Dinnertime Conversation

Please pardon the carrots on our face and the quality of the video (from my cell phone) but I wanted to share our little dinnertime conversation. (Oh and the first part looks shaky because I have to hide the phone at first so she won't reach for it.) Now the question is, does this count?

Summertime fun!

Best $5 I ever spent and the so worth the 20 minutes it took to blow it up (a few weeks ago).

We finally got Kenley in the little pool we bought for $5 with water in it. She has played in it several times without water but today the weather and timing was perfect for some fun in the sun.

  She had fun splashing and talking with Clay and I.

 We got some really cute pictures of all the fun.

 and took a few videos too.
 
And when it was all over, we were ALL SMILES for the fun we had ;o)

Catching up

(I just published this post and realized it's very long and has a LOT of pictures...enjoy!!)

It has been busy at the Hotel Brockman. I'm nearly 2 weeks behind on the blog so I'll try to catch up.

Two weeks ago, the hotel got a small face lift (in preparation to add some major curb appeal for the big sell next year). My dad came over to paint the front of the house and take it from drab to fab! Here is what it used to look like (Please disregard the snow. This was the picture of the house the day we brought home Kenley)

and here is the house now (minus the shutters which Clay wants to replace).

We went with a very nice yellow called "Gilded Shores." It is clean and bright. We are very pleased with how it turned out and if I get the flower bed spruced up and some other small landscaping things done, it should have wonderful curb appeal.
Here are a few pictures during the face lift to show a contrast in the old and new colors and to show how hard my dad worked. I felt horrible as the weather was HOT HOT HOT for painting but he came early in the morning and left around lunch.

Then two weekends ago, we had a wedding for Clay's cousin. We dressed Kenley in what I call her "Sex and the City" outfit and I tried to match our outfits too (Yes, I'm that kind of mom). I thought we all looked cute.

Kenley did very well at the wedding and reception. She met a lot of people and had fun playing with her cousin Sophia at Grandma and Grandpa's table. Here she is meeting her Great Aunt Micki from AZ.

Sunday that weekend found us back at Grandma and Grandpa B's campground for some family time and some pool time! This girl LOVES LOVES LOVES the water!!!

She also likes the Cozy Crab float. She just kicks her legs and floats about. We also put some water in the splashy part and she just goes crazy splashing and eating the water. After a busy Sunday, we headed home. However our car had more than us 3 Brockmans. We brought home the Lokkers (Aunt Val, Uncle Scott, and Sophia) for the week.
My SIL and BIL stayed with us this past week. They also volunteered to watch Kenley all week so she didn't go to the sitter. This allowed Kenley to spend more time with A. Val, U. Scott, and her little cousin Sophia. It was so fun to see the girls together. They had so much fun playing all week. Here are a few pictures to show all the fun they had together...

They also had some special storytimes together...

and enjoyed meal times together...

It was definitely fun with two little ones around!!! We had lots of fun family time over the week. Clay and I took Wed, Thurs, and Friday off to visit. On Thursday, Grandma and Grandpa B also came up for some big family photos and some fun filled GRANDDAUGHTER TIME.
Here are some of the family pics we had done..

We also had a nice lunch out at FlatTop and some play time at home..

Then Friday was my MIL's big BIRTHDAY, so we all packed up in the car and headed to Springfield to celebrate. We started with a trip to her office, then lunch at Steak and Shake, and finally some good times at the campground (oh and yes of course, more time in the pool).

After another busy day, we headed home tired but very happy. However we were also a little sad as this was our last night with A Val, U Scott, and Sophie. They headed north to WI on Saturday morning to spend the week with his family. We were so glad they came for a visit and we had so much fun!! We definitely can't wait to see them again in Nov for Thanksgiving!! It is truly amazing to watch the girls interact. I can't imagine how it will be in Nov when Sophia is 1 and Kenley is almost 1.
Saturday day returned to normal at the Hotel Brockman as we did laundry, cleaning and shopping. However, we had another milestone for our big trip to the grocery store. Since we moved Kenley to a big girl car seat in the Traverse (due to her LONG length), she gets to be a big girl when we go shopping too. She got to sit in the cart for the first time and LOVED it.

Now today (Sunday) we are finishing up some other things and preparing for another fun filled week and more company. My Aunt Rachel is coming to stay with us and watch Kenley as the babysitter took the week off and I still need to work. I'm sure I will have some posts of her time with Kenley coming this week, so as always, stay tuned!

Eat your heart out Carrie Bradshaw!

Kenley dressed in her amazing Sex and the City outfit for a wedding this weekend and rocked out. The only thing missing were the hot pink Manolo Blahniks (but I don't think they come in her size AND she doesn't have enough in her piggy bank for them.)

Just wanted to give everyone a short update: We had a wedding this past weekend and my sister-in-law and family are now in town and at our house. While I have lots to blog about with their visit, I don't have much time, so it will have to wait. Just thought I'd share a cute pic of stinks to keep you all coming back. Stay tuned!

Thanks again Grandma C!

Thanks for coming to visit and babysit while mommy and daddy went out. I had fun. Love you!! - Kenley

Take me out ...

