Elaine & Abby Visit + Battle of the Bands

 It was a hot, busy and wonderful weekend! Elaine and Abby visited from Nebraska - We have not all be together since Avery was 1 and it was a long overdue visit. Hung and Du were golfing with my Dad and Eddie for the weekend so the girls + Tay had the house to ourselves (plus Bingo and Otis - Bingo has CRAZY attachment issues to Hung and bounced from bed to bed every night in search of him. Otis was such a good boy!). Avery and Tay warmed up immediately to Elaine and Abby. Tay was showing his "interesting rock" collection within the first hour of being home - non stop talking. On Friday the kids had camp and I had to work some so G took Elaine and Abby to brunch with Chuck and did some shopping. We had dinner with Cullen and KJ at Grindstone on the Monon that night and went and saw the UHS production of Grease. Avery loved it and sat right up front on the lawn and spent time dreaming of her future days on the stage. KJ offered to take Tay home after dinner since he seemed exhausted from a long camp week but then got a second wind and played hard the whole time we were gone. LOL.

Saturday we had breakfast with Chuckee, went swimming since the heat index was over 100 degrees, and then relaxed a bit before the BIG EVENT! Avery's band Cosmic Moon was competing in the Battle of the Bands with Bach to Rock. Her band did an awesome job - especially on Cheap Thrills!! Avery's stage presence and confidence has me in awe and she just rocked it up there! They won for Best Audience Participation and she had lots of fans...Cullen, KJ, Ashley, Abby, Elaine, the Underwoods and Donnelsons. Tay sat right up front and really wanted to hear ALL the bands - that kid LOVES music. We went to dinner afterwards and were all exhausted. Abby and I had a sleep over on the last night (with Bingo).

They took off Sunday morning with a minor snafu...The keys got locked in the car while running with ALL their luggage. I was able to get the spare set and make it to the airport on time for them to make their flight. PHEW! The kids and I then swam at Jayme's mom's house with Nora and James and then just relaxed the rest of the day. We were WIPED! But it was such a heartwarming weekend! Great start to the summer of 2021.

Old ladies in the back - It was fun watching them crawl in and out all weekend.

This was our state of mind Sunday morning...Upside down glasses, fuzzy slippers and a bathing suit!

Girl Scout Mom/Daughter Camping Weekend

Our Girl Scout troop decided to have one last event before the girls move on to 4th grade and other activities. We went to Camp Sycamore near Purdue for the weekend and had an absolute blast. 9 girls and 8 moms made the trip and it was such a fun group. We were lucky to get the air conditioned cabin since it was in the 90's (and the pool was not open yet!) and actual bunk beds rather than cots on the floor. We arrived Friday and got settled before heading to Archery. By her 2nd turn Avery was hitting the target and getting the hang of it! The girls played tetherball and other games while the moms made pizzas over the fire. After dinner, we went creek stomping and frog catching which was a favorite activity. We ended the night with a bonfire, S'mores, and ghosts in the graveyards.

A few of the girls had to leave Saturday but were able to fit in some more creek stomping after breakfast. We then tye dyed pillow cases, had some down time and then did Water Games with the counselors for an hour. We headed back for lunch and then played some Uno and Mad Libs before heading to Zip Lining. Since Avery had already done it over Fall Break with Uncle Cullen, she was the brave one to go first and did a great job making the other girls feel comfortable. Dinner was hot dogs over the fire and Mac N Cheese. After that, we headed back for one last creek stomp before S'mores. The girls then headed back to the cabin and were playing a live version of Among Us, while the Mom's stayed at the fire and laughed our heads off! It was SUCH a fun night that none of us wanted it to end. Sunday we had breakfast, packed up, and cleaned the cabin before doing a little putt putt golf before heading home.

Avery had so much fun with her friends, she was zero drama (which was not true of all the girls there....) and was just an inclusive and kind friend to everyone in her troop. I LOVED the group of mom's and am so grateful that Girl Scouts introduced us. I have not laughed that hard in a while!! Even though Scouts is over, Avery and I have made friendships that will carry on and it was a great last event.

The boys had a great weekend at home - lots of swimming, eating and bayblades. We sure missed our guys and it felt good to get home, see them, and SHOWER! We are WIPED but happy to have had an awesome weekend!!