So far I've been on summer break for about a week and it's already been busy! We went to Coralville Lake to boat for Memorial Day. Andy came down and it was fun to say the least! We all had a good time and that's all that matters. Andy tried the Bobber challenge - a 3lb cheeseburger and 1lb of fries! He almost accomplished it. It was a nice getaway for the night. Then I took on a summer project. Of course these summer projects always start off with good intentions and then either turn out very time consuming. This was no difference, plus slightly expensive. I've been staining our back fence - it has been a large project! It takes me roughly one hour to do one panel! But here's the front finished project; I still have the back to do! But it's worth it...it looks so nice! The top of the picture is before and bottom is after. Enjoy! I'll post more summer projects as we progress! :)
As I posted, Laura had Elliott early Friday morning, so we weren't able to head up there right away on Friday. Josh and I headed up on Saturday and we were lucky enough that they actually got to head home early so we got to go to the house and visit with everyone. Baby Ellie is certainly a blessing! As I mentioned, she was about 9 days overdue, and Kayden was born about a month early and it's so crazy to see the difference in their motor skills and how far they are. El was really alert while we were there and would open her eyes and actually seem to look right at you. She didn't cry as much either, and she was pretty strong as far as neck muscles go in a newborn. She also seemed a little easier to pass since she was a bit bigger. All-in-all I suppose we'll keep her; she's pretty great. <3 Here are some updated pictures of her since I just had the one within her first hour of birth haha.
And as always Kayden was a hoot! She's getting pretty fun - her favorite thing is to draw circles and basically run around like a mad woman. I'm excited this summer to hopefully take her to a little wading pool and spend some more time together now that she's a little older and they're about an hour or so closer! She's in tumbling this summer so we're hoping to go to that a few times; and of course snuggling Elliott. Babies are so much less scarier now that everyone I know is having them (I still am NOT ready for a baby anytime soon, but I am more comfortable around them and holding them). She loved impressing Uncle Josh:
KK still wasn't quite sure of El yet. She wasn't totally smitten, but she was ready to share her blanket with Ellie while she was sleeping in the swing - it was super sweet. <3 And Laura got some cute pictures of both of them, too!
This week is my LAST week of school. It feels like I've said this for the past few years (and if you would have asked me in January I would have told you it was the slowest month EVERRRR. But actually it seems like it always flys by when I look back on it. We ended our track season on a good note and the girls did really well throughout the entire season. I think we finished 41-5 for the entire season so that was AWESOME! We go to school on Monday just to do 8th grade promotion and to finish up the lose ends. I am so excited for summer; I already have a list of things I want to get done like staining our fence, re-painting the living room (ugh), taking lots of walks with the dogs, and starting to train for a 5K run I signed up for in July! I've NEVER ran more than a mile or so consequetively...so I'm hoping this is a good push for me this summer and a good challenege! I will be able to cross it off the bucket list one of these days. So I'm pretty excited about summer...just need to make it through the last few days! :) xoxo.
Laura had her baby last night! Elliott Quinn Meckley was born at 3:45 am at 8lbs 11oz and 21 inches long. Laura had thought she was going to be induced on Tuesday, showed up, and they said the hospital was all so they sent her back home to wait. Her due date was May 3rd so we've been waiting impatiently for over a week now! She went into labor at 1am, got to hospital at 2:15am and barely got settled before she was born - and she did it with no meds! I can't wait to see little E and squish her chipmunk cheeks! <3
Bryce and Jill had a little baby boy last Thursday the 3rd! He was born at 1:15 pm and was 7lbs 2oz and 19 inches long. He is simply perfect and adorable! They ended up naming him Owen Lee Halter. I posted his picture below. Mom, Dad and Owen are all doing great. I can't wait to spend more time with him!
Laura still hasn't had baby girl Meckley #2. If she doesn't have her by Wednesday she'll be induced so hopefully she has her before then. I can't wait to meet her!