Take me out to the ballgame.(Independent league and less expensive) Take me out to the crowd (of fellow employees for part of our company picnic). Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks (Or really just one large rootbeer since I was thirsty and we already ate hotdogs, chips, and such at the picnic). I don't care if I ever get back. (Well that's a lie cause I really do. I have to pump and I have a stinks at home waiting to see me) Cause it's root root root for the Belters (or should I say Corn.. I don't remember what they said). If they don't win it's a shame (I wonder if they won? We left in the top of the tenth.. it was after 10pm and I was tired). For it's ONE, TWO, THREE strikes you're out, at the ole' ball game.

Okay, I'm expanding this blog a bit (I think). I had an old blog with my friend Mel, but it seems neither of us updates that one anymore. I do have things to post but never get around to it, so I figure if I combine this and make this all things Brockman family maybe I will get around to sharing more.

Now don't worry your pretty heads, I am sure that all things Kenley will still  be a topic of posting a majority of the time, but occasionally Clay and I may bust through.

So you can tell, Clay and I went out this weekend on Saturday night to our company picnic. It was an outing away from Kenley. My mom came up to babysit (Thanks mom!!). It was the first night ever that I hadn't been home to put her to bed, but I survived. (She prob didn't even care since Grandma had a warm bottle ready and rocked her just like mama.)

The picnic was at the local independent league baseball game. They are called the Normal Cornbelters (Originally the town voted and the name Clay liked had to do with Nuts for Beer Nuts but alas that name lost. Too bad cause it would have been the Normal Nuts and you could yell "Let's go Nuts!" at the game and root root root for the Nuts... it's endless but alas I digress...) Anyways, the food was decent but a little crowded and the game was fun to watch. Some of my favorite things included seeing where all the baseball guys came from, Cornie (the mascot), and the fun games they do during breaks, oh and of course the baseball ;o) They had guys on the team from Canada, HI, NY, TX, and WI (MKE to be exact so I had to think of Lissa and Nathan everytime he came up to bat.) Clay said they live with "host" families when they are in town so they don't have to pay rent (since they don't make much money). I asked if he would ever want to be a host family (just as a joke.)

Cornie the mascot was really neat too!! HE did a lot of funny antics. He came out and seduced one of the umps at one point, which got the crowd going. He really had some moves. Here are some more of his dance moves.

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They also had a "veggie" race. It's supposed to be like the sausage race in MKE but it's an ear of corn, a carrot, and a taco. The taco doesn't fit into the veggies. (Later they had a man with a sombrero and poncho running around and a guy dressed as a banana... I think they got the discount costumes from clearance, but they are funny.)  I was rooting for the carrot, but he lost ;o( (I had a video of this, but I've tried to load it 3 times and I keep getting an error, so I'm giving up for now. I'll try to load it again later.)

They also had a sumo match between innings and some other games for kids and their parents. Pretty neat and Clay and I will definitely want to go again. I'd like to go on Thursday sometime for $1 beers but it will have to be when I'm not on my one drink limit so that I can have a few and enjoy the atmosphere.

We did also see a good landscaping idea for the baseball fanatic in all of us. We liked it so much, we took a picture so we could show Clay's buddy Bill.

All in all a good little night out with the hubby!

BIG Girl BathTime!!!

Given Kenley is getting to be such a good sitter, we decided it was time to try the "Big Girl Bath." We had been talking about it for a week or two but just never done it. We did a pseudo trial run (just a glorified rinse to get off all the sunblock) this weekend and Grandma and Grandpa B's but it was time for the real thing at home. She loved it and she did so GREAT!!! Here are a few pictures:

and when she was all clean (and very happy) we realized she is getting so much hair too! Usually you can' see it too well since it's blonde but when it's wet, there is a whole mess of it.

She also makes some great faces when she is happy. We caught this funny face and it made us laugh...

Maybe it's her "Elvis face"... "Thank you, Thank you very much! (for giving me a big girl bath)"

Fabulous First 4th of July

This past holiday weekend we headed to Grandma and Grandpa B's to celebrate the 4th. We got there on Saturday and had lots of fun things planned. 

Things like:

Our very first golf cart ride (daddy finally said it was okay)

and of course lots of play time outside in the sun

and we also took Grandpa out to eat at his favorite place to celebrate a belated Father's Day. (no pictures of the group here, just a few of Kenley's messy face as she also had her dinner of Blueberry & Pears).
Then on Sunday, our fun continued. Of course, lil' Kenley had to dress for the occasion with this festive ensemble.

She is definitely my little firecracker and daddy's little American sweetheart. We had a lot of fun on Sunday too for the 4th.
Grandpa helped Kenley watch the bunny out the window

and we were very amused by the new stain glass window that Grandma and Grandpa had installed.

She kicked and kicked so much looking at the window she scratched up her toe on the screen.
We also found a swing set with a baby swing just the right size for Kenley and a nice slide.

But the highlight of Sunday was our big trip to the pool!!! She love love LOVES the water. She did so good stretching out nice and long and just kicking her legs. She has also taken to eating the water with her hands.

The video of her swimming just makes me smile. I can't wait to get her back in the water. I think she can't wait to get back in either.

When we took her out to dry off (and sit on the edge for a bit), she just looked up as if to say, "Mom, that was fun. Can we do it again?"

It was a wonderful weekend and Miss Kenley was definitely tuckered out from all the fun. We came home late Sunday night and got to watch fireworks from the car as we drove down the interstate. We must have seen part of at least 7 different areas or displays. Then we had a nice relaxing Monday as a family of 3 before heading back to work and the sitter's today. All in all a perfect weekend and a HAPPY 4th of July!