Skinner Family

Horn's Ferry Hideaway

2012-02-12T15:16:00.001-06:00

I was working in Dallas all last week. I got in Friday night and Josh came and picked me up from the airport. I had planned a little getaway for the two of us and didn't tell Josh what we were doing. I booked a little cabin off of Red Rock Lake near Pella. Its called Horn's Ferry Hideaway. Such a cute little place! It is built by the old Horn's Ferry route and bridge. The bridge collapsed in the late 80s but it is still there for pedestrians to walk across. I am sure it is awesome in the non winter months. There is a bald eagle reserve nearby, lots of hiking and bike trails, and the lake is just a few feet from the cabin. It was so nice and cozy with a fireplace that kept the cabin nice and toasty. There was a double jetted tub, small kitchen and it was all brand new. We didn't use the screened in porch or BBQ, but maybe next time ;)

That night we drove into pella and had a great meal at a Greek restaurant, and drove back there for breakfast and ate at the windmill cafe. On Saturday we drove to Jordan Creek and did some shopping and saw Safe House, pretty good movie.

Was GREAT to get away for even just a little while. We sat at breakfast and watched a family eating. They had three kids about the same age as ours. We were laughing as they kept making them sit down, correcting bad behaviors, telling them to eat...we just sat there and enjoyed our breakfast...it was surreal!

It was just one big room and a bathroom, cozy little fireplace

Obviously a picture from the summer, not one I took, but you get the idea

Kaldera restaurant in Pella - great food and atmosphere and wine!

Little dive we found for breakfast right off the square

We are so lucky that Em watched Kenna and that Gona and Baca helped last week while I was gone AND watched the boys this weekend. So nice to get away and do nothing together...we never get to do that. Happy early Valentine's Day babe :)

SNOW!

2012-02-12T14:51:00.003-06:00

It finally snowed the other day! We have had an almost entire winter with very little snow. Finally we had some snow last weekend! It was the great wet kind that was perfect for snowmen and snowballs! Daddy and the kids played outside for a long time and had hot chocolate. This kind of snow is rare in Iowa...usually it snows and freezes into ice before you can play in it!

--Daddy's "Mr. Peanut" snowman--

Family Fun NIght

2012-02-12T14:38:00.002-06:00

Family Fun Night was a few weekends ago. I can say it was bittersweet because I volunteered to run the raffle. Little did I know that that meant visiting every business in Ankeny, endless phone calls, emails, follow ups....so glad its over! I did get 65 prizes donated though...and that was a win! That night I took the kids and Josh stayed for an hour before he went to his work party. Luckily Auntie Em and Kade came because handling all three of them with the carnival would have been nuts!

--each grade had a silent auction basket, from scrapbooking to camping themes--

--Kenna and I manning the raffle table. I got prizes like games, massages and photography packages--

--Kenna enjoying her dinner--

--Zachey ate dessert first--

--one of the games (cakewalk)--

There were tons of games and the kids had fun. I don't think I will help with it next year....so much work! That evening we went to Josh's work party. It is amazing to see how far his company has come in just a year...hard to believe that there were only a handful of people when Josh started. There were like 400 people at the party. They flew in dueling pianos and piano players. Food was good, and fun to meet many of the people that he has been talking about.

Jaffey and Blanket

2012-02-03T21:57:00.001-06:00

Meet Zachey's two most prized possessions - Jaffey and Blanket He sleeps with them, watches TV with them, brushes his teeth with them, you get the picture.

Last week he kept saying "Jaffey have boogie nose, mommy, you fix it?" I just thought he was pretending? He is ALWAYS pretending...he pretends he has a little "computer" that he looks at. He pretends that we need to be quiet so we don't wake up the dinosaurs. He pretends that he is a dog, frog, cat, (insert any animal here.) But he kept saying it so insistently that I finally looked at the giraffe.

In doing so, I saw what he was talking about. The string was coming undone on Jaffey's nose!

Well - we will have to fix Jaffey's "boogie nose" aka booger nose. Zachey, you are too cute!

Allie Comes to Play

2012-02-03T21:44:00.001-06:00

Two weekends ago Kenna had a play date with her friend Allie. They have been in dance and soccer together and really just have never hung out outside of those activities. Josh usually takes Kenna to dance so he coordinated the play date. They played in the snow (we have only had like a week where we even had any snow!!) had a snack, played dolls and seemed to play really well together! Its funny how Kenna seems to gravitate to friends that hold their own, challenge her and don't cave to her very "in charge" attitude. I love that she chooses strong friends!

