June Stuff

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June was full and wonderful as you have already seen by some of the June posts!

We started the month with a fantastic get together at Grant and Kamryn’s house to watch them open their wedding gifts!

I thought my heart would explode I was so excited to be there!!

We had a lovely brunch and then the newlyweds started the big job of gift opening!


I spend a lot of time with our trio here.

We enjoy our days SO much!!

I kind of feel like we have raised two families because of the large age gap in our children’s ages!

God’s PERFECT plan and I wouldn’t change it for a second – it has been so good!

Just look at them.

They fill my days with such intention, purpose, and JOY!


We went and visited River Salem on his seventh birthday!

We had already celebrated him back on Memorial Day weekend, remember?

But he is worth celebrating!!!

He was playing with his new battleship game so we all got in on the fun!

Please take note of Jack Jack in that last photo and how big he was already getting!


I saw these at the grocery store back in June and was like “WHAT??!!”

You know your diet is super sad if you are excited that they made the only chips you eat now in a wavy kind, ha, ha!

But you really need to get yourself some of these.

Trust me!

And dip them in guacamole.


Eliza decided to write a family newspaper back in June, and has diligently done so every week since!

It comes out on Wednesday morning at breakfast.

Goodness, I sure hope the Lord uses Eliza’s love of words and writing in her future!!

This is super cute, you all.

Try to read them through the photos!!


This is the day that we picked up Addie’s wedding dress from the seamstress who was altering it!!

We might have been a bit excited, hence the photo!!


And this day was sponsored by iced coffee and a cute new top.

Anyone else loving all the dresses, skirts and feminine tops you can find so easily right now?

Me too!


Kayla and I are still enjoying our monthly grocery shopping at Costco!

This new way of doing things is really working for both of us – it took a minute for one old lady to figure it all out!

It’s fun to go with Kayla to a big city because she knows where all the fun stops are!

We enjoyed Chipotle before our shopping this day.

They have the BEST lemonade!

I was having a health flare this summer, and when I look at this photo of Kay and I, it makes me realize how much I was struggling with my health before I figured out something was up!

Grateful to be mostly on the other side of that now – the Lord is so good to me.

Kayla and I started ordering our big items from Costco to be delivered to our home because we are only two people and are already trying to push two carts each!

This new addition to our bulk shopping has really perfected it.


After our Costco run that day, we also had our Azure pick up that evening.

It was the first time my hubby got to experience that and I took a photo of the pick up sight!


Back during strawberry season I would make homemade dairy free ice cream a lot so we could eat strawberries!

I heard about this ice cream storage container and immediately got one.

It keeps the coconut ice cream from freezing so hard that you have to let it sit out half of a day before you can scoop it!

I love that thing!

Scoopable ice cream straight from the freezer!

Does anyone else run their ice cream maker in the bathroom because it is so loud??


We had LOTS of celebrations this summer!

Lots of showers and weddings!

Here I was ready for a Saturday morning shower to celebrate the sweetest friends!!


We also got to help Addie celebrate Scottie’s birthday!

Scottie’s first trip to Wisconsin was a few weeks after his birthday last year, so this was his first one we could celebrate with him in person!


Some photos of our fluffy pup Ruby, especially because she does not live here anymore.

We love you RuRu and are super glad you get to visit us so often when Addie works!


Did I ever mention what a rainy start we had to summer?

It was crazy!

But our front landscape LOVED it!

Just look how pretty everything was this year!


We had some beautiful skies, even with all of that rain.

I hope I never lose my love of the sky.

It just is so incredibly beautiful and awe inspiring!


Well, that wraps up June, which means July is next and that means A WEDDING!!!!

July was PACKED, so hang on tight!!!

Until then…..

Father’s Day with the Blue Angels!

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I am pretty sure that since we moved to Wisconsin in 2001, we have never missed watching the Blue Angels when they are in town!

How fun it was to find out they were going to be here again this year, and also that they would be here on Father’s Day weekend!

