Trick-or-Treat, Smell my Feet!

Earlier this month we went to this fabulous pumpkin patch where we actually clipped the pumpkin from the vine. Isaiah LOVED it! They also had a zip-line for people to do, but we decided Isaiah was a bit too young. He did, however, shoot tennis balls from a air gun out onto their lake. You were to try and hit these floating things on the lake to win stuff. We didn't win anything, but sheer giggles.

Isaiah's costume was an Iron Man this year. He's got like 3-4 action figures. Kevin took him trick-or-treating around my parent's house. He actually said, "Trick or Treat, Smell my feet!!" Nathan dressed up as a huge lion too!....too funny! The night before beggar's night, Kevin let Isaiah carve his own pumpkin....what a hoot!

Farewell, Summer

For our final shin-dig of the summer, we decided to join our friends, the Goulds, at Adventureland one final time. It was the 2nd to last weekend and the lines were insanely long. We did manage to have some fun, though.

Just Monkey-ing Around

While the kids were here on their time with us, we took them to the zoo with our great friends, the Goulds. The kids had a ton of fun, I think. Ben and Isaiah even got their faces painted!

Up, Up, and Away...

It has been forever since I have posted. Partially because I started this job, got sick, and honestly have been insanely busy as a family. In early August, the Indianola Balloon Festival was in town (in Indianola, tee hee). We went down the final night. They had amazing balloons including a bald eagle. We got to see some take off and some land, which doesn't happen very often! Isaiah loved it. I wish I could upload all the pictures he took, but it would be 20+ of the ground, the balloon, and his face! He loves the camera.

National America Miss...Abbey rocked this!

Abbey participated in National America Miss (NAM) for the 2nd year in a row this past weekend in Waterloo, Iowa. Mimi and Papa (Kevin's parents-for those of you who do not know) and Grandma and Papa (Greg's parents) made the long journey into corn land to show our support. However, it was Ashley who traveled a day early from Uganda to support her who wowed us all with her energy. Abbey, of course, was naturally beautiful in her blue ball gown by Tom's side for the formal wear competition. Her inner beauty was seen by the judges during acting (which she took home 1st place), and the personal introduction/interview because she came in 3rd runner up for the crown! Truly awesome as she was one of the youngest in her division this year! We were all so very proud of her!

It was great to spend time with Ben and Tom & Lynn as well!!!!

Family Fun

The older kids came out for visits this summer. We totally forgot to take pictures when they were here in June. We did go to Adventureland for a day with our friends The Gould and The Workmans. We also had a bit of excitement when the city fire department showed up during a family night with the Goulds with a campfire (well, not really a campfire, but none-the-less). They were very pleasant and we extinguished it with no problems. Abbey, my mom, my sister, and I also went to a PURE Fashion Show. It is this fantastic Christian girls' group who promotes modesty and self-esteem. Abbey fell in love and is looking into seeing if her home church will start one in the Quad Cities...so stay tuned.

Ben's visit was cut short due to a doctor's appointment, but we still managed to have tons of fun checking out books from the library, playing Transformers, and our main event: a visit to American Dream Cars. The boys (including Kevin) all had huge eyes walking through there! I was just interested in how cute I'd look in them (haha!). Of course, the boys needed to pose with "Bumblebee".

Abbey's visit was full of drama and laughs. We were supposed to go to the waterpark, but decided to do the economic thing and create one at home. We filled the cooler with water balloons, busted out the squirt guns, the kid pool, and of course, the slip and slide. Tons of fun...and total cost was about $2.50 (the water balloons). We also went camping and I discovered I am not a camping kind of gal. Next time, we are using a camper or I am not going! Unfortunately, in our haste to get the car packed, we forgot the camera (thank goodness b/c I was not smiling at all). Abbey and I ventured to the craft store and made bracelets from string and hemp (Kevin's birthday gifts). We also toured Valley Junction's Atomic Garage and found an adorable polka-dot skirt for her 50's dance for NAM. Yes, it was a fun....fun....fun time!

April Celebrations

Our great friends, the Goulds, celebrated the 1 year birthday of their youngest sweetie, Rosamae. Isaiah and I were lucky to attend her birthday celebrations at Chuckie Cheese along with several old friends from JCFC. She got lots of awesome stuff, the kids had a great time, and the parents had a chance to socialize. However, that being said....we will never celebrate Isaiah's (or any other toddler's) birthday at Chuckie Cheese. Parents there are crazy letting their children run wild. I was so frustrated with the older children being mean to the younger ones, even with the parents standing there. But enough about that, it was an awesome birthday party! Rosamae was so funny eating her cake, she kept looking at Tammy and Shawn as if to say, "So TODAY you want me to make a mess? You people are all crazy!" It was classic!