Grayson Pics

2012-02-03T21:41:00.001-06:00

I feel like my little boy is growing up so fast! I need to take more pictures!!!

This one is what I call "Freddie Kruger" I must have missed a nail and he scratched the heck out of his face! They were gone in a few days.

He is loving his jumping jack. Will bounce in it for hours.

The poor guy has had so many ear infections...it seems that he just gets over one, starts sleeping well again, and gets another one. Hoping that with the antibiotic he is on now will kick it for good!

Look Who is Crawling!!

2012-02-03T21:21:00.001-06:00

He beat the other two! I think Kenna crawled at 10 months and Zachey 9....Grayson is just 8 months and on the move!!

Rollin on the RIver

2012-02-03T21:17:00.001-06:00

Impromptu dance party. Both Kenna and Zachey are in kindermusik and love to dance. Tina says that Kenna has "music in her blood" I love it :)

McKenna Happenings

2012-01-19T15:50:00.001-06:00

Mrs. Stevenson has said that McKenna is a model student. She has won the very prestigious bee award for behavior twice. Only one person per grade wins it a week, so having won it twice is quite the honor! It is rather ironic that on the very day she got her picture taken to put on the beehive wall, we were sent home a "minor slip." These are sent home when students receive a reprimand of some sort. You could tell she was all on edge about it. After the boys went to bed I told her we needed to talk. (She didn't realize I had found it in her bag.) So Josh, Kenna and I had a very grown up conversation about behavior. Apparently, Libby and Kenna both wanted to play with blocks during center time. Sounds as if Kenna pushed Libby first and they kept hitting eachother....yikes. We asked her how she could have better handled it, and she gave us lots of better choices. Then we asked her what she felt an appropriate punishment was. She decided no TV for a week. And I am very certain she learned her lesson. I wrote Mrs. Stevenson and apologized. She ensured us that it was an isolated incident and was two sided. Still wasn't happy to get a behavior report, but seems as if it won't happen again.

On a lighter note, something that had me rolling laughing. We are teaching Zachey big, bigger biggest (he really knows it already, but sometimes fun to put things out of order.) In the car coming home from Eski's I asked Zachey who the biggest kid was, he replies "Kenna!" Then I asked who the smallest kid was he says "Grayson!" Then Kenna says, and Zachey is the middlest! Maybe you had to be there, but I thought it was hilarious!

Karate

2012-01-14T13:58:00.003-06:00

Kenna has been talking about karate for a few months. I told her that if she still wanted to do it after Christmas we would look into it (thinking she would forget about it.) Well, she didn't. So, we paid for a "trial class" where they give you a little karate outfit and she gets to try out two sessions with their lead instructor. Man was I impressed! In 30 minutes he talked about goal setting, hard work, respect, and challenging yourself. She ate it up! We were in a little bit of sticker shock when we heard the 6 month price, but thought we would try it out to see if she would stick with it.

I hope she does, I just LOVE what it is teaching her. Already she has incorporated some of the learnings. One thing he focuses on is facing challenges with the attitude of "bring it on" versus - that is too hard. I have already heard her say "bring it on" a few times since last week when I asked her to read me a book that may have been a little challenging :)

It has also been good for her because there are 6 "beginner" classes a week. You can come to whichever two fit your schedule. So, she has a different class each time, with all different skill levels. It was good to see how she handled being the least experienced in the class. She watched others, asked for help and really has quite a good roundhouse kick ;)

this was the night of her white belt "ceremony"

she has great form when punching (in the middle)

she needs to learn that accuracy is more important than power - getting there

looks so cute in her little karate outfit (that is wayyyyy too big ;)

Leftover Picture

2012-01-14T13:47:00.001-06:00

I don't think I ever posted this picture from a fun night we had at the Andersens? It was us, Stones, them, and Montegnas. Fun to see how all of the kids are getting so big! They definitely outnumber us now....9 of them!

Wreaths

2012-01-14T13:35:00.003-06:00

I wish I had taken a picture of both of these, but somehow only managed to capture one. Kenna and I thought it would be fun to make her two best girlfriends (Chloe and Peyton) wreaths this year for Christmas. But not Christmas wreaths...ones they can hang in their room. So we bought a 12" wire wreath form and a ton of different ribbons. Chloe's was yellow, silver and pink. Peytons is pink, silver and purple. Then Kenna painted a little letter for each of them and we tied a gazillion knots. I think it turned out really cute, and the girls seemed to like them!!

