Uncle Nathan is Here!

 With Andy finishing his residency in Sioux City, the kids and I are needing to find ways to fill our time. Thankfully we have lots of family around to help us out!

This past week, Uncle Nathan came to play!

A little rain didn't slow us down.

Trips to the Maritime museum and Arnold's Park passed the time until the sunshine came!

 We enjoyed time on the boat with plenty of swimming and even tubing.

 Bennett enjoyed his first tube ride...constantly saying, 'faster faster faster!'

 Brooks loved spending the hot afternoon on the floor of the boat.

He had snacks, Papa, and plenty of attention.

Thanks Uncle Nathan - it was such a great weekend!

Aberdeen Trip

After living in our house for approximately 6 days, we decided a little break from unpacking would be nice. So we loaded up for a trip to Aberdeen, SD to visit Eddie, Jess, Hudson, and Beckett.

Everyone of us was ready for some play time!

We packed in a lot of fun in just 2 days.

Friday night was full of celebrating as we enjoyed treats and gifts for several birthdays, anniversaries, Andy's upcoming graduation from residency, and the new baby coming to the Dickes clan October 2015!

Saturday started out with a trip to Storybook Land. So many photos, so little time!

They followed the yellow brick road to all the slides and characters. 

 Beckett found a favorite spot early on.

 Captain Hook was there too!

 Of course our kids found the horses.

 We finished the trip with a ride on the carousel!

After some lunch and rest time, we decided to take the kids to the pool!  I have no pictures, but it was a great time...evidenced by the sound asleep kiddos.

 We had such a great visit - thanks for the hospitality Dickes Family!

Fun with Cousins

We spent some time in Sheldon last week playing with the Van Beek girls.

I love that the kids have cousins close to their age.  

At the end of our visits everyone is tired, sweaty, and ready to collapse - sign of a good time, right?

The kids played at the park, watched Abby play her softball game, and played with the puppies out at their farm.

Marie is Six

When I was One, I had just begun.

When I was Two, I was nearly new.

When I was Three, I was hardly me.

When I was Four, I was not much more.

When I was Five, I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I'm as clever as ever. 

So I think I'll be six now and forever. 

by A.A. Milne

 Marie celebrated her 6th birthday with pizza, ice cream, new skates, and playing with puppies. 

At 6, she wants to be a singer when she grows up.

Her favorite color is pink, she likes riding her bike and her scooter, she likes playing on the iPad.

She will be entering Kindergarten in the fall.

Marie, you are such a smart girl who is very helpful with your brothers and our dogs. 

You are sensitive and thoughtful, funny, and silly. 

We love watching you grow, but you can slow down anytime...

Hello Spirit Lake

If I were to list the things we have done and accomplished in the matter of one week it would probably blow up my computer....it's amazing. 

Every box is unpacked, the house is coming together, and we are settling in.

 One of the many projects Andy has completed is our kitchen table redo. He sanded it down and painted it turquoise and brown. It is gorgeous and here we are enjoying our first home cooked meal in the new house on the table.

 We have made time for fun, too.

We went to Arnold's Park, ate at Bob's, had ice cream, went fishing, played in the water, played at parks, and ventured out in the town exploring.

 We are really starting to feel at home!

Goodbye Sioux City

During the last week in May, we were packed up and moved out of our home in Sioux City.

It was bittersweet as all of our moves have been. 

We made sure to enjoy a few of our favorite places the last week.

We stopped by "Play All Day" and the kids had a great time...even Brooks was old enough to play.

We ate dinner at The North End Zone...our favorite place. The kids played video games while we ate the best.pizza.ever. 

We also celebrated Andy's birthday during that last week.

Andy is finishing up the last few weeks of residency here and there with his graduation to come the end of June.

Sioux City was a great place to live and we really enjoyed our 3 years there. 

That home was perfect for us and it will always be special to us. 

We not only welcomed 2 boys while living there, but also 2 dogs!

It was a busy, fast, and memorable 3 years!