4th of July Part 1

Hi everyone!! I promised myself that I was going to post these earlier. I ended up spending last week trying to get things together to start the fall semester. I can’t even believe it’s almost here… We start in about five weeks. There was just a few things that I had to make sure I got done so I took the time to get those organized. This is it guys… My last semester! At least my last semester fingers crossed… Ha ha!

So wanted to share with you a little bit of my Fourth of July. I hope you all had an amazing holiday… I know I did! I pray that you all spent quality time with family and friends that you love.

We wanted to re-create a picture of these two little crazies. This is what I love about these kids so much… Every year they really embrace the red, white and blue and show so much spirit dressing up! And as you see they’re still wearing the same socks from five years ago! How cute are they??? My older niece, their sister, does not participate to the extent that they do… Lol.

as most of you know if you follow my blog, every year we do a pontoon parade at my parents lake. Everyone decorate their pontoons and different themes. We’ve done some really fun and awesome themes in the past. You can use the search bar on the right of my blog and search for pontoon parade. You’ll see we’ve done this for many years and we’ve come up with some pretty creative decoration ideas for the boat.

This year we decided to just go with good old red white and blue for the Fourth of July.  Here we are all on the boat ready to drive out to the bay where we were meeting until it got dark and we began the parade.

A closer shot of everyone huddled together…

This is my older sister she came for the pontoon fun! She also brought along her daughter my adorable niece Jessica and my very first great-niece Leighton who is 2 years old! They were in bed as this parade was not going to begin until at least 9:30 PM

we purchased this blowup and light up eagle as part of our Decour this year. I got these fantastic Christmas lights that are LED and you use your phone to make them any color you want! They came in super handy for the red white and blue color! I love that I can use my Christmas lights at multiple times of the year.

That’s my Dad driving and my adorable nieces and nephew behind him!

The morning after the pontoon parade there was a pancake breakfast benefit the ski club at the lake. We went down and had delicious pancakes and sausage and we didn’t even have to cook them ourselves.

Here is my sister and the two peeps that missed the boat parade last night. They were definitely game to come down for pancakes with us! What a bunch of cuties they are!

More of the crew after enjoying their pancakes!

As we ate our breakfast we got to watch the ski club practice their moves. They actually practice on land before they try to do it on their skis.

These are my two nieces Aly and Jessica with my great niece Leighton for her very first tube ride. She did not enjoyed in the beginning but once we got the boat moving, she really did have fun.

here is my other niece Kyleigh and my nephew Ryan having a little tubing fun!!!

These two and the dog appeared to be contemplating life…

A little paddleboard ride…

And a little tumbling fun on the mat…

This is everyone loaded on the boat getting ready for a slow pontoon ride. The dog was so excited to snuggle up next to Aly.

dog selfie anyone? You gotta love Gracie!! Such a cutie!!

The pontoon ride put this one to sleep too…

Gracie had so much fun playing on the mat with the kids…

These two took a little JetSki ride together… This is the first year the kids have really been able to drive it alone. They need to have an adult with them but they are allowed to drive it. Maybe next year they can take it alone? That’s all up to Poppy…

I know this was a really heavy photo post and I didn’t wanna forget any of the good pics so I’m gonna make a part one and part two.

I truly hope you all had a fantastic holiday and got to relax and enjoy yourselves as well.

Sending so many hugs to everyone!

August flew by too quick to blog

Holey moley guys!!! I can not believe I have not blogged singe the end of July!! I guess I needed a break and did not even know it! Work has been crazy and I have been trying to spend as much as possible with my family during the nieces and nephews summer breaks.  I hope you all have been well! Thanks to those that sent emails making sure I was okay...I really just got overwhelmed at work and could not even think about blogging when I got home at night. Then, all I wanted to do was escape and see my family on weekends, etc.

 

I hope you understand and wont hold it against me! I will be spending the next few days catching up to see how all of you wonderful friends enjoyed your summers!!!

 

It has been a great summer for me and I truly wish the same for you!!! I will sum it up with the following massive post full of pictures...

 

I saw a lot of sports...including this sweet girls softball games.

 

 

 

Spent a lot of time with my little sister at the lake with her kids...