Silliness and Fondue

2012-01-14T13:35:00.001-06:00

Just some funny pictures from life lately. I have been spending my "days off" preparing for my substitute teaching gig in March (sub-ing for a counselor at the elementary level.) I am also picking McKenna up from school everyday, which has been both wonderful and challenging as I try to mute my conference call run up to the school, get her, run home, find something for her to do and unmute. She goes back to YMCA afterschool care the middle of February because I have a lot of traveling that month...and there really is no way Josh can get her.

I also had a great date with Zachey the other day. We went to the library and played with the new lego table. Then off to the park (it was 60 DEGREES in January!) Also had some great time with Kenna. I took her and Peyton to the muppet movie last weekend. Pretty hilarious! There was lots of adult humor, I would totally recommend it!!

Below is a picture of Zachey pretending to be Rylee. He is really into pretending these days, dinosaurs, superman, cars, whatever is laying around. He has started talking as if he is the primary caregiver of his giraffe "jaffey." "Jaffey sad mom" or "Jaffey weally tired." So cute!

Also last weekend we had an impromptu fondue night. Luckily I had some frozen Gruyere and Fontina cheese in the freezer, so whipped up a cheese fondue. Cut apples, bread, peppers, broccoli and carrots for the appetizer. Then we had pork chops as a main course and finished with chocolate fondue for dessert with marshmallows, pretzels, and bananas. The kids weren't a fan of the cheese, probably because it was made with white wine, but they definitely loved the dessert!!

Grayson is doing a good job of sitting on his own now. He still topples when he isn't paying attention. This was a cute picture because Kenna is his favorite person in the whole world. No one can make him laugh like her. Also, you can see my new favorite pictures in the background. We got 11x14s of them and hung them on the wall. Hopefully will be able to update each time we have a photo session :)

More Christmas Pictures

2012-01-02T19:58:00.001-06:00

Some pictures from the holidays that were sent to me after my posts.

Grayson opening a gift at Gona's

We got these gloves as a white elephant gift, Zachey LOVED the "globs"

Emmi got everyone socks, YAY socks!

Kenna smiling through the silly glasses

What a fabulous Christmas :)

Casita Update

2012-01-02T19:18:00.001-06:00

Gona and Baca just got back from Mexico. They stayed in their Casita and spent Christmas on their patio toasting in the Christmas season. It is realy homey now, complete with bikes, new furniture and a cozy little backyard! Will be fun when the kids get older and we can all make a trip down there :)

Major Milestones

2012-01-02T18:35:00.000-06:00

A few major events in the Skinner house. Grayson has one tooth (bottom right) and is most assuredly working on more. He has not been taking naps/eating/happy at all....poor Eski this week. Poor mommy at night...

On an unrelated note, I decided that I will stop nursing him. I made it 7 months, but the last few days he has been interested in looking around, and using me as more of a teething ring than a food source. Needless to say it hurts. He is now eating baby food, and in a few months will be able to have whole milk, so I guess this is it. We had a bit of a "moment" last night where he was eating and looking at me lovingly. I rubbed his head and started bawling knowing it would be the last time I would ever feed a baby that way again. It sounds ridiculous, but was a really hard decision for me. This is a stage of my life that has gone by far too quickly...no more new babies.

And on a much lighter note, I got teary eyed again tonight. McKenna had her friend Megan over for dinner, after spending the night at her friend Peyton's house. I love watching her interact with her friends, seeing the sort of playmate she is, and the friend she has become to them. We were eating grilled sandwiches and pan roasted potatoes. I forgot to put ketchup on the table. Rather than ask for it, McKenna got up out of her chair, grabbed it out of the fridge and brought it to the table, all while holding a conversation with Megan. I stood there, aghast....who is this grown up little lady? Again, it seems silly, but that is the first time she has ever just gotten an item that she needed for dinner rather than asking for it. We are in the twilight zone!

Hmmm....where does she get it?

2012-01-02T18:26:00.002-06:00

Last Chrsitmas

2012-01-01T14:45:00.000-06:00

We had our last Christmas at Gona and Baca's. They had a mexican style cuisine (pork and rice, queso and chips, and chocolate flan.) It was all delish! Josh brought his new kinect and the kids played that.

Josh played a funny trick on his mom. She has been dying of anticipation about this "gadget" that Denny bought her. Josh found a gag gift box for a coffee maker that you put in the shower. As you take a shower it brews coffee for you. Kathy did a great job of faking excitement as Josh laughed hysterically. She figured out it was a gag a few minutes later :)

The kids got spoiled rotten as usual. We could barely get all the toys in our house! Today I spent the entire morning going through every toy in our toy room and getting rid of half of them!