Well...we're nearing the end of the school year. It just keeps getting better and better. I got to change all of my calendars over to May and watch the countdown come down. We're also finishing up the track year; it has gone by really fast. It will be bittersweet when it's done after Friday - I really enjoy being with the girls, but I also am looking forward to having my time back with my co-workers and getting things done after school instead of just rushing off to track. So only 4 days left - yay!
Nothing new has happened in our neck of the woods lately. Laura still hasn't had Baby Meckley yet, and Jill hasn't had Baby H yet. Both of them are quickly approaching their due dates this week, and both babies still seem to be content! Danielle and Jake got engaged over the weekend, and so did Sarah and Jordan so that was very exciting for everyone! I won't lie that I'm very happy for them, and sad that we're not at that point in our relationship yet to plan one as well. I have to keep reminding myself that God has decided that now is not the time for us, and that he has something better in store. It is hard to wait and be patient, so I guess I'll follow their wedding planning and journey for the next year! They're both planning June weddings to that will be very interesting and fun! I can't wait - it's been so fun watching our friends grow into married couples and now entering parenthood. I am definitely in no mood to rush things; they will come when I least expect them. ;)
So that's been the exciting news lately - waiting for school to finish, tracks almost done, two of our friends got engaged, and (im)patiently waiting for the babies to arrive! Hopefully the weather holds up this weekend and we're able to get some things done outside and around the house - last weekend was chilly and rainy. I need to get some flowers planted as well. So much is happening...can't wait for Summer!
My birthday was great - thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! :) I ended up getting all sorts of neat goodies from friends and family and I felt very loved. <3 Josh ended up getting me a patio set (yay!) which is something that BOTH of us can enjoy. It has a nice glass table and the chairs rock and swivel so that's really nice too. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can enjoy them! We also went out to eat at La Cabana so I got to have some Mexican food as well. All-in-all it was a really great day/night. My students were really funny and sang happy birthday, wrote on my marker board, and were really sweet all day. That's why birthdays are so great - they just make you feel so special and let you know how many people really care about you.
We're getting ready to wrap up the school year - I cannot BELIEVE we have only about 4 weeks of school left after this week. It's gone by so fast - and not having any snow days helps too. We'll be finishing up the track season in about 2 weeks too - can't believe that's gone as fast as it has! I am hoping the weather gets warmer/less rain/less wind, but what can you expect. Can't wait for SUMMER!!
We've also been somewhat busy. Josh is going to ask his Aunt Resa to come help paint the living room (hopefully she'll be able to do it while we're gone to the Ozarks next week), so I'm excited to get some things and re-decorate the living room. I've got my eye on a few new curtains, blinds, and knick-knack stuff to put on the walls. I'll keep you updated of course with before/after pictures. I am VERY excited about it!
This last weekend Andy and Kayden came down for the day and Kayden, Jane and I went to the Blank Park Zoo! It was a lot of fun...it's always hard to compare when you've been to the Omaha Zoo because that zoo ROCKS! But, it was pretty fun to say the least. Here are some of the pictures from the trip:
This crazy monkey was RIGHT up next to us!
It was fun and Kayden was good! She got a little tired towards the end, but she ran like crazy the whole time so she was probably pretty pooped. It was fun though!
Elliott is getting bigger and bigger! I went down to watch Ellie while Kayden went to tumbling class with Laura, and it's just so crazy how big she is. My arm was PRETTY sore from carrying her after being there haha. She had her professional pictures taken the other day and I think they turned out GREAT! Elliott wouldn't sleep though at all, and normally you have sleeping newborn pictures done. But they did some with her eyes open and they actually turned out really nicely. She hasn't been cross-eyed at all since Laura had her and she just seems so much more developed than Kayden was (but, Kayden was about 3 weeks early and Elliott was almost 2 weeks late.) She keeps getting cuter! Here are some of my favorite pictures that they took: 
That kind of catches everyone up with what we've been doing. We leave for the Ozarks next Thursday and we cannot WAIT! It is always our favorite vacation and I just love the people we go with. It's just so relaxing and carefree. I bought a pool yesterday (a small inflatable one) for the dogs and I since it's going to be 90 degrees the next two days and keep getting hotter. Can't wait! So we'll be lounging in the backyard all week long. Stay cool!
