his spot. That girl would live on a horse if she could. She is still trying to convince us that our backyard is big enough for a horse. My kids need a farm! But since we don't have one we will just come play at theirs as often as we can. 

Later that evening we went to enjoy a baseball game in Crofton. We were able to watch and cheer on not only Hunter, but our friends Darrin and Nolan as well. Tami and Jason Babcock used to live in Arizona but moved back to Nebraska. We miss hanging out with their family. The boys had such a great bond and friendship. Dalan walked up to Nolan before the game and it took him a couple minutes to realize who he was. He did a double take then said with excitement, "Dalan!".  I got to play with my friends Adalee and talk with Tami too.

After the game we went to Tami and Jason's new house. They gave us a tour, the kids destroyed their toy room and they were rewarded with ice cream. Wish we still lived close by, but the kids did great picking up right where they left off. 

4th of July

We spent the morning at Grandpa Hochstein's house. Dalan and Brilyn were so excited to play with the dogs Duke and Josie. Jayen, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with either one of them. His terror level decreased when the dogs were in their kennels but this left Brilyn and Dalan only playing with them through little holes in their kennel. That is until they realized they could join Duke in his! They had a blast playing with him. 

St. Helena was having their annual Independence Day celebrations so we gathered everyone up and met up for dinner at the church hall. The lines were long but the company was plentiful. We were able to have dinner with 18 family members and say hi to many more family and friends. The kids played and joked while the parents had a second to talk and catch up. The giggles and smiles, laughter and jokes were heart filling for all of us. Time is precious and I will take every second I can get with these crazy people.

After dinner we went to the baseball fields and played Uncle Tom's Plinko game and many other games. The kids were running back and forth with their cousins. I didn't have to worry about them. I didn't have to look over my shoulder every second or keep them in my line of sight. I know I can't be naïve and think bad things don't happen in small towns, but when everyone knows everyone they help look out for the other ones. I loved that freedom. I love the freedom that gave my kids.

When the sun went down we found a spot to watch the fireworks. We made sure to be a little further away incase Jayen needed some time to adjust again. But I was so hopeful that after the third day of fireworks he would be confident and ready for them. The girls were giggling and laughing in the back of the pickup while the boys were rolling their eyes and egging them on. It did take Jayen a little bit to warm up. He wasn't so excited about them being that close to him or that big. Uncle Lucas and Huntley even shared their headphones with him so the noise wasn't an issue. It may have taken a little bit but in the end I think we all enjoyed the fireworks.

We even found some Arizona friends! Owen and Ruby were staying with their Grandma and Grandpa so we got to see them in Nebraska instead of Arizona. 

The evening (day too) was perfect; family, friends, food and fireworks. I truly couldn't ask for anything more.