I am not sure who was more excited about seeing them – my hubby or our grandson River!

We went to our earliest church service that morning so that we could get to the airport on time for the air show.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day – hot, but not too hot – and both cloudy and sunny at different times.

When we got there, the guys took the kiddos to walk around the air show while Kayla and I and some little ones stayed with our camp chairs.


Pretty soon planes were in the air!

I could not believe how fast and how LOUD the F22 Raptor was!!


We worked hard at keeping everyone hydrated and snacking!

Blake did walk around to see if any of the booths had safe food for us, but even the smoothie booth was made with junk that they poured in those blenders – shame, shame!

The guys also went and grabbed all the umbrellas they could find from our van when it got super sunny, and it really helped to keep everyone cooler!


Before we knew it, it was time for the BLUE ANGELS!!!

The skill that these pilots have is incredible.

Just thinking about the fact that one wrong move could make them all crash is mind boggling!

We really enjoyed watching their show!

And tried to get a few good photos!

I think Addie’s photo won the prize that day – just look at this one!


Well, we were hot and sweaty when the show was over, so we all headed back to NaiNai’s house (that’s me!! And I love that my grand children call our home that!!) to jump in our pool and cool off!!

We hardly used our pool at all this year, so these photos are great memories!!


Of course, no amazing day wouldn’t end well without smores!

I buy a huge amount of smore ingredients at the first sign of summer and hide them in our storage room pantry, ha, ha!

I love being able to pull that box out and have an impromptu camp fire!


Here is the last photo I took that day as everyone drove away from NaiNai’s house.

Goodness, such a fantastic summer day – the kind of days we wait for!!


Well, I want to do that all again!!

Fall is nipping the air as I type this post…so I don’t think we will all be in the pool anytime soon!

Let’s talk about the father of my children for a second, since this post is about Father’s Day and all!

He has A LOT, a lot, a lot on his plate right now – EVERYDAY.

I am sure I don’t need to make you the list of all those things – but we are living out this “sandwich generation” thing – and I am here to tell you, there is no one who does it better than my hubby.

He is FULL of a calm, patient, wisdom that is just the foundation and rock of this family, and we could not be more blessed to have his guidance, example, and stability in our lives.

Truly, he is one in a billion.

I could not show you a more self-less man.

Goodness, Blake Moschel, I love you so much!!

Thank you for being our steady leader, even when life seems so upside down and crazy sometimes.

I am SO glad we got to celebrate you!!

The air show and a swim was a perfect celebration!!

Happy Father’s Day, babe!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!

A Beautiful Bridal Shower!

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On a Saturday morning in the middle of June, Kayla hosted a bridal shower for Addie Mae!

I was Kayla’s side kick, and helped her bring her beautiful vision for this shower to life.

It was SO much fun preparing for that day!!

We were serving brunch to the ladies at the shower, so the first thing was to get some food made at home to take to Kayla’s the next day.

Of course I had my best helpers to help me!


Friday we headed to the farm to help Kayla clean and set up.

Being at the farm is just one of my favorite things, even if I am scrubbing chairs and sweeping floors!

I only took one photo!

The last thing that we worked on that day was blowing up all the balloons for the balloon arch – don’t worry we had an air pump!

I had to leave right in the middle of that project to pick up Lane from work, but Kayla managed to finish it!


Saturday morning started early!

Blake was going to feed David and all of our grandbabies some pancakes and bacon at our house while I went to the farm to finish getting ready for the shower!

Addie Mae brought Kayla’s big girls and Eliza to the shower – which worked out perfectly!

Everything was coming together SO beautifully!!

Kayla is so talented at things like this!!

Scottie made the donut board for us, and I love that he got to contribute to the shower in such a special way.

Pretty soon we were set up and waiting on our guests to arrive!


First up was all of that food!!

I wish I had a photo of that table full of food!

It was very pretty and we heard it was delicious too.

Everyone enjoyed the brunch and then our dear friend Jodi shared a wonderful devotional.

