Summer

Summertime. When school is out and teachers rejoice. When kids abound with excess energy and parents wonder "What the heck am I going to do to entertain you all summer long? Because if I don't do something, I will go crazy." Or at least, that's what THIS parent is thinking.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being home with my kiddos in the summer. But if I don't have sufficient activities planned for the week my kids might kill each other. Abby absolutely adores her older brother and wants to do EVERYthing that he is doing. I think it's quite cute. After all they say the highest form of flattery is imitation. Unfortunately I don't think that means much to a 3 year old. To 3 year old Nolan that's just plain annoying. Hence his declaration the other day: "I don't want to be a brother anymore!" So anyway, in an effort for all of us to keep our sanity, here are a few things we've done so far this summer:

• Pool - we have access to a neighborhood pool this summer, so we've been trying to take advantage!
• Movies - the theaters around here offer a selection of FREE movies in the summer. Abby could care less, but Nolan enjoys it, and I enjoy getting out of the house and the fact that it's FREE. 
• Visits with friends - trying to do this as much as possible!
• Day trip to the beach
• trips to the library
• Richmond zoo (Jack and Nina went with the kiddos while I was away)
• Science Museum
• Trips to the farm (where there is always something interesting going on)
• Playgrounds
• Playing in the rain

The summer is still young, so here are some things that are still on our to-do list:

• Go to an amusement park (or 2 - Hershey Park and Sesame Place are on the list)
• Visit more friends/family
• Bowling? The bowling alley has some good deals during the summer - thought it might be something worth a shot
• Reading (mostly for me)
• Potty training (for Abby - looking forward to the end result but not so much the process of getting there)
• Some sort of fire pit/s'mores making
• Several weddings, bridal showers, and birthday parties
• Movies - lots of fun movies (for all ages) come out in the summer! 
• go to the lake

Etc. Etc!! 

While there are plenty of "work" and "project" things to do this summer, I hope we'll take the time to enjoy some of this "fun" stuff too! Either way, I'm just excited and grateful for a job that allows me this time with my kiddos - even if they do make me crazy sometimes.

We're building a house!

The big news in the Donohoe family is that we are building a house! I hope I am not jinxing anything by putting it out there on the world wide web. But I'm so excited I thought it was worth sharing!

So yeah. We are building a house out in the country! I always find it ironic because I grew up on the farm, and I always dreamed of living in "town" in a neighborhood just like everybody else. Then I got married and bought a house in "town" in a neighborhood just like everybody else. And it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. We are living in a great neighborhood now, but honestly, I can't wait to get back to the country! You can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl. Or something like that.

Anyway, our house ETA is Christmastime. Really praying that it gets done in a timely fashion. Wouldn't that be the best Christmas present ever? So here are some pictures of our house progress so far:

This is our future back yard:

Our future front yard... minus the rubble:

Here is how we got rid of the rubble:

Nolan posing with a stake that marks the septic system site:

The stake in the middle marks where the corner of the house will go!

So there you have it. More updates to come as we go along this process!

Girl's Weekend 2k13

Every once in a while, someone really special comes into your life. 11 years ago I was blessed to have 2 such people - girls that would become my college roommates and best friends. The best part about our friendship is that throughout the years, even though none of us live in the same state, I would still consider these girls my bestest friends. They've been with me through it all. We laugh together, pray together, and generally just enjoy life together.

Once husbands began to come into the picture, we decided we needed to set aside some special time each year to spend as just us girls. We've been taking Girl's Weekend trips for 8 years now. This past weekend was our most recent one. Amanda and I drove up to visit Rachel who just moved to upstate NY. It was the perfect weekend - we ate good food, sat around on the "beach" by the lake, did some shopping, and talked. A lot. The weather was great and the company even better. I love these girls so much and the time we get to spend together is always a blast!

Here is another pic from our trip:

It looks dreary in the pic but trust me there was plenty of sunshine! 

This trip was made extra special because I got to do it kiddo-less. Jack and Nina stayed with the kids while I was gone so I could get some much needed girl time. They seemed to have a good time while I was gone - they went to the zoo, science museum, had lunch with Uncle Brendan and dinner at the farm, and went to the movies. I'd say all in all, it was a great weekend for everyone! It was sad to leave NY, but I missed my family so much I was ready to get home!

One last pic... Here is Nolan and Abby playing with Pops on the trampoline while I was gone: