fresh picked whimsy

ever grateful, ever true!

Last week was Purdue's Homecoming, Alumni Day, Family Day and AGD Dad's Day...all rolled up in one!  And, we had it all covered!

{i painted those pumpkins and surprised our favorite Boilermaker with them!}

We headed up to celebrate with Katie for the day.  I hadn't been to a Purdue football game in years.  It was so much fun.  We soaked it all up and loved every minute of it...except for the part where we lost...BIG TIME.

We walked around campus for a bit and got some great pics.  (forget you saw these if you're on our Christmas card list) :)

I adore this picture of our babies in front of the clock tower...

that one in the middle is in the college application process now.  He's hoping to join his big sis and become an official Boilermaker next year.  {prayers and wishes gratefully accepted, thank you!}

It was a really hot day and we totally crashed in the Union for an hour before dinner. 

 Mark seriously fell fast asleep.  Katie instagrammed him.  It was pretty funny!

We LOVE going back home to Purdue every chance we get.  Fortunately for us, that's quite often...thanks to our girl!

Had a blast, Purdue!  Same time next year!

HAIL PURDUE! 

 

senior week

We just wrapped up Senior Week for football. A senior.  Wow.

We had all kinds of fun surprises for the guys every day of the week.  It was a lot of fun planning and making it happen...starting with last Sunday night when we (all of the senior's parents) decorated their lockers in the locker room. 

Handmade penants for our guys..

I hung this in his locker...Mark & Riley as Senior Greyhounds...27 years apart...

I also made a special candy story for Riley's locker.  I did something similar to this for Mark when we were in high school and he was on the team. 

For the past few weeks i'd been buying different kinds of candy that i thought would work well with a football story.  Then, i just put it all together like this...

It was a hit the next day when he found it in his locker.  i had a lot of fun making it!

Each week 5 seniors give a speech to the entire team about their football experience and what being a greyhound means to them.  This week was Riley's turn...so proud of him!

There were treats or dinners every night after practice. 

And, surprises like pictures of their moms (and some dads) wearing their helmets (a senior week tradition!). 

The week culminated with the big Friday night game against one of our biggest rivals.  We lined up for pictures with our seniors and introductions in front of the stands.  The boys gave their moms roses...

It was a rough game, but ended with a WIN for our greyhounds!

and celebrations with Riley's "brothers"...

and Katelyn & Griffin...

and PawPaw...

So proud of our senior and all the boys.  I cannot believe how fast it's going by!

Next week will be our last home game of the regular season and it's being televised on ESPNU!  These are exciting times!

Memories in the making here...

GO HOUNDS!!!

friday night lights

It's football season, friends!  Can i get a woot woot!!!??

This being Riley's senior year, all things football are extra special.  It's a year of "lasts".  So, you will be seeing more posts about my greyhound this fall. 

For the past two years i have been making the locker signs for the team.  Of course i loved designing them.  But assembling and hanging them is a labor of love.  There are 250+ guys on the team!! Thankfully, i had lots of parent volunteers helping me hang them all over the school!

Looking back on Riley's past four year's locker signs really shows how he has transformed from a boy to a young man...

freshman year...

sophomore year...

junior year...

and senior year...

Wow, that went by quickly.

Happy friday, friends!

 

GO GREYHOUNDS!

 

what's your hurry, summer?

We've tried to squeeze it all out.  School starts tomorrow.  Another fantastic summer for the McDonough's is in the books.

Memories have been made at the church carnival...

lazy days by the pool...

backyard summer bonfires with friends...

fun in the studio...

precious family days at the beach...

Margarita Fridays with the world's greatest neighbors...

football workouts and two-a-days...

backyard harvests...

Late night snack runs...

and board games...

time spent with cousins...

and sisters who are missed...

 I'm thankful for the time spent with the ones i love and for the promise of knowing there are only 289 days until Summer Break 2014!

deep fried fun

For my family, it just wouldn't be summer without a trip to the Indiana State Fair.

The older the kids get, the harder it is to find a time when all 5 of us can get out to the fair together.  This year, that time was early on a Sunday morning.  We got there when the gates opened and the crowds and temps were low.  It was fantastic! 

We've never been in the morning before.  But, elephant ears are just as good for breakfast as they are for dessert...

Don't have a cow...

mooooo.

at least we skipped the doughnut burgers...

ewwww.

Griff was happy to find the Lego Road Trip at the fair this year.

We all made our own racers at the hands on experience.

then the boys headed over to the real racers...the go-carts...

 
We love the animals, too.  especially the babies...

and the chance to get up close and personal with a dairy cow...

i thought this cow was the cutest...

and, what's not to love about state fair kitsch.  Like the giant cheddar cheese sculpture...

and the world's largest popcorn ball...

and why not one more deep fried treat?  deep fried oreos anyone?...

  Summer is fading fast.  This one heads off for her sophomore year at Purdue in just one week and the boys start back to school in 9 days.  We're savoring every last minute of our time together!

Thanks to the Indiana State Fair...for more delicious family memories in the books!

