CATCHING UP

On Saturday morning, the kids and I drove to my parent's house. We met Mandy & Ben there and mom babysat for Allie & Ben, while Jake & Michael went golfing. Mandy, Kim & I met up with Kim's mom & sister for some serious wedding dress shopping...I think she may have found the PERFECT dress. She looks absolutely GORGEOUS in it!! We managed to squeeze in lunch and a little shopping before heading back to Mom & Dad's house.

On Saturday night, we celebrated Allie's birthday at Happy Joe's, then came back to Mom & Dad's house for cake & gift opening. Allie was pretty excited to celebrate her "early" b-day bash.

On Sunday, we had a get together with my Mom's side of the family. It was so nice visiting with my aunts, uncles & cousins. We don't get to see them very often so it was fun catching up.

On Sunday night, the kids & I along with Mandy & Ben went to Michael & Kim's for a slumber party. Michael filled up Kim's pool and the kids had a ball making their own waterslide out of her air mattress. After swimming, we had pizza and watched movies. It was back home on Monday afternoon & we were all exhausted!

TODAY

I have spent the entire day cleaning the house (I'm not done yet) and doing laundry. The kids haven't spent an entire day at home all summer. We've gone somewhere each day...waterpark, a movie, visiting friends/family, Chuck E. Cheese's, t-ball, camp, errands...somewhere...needless to they are bored by now. They've played Legos & KNEX, they got out the Polly's, they've colored, played with Play-Doh and actions figures. They've played with the Leapster & Game Boy, read books, played Barbies & Groovy Girls, ...you name it they've done it. In the past hour they've started fighting so I told them that they had to play in their rooms ALONE with the door shut. I came upstairs to put away something in Allie's room and found her asleep on her bed in the most uncomfortable looking position, so of course I took a picture! I guess playing alone isn't much fun! Tomorrow we will definitely go to the waterpark or at least run errands!

PAST FEW DAYS

We've spent the past few days out at the waterpark. Jake is so tan, it is unreal! Allie is very dark for her...she has such fair skin so she'll probably never tan like Jake & I do. She & Scott can stick together with their SPF 50, hats and shade!

Jake tackled the pink & purple slides today. The only one that he hasn't tried is the crater slide...he swears he'll go down it with Uncle Michael at Allie's party! I doubt it though!

This is a picture of Jake, Brock & Hudson on Tuesday. Hudson is moving to Seattle soon and the boys are pretty bummed out!

'06 T-Ball Pictures

Here are this year's pictures of the kids at t-ball.

ALLIE PICTURE

This is one of my all time favorite pictures of Allie. It was taken at dance class in April.

MAKING FLIP FLOPS

While the boys were at Frogs & Toads this morning, Allie & Abbie made flips flops out of ribbons & inexpensive flip flops. They turned out really cute!

FROGS & TOADS

Jake went to "Frogs & Toads" this morning Hartman Reserve. He was pretty excited that he got to hold a toad! They also got to attempt to catch frogs & toads in a pond. He said that he caught 2 snails and thought that was really cool. The attached picture is of Jake & his buddies from school (Jakob, Jacob, Luke, Carter, Hudson & Brock).

NEW GOLF CLUBS

Since Jake decided that he will play golf left handed this year (he switches each year) his left handed clubs were too small. We ended up finally finding left handed clubs at Nevada Bob's, so we bought them. Scott & Jake went golfing this afternoon to try out the clubs & according to Jake they work great! According to Scott, Jake never stops talking...I think it was a LONG afternoon on the golf course! While the boys golfed, Allie & I ran to the mall and checked out the sale prices...we didn't come home with much.

JAKE GETS BRAVE

Jake finally did it...he went down the big red slide at the waterpark today. He's been trying to get the nerve all summer and out of the blue today he decided to do it! I was betting my friend Sophie & the lifeguard Carmen that he'd chicken out. After some coaxing from his buddy Brock and another lifeguard, he went down. Once at the bottom, he yelled "that was awesome, can I go again???" He went again & loved it!! We had to call Kim and tell her that Jake went because they were both too scared to try it when she was at the waterpark with us. She swears she will go down it during Allie's birthday party!! We'll see!!!