Christmas at Gramma Rue's

2012-01-01T09:40:00.000-06:00

What an adventure. Thursday we opened presents from eachother and packed up to head to Gramma Rue's on Friday afternoon. We left around 1, and the kids did pretty well. No delays, no problems, lots of ipad, portable DVD player, snackage, books and toys. We got into Pasco around 7 their time (9 ours) and got the kids home in time to crash :)

Much of the trip was spent just going to movies, playing board games, eating (a lot), and relaxing. Josh had to work a little, and was sick some of the time and Grayson was teething and didn't sleep more than 3 hours straight (tired momma) aside from that we had a wonderful time.

getting ready to open gifts Christmas morning

Zachey got a Batman castle

He liked the wrapping paper too

Grayson opened his first present ever

First Christmas with uncle Spencer. Kenna was IN LOVE with her uncle...climbed all over him, constantly wanted to play card games with him and have him read her stories.

Grayson tried veggies, LOVED EM!

And he liked playing on his new blankey Chels made him

Sleeping on Auntie

Took a bath in Gramma's sink

The only pic I got of Brandon!

We went to dinner at the country club the last day we were there. Got some good pictures :) The ride home was less than stellar....we got to the aiport in plenty of time just to find out our plane was delayed on one screen but on time on the other. Then we waited in line for over an hour in security. Like somethign in a movie, people saying things like..."oh I have to put my cell phone on the conveyer?" Just seemed completely unorganized especially with three tired kids. We waited with no screen to update us and finally asked a security guard what was up. Luckily we got on the plane and made our connection in Denver. But, with Grayson teething, it was a little touch and go on both flights. It was great to be home and in our own beds! The kids slept in till after 8!

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Decor

2012-01-01T08:50:00.001-06:00

This year I splurged and finally bought matching stockings for my whole family. I think that now we are complete I don't have to worry about them discontinuing the stockings in the event we had another baby :) I just LOVE them...they are so cute!

Eski's

2012-01-01T08:37:00.001-06:00

Eski had her annual party this year on the 22nd. It was filled with food, kids and santa! Kenna got a happy napper, Zachey got a chainsaw and Grayson got a fun hippo shape toy.

I made these cute little santa brownies. They were cute and yummy!!

Goodies

2012-01-01T08:32:00.000-06:00

This year I probably went a bit overboard...but I had fun as always!

Cherry Almond Cups

Twix Trifel

Birthday Cake Fudge (sans sprinkles)

Mint Brownies

Cookie Bark

Apple Cider Caramels

Chocolate Cookies with Peppermint Kisses

Oreo Balls

My neighbors got a full plate :)

I DID IT!

2012-01-01T08:21:00.002-06:00

I finally did it, I am DONE WITH GRAD SCHOOL! I have submitted my final portfolio and finished my final internship hours. I do need to apply for licensure, but aside from that....finished! I can't believe it after 4 long years....I'm done. I want to thank my amazing family who definitely sacrificed a lot so I could cross this off my bucket list. All of the hard work paid off, as I ended the program with a 4.0 GPA!

I got home after my last day and saw a card from Kenna and balloon and flowers from Daddy. At first I thought I had a child prodigy for spelling congratulations....but then I noticed it was written on the balloon ;)

Grayson 6 month Stats

2011-12-16T09:06:00.001-06:00

Grayson surprised me a little - for a kid that is ALWAYS hungry he isn't really as chunky as my other two :)

Weight: 17lbs 2 oz - 39th percentile
Height: 26.5 inches - 48th percentile
Head: 18 inches - 91st percentile ;)

He is similar to Kenna in the way he is proportioned :) Cute as ever! Right now he is all about sucking on his lip/hands/anything he can grab. He isn't sitting up on his own, but will with support. He is very mellow, pretty content just watching what is happening. He can roll, but usually chooses not to. He never moves in his bed, will just make noise till I come get him. He is eating rice cereal/baby oatmeal like a champ, so anxious to get him started on some baby veggies soon! Going to try and be better about making my own food this time around! He still has the biggest grin and it takes over his whole face when he smiles....just love it. I have cut back on nursing quite a bit. With traveling I just haven't been able to keep up. He still is about half and half. With the introduction of food, he will probably be less interested soon anyway. I think it is more about me holding on as this is my last one!