 

friday funnies

Remember the days of film photography?...when you had to be selective about what you took pictures of because it was expensive to buy and develop it?  That's probably the thing i love most about digital...i snap pics ALL THE TIME...of even the silliest things.  Here are just a few of the funny shots i found in my camera recently...

the day one of our beach chairs failed on Griffin...

Culvers may want to rethink this flavor...

Found this on the kitchen counter one morning...

we seek out the silly hats wherever we go...

 

isn't this a lovely picture of katie a pineapple?

i bake a pan of brownies and this is what my kids do...

really?

Finally...this was a snapchat that we sent to our Georgia family.  We were sending individual goofy pics back and forth and then decided to get together for one big one.  It was griff's bday and he was the only one who didn't make a goofy face...which is funny because he's usually the goofiest of all.

i love my family.

♥
Happy Friday, friends! Go have some silly fun!

and then he grew up...

How does this happen?  There was this little boy with sleepy eyes and a smile to melt your heart. He loved monster trucks, playing in the dirt, snuggling with his mom, wrestling with his dad and ate peanut butter & jelly sandwiches every. single. day.  and now this...

 Senior picture time.

 i cannot wrap my brain around it.

 

I know, i know.  This is what it's all about, right?  This is when all the years of parenting and encouraging and cheering and loving and nurturing comes to a pinnacle.  This is when we nudge them to the edge of the nest and give them a gentle push. 

But, 18 years just does not seem long enough.  How will i ever find the strength to let you go?  I know that God has BIG plans for you.  I know you will make a difference in this world.  I know you will make us proud.  I know you will make Him proud.

i love you, Riley Jae.  You are an amazing young man and i'm so blessed that you are mine.   

our adventures in the little rustbucket by the sea

Truth be told, our rental wasn't everything we'd hoped it would be.  My heart sank when we first arrived.  Renters beware: photos are often creatively and cleverly taken.  It took me a full day to get over the serious flaws of this beach house and the $$ we had saved and spent to rent it.  This house is in need of an extreme home makeover, inside and out.  Mark gave me a pep talk and he was right...all that mattered was that we were together, right on the beach and that was where we would be spending all of our time. 

Riley and I hung white twinkle lights on the deck railing (which was about to fall off).  Trust me when i tell you this house looks so much better at twilight than in full daylight.  The roof was metal and totally rusted.  Everytime i looked at it, i couldn't help but hear the B-52's singing "TIN ROOF...RUSTED!!!" By mid-week we were all laughing and joking about our stay at the little rustbucket by the sea. We McD's know how to have fun regardless of where we are...

we brought a telescope from home and got to see the Super Moon up close and personal!  ...and the millions of stars that you can see when you are away from city lights is UNBELIEVABLE!

Griffin likes to dig. 

Huge holes. 

To China.

we all love the warm Gulf water.  Nothing better than floating in the surf!

We always get fresh seafood one night from the local seafood market.  We ate by moonlight and twinkle light...

a trip to Gulf Shores wouldn't be complete without a ride on the Wild Woody...

 a stop at Souvenir City...

and lunch at The Hangout...

We love going to Our Lady of the Gulf Catholic Church, in GS, too.  They serve holy water on the half shell here. Love that!

Riley was faithful to his daily workouts, even on vacation.  He moved that giant tire up and down the beach every morning.

I was exhaused just taking that picture.  Football season is fast approaching...no time for slackers.

BOOM BOOM FIRE POWAHHHHH !!!! {name that movie}

Time to cool off

Kate loves to draw in the sand...

and the guys always bury dad every year...

The Blue Angels practiced over our beach every day.  That was incredible to see!

 

 

time for a break...

it was pretty awesome to be so close to the shore...

Special times with my favorite people in the whole wide world...

These two guys sum it up...

Life is good, indeed! 

a little vacay goes a long way...ay

Took some time off to get away with my sweet little family...

We pretty much just point the van south and just keep driving until we see the ocean.

 Gulf Shores, Alabama is our destination.

We even brought a couple of stowaways on our trip!...

Our week on the seashore is what we look forward to all year.  But it is always lovely to get back home, too.

We've been home for a little over a week and i'm still finding sand in bags and towels and the van...always a sweet reminder of fun days spent together.  We had such a wonderful trip and made lots of memories.  As we ease back into our landlocked, busy life at home, i will share some of the highlights over the next few days...

thanks for your patience as i loved on my family, friends.  Hope you're having a great summer, too!

much loved fathers and grandfathers

Posting this a few days after a great Father's Day weekend.  Always running behind...it's how i roll.  LOL!  Blessed to be celebrating my wonderful husband and father of our kiddos...

and also our amazing Dads, too.  

Mark's Dad, who we call "Duz" and our kids call "Poppy"...

Riley imitating a relaxing Poppy...

father & son...

Our kids with my dad, who they call "PawPaw"...

father & daughter...

I loved scrolling through facebook on Father's Day seeing throwback pics of friends with their Dads.  So much love.  So many happy memories.

My Dad and his girls...on the beach at Cape May, NJ...circa 1974? (me in front)...

Mark, his dad and brother...circa 1976?...

and one very sweet father's day card that Griffin made for his grandfather.  I thought it was so thoughtful and insightful for a 12 year old boy...

Dads rock!