Tonight's the night before Easter. Tomorrow we have a fun-filled day of church, dying Easter eggs, dinner and Easter Bunny baskets. We are starting a new tradition this year with a recipe for "Resurrection Cookies" I found in a Christian mom's magazine. Basically, you make the cookies the night before and with each step, you read a part of the Passion. For example, you smash the chocolate pieces and you tell the part of the story where Jesus was beaten by the Romans. The next morning, you open the oven (you leave them in there overnight with it turned off) and eat them. They are hallow on the inside! You continue to talk about Jesus' sacrifice and the shock the disciples had when they realized Jesus was alive. I can't wait!

The picture of Isaiah with the nest is this little bird's nest he made at Jalayne's on Friday with pretzels, frosting, a Peep, and jelly beans. So cute...and tasty!

Missing Diamond

As most of our family and friends know, we adopted a 2 year old female German Shepherd from the Marion County Humane Society. Her name is Diamond and she is absolutely gorgeous! We got her on a Tuesday evening and brought her home. She immediately was attached to Kevin's hip and very loving to the rest of us. Despite her incident with the neighbor's cat, she continued to grow to be apart of our family. However, on Monday a horrific event happened. Isaiah opened the door and she bolted, going after a neighborhood teenage girl. Needless to say, we were floored! The girl is okay, one small bite. Animal Control took her for 10 days, but we decided that Diamond was best suited for a farm out of the city. We've contacted the shelter and asked them what they would like us to do. Diamond will be missed, but know this is what is best for all involved. We love her and know she will be a great dog for someone else.

The finals days of 2010

A few days after Christmas, Abbey and Ben came back out for a longer visit. Abbey had a sleep over with Katelynn Gould and her friend, Jasimyn. I gave them all makeovers prior to them munching on pickles, chips, orange soda, and mint chocolate ice cream....gross!!!!! I am apparently crazy because I also brought Nathan over so I had 6 kids in the house by myself while Kevin was at work. We survived though! The boys went out and played in the snow and brought Isaiah back into me crying telling me they threw snowballs at him. Oh, bother! Surprisingly, he survived and got them both back with the Nerf gun later.

A little bit about...New Year's Eve. My parents spent New Years' with the little man while we rang in 2011 at my friends', Ashley and Ryan, wedding in Rock Island, Moline. Tons of fun....and memories! I am sooo not ready to go back to work, but even more dreading writing my comprehensive exam for my Masters. I am 1 class away! Woohoo!

"Yatas & Santas"

Wow! The holiday times have been busy for us, as I am sure they have been for most. For Isaiah's 3rd birthday we invited several friends and family over for chili and cake. Last time we counted there were approximately 20 people here besides us (and Abbey and Ben)...yikes! It was hectic at times, but everyone seemed to have a good time. Isaiah especially loved the "yata" (pinata) we got him for surprises for his friends. Unfortunately, our camera didn't have batteries, so we relied on Mom and Dad for pictures.

A couple days before Christmas, my parents took Isaiah to Bass Pro Shop's Winter Wonderland to see santa. He asked santa for "Bumblebee" from Transformers, but when asked later he said he asked for a puppy. No, he did not get the puppy...this year. We were grateful beyond words this Christmas. A lady at the hotel, graciously gave us 2 Manheim Steamroller tickets so Kevin and I were able to have a short, but amazing date as we sat 5 or 6 rows from the front. They were so great! Additionally, my parents and siblings gave Isaiah some awesome toys, Tom and Lynn gave him some more (super cute clothes, too!), and my parents gave us things we really needed (a tire & money to pay off my pass due car loan).

Our most shocking surprise, was coming home on Christmas Eve to a kitchen, freezer, and pantry full of groceries. Additionally, presents from this "Secret Santa" for Isaiah and us with a note saying to put them under the tree. We are/were in complete shock and cannot believe how blessed we are to have such amazing friends to do something like this for us. It renewed the CHRISTmas spirit and showed us Christ's love for us in a very DIRECT way! Thank you, Secret Santa! We cannot wait until next year to pass a blessing on to someone else...