Christmas Recital

2011-12-13T19:01:00.004-06:00

Grayson had the flu, so daddy missed out on this recital. I recorded it so he could see. We were so proud of our little ballerina! Chloe made her these cute little Christmas barrettes, and even had some bling for the Christmas look. The girls looked so cute! Chloe is next to Kenna, and her other little friend Abby is next to her.

Sensitive Lady

2011-12-04T10:36:00.001-06:00

We have recently branched out of the animated princess movies and into PG movies for Ms. Kenna. She can understand the plots, and usually has good questions about the characters!

One of the latest installments has been "Air Bud." In the movie a boy finds a dog, and discovers he can play basketball. His real owner (a bad man) comes back to retrieve him and the boy tries to help the dog get away. The only way to do that is to take him far away and tell the dog he doesn't want him anymore. He tells him to go away, as he knows that if the dog stays with him the bad man will find him.

Kenna has seen the movie a few times and always starts bawling her eyes out. She gets so emotional saying "he is such......a nice.........dog." She knows the ending in that they are reunited, but it warms my heart to see that she is so sensitive...

Hard to grow up isn't it kiddo ;)

I LOVE to eat FOOD!

2011-12-03T18:21:00.001-06:00

Look who is LOVING rice cereal....helped him sleep a LOT better too!! Thank you Gerber!

Decorating Full Swing!

2011-12-03T16:46:00.001-06:00

We decorated this weekend, got our tree today, and will finish decorating that when Kenna gets home from her friends house :) I'll have to post pictures later...we did a great job, I think!

Things I have said today:

"If you hit your sister with that tube (wrapping paper tube), I'll take it away"
"Don't eat the christmas tree"
"Don't put lights on Rylee"
"No Grayson does NOT want the glass ornament"

Thanks for helping me decorate Zachey ;)

Happy Grayson in Bear Outfit

2011-11-27T15:30:00.001-06:00

Taking some cute pictures of Grayson before he outgrows this outfit! All three have worn it (will have to dig through the archives to find the others.) Perfect example of Grayson just being happy!

--playing his trumpet--

Slumberparty

2011-11-27T15:25:00.001-06:00

Kenna had not seen her good friend Campbell since school stated. They went to preschool together, and since Campbell's birthday is after september, she stayed in it one more year. Kenna sure misses her!!

The played dress up and dance girls and colored and painted their nails, pretty much every cliche little girl thing that is out there :) They even went to bed at a decent hour! In the morning we woke up and ate cinnimon roles and played some more.

Here are some dance pictures...too cute!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T14:50:00.001-06:00

We had to have a quick thanksgiving this year. I had to leave for Texas on a flight at 3, which meant I needed to leave Gona and Baca's by 1pm. We got there around 10, and ate at 11. Was laid back with great food and family...just as it should be :)

--daddy was trying to fix something with all his apple gear--

--kenna helped set the table with nametags at each place setting--

--grayson tried rice cereal for the first time. LOVED it--

--the sun was really bright, so Josh went Indiana Jones on us--

Thanks Gona and Baca for hosting! I had a whirlwind trip to Texas. I flew into Austin, drove to Houston. Hit two stores starting at the midnight opening, crashed for a few hours in a hotel, then hit two more stores, driving over 1000 miles in 2 days....I am still tired! It was a lot of fun, just went by in a blur really!

Thanksgiving Feast Elementary Style

2011-11-27T14:36:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday I got to help for Kenna's Thanksgiving Feast. Each parent sent something (cheese, popcorn, apples, etc.) I was fortunate enough to be chosen as a helper! Kenna has been learning all about pilgrims this week. The most interesting fact is that they only had one chair in their house, for the dad. The kids sat on the floor and the mom would be working in the kitchen. Luckily Kenna said "hey that's not fair!" Glad we have evolved since then!

The kids made two costumes. She got to bring home the one she didn't wear at the feast.

--this is Neela (who she plays with at YMCA after school care) and her BFF Peyton on the right (we REALLY like her!) --

--how cute is this giant table with all the kindergartners--

I could not believe how much they ate, it was rediculous. That evening Peyton came over to play. The girls had fun, although McKenna has a hard time not being bossy...working on that ;)

Cute Kid-ness

2011-11-17T11:16:00.001-06:00

Haven't had a lot of time to post lately. Between finishing school (60 hours left!) Working pretty much full time, kindermusik, dance, and not my recent stupid decision to volunteer for the PTO raffle solicitation (why do I do these things...) I have been swamped!

But I have taken a few cute kid pix over the last weeks...enjoy!

