Father's Day

Father's Day weekend was yet another busy weekend. We had my side of the family out Friday evening for some bbq chicken sandwiches and the fixins. Mom and dad took the kids home with them so Shane and I had all of Saturday to ourselves, and what did we do? Nothing, we did nothing; it rained so we couldn't mow, we had already cleaned the house, and the kids weren't around to entertain us so we decided to head off to Lawrence to walk Mass and see the new things to see. Of course it was nice until we got there and then it started to rain. We ran to Buffalo Bob's thinking it would maybe blow over while we ate lunch, but it didn't. After walking in the rain for maybe five minutes we decided to head back to T-town. That night we went to a reception for a couple of my friends that went to Mexico to get married (what I would do if I had to do it all over again!). After some good food and a little dancing we left to get the kids and get home. Jeff, Barb, and Jessie came out for lunch (a mexican fiest as Jessie called it) after church. We had fun visiting with them and showing them some of the things we had done since the last time they were out. Then we were off to the Hampton's for supper. Mike made some yummy chicken in the green egg and Tammy made my favorite tater casserole. The kids (of all ages) jumped in their pool for a quick swim before desert. Home around nine rounded out the weekend festivities ... ready for Monday and another week at work ... oh wait, just kidding!!!

As expected, June has been pretty busy so far. We started off the month with a family garage sale over at Grandma and Grandpa Koci's house. We did pretty good for being "out of town" and having mostly little items we were trying to get rid of. I think Grandpa came out ahead of the rest of us as he had quite a few tools (high dollars) that he sold. The kids had fun at the sale as well with their cookie stand. Strangely no one wanted to buy cookies if the kids weren't sitting right there at their table. I guess seeing two adorable kids makes some people hungry and seeing a grown woman doesn't! Coincidentally the garage sale fell on our anniversary. Shane and I have been married five years ... what a ride it has been!

Then June 9th our newest nephew was born, Caden Koci. Shane and I made a trip to KC to see Ryan, Amy and Caden last Wednesday. I wish I could say that it made me want to have another little one, but I think I am leaning more towards Shane's reasoning, we have the perfect pair a boy and girl. Plus I got to thinking about needing another room and right now we are pretty full. Anywho, Caden was a perfect little guy congrats Ryan and Amy!

The rest of the week we spent time in our semi neglected yard. The weeds had taken over in a few spots and the garden needed some tending to. While Shane and I worked hard in the garden the kids took advantage of the warm day and played in the sprinkler in the backyard. It was quite amuzing at times.

We also made time for a trip to the zoo on Saturday. I'm not sure if they were more excited about the animals at the zoo or getting to ride on the train, but they had fun at any rate!

May activities galore

We started off the month by throwing a baby shower for Ryan & Amy (hosted by Grandma Koci, Aunt Tammy, and myself). Several from the Shane and Koci sides of the family joined us for a brunch in honor of the soon-to-be newest addition to the Koci family, Caden. A simple game of baby camouflage entertained the guests as they arrived. Then we had lunch and played a game of guess what's in the bag. Ryan and Amy made out with a lot of fun things for little Caden!

On Mother's Day we had a fun time with family and helped Aunt Tammy celebrate her Birthday. I had picked up my own gift this year because I wanted some working boots and that seemed too difficult to explain to Shane which ones and what size and everything else that went along with it. The kids were with me when I got them and they "picked" them out for me!

A couple weeks later we helped Kody and Paige celebrate thier high school graduations. Kody, our nephew graduated from Mission Valley

High School. Paige, our cousin, graduated from Washburn Rural High School. Kody had a graduation party on Friday before graduation and Paige had hers on Saturday. Then graduation Sunday came and went, and now the two of them are "adults" and ready for what lies ahead.

Memorial Day weekend we had Jeremy & Meaghan with us from LA. We played quite a bit of pitch and packed as much into the weekend as we could. Saturday night we had the Brinkman side of the family out for a bbq. It had been a while since we had all been together. Then Sunday night we headed over to the pond for the annual campout with the Koci's. We caught a lot of fish, told a bunch of stories, and enjoyed the loveliness of a night at the pond! Memorial Day we had some old friends, the Giles, out for grilling and some shooting. Jeff, Barb and Jessie came out as well to do a little shooting, it was like old times with boys out in the yard with their guns. Then J&M left us to head back to LA on Tuesday.

Now we're in June and still trying to recover from May. I can't believe 2009 is half over and I still haven't gotten everything done that was on my wish list to have done in 2008. I guess the old saying time flies when you're having fun is true for this crew!