I've included a picture of the slide itself...it is red and goes straight down...so you can get an idea of why this was a big deal for him. I also included 2 pictures of him going down the slide.

FLYING TRIP

Scott had a meeting in Moline at noon today. The kids and I rode there with him, leaving at 9:30 this morning. Kim came and picked us up and we had lunch then killed the rest of the time at Southpark Mall in Moline. Michael came and met us for a short time before Scott called and was done with his meeting. We had to take the long way home due to an accident on the bridge getting us back to Iowa. However, we were home by about 5:00. It was a quick trip, but fun to hang out with Kim & Michael!

While at Southpark, Kim & I managed to find that Old Navy had 50% off of all of their clearance items, plus I had a bag to stuff that gave me an additional 20% off. I walked out with 2 swimming suits for Allie, 3 pairs of flip flops, swimming trunks for Jake, several shirts for each child, shorts for each child & a skirt for Allie (17 items in all) and only spent $36!! I was very pleased with my finds. I only wish we would have had more time to browse. According to the clerk, all Old Navy stores are having this sale through the weekend. I may have to swing by my Old Navy before the weekend ends!

KWWL NEWS VISIT



Tonight we had our first "Go See It" event for Tiger Scouts. We took 10 boys, all going into 1st grade, to KWWL to tour the station and see the news live. They were all pretty excited. Jake was chosen to sit at Ron Steele's spot (anchor) and another boy got to sit in Ann Kerian's chair (other anchor). Jake was relieved to get Ron's chair, not Ann's!! After the news, Ian Leonard (the weather man) let the boys stand around him and he did 3 tapings that will air between the 6:00 & 10:00 news telling everyone to tune in.

Jake was a little disappointed that Ann was off today. I think he wanted to show off in front of his friends that he knows her and her family!

LAST DAY OF T-BALL






Today was the last day of t-ball for both kids. Jake really enjoyed himself and was sad that it was over. I'm amazed at how much he (& the rest of the kids) improved since last summer. They actually get competitive in Kindergarten!! Allie was happy t-ball was over. I think she was a bit tired of it. She says she likes it, but was ready to be done! We have some time off before Allie starts back up with gymnastics, dance & soccer. Jake will start flag football, soccer, CCD & Scouts once school starts.

TOTALLY TURTLES
Jacob went to a camp this morning called "Totally Turtles". It was held out at Hartman Reserve in Cedar Falls. He said that they went on a LONG hike to a pond where they looked for turtles. They didn't find any, but had brought one along to release back into the wild (which he thought was way cool). He said after the hike they had turtle shaped cookies & gatorade, made a turtle craft, played turtle, turtle, tortoise (duck, duck, goose) and learned A LOT about turtles. A fun morning for him & his buddies. Next week, he goes to "Frogs & Toads; A Warty Good Time"

His friends are left to right: Jakob C., Carter N., Brock, Jacob G., Carter B., Hudson & Luke.

MORE FAMILY VISITS!!

I love having family visit. There is just something fun about having company around. Today, Mandy, Ben & Mom came up for the day. They got to see both kids play t-ball and then we went to the waterpark. Mandy took the kids down tons of slides while Mom & I kept and eye on Ben in the baby pool. He ended up falling in love with one of the slides at the treehouse and of course he loved the Lazy River. I took him around the Lazy River while Mandy had Jake on the big slides and Ben decided he was NOT going to get out. He went limp on me and I had finally DRAG him out kicking & screaming. It was a RIOT (because he's my nephew, not my son). After a long day in the sun and water, we said our good-bye's until their next trip to Cedar Falls, which sounds like it will be for Allie's waterpark b-day party (along with Kim & Michael).

AUNT KIM'S VISIT

Kim left this afternoon. We had a great time at the waterpark and shopping. Last night we went to kid's night at Texas Roadhouse. The kids got their faces painted and got to meet the Texas Roadhouse armadillo. Both thought that was really cool. Today, t-ball was rained out, so they were disappointed that Kim couldn't see their games. However, they each got to pick out a new toy from Kim while we were shopping and they've been playing with them ever since she left!




On Thursday we welcome Mandy, Ben & Nana. We're watching t-ball games and going to the waterpark. So far the weather looks good for their visit!

