Starbucks Girls

The Ocean Drink

I've had to limit my kids' Starbucks orders! Ever since last August when they raised the prices of all their drinks, I've said that we will be ordering less. I was a big spender on Starbucks - probably ordering 6 out of 7 days a week. I'm slightly embarrassed to say that I'm one of those with an asterisk by their name on mobile orders as a highly clouted "Reserve" member. Which just means I order(ed) from them way too much. 

Anyway, over the past year, I've really limited myself and my kids to what drinks they order and how often they get them. Austen is not so bad as the boys aren't really into Starbucks and he would never even order this for himself at school. But, the girls! Peyton and Hailey like these fancy drinks that cost at least $7 or $8. Love their texts too where they "politely" ask if I can mobile for them when they are out with friends. Never mind, that they have gift cards that we've given them or other people have as gifts. They don't want to use those. They'd rather use our money to buy their expensive drinks. 

So now they have to be strategic as to when they ask me for a Starbucks. Have they had one already this week and is it too much to ask for the iced blue coconut drink with cold foam or can I get a matcha with almond milk and cold foam. Seriously, these girls are expensive! 

Butterfly Drink

I think I like the Ocean Drink the best

Blue Coconut Lemonade Refresher

Not sure about this one

Happy 250th Birthday, America!

3rd of July Festivities

The 4th of July this year was a big one with the USA celebrating its 250th year of existence! We kicked off the weekend by heading up to Michigan on Thursday evening (after the USA vs. Bosnia World Cup game since Fox was blocked in the Grand Rapids area because of disputes). I should say all of us except for Austen went up Thursday night because he had to work until Friday night. So on Thursday, we got the house put together and food bought and prepped for our usual 4th of July guests. We did get some beach time in though which was nice since it turned out to be a great day. That evening, the storms blew in and with it, 70 mph winds and rain that shattered some of our hanging outside lights and drenched our outside furniture/deck. It may have taken all weekend to dry out from those torrential rains. It was really bad. 

Friday was overcast in the morning and by the time our friends had arrived it was now raining. No problem, we pivoted and watched some World Cup games (in Spanish), played some card games and Mahjong! For dinner, Tom set us up with make your own pizzas. The rain subsided a bit so that South Haven had its fireworks show. We watched from our bluff but you could see the lightning in the distance and hear the thunder rolling in. Luckily, it was a quick walk home for us before the skies opened up again. 

We woke up on Saturday to everything starting to dry out from the overnight rain. We had a great breakfast prepared by our friends and then it was off to the beach to play games and catch up. Luckily, we had a great beach day that day up in Michigan. I heard back home it rained and firework shows were canceled. We left the beach to prepare for more guests coming to dinner at our house that evening. We ate and drank a lot, played games and caught up, watched more fireworks and then the rain came down again late night. 

On Sunday, we woke up to another overcast day but enjoyed a great breakfast before some of our guests left and we ventured on to the pickleball courts for a round of pickleball. We got a few games in before the rains came once again. We all headed home. Our guests left and we cleaned up a little before heading to a dinner reservation we had for the five of us at Clearbrook Grill in Saugatuck. 

We stayed until Monday, so we prepped the house to leave and then headed to play a round of mini golf before heading back to Illinois so we could watch the USA play Belgium that evening. We just barely made it home before the start due to some bad traffic but we made it. Can't say the same about the USA team but it was a fun ride and they showed some promise. They just need a little more depth to the team. 

So glad we got to spend another 4th of July together. It's getting harder with the kids work schedules to find some time to spend up there but at least it's a bit more time than last year! 

Mahjong!

Happy 4th!

Yes, to 250!

Mini Golfers!

 

Grad Parties!

We got to partake in a few extra grad parties this year even though we didn't have a graduate this year. Our nephew, Luke, graduated from high school as well as a few of Austen's former club soccer teammates. 

Grad Party Reunion!

It was so nice celebrating all of them and getting the low down on where they will be attending school next year. It was extra special to be reunited too with our Galaxy (club soccer) family. I really missed those ladies (and their husbands and sons). It was great to see all of them and catch up. The majority of those kids are playing college soccer and all had a great year playing for their teams and saw a lot of playing time as freshman (even our D1 players!). A few, like Austen, went to school for school and are also enjoying their college life without the rigors of soccer training. 

A few of these boys commented on how good it was to be together again and they didn't realize how much they really missed each other. I think they'll be forever bonded by this game and the amount of time spent together - us parents too. In fact, we already have plans for a summer get together in a few weeks. 

I'm now heading into my second year without soccer and I may miss it more this year than last year. Summer is certainly quieter without state cup, regionals and nationals. I love a busy summer! And so does Austen. He's recently commented to us that he likes to be busy and doing something all the time and he certainly is this summer from planning baseball outings, concerts and many golf dates in between his work schedule, he's a kid that grew up on being being busy.  And, I still think he has too much time at college so really hoping he chooses to spend that extra time on the soccer field next year playing club soccer than in the bars or at parties!

Galaxy Moms Reunited