I am so so thankful that my girls have so many beautiful Godly women who pour into their lives!

After that, Addie opened so many gifts!

Gifts upon gifts!

They were SO thoughtful!!


Addie’s best friend and bridesmaid made the trip to attend her shower.

We were so thankful she was there!

Kamryn was also back from her and Grant’s honeymoon too!


Goodness, I enjoy looking at these photos and thinking back to that wonderful day.

What a sweet, sweet season we have been in!!

I know that all of Kayla’s efforts were not in vain – it was such a wonderful gathering!!

We are very thankful to all the ladies who came out that morning to celebrate Addie Mae and Scottie!

Four weeks from that day was their wedding day….the anticipation was building!!

Kayla Lauren, thank you for blessing your sister SO much, even though I know you would say the blessing was all yours!

Addie Mae, what a joy to celebrate you as a bride-to-be!!!

My heart could not have been fuller!!

I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!!

Our Favorite Weekend Trip

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I think you all could probably type this post for me!

We are such creatures of habit here, aren’t we??

We enjoy taking a weekend trip many times a year to visit family in Illinois and Indianapolis.

We do the SAME things every time!

We stay at the same hotels, leave home at the same time, and even have some traditions with my brother that are the same!

No complaints from me – I love the same things when the reason they are the same is because they are so good!!

We took a trip to Illinois and Indy at the beginning of June.

In prep for that trip, Tate was my special helper as we went to check on my in-laws new home.

I wanted to get photos to show them when we saw them the next day.

We also stopped for some grocery, and then spent the rest of Thursday packing and prepping food for the trip.

Lane worked that afternoon, but once he and Blake got home from work, we left that evening and drove to Peoria to spend the night.


We always get two rooms when there are five of us and have a girl’s room and a boy’s room.

It works out very well, especially having two bathrooms.

Eliza and I enjoy being roommates on these trips!


Our first stop Friday morning was to visit my father-in-law, Ross.

I love watching these kiddos play the piano there.

We went back to the house for some lunch on the patio on a beautiful day.

As you can imagine, we have LOTS to talk about right now for the upcoming move.


Next we headed to our favorite little coffee shop in Morton to have a late afternoon snack and see Blake’s Mom.

These visits are way too short – yes.

But we are driving 1,100 round trip miles each time we do these weekend trips!


Friday evening we continued the 3 1/2 hours on to Indy.

The hour time change is not in our favor on the way there.

It is always SO late when we finally arrive!

But we had Saturday on our minds!!

When we get to see my brother and my Mom.

My brother planned an outing for us Saturday morning to a local nursery.

It was LOVELY and we were there a long time!


Remember my comment above about tradition?

Well, a summer water fight with my brother is one of those traditions!

I can hear the squeals and laughter just looking at these photos!

My brother is one in million – really making some solid memories with these kiddos!!

Please notice that I am sitting on the deck IN A JACKET while those crazy people dump garden hose water all over each other!


We started a new tradition for dinner on this trip.

Frogmore!!

Have you all every had it??

It is really fun!!

And delicious!!

We had a blast!!


We had some kiddos pretty excited about the pool back at our hotel, so we headed back in the late evening to give them enough time to swim.

I have an awesome video of the biggest kid in this family – my husband – swimming with the kids that evening.

He is hilarious and wild and crazy and super fun when in a pool, just saying!


Sunday morning we headed back to my mom’s for just a bit to spend some more time before our very hard “See you again next time” goodbyes.

My Mom is doing great, by the way, and remembered us all on this trip!!

We hit the road before lunch for the almost nine hour drive home.

The kiddos might have got a little stir crazy on the way home, but they were just emulating someone who was sitting next to her hubby in the front seat.

I am not good at sitting still!!


Well, I am so far behind in this little scrapbook of ours that we have been to Illinois and Indy again already!!

And have plans to go and see my brother again after we get my in-laws moved here.

See, we love the same things!!

What a fun trip this was!

CANNOT WAIT UNTIL NEXT TIME!!

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