Summer So Far...

This summer has started off with a bang!

Brooks enjoyed his first big nature center camp for a few days.  He loved catching frogs and learning about our prairies. 

Arnolds Park is OPEN and we are enjoying it all - Brooks is big enough for so many rides and we are having a blast.

                        

Our first summer beach trips are underway - we enjoyed a hot day full of sun, fun, snacks, and some cold lake water.  Sun kissed tired kiddos were ready for bed that night!

Memorial Day weekend we visited my dad. The kids asked many questions again and took turns telling him all about their new interests and everything they are busy with lately.

 

Boat days are some of our favorite - swimming, snacks, and a slow ride around the lakes were the perfect way to spend father's day after brunch.

Bennett lost another tooth!  His smile is getting older and older by the minute....

After a big rain our field in the back yard filled up so much that Andy decided to take the kids for a ride! 

Our cow this year is named Root Beer. 

She is calm, adorable, sweet, and gets taken care of by 3 special kids two times a day!

Summer is such a busy special time of year where we fit in as much fun as we can handle!

Marie is 10!

 Marie Beth is 2 whole hands!  

This girl is a dreamer.

She loves people, animals, pushing herself, trying new things, sports, reading, taking care of others, making people laugh, dancing, singing, and more.

 For her party this year we gathered at the resort and swam in the indoor and outdoor water park on a beautiful day. She requested an ice cream cake and dinner at Okoboji Store.  

 We also enjoyed ice cream with her birthday buddy Aunt Martha who turned 81 on June 7.  

These two have a pretty special bond.

Marie - we love you so much. Happy Birthday sweet girl.

End of School

We said farewell to our wonderful teachers for the 2018-2019 school year!

Marie had a fabulous year with Mrs. Tepfer learning so much about herself, reading, science, social studies, and more. 

Bennett had so much fun with Mrs. Munden learning about space, math, reading, and stepping up his building skills in makerspace too.  

 

Brooks had a great year in preschool too!

Ms. Meredith taught him so much but especially focused on his writing and ABCs. 

 

 One of his favorite days was his spring program where he got to dress up as a doctor.

In the 2019-2020 school year we will have a 4th grader, 1st grader, and Pre-K student.  

They will all be in the same building!  It will be fun seeing them walk in together every day.  

Here comes summer!

Dancing the night away

Mother's Day weekend is always a blur - it doubles as dance recital weekend too.  

Marie is a dancer and she loves it!  She has no stress about it, she loves watching her friends succeed at it, she tries her best, she even added 2 classes this past year just so she could be on stage longer. 

I love watching her. 

So, our weekend is full of 2 shows with hair, makeup, costume changes, 

hair changes for each song (a new request this year).  

 Brooks saw some of the show but the poor guy was so tired Friday night.

Sunday was Mother's day - the kids and Andy made the day special like always complete with breakfast in bed, a hike in one of my favorite places, and a boat ride.  Life is good!

Birthday fun begins!

 When Andy's birthday arrives it means our crazy month of celebrations begin!  

This year, we made a homemade raspberry cream cheese frozen pie and at some yummy BBQ. 

 

 We really are blessed with this guy.  The kids thought of 36 things that made him so special and wrote them down on their card for him.  

Happy Birthday Andy - here's to many more!

Trips are fun

 We surprised Grandma Nel with a girls trip to Chicago for Christmas.  

Mom and Dad used to live there and that is where Keri was born.   A trip back down memory lane, plus new adventures, plus a tour around Dad's old college were on our to-do list.  

 

Our first stop after a night in Waterloo was National College of Chiropractic.  We had fun just walking around and listening to Mom talk about their time here. She recalled where dad had classes, where their friends lived on campus, and looking at portraits of Dad's professors.  We also spent time in the library looking through old yearbooks.

 

 After finding our hotel and getting settled, we took off to the Sky Deck in the Willis Tower. 

We waited in line for quite awhile but we were having fun people watching and perfecting out poses for the big glass box above the city.

After a quick pretzel we were off to Navy Pier.  

There we rode the Ferris Wheel and walked around the water.  

Grabbed popcorn, and of course ate some deep dish pizza.

The next morning we walked around memorial park, saw the bean, walked along the water, and enjoyed the beautiful early spring day. 

 After a shower and quick lunch we got ready for the main event: HAMILTON!!!!

 Everyone LOVED the show and we will for sure try to see it again. After the show we had dinner and watched a movie in bed with snacks.  The next day we drove all the way back home, but man was it a great trip.  Marie is now a lover of Chicago and wants to go back soon!

While we were away, the boys had some fun of their own. 

They took a trip to Minneapolis where the final four was happening. 

They spent their time testing their athletic abilities, watching bball practice and games, and also hit up the zoo!

 At the zoo they ran into Eddie and Jess of all people!  small world - they had fun rubbing it in that they were seeing each other without Marie and me and sent us this picture!

There's always something going on...

 We may live in a small community but we are always hopping from one thing to the next. 

Bennett is loving his kindergarten year - especially the art class and making murals. 

 Brooks riding his new bike on the first warm day of spring. Our neighborhood is always hopping with kids.

 Our dogs are just the sweetest....and naughtiest.  recently they took off for a little run and Rex wound up inside the Y! good grief....

 Brooks and Bennett designing the perfect leprechaun trap for preschool.

 Nature Center space corner was recently revamped-our future NASA employee was impressed.

 Family Fun night at the Elementary School.

 STEM fair at school.  Marie conducted her own experiment testing dogs she knows and loves to see who was the smartest! She worked so hard on this and loved sharing her results.