Neeley Family Blog

This summer has been fun at times, but also exhausting! I have to confess, I have had a couple break downs.  I know I usually seem as though not much bothers me, but a lot has been bothering me lately.  I have had these horrible feelings of not being myself.  I have been angry.  I have been down and feeling sorry for myself.  I have not been doing the best job that I can do as a mother.  I have wanted a break.  I have been letting the small things the kids do get under my skin and cause me to have a breakdown.  My patients has worn thin.  I had to pull Brad aside and say, "please help!" If you know me at all, you know this is not my standard and is a very big deal for me.  I HATE asking for help with things.  I would rather kill myself trying than ask for help.  Seriously. We had a great talk.  I got my feeling and thought out to him.  He comforted me and made me feel like I am not crazy as I had thought I was....

Well, I am onto a new task...planning the boy's birthday parties.  Yes, I know you say, it is only July Brionna, their birthdays are not until September!?!  Well, you are correct, however the time between now and then is jam packed with activities and the beginning of school.  Which adjusting back to a school schedule is super difficult and the boy's birthdays fall right after school starts.  I know as a parent I need to give a little extra time to let people get it on their schedule and plan their course of action.  We have sports starting again (soccer) , a wedding, birthday parties, play dates, library days, back-to-school shopping and a little getaway all planned in the next few weeks ahead. Phew! I tired just typing it! But none-the-less we trudge on.  I have been looking and asking the boys for ideas as to what they want on their cakes.  It has become more and more apparent that I will either have to fork over a small fortune for their cakes or...

This summer I was made aware of a bowling program for kids.  They get 2 free games everyday for the entire summer for FREE!!! You can check out more online here .   I opted for the family option too which lets Brad and I (up to 4 adults) bowl with them.  So all I pay for is the shoe rentals! Such a deal! The kids were super excited about going bowling.  They love to bowl and usually one of them opts to go bowling on their birthday.  So far we have gone a few times (about once a week).  It has been during the day so it is just myself and the kids.  I haven't played with them yet.  They are some pretty good little bowlers though! There have been some spares by each one of them and so far Brayden is the only one with a strike, but I know that Brock is going to have one soon! We have pretty much had the whole bowling alley to ourselves the times that we have gone! They are some Rock Star bowlers!!!

So it has been about 4 weeks since we planted our garden and just wanted to show a quick picture of the progress. We have pulled about 2 dozen strawberries off already and I think I can cut some lettuce for our next 100 salads AND give some to the neighbors! :) It is suddenly growing like crazy!!! The Pumpkin seeds have decided to sprout too! (That is them in the front of this box) I just had to add bamboo and garden twine so my string beans would have a place to grow ;). Awesome!!! We will keep you posted on our goods.

We hosted a gathering at our house this year for the 4th.  We had our friends the Budd Family over.  We met them thru T-ball and they were on our team both seasons.  The Budd's have 4 kiddos...Ellen, Isaiah, Brennan and Joel.  They are somewhat close to the ages of ours.  The boys are super close in age.  We planned a meal, I got a few decorations and we set our tables, chairs, and games galore out in the yard. Brad grilled our feast on the new grill. :) The kids ran around playing Cornhole, Foosball, and in the Sprinkler and Slip and Slide.  When dinner and dessert was done we took to Fireworks.  The guys handled this end of the night festivities with help from the kids on which one to do next.  The moon at the end of the night.  It was an awesome glowing red color.  It looks more yellow in my phone picture, but it was full and had an orange red color all the way thru! It was an excellent evening and we ca...

My high school friend, Crystal had a 3rd birthday party for her little girl Alana.  She is so stinking cute!  She invited us to come over and join in the celebration.  The boys were over-the-moon excited to go.  Here is the Alstot family: Alana, Crystal and Andy (baby AJ was being held so he is not pictured) Andy, Crystal's hubby, grilled and cooked an amazing meal.  He even made Alana's cake! I am super impressed with his skills! Crystal had games planned for the kiddos too.  The boys were super excited when they each one during two different games.  Brylee enjoyed watching everyone, eating and then eventually warming up to play with Alana and some other kids who were there.  They also set up a giant slip and slide for the kids.  Here are some photos of the party fun: Thank you Crystal, Andy and Alana for inviting us to join in the festivities! We love hanging out with your family! Happy 3rd Birthday Ala...

We are farmers! This Neeley family has built and planted a garden.  It is nothing huge, but some of the things we enjoy eating.  I did not want it to be too big and us waste the food.  So we are starting small and we will see where it goes. John helped build the garden boxes with his master nail gun and drill. :) Here is a progression of photos for you. The "Garden Space" and lumber.  Boxes built rather quickly!  The Dirt Delivery!  The Garden goods...vegetable starts and some marigolds. Filling them up :) Our hard little workers helping Brad and I with my project. Them saying, "Oh yeah momma, we got this!" Plants, mapped out where to go and ready to be put in the ground.  All planted and ready for our produce to grow. There are yellow and sweet corn, lettuce and tomato plants in this box. And there are string beans, strawberries and pumpkin seeds in this box. So here ...