WATERPARK WITH AUNT KIM

It was supposed to be a HOT and HUMID day today...a perfect day to lounge at the waterpark ALL day long. It wasn't HOT or HUMID...rather slightly cold! We still had a great time. Kim was the biggest kid of them all going from slide to slide and then freezing in between!! A fun day was had by all and we managed to get down the majority of the slides...tomorrow after t-ball we are shopping!

More pictures tomorrow night when I have more time!

COMPANY

It is going to be another busy week here. Tomorrow morning, Kim is driving up. We'll spend the day at the waterpark and the weather looks as though it will cooperate. On Tuesday morning, Kim is going to go see the kid's t-ball games, unless they are rained out, which is what the weather forecast shows. On Thursday, Mandy, Ben & Mom are driving up to see the kid's t-ball games. After the games, we are going to the waterpark. Hopefully this time it won't be too cold or rainy like the last time that Mandy & Ben were here.

We spent today running errands. We finally found headphones for Jake's Game Boy. Of course Game Boy makes certain headphones for their stuff...unlike Allie's Leapster, which just takes any old set of headphones.

Scott is waiting for it to cool down a little so that he can mow...the kids are actually playing nicely...I wonder what they are up to????

I added another old picture of the kids from Allie's b-day in '04. Hard to believe that Jake was 4 1/2 and Allie was just 3!!

JAKE IS GETTING SOOOOO OLD

I realized on Thursday that Jake is really starting to seem old. I took him and 4 friends to t-ball (we carpool) and the boys were watching the movie High School Musical on the DVD player. They all started singing along to one of the songs. After it was over, they started talking about Troy, the cool guy in the movie and how they liked him the best. They then starting singing that old song from my childhood "Jake & Julia up in a tree...K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." Then they would laugh & laugh and move onto the next friend.

Today, I again realized that Jake is getting older. He and Brock went down the Kiwi Coaster slide at the waterpark. You have to be 48 inches tall to go down it and they are tall enough (which means he can ride ALL of the slides with no parents). He had so much fun hanging out with his friend and not having his mom in line with him...time has just flown by!

SPA DAY

Jake & Scott spent the afternoon on the golf course where they decided that Jake better go back to golfing left-handed. Every year since he started golfing, which was when he was still in diapers, he switches back & forth between right & left handed clubs. We now have 2 sets of right & 1 set of left handed clubs and ALL are too small for Jake! Anyway, he is hitting much better with the left handed clubs despite their size.

Allie and I couldn't decide what to do while the boys were away. We contemplated basking in the sun at the waterpark or shopping 'til we dropped at the mall. Then Allie decided that pedicures and eye pads were the answer. So, we soaked our feet, painted our toes and I massaged her little tootsies with foot creme. She was in heaven & we had a great time.

HOMERUN

Jake had 2 home runs yesterday at t-ball. The first one was hit over the shortstops head and into outfield. He ran as fast as he could and made it around all of the bases. Once in the dugout, he gave me a "thumbs up". The second home run was a grounder between first & second base. Since Kindergarten boys don't field the ball well, it was a homerun. He was SO proud of himself.

Allie got 2 base hits at t-ball yesterday. She got out at 2nd both times because she waited too long to run after the batter hit. She hasn't quite got the concept of running to the next base down. When she was in the outfield, I noticed that she had her glove on the wrong hand...she must watch Jake closer than I thought since he is left-handed!

Next week looks to be busy again. T-ball, family visiting and of course the waterpark!!

TOOOO MUCH 4th of July!!!



I forgot to post these pictures of the kids taken on the way home from fireworks. The place that we watched fireworks from was only about 1-2 miles from home. They both crashed on the car ride home! Jake slept until shortly after 9:00 this morning & Allie slept until about 8:15 which is late for both of my kids.

FOURTH OF JULY

The kids and I made a flying trip to visit my family over the 4th. We left on Monday morning and returned home on Tuesday afternoon. We went shopping, golfing, had a waterfight, saw 2 parades, visited lots of family, grilled out, did sparklers and so on. Last night we joined our friends for the fireworks and they were great. Here are some of my favorite pics from the past couple of days. There are also more with descriptions at the bottom of this post. Off to the store then the waterpark...GO, GO, GO...