Jakob's Birthday

 Jakob's  birthday was nice a low key. He decided that for his birthday he wanted to go to Vegas with friends and have a man weekend so that essentially got me off the hook for gifts :)

 We had a busy day working so we got home and raced to get the kitchen all decorated. Low key or not you still have to feel like someone cares on your birthday!

 Mama's hat looked a bit flat but she was darn cute!

 31!!! He's offically INTO his thirties! Dang babe, when did you get so old?! Feels like a really  long time ago when you were just an 19 year old missionary visiting us for dinner!

 We had just had cake for Fourth of July so Jakob decided he wanted a Watermelon cake. It was super simple but the whipped cream was a bit tricky. This kids had fun decorating the top with berries.

And as per Tobler Tradition here are a few reasons why I love Jakob:

1. He gets me in a way that no one else does. HE diffuses me, supports me and makes me laugh like no other. He's goofy and sarcastic and most people don't realize how hilarious he really is. He's mildly inappropriate and I'm kind of into it. He really is my best friend. 
2. He's the hardest working person I know. He is always on the go pushing himself and sacrificing to provide for our family. He doesn't only push himself in work but he tries little from home jobs on the side mostly for fun but also to see if he can bring in any extra income which I really admire. HE also works really hard to do the very best in his callings at church. He loves being Scout master and he works really really hard to be a good example and to make the program a memorable experience for those boys. 
3. He's the best Daddy. He walks in the door after work and the kids are 100% his. He feeds (if I haven't already, bathes, dresses and puts them to bed. Before work he gets them up and starts breakfast. He also wakes up at night to take care of all of the scary dreams and blankets thrown on the floor. I'm spoiled and I know it. (Maybe this should be in the greatest Husband category) He also loves to chat with the kids and catch up on their day. He likes to play cars and wrestle with Duke, work on projects  and play games with E and Sprout is his best friend. He's pretty incredible!
4. He is incredibly tech savvy and can fix all of the things that I break. Our entertainment system is pretty slick and he can find just about any sporting game that I would like to watch. 
5. Last but not least, he's super sexy and works really hard to stay that way. Getting up early to go to the gym every morning. Those biceps are just delicious! 

Happiest of birthday's my love. We sure do love you!

Pay Your Own Age Day

Our friend Brielle (in the purple Love shirt) posted on our FB group that Build-a-Bear was having a pay your own age day and we decided that that would be a ton of fun do go and do. It's the only way my kids will ever get a Build-a-Bear stuffie anyways. So Rhett (Anna's (in the middle) husband) offered to wake up at 6:30 and go sit in line and study for his upcoming exam and hold a place in line for us. He was the third person in line.

Guys, this was insane, even typing this up has me flashing back and making me have anxiety. We got lots of evil looks as we stepped up to the front of the line and understandably so, but I wasn't waiting in the back of the line!

E picked a ice cream swirl bear. 

We got a Dinosaur for Duke who was at school and just said it was for Sprout, then while we were checking out I said to the lady at the till that we had a son in summer school and wanted to know if we could get him a bear to, and just leave it unstuffed. To my surpirse she said "of course!" So we got a Chewbacca bear. Our total came to $11 for three bears. And as we were walking down the mall back to the car the line went on for five minutes of walking and I felt so horrible. So I found a little boy and gave him our Chewy bear. I felt it was the right thing to do, not knowing that there would be a coupon coming out but I felt bad that we had three bears, when Sprout wouldn't know the difference anyways. 

 Was it worth it, YES! Granted we only stood in line for an hour but E loves her Bear and we know Duke will love his. 

We asked E if she would like to give Duke is Dino for his birthday and she said yes, which meant that she had to put her bear away until his birthday too to keep things fair and she happily complied. She is a great big sister! Thank you so much to Rhett for sitting in line for us!!!!!! Such a fun day!

The Beach and Cow Appreciation Day

WE decided to hit up the beach at the lake here in KC and the kids just loved it!

The water was only about neck height for me standing up, but that was good enough for the kids!

And even though the sand wasn't like the ocean the kids had a blast digging around and getting all messy! 

Allllllll the summertime feels!!!

Sprout loves to swim with Oma!

We came home, had naps and were off to Chick-Fil-A for Cow Appreciation Day!

 Sprout with his little tail was just to die for!

 This time of year is really busy for Daddy at work so I was really grateful to have Oma here to do all the fun things with!!!

The next day was 7/11 and we had to get our free SLURPEE!!!! 

Best week ever! Don't worry, we have another great deal coming in our next post!!!

A Morning with Friends

Mama van den Berge is here and she graciously offered to stay home with Sprout (Duke is in Summer School) so E and I could have a morning date with our besties. We were so excited to get to spend some time with Emery! E was just over the moon!

And seeing Gretchen again was like a piece of my heart was put back. It was like nothing had changed and I almost told her we were going to start a project together. So grateful for wonderful friends. Sure do miss seeing your face girl. Now to plan a ladies weekend extravaganza!

The Fourth

I {love} holidays! All holidays in all forms and the Fourth is one of my favorites. I love to see the American pride and all of the red white and blue! Not that I don't love Canada, (because I obviously do) but stars and stripes and red, white and blue are where it's AT!

We came to realize that Jakob doesn't have one single patriotic shirt. So he went with red, Chiefs. That's American right? hehe.

Yes, he's sporting the same outfit as he was last year only this time it actually fits. 

A city very close to us has a big festival every Fourth and we were excited to go! Duke was really into this motorcycle!

The kids loved the crafts!

Mr. Bones is always a favorite and he tried to eat Bears head!!

I think the funniest part was letting the kids race in these balls. We waited quite awhile and it was pretty evident when they first started that they were going to need some help. Pushing these things wasn't easy. Eventually E got the basic idea and could (sort of) push herself. As I pushed Duke he looked like a pile of laundry in the dryer. He was just rolling all over the place and eventually popped out of the hole bum first before he got shoved back in. I was laughing so hard I could hardly push him. 

Our patriotic cake.

So I ordered some sparklers online, and I paid way too much but that was neither here or there. Thinking they were cake sparklers I put one on our cake and I lit it. It was not a cake sparkler and the whole house was filled with smoke. LOTS of smoke...

And our cake was covered in soot of sorts. 

Whoops. I scraped it off and it still tasted good. 

Once it was dusk-ish, we went over to the neighbors to pop some poppers and play with sparklers. We almost caught Rosie's hair on fire and Jakob burned himself pretty badly, but other than that it was a success. 

E was really good at making shapes.

It was a beautiful Fourth full of family fun which is the best kind. I love when Jakob gets to be home and we get to do family activities together. I am so grateful for this country that I call home and for how living here has blessed my life. I was discussing my choice when Jakob and I were newly engaged and we were deciding where to live. I remember thinking Canada is my home and while I would have enjoyed living there moving to the states was hands down the best decision we could have made. Jakob has thrived here and I have grown so much as well. I am thankful for this land and for the freedoms we enjoy. I am thankful for those who serve and defend our country so that we may enjoy that freedom. It comes at a price and this we understand more now than ever. God bless the USA.

Canada Day

Last year I was seriously disappointed with the lack of Canadian gear the kiddos had, while I was in Canada I stocked up on some treasures. 

Matching shirts for the whole family!! SCORE! I am so into this! It makes my Canadian heart so happy.

My little half bloods! 

Canada day was on Sunday, so we didn't do much but it was great to celebrate a bit and be grateful for my homeland! I am so grateful for Canada, for the land that I love and that I get to go back as often as I do. It was a great day.