Memorial Day

Instead of going together as a big family to visit Sylvia's grave, Joe decided to take his kids to dinner (sushi) and visit the grave with just them. Russ had a great time with his siblings!

Russ is definitely a goofball when he is around his family. Apparently outside the restaurant was this big and Shelli and Russ thought it would be hilarious to ride it. 

My family met at Bret's grave. We are missing Alex and Katrina because they were out of town. It was nice to visit and gather together. Covid is starting to resolve and we haven't gathered as a family very much in a long time!

Kids

I can't believe I have THREE kids!! I don't feel old enough for that. Man I sure love these kids though! Some days require way more patience then others but I sure am crazy about them!

One weekend we brought our trailer to our house to clean it out and get it ready for the summer. Russ and the older kids slept in it for a night. They watched a movie, stayed up till 11 PM and thought it was pretty much the best thing to have ever happen to them!

Watching a movie in the playroom in the basement with our new projector. 

These two play quite well with each other. When Hallie bosses him around too much he ends up hitting her and then they both end up upset. It doesn't take long for both of them to forgive and then they are back at it playing. 

I'm so grateful that Russ makes staying at home with my kids possible. These kids make my world go round!

Playing at Great Grandma Tates house!

Brooks basically agrees to do whatever Hallie wants him to do. They both got dressed up for a "dance."

Basement Progress

Progress on the basement has been slooooowww since having Stockton. Russ has also been crazy busy at work as a lot of people on his team have quit. We also unexpectedly found out we owe $42,000 in taxes (yikes!) so money is very tight right now! But, with the little time and money we have, we have been slowly working on the basement. We are close to finishing the base boards and trim and window casing work. The fireplace is finished being painted and we got our sectional set up! We have closet doors.  Russ is building cabinet frames for our built-ins and we moved all of the kid's toys from storage into their playroom I am loving everything we have done to the basement but wish this project was done already!

Soccer

Hallie had a great soccer season! She is naturally talented at this sport. She is athletic and aggressive and pushes her way through the crowd to take the ball. I love when she bites her bottom lip when she is really focused and trying hard. She scored almost all the goals her team had this season. She normally scored at least 3 goals a game! One of the games I was even slightly embarrassed because she was SO much better then anyone else on the field. She literally dominated that game! I felt like some parents were probably thinking, "Why is this girl in this rec league?" Ha!

We've asked her if she wants to play in a more competitive league. When asked what that means and finding out that it will require more time practicing, she responded with, "No. I want to play with my friends." I would like to push her to play in a harder league because I see her natural talent and I think she will actually like it when she realizes what it is but Russ doesn't want to force her. I get his side of things too but I really wish we could capitalize on the natural talent she has.

Brooks playing with Grandpa Joe on the sidelines!

A sign she made for her team before a game. Her team was the Polar Bears. 

She had so many breakaway goals this season!