--I can't keep up with Grayson these days. He gets about 2 bottles of formula to supplement what I feed him. Kenna is a HUGE help when I am trying to cook/clean/maintain sanity!--

--had to make this one big cause its So.stinkin.cute!--

--I recently trimmed up his crazy patch of long hair, he is so happy all the time!--

--very focused on everything!--

--this is how we watch Dora on Saturday morning ;) --

--another happy baby shot! Pretty sure he only knows how to cry when he's hungry....we are so lucky!--

I am traveling a few more times this year. Once to Texas on thanksgiving day to make sure I am there for the midnight opening (first time we've done this!) I only have a few more days to spend at the high school to complete my 60 hours that I have left! Then comes Christmas baking and shopping....I can hardly wait!!

Deep Zachey Thoughts

2011-11-09T18:06:00.000-06:00

On the way home from daycare tonight Zachey was full of funny things to say.

As I was accelerating away from the driveway he says: "Full speed AHEAD!" It was funny. Both he and Kenna kept saying it all the way home.

Also, we had a full moon tonight. Zachey was in the middle of telling me what he did at Eski's today, and totally stopped mid sentence saying "Look DA MOON!" I said something like, yes its so big tonight. He watched it for a few minutes and then said "hey, da moon is followin us...."

Probably too soon to explain why it looks like it is. Thanks for the laugh little man!

Diego

2011-11-06T12:11:00.001-06:00

For those of you that have ever watched Dora or Diego, you know they are very interactive. They usually have a progression of events, "first we'll go to the pyramid, then the bridge, then the river" or something similar.

Well today, Zachey was coloring a diego book. In it was a maze and he created his own little Diego episode :) He talks about going to the "spooky cave" then the "big river" and finally the "snowy mountains." He did it a few times before I got the camera out, so he's a little annoyed with me..but it was so stinkin cute!

Leaf Party

2011-11-06T12:04:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we went to Stone's House for a leaf party. They have a big maple and were certain the leaves would all fall off. Well...they were still attached, but Nate borrowed a bunch of leaves from his neighbors yard.

--kids in their fall gear (love Zachey's hat) --

--katie playing on their playhouse--

--pile of borrowed leaves--

--can you see kevin's head?--

We hat chicken pot pies and rice crispy treats, perfect end to the fall! The weather was pretty nice and the kids had a blast!

Beggar's Night

2011-11-06T11:52:00.001-06:00

I talk about this every year...but for some reason we celebrate Halloween on the 30th in Iowa. This year we continued with the tradition of all the neighbors bringing chili/cornbread/beer/toppings to the edge of the cul de sac. They set up tents and brought chairs. We took the kids trick or treating with Andersen's and ended our evening chowing down :)

--pre trick or treating corn bread!--

--Calen was a cute cowboy--

--Megan and Ganon wiere a witch and Frankenstein--

--Lucy was Little Red Riding Hood, and Chloe was Smurfette--

--later that evening we ran into Nolan...hilarious costume!--

The kids made QUITE a haul..we are rationing candy with one piece a day, IF they eat a good dinner :) I couldn't help but laugh hilariously at Zachary. He ran to the door, got his candy, then RAN to the next house...pretty sure the kids ran the entire hour or so they were out...they slept well that night!

Hilarious Little Man

2011-10-28T20:06:00.001-05:00

Zachey gets cuter and cuter everyday...oh the things he comes up with...here are some excerpts from today:

Me: Zachey, what was Quinny for Halloween?
Zachey: He was a piwate, argh mateys!

Tonight we went to Colan's surpirse 60th birthday party. He was playing with some kids in their basement. He comes running upstairs, "mommy, I'm playin with my boys!"

Later tonight at the party to a complete stranger, "Hi, my butt hurts"

Playing in the bathtub while I'm updating this blog: "gentlemans, start your engines!"

You've Been Boo'd!

2011-10-27T21:23:00.002-05:00

It seems each year we get this game started in our neighborhood. A snack gets delivered, then we have to hang up this sign and deliver two snacks. Kenna and I had a blast tonight making snacks to deliver to two of our neighbors. We had even more fun sneaking around after dark and delivering them and running away...ohhh the giggles..!

--almond "candy corn" cookies--

--we made these oreo cakester bats--

--kenna did the eyes--

I should have taken a picture of the presentation. We put the cookies on the outside of a paper plate and cut styrofoam balls in half. Then we stuck some of the bat pops in the balls so they stood up. We love halloween!

