Turkey Hill Ranch fun and Football workouts

We missed Nola while she was at Turkey Hill Ranch this week. I was very bummed when she didn't make it into any of the Facebook pictures but I knew she would be having a ball. Brenner was sweating all day with early morning weight training for football, farm work during the day, and soccer tryout at night. He also hauled hay for a neighbor - and impressed the socks off of them with his hard work. 

Pirate football posted this picture - you can barely see the white rabbit's hair in the back row hidden behind another guy! 

Strawberry protein shake, 4 eggs, and 4 pieces of texas toast. Yep - he was hungry (and shirtless - it is his "thing" right now!).

Camp was great for Nola - she loved hanging out with her friends. That made for little/no homesickness but also meant she didn't meet many new friends this year. Nola loved the horseback riding, capture-the-flag-like game (I can't recall the exact name), and swimming. She didn't enjoy the lack of food lol! On our way home we stopped at Mod Pizza and she about fell asleep while eating!

The boys went to the cabin (Matt never sends me pics so who knows what goes on lol!). With Nola lying low after camp exhaustion, I prepped food for the mission trip and cleaned the playroom. It took hours.....

.....and I was just done when she pulls out the legos. No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nola worked on French braiding my hair.

Her new Harry Potter banners are up!

Happy Father's Day to all those great dads out there. We love you!

Practicing football in the yard.

Since I was off for Juneteenth, I drove a few kids to bible camp about 1.5 hours from our town. I went with David from our Sunday school class - we had a great time chatting away and getting lost. It was time well spent. One kiddo loved toads and told us all about them!

Nola will be going to her first horse show this week so there has been extra practice with Cocoa!

She got to train in this really nice arena near our house. I can't wait to see her in action!

 

Summer excitement

Lots of things going on at our house - summer is just in high gear! We have all been healthy - but perhaps a bit sore from our interactions/activities!

Monday night Defender practice - maybe they will be doing acrobatic basketball?

Our strawberries are about done - these made for a tasty pie. 

We got a fee notice from Brenner's school about a lost lock. He swore he looked for it everywhere. Nola found it on his dresser when looking for something else. #teenagebrain

My flowers are blooming. 

We had a pretty big storm blow in Tuesday night. Nola's job while the rest of use were working was to pile up all the debris in the burn pile. She did a great job - with lots of enthusiasm lol! 

She also came across a friend....a big black snake bit her above her boots. This was Wednesday - you can see where it clamped down but no broken skin from the teeth. She was trooper - came inside and took a nap. Went to individual basketball practice the following day! 

Brenner up early for his 5:55 weight training. He abhors shirts these days. Again #teenagebrain. B has worked hard during the workouts and then heads to summer school - almost done with that though! 

Matt's new building was open with the governor on Thursday. So glad that is done - he was really working hard to get everything together!

Nola had a sleepover on Thursday night - the girls had a fun time!

Matt was so worn out Friday night he fell asleep while watching GI Joe (that is usually what I do!). 

Chef Nola making herself "brunch" on Saturday. 

Nola decided to dress like her dad!

I saw this shirt and got it for Brenner after he asked me multiple times if I could see his six pack. Yes - yes I can!

Turkey Hill Bible Camp week finally arrived! We dropped Nola off on Sunday afternoon. She has some local friends with her but ran into friends she met last year as well - so excited for her! Praying that they all have a safe and encouraging time! We pick her up on Friday.
 

KC Visit and 3v3 Soccer

Brenner started summer school this week - 9 full days of health class for one credit. He has enjoyed not having to work all day at the farm and practicing soccer for the 3v3 tournament. Nola headed to KC mid-week to spend some time with Aunt Theresa and Uncle Chuck. Matt was busy getting his new shop ready for the grand opening with the governor and helping his mom find a mowing contractor for her yard. I worked.....and transported kids to practices! 

I tired something new with the strawberries - dehydration! 4 trays yielded 3/4 pint. Tasty but.....

Nola working on her skills with Uncle Chuck!

New squishimal (on the left)...bigger isn't always better! 

Nola creating some high protein breakfasts.

Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous weather-wise - perfect for Show Me State Games at the Missouri Soccer Park. We had fun tailgating with our soccer club! 

I have no idea what they are doing!

Grandma Val hung out with us - as did Uncle Chuck and Aunt Theresa for the "Nola return". 

These guys had a tough go - no subs and playing up in an older bracket. They didn't come away with a win but showed some great improvement communicating and keeping their cool. 

Relaxing post-soccer games!