Parade, Beads & Karaoke

My sister Jennifer and her kids came back home to visit this weekend. Sadly I only get to see them a few times a year, so I love to see how much the kids have grown and to see how their personalities have changed. Kaylee her oldest and only girl is really growing into a little lady, her cousin Jasmine and her like to sit and chat "girl talk", it's like they are maturing, scary! The boys crack me up. Jacob is such a great help with his younger brothers and Tyler just makes me giggle. He had a scab on his knee and I said, "wow you must have been running fast?!" He says, "yep, I always run at Moc 10 Speed!" And Caleb, he is a peanut that you just want to cuddle if he would only let you. Her time spent in Iowa is always way too short, I'm hoping one day they will be able to move closer! Jenn, my Mom, myself and the boys made it to the Sturgis Parade downtown Cedar Falls, it was Caleb's first parade, and he loved it!


The parade was hot, but fun. To our surprise they no longer toss candy out, so that really bummed the kids. I was a bit bummed too, because I remember that from when I was a kid, we always came home with a bag full! Some of the entries were really good, there was a lot of singing and dancing in the streets, a few high school bands and class reunions. However, it lasted for over an hour & I giggle because I felt like it got to the point where they were like, "hey, if you have a bike, jump in the parade!" There were some really goofy entries like this one...Limbo Lama, are you kidding me?!
We joined back up with the girls in the afternoon and headed to Bead Happy, a place where you can create jewelry. Perfect for all ages really, and when you stepped in the store, you just felt happy!




The finished product, beautiful necklaces and bracelets! Jasmine (left) although the tallest, she is the middle of the three. Kaylee (center) just turned 12 and will start 7th grade this fall. Jasmine, is still 11 entering 6th grade. (still so hard to believe) Naomi is 6 and will start 1st grade this year! I love them all dearly, they make me smile and enlighten us every time we are around, I really do learn from them!

Later Saturday night, Brandon and I headed out to celebrate Alicia's (Porter) 30th Birthday out at their barn. The location was perfect and it ended up being beautiful night, the rain stayed away so the party started!

They had karakoe and let me tell you we have some talents among us.

There was a special debut that night, Mr. Seth Rosendahl took the mic and did a great job.





Watch out T. Wells...we may have a back up singer for you! Braver than I could ever be, not enough alcohol could get me up there and let me tell you, that is a very good thing. We thank everyone for the nights entertainment...the Candyman Can will forever make me laugh!