Firetruck ride

Joey and I won a prize at one the schools fundraising events.  And that prize was a ride on a firetruck.  We finally took advantage of this and I set it up that they would ride to school on the firetruck.  Talk about the excitement!  Eli was so excited!

They also agreed that they would drive by John Deere so Joey could see them.  

And when they arrived at school they did the lights, sirens and all.  All their friends were their to see it.  What a special little prize and hopefully a wonderful memory for the kids.  

 

September

September started out with Labor day weekend and we had a couple of visitors from Ohio.  Uncle Randy and Val came out to check out our new house and camp with us.  We were able to catch the Ohio State football game at the campground as well.

We made room for them in our camper, which meant Eli slept in a tent. 

He was all about sleeping in the tent and surprisingly he stayed in there every night with out any trouble.  He loved having ALL that tent to himself.

That next Tuesday after all the kids started piano lessons.  The girls were so done with violin and I was sick of fighting with them so I said they could quit violin if they tried piano. They agreed.  So far I think everyone is enjoying it.

She practicing! Photo proof!

We enjoyed some popcorn nights 

And swim started back up.  All 3 are doing swim again.

And both girls received their trophies from last season for most improved.  All smiles!  I agree that they improved a lot last swim season.  I hoping to see more improvement and more determination from them this year.  This is such a great sport to be able to age with.  You can swim, typically, with bad hips/knees and still get your exercise in.  I hope they will remember all their skills for the future.

And I was able to get a quick girls trip bike riding the trails in Des Moines.  The weather could have been better but we did not get wet.  Fun times with the girls! I like to be able to encorporate exercise in because all the bad food I eat, it cancels it out! ;)

And one of the lasts trips of the camping season we planned a kayak trip.  We camped along the Des Moines river and put our kayaks in above the campground and paddled to the campground.  The girls struggled a bit and were tired but we all made it.  Just as soon as we got back to the camper it's like the girls forgot about the tiredness and were ready to plan another one!

School Days~4th grade and 1st grade

The kids started the school year ready and excited!  We have a 1st grader ready to read and 4th graders that are ready to see all their classmates.  

We only have 2 years left with them all 3 at the same school!  I can hardly believe it!

The girls 3rd grade teacher thought so highly of this class she moved up with them and will teach them again this year.  She told us in her over 30 years of teaching she hasn't had a class like this one!  I think that speaks VOLUMES of this class.  And it's also wonderful to hear!

These girls, so grown!

We hope that you all apply yourselves and learn a ton...educationally, in your faith and in yourselves.  Hold on 2022-2023 school year, they are off!

 

Family pictures 2022

I was debating weather I should hire our family pictures or not. I wanted to buy some very large prints to hang up in our new house so I wanted to make sure we had some good ones.  I decided I needed to try doing them myself and if they didn't turn out than I would hire someone.  Exactly what my family wants is two times of family pictures! LOL! I am very happy with how they turned out! 

Here are our family pictures 2022...

 

Sweet summatime!

Summer time is always so sweet and we manage to fill it up doing lots of things.

Celebrating birthdays

Fishing! Eli loves fishing when he catches fish!

The kids had day camps scattered throughout the summer.  This was cardboard regatta and they had to make a boat and float it.

4th of July  camping and fireworks.

And an Ohio trip in for family time. 

Cousin Noah was a big hit with the girls

JJ and Eli

Sophia was there too but I didn't get a picture of her :(

And Alexis!  These 4 were being so silly!

We made it Cedar Point  while in Ohio too.  This was a highlight of the summer!

All 3 kids were tall enough to ride the bigger roller coasters, but Eli was the most brave!  He loved them.  Grandma even went on the big roller coasters as well.  Here is the train ride..this is my style of a ride ;)  Not many other pictures because I didn't want to lose my phone on the rides!

My dad was in the nursing home because of the many health issues he has had so he needed some therapy.  We were able to bust him out and spend some time with him.

The annual balloon races.  We went to the night glow.  The kids were able to get up close to see them and ask questions.  And it equaled a late night to bed. 

Boating and camping are still a big thing we do during the summer time, although this year we didn't camp as much as the Covid summers in the past but that is ok because we had a pool to enjoy as well.

Night ride!

Climbing the rocks at the lake-lake Red Rock

Lots of beach time while we boat.

Camping in Wisconsin for a week and meeting Ottumwa friends that moved.  We sure do miss them!

This summer I was able to play some drop in hockey.  It has been 18 years since I last played and I can tell.  My body is still trying to heal from this!  HA!  I still enjoyed it but I am so terrible. 

Outside sleep overs in tents--attempted.

The girls always try to spend the night but as soon as lights go out they want to come home. 

Summer is the time for fashion shows!

Summer also means special desserts like pudgy pies, clearly Eli approved.

We managed to have a fun filled summer and I am still sure I missed stuff that we did.  It was definitely filled up and I do feel like this summer was good! I think we did lots of stuff with just the right amount of downtime.  Now its back to reality and the start of school!