Blacky and a Baby Shower

2011-10-27T21:17:00.005-05:00

Kenna was outside playing, enjoying the AMAZING weather we've been having and found a friend. Meet "Blacky" the caterpillar. Luckily I told her he wanted to play with his friends outside...she wanted him to sleep in her room.

Later that day we went to Newton to celebrate Emily's baby shower! Kenna was Emily's flower girl 3 years ago and they are expecting their first at the end of February. I wish I had more pictures, but forgot my camera!

They had a whole 'little pumpkin" theme. With a cake that looked just like the image below, cupcakes with frosting pumpkins on top, toasted pumpkin seeds for snacks, just really cute party. Kenna and I went. It was fun to see Emily's family, and to see Aaron (her husband) as we have all worked together for 5 years :)

--little gift bags, kenna won the raffle and got a makeup kit...so fancy!--

Gramma Great

2011-10-27T21:07:00.001-05:00

A few weekends ago we visited Gramma Great. She had just returned from church, and we came over for lunch. Zachey found a toy airplane that he became obsessed with and Kenna went through many pillows finding just the right one...or three ;)

We ate lunch in a small dining room upstairs, the kids did pretty well! I however had a difficult time setting off the alarm when I left...oops!

Fall Photos 2011

2011-10-23T20:07:00.001-05:00

I don't know why I always stress about getting our pictures taken. The kids always do a great job, and now the problem is...which ones to choose?

Kade's Game

2011-10-16T20:36:00.001-05:00

Tonight we went to watch Kade play flag football. He is the quarterback and has a great arm! We ended the night having a great dinner at the Mongolian Grill in Ames, yummy stir fry and some stuff the kids would eat ;)

It was freezing, but Grayson was having a great time! I got these gloves and hat at a garage sale this summer thinking the 3-6mo size would last through the winter...Mr. Giant Noggin won't last much longer :)

My Boys part duex

2011-10-16T13:11:00.000-05:00

--we call this look "Blue Steel"--

--being cool like Baca--

This is hilarious. Josh likes to listen to this French song from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack. There is a part that says something like "la bouga." Zachey (every single time) says, "pizza." I suppose la bouga and pizza sound somewhat similar. It cracks us up!

Timbeeeeerrrrr

2011-10-16T13:04:00.003-05:00

In Josh's words, today he "renewed his man card." He went out and bought a chain saw and cut down two HUGE trees in our backyard. One was about 80 ft high. Someday we will landscape what we refer to as "the jungle" and this was just the start :)

Now we just have to figure out how to get all those big pieces out of there.

Grayson's Stats

2011-10-16T12:31:00.000-05:00

Grayson had his 4 month checkup on Thursday.

He is a happy healthy boy. He is rolling front to back and back to font. He is constantly shoving his hands in his mouth (not sure if teething is starting?) He is most happy eating, and definitely would nurse all day if I let him. His smile lights up his whole face and he is usually a low key and very happy baby. He is so curious and just loving the new found use of his hands!

We are waiting until 6ish months to start any sort of food, like we did with the other kids. He is getting plenty of food in liquid form.

Weight: 15lbs 3oz (52nd percentile)
Height: 26in (82nd percentile)
Head: 17.5in (93rd percentile)

He is going to be long and lean with a giant brain ;)

Thank goodness for family

2011-10-16T12:25:00.001-05:00

Josh was gone last week at a jobfair in Seattle. Thank GOODNESS for Gona and Baca. They helped cart Kenna to dance and soccer and helped me maintain my sanity while Josh was gone! I am feeling guilty about my upcoming travel plans (week in Tampa and week in Texas), but we are so lucky to have them to help us in times of utter chaos!!

Salmon, Yummers

2011-10-16T12:24:00.000-05:00

I wish I had some pictures of the feast I made last night. Josh got back from Seattle late Wednesday night. He revealed all his gifts on Thursday morning! The kids got UW gear and I got 5 lbs of glorious fresh King Salmon....YUM! Fresh from Pike Place market....I had anxiety all week about how to prepare it!

Stones came over yesterday. I made 3 lbs of it 3 different ways. I pan-seared it, poached it, and parchment paper steamed it with dill, lemon and dijon mustard. I made two sauces, a red wine reduction butter sauce and a mayonnaise, dill a lemon sauce. I also made pan roasted brussel sprouts and Mediterranean couscous. The meal was delish, and there is not much left today for lunch I'm afraid!

Soccer

2011-10-04T19:18:00.001-05:00

Kenna is doing so well at soccer this year. My somewhat timid, cartwheel turning, lolly gagging 4 year old soccer player has now blossomed into a competitive, speedy and quite powerful 5 year old soccer player. She does a great job of hustling, and has kind of grasped the idea of "getting in front of the ball" and "turning it around." She is also learning how to pass, keep it in bounds, and get it to the goal. I just love watching her turn on the jets and run fast!