 

And went on vacation with these lovely folks...my little brothers family and my older sister...they hid from my pictures under blankets! HA

 

Super cute photo prior to heading to the beach for the day...

Spent a lot of that vacation week in the water with these two cuties!!!

 

Had a nice dinner on the bay....best pizza ever Stone Harbor Pizza Pub!! If you are EVER there you need to check out the Buffalo Pizza! So delish!

 

It was National Family Night Out when we were in Stone Harbor NJ so we got to hang out with all the police. The kids were so excited!

 

Some pictures on the beach!!

 

The aunts with the sweet niece and nephew. I am in the back on your left and my oldest sister in on your right. Love hanging out with her anytime!

 

 

Then, of course, Memaw and Poppy with the kids!

I enjoyed going to mass every Sunday when I was at my parents house on the lake. A few Sundays they had fun things to do after mass. On this Sunday was a potluck lunch with a lot of kids activities. They had a clown making all the kids laugh and handing out crazy hats!

 

Here is the clown keeping everyone's attention!

 

And, without a doubt, many weekend days were spent on the lake and in the lake at my parents house! Days full of paddle-boarding and kayaking...

 

Tube riding...

 

Most of the time I am designated spotter but every now and then I have to hop on for a ride myself!!!

 

And my favorite activity...laying on the lake and enjoying some summertime rays!! I am extremely blessed to have a close family and also to have a wonderful place to go and have fun every weekend!! Thanks to God for all the good things in my life today!

I hope everyone is well and had an amazing summer also. I am off to read up on what you all have been up to and I cannot wait to see all the adorable back to school pictures of your children!  Hugs to each and everyone one of you that stuck with me through my break...thanks for reading! XOXO

 

Happy Fall ya'll!!!!!

 

It's finally Summer 2019

Happy Monday ya'll!!!

I hope everyone had the fantastic weather that we had in PA/OH over the weekend!!! It finally felt like summer - yippee!!!

Out speed boat is on the struggle bus lately. The steering is really tight and my father recently broke a rib (UGH!!!) so we are waiting until he heals a little before we tackle fixing the boat.

So.....this weekend we improvised and tried having the kids ski behind the jet ski! We had never tried this before and it actually worked! They had to hang on really tight initially as they drug a little more than usual in the beginning but once they were up it worked pretty great! HA!

Mom drove the jet ski and I rode backwards and worked the rope and spotted!

Here is Kyleigh....

And...heading into our dock...the kids love to ski into the dock area and let go...here is Kyleigh again...


And when she let go...they just slowly sink down into the water....HA!


And...here is Ryan behind the jet ski...


And closer to the dock area....


And...he let go...


The pontoon boat parade is two weeks away...this year we are doing the Safari Theme! I think it will be amazing!!!!

So, 4th of July weekend we will decorate the pontoon and I promise to get get pics for you...if you want to see our past themes...click below...
2015-Waikiki
2016-Jailhouse
2017-Tub
2018-Construction Site

My nephew took this enhanced picture of the lake this weekend...


And this is the UN-enhanced version...any question why I drive to my parents every weekend in the summer?!?!


My niece made these protein balls for everyone to try. They are chocolate chips, peanut butter, coconut oil, and vanilla...they looked delish!!! I forgot to try one! HA!

Sunday we started the day off at church and then to help my parents. The church built a new hall and my father helped a lot both with his time and his engineering skills. They had a tour for people to see the new hall after mass so we hung out and greeted people as they entered...oh, and ate a lot of cookies!!!




My niece had her earphones on for the ride home with her Taylor Swift music...I decided I needed to bug her so I used "Cabin Talk" to intercept the Taylor music with my rendition of "Shallow" by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. You can see by how she is covering her ears it did not go well....HA! That's my Mom on the right trying to stay out of it...HA!


Sunday on the lake was spent paddle-boarding and floating...the weather was beyond perfect! Here is Kyleigh...


And another mid-spill...


And then finally...the aftermath...HA!


And here is Ryan...


We did a family cheers to Summer!!!!


And spent time after dinner on the patio watching the hummingbirds...I tried so hard to get a photo but this is the best I could do...see him/her?!?!


I hope you all had a great weekend and got a fantastic start to your summer!!!!

What is your favorite part of summer? What is your favorite summer recipe? How is life? Is it Summer where you live?

HUGS!