I think it is equally as cute that Zachey watches the whole game...usually it involves multiple snacks, but he does pay attention and yell "GO Kenna!"

Today we were driving by some soccer players and he said, "Mom, when I big boy I play soccer." I said "Yes, you can play soccer when you are big."

Zachey replied with, "Yeah and I get chock-lit goldfish!"

I guess he really paid attention to Kennas snack last week. She shared and it must have been the highlight of his game. The kid is definitely motivated by food!!

My Boys

2011-10-03T12:32:00.000-05:00

Although obviously different...scary the similarities! Grayson is a little taller and leaner, with less cheeks, but his brother was about a month ahead of him in the picture above :)

Avi's birthday

2011-10-03T08:10:00.000-05:00

Avinash had his birthday at Monkey Joes this year. I could not believe the number of kiddos that came! I don't think we know that many :) But he is between two schools so he invited almost two full classes worth, so it made for quite the afternoon!

--Zachey may or may not have been "cheating" at skee ball ;) --

Because it was a late night party Grayson had about had it by 7, so we had to skedaddle. I cannot believe how big the kids get! Seems we only get together for birthday parties and I hardly recognized the Dietz and Ganti boys!

Jammie Day

2011-10-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Kenna's class has been so good she got to wear jammies to school last week! Please disregard the trail of clothes leading upstairs...how embarrassing LOL

Some Grayson Photo Ops

2011-10-03T07:57:00.001-05:00

We got to meet Baby Simon last week and he is SOOO little. I feel like my kids are born then they are 2... Grayson is really getting around and here are some updated photos!

--not sure why he looks like a smurf here...but the little tuft of hair on top is hilarious!--

Bonfire

2011-10-03T07:50:00.000-05:00

We have sort of made it a tradition to have a GIANT bonfire at the beginning of fall at Gona and Bacas. They have 15 acres and accumulate quite the pile of dead tree parts :) Usually the fire is about as big as a house when it is going, and you have to stand back at least 50 feet or its too hot! This year there was a burn ban, but we still had a good time inviting a bunch of friends!

Tim and Janice came down from Wisconsin, Boz, Wade and their families came from Josh's work and Eski brought her kids along with the Kohl kids, so we had quite a turnout!

--Macie was a bit skiddish at first--

--but once she figured out how to feed them hay and oats she was enjoying herself!--

--the ducks are another fan favorite!--

--Macie so badly wanted to "pet da duckies!"--

--she was quite upset that they kept running from her!--

--we all went on a few hay rides around the property--

--the boys playing football and volleyball--

--poor Eski, even on her day off surrounded by kiddos :) --

--they all took turns jumping on the trampoline--

Everyone brought food. There were burgers, hot dogs, so many dips, chips, drinks, cookies, cake...nothing very good for you, but all delish! After we ate, we hung out by the fire.

Kenna and Daddy were riding the big four wheeler in the dark when I heard her scream. I, of course, freaked out and ran towards her. We thought that maybe she just bumped her knee, but upon inspection, she got a nasty bee sting. We took her inside, cleaned her up, but by the time we were done, all kids were exhausted. So home we went...lots of fun!!

--We just love this tradition!--

Mexico

2011-09-27T20:25:00.002-05:00

Gona and Baca got back from Mexico a few days ago. They were down there checking out all the work that has been done on their casita. They hauled down tons of items to stock their new home away from home as well as stained glass for the fabulous second floor suite.

--putting together the glass they brought down, awesome!--

--workers with casita in the background--

--I think Mexico suites them :) --

We are hoping to go own there for Christmas 2012 which is a huge deal on the Mayan calendar...hopefully not the end of the world!

Grayson Rolls Over

2011-09-21T20:59:00.003-05:00

I have been feeling quite guilty lately. It seems that when I am not working, I am at Johnston High School doing my internship. And when I am not doing one of those things I am transporting kids to and from activities and trying just to keep my head on straight! So, tonight, I thought that we could have a fun night, make home made pizzas and just hang out. Kenna was saying something funny, and we were all laughing. I stood up to take our plates over to the kitchen and looked over at Grayson's play mat. He was making his cute baby noises, but wasn't on his back...he was on his stomach! I yelled at Josh, "did you lay him on his stomach?" He said no and I was torn between being excited and sad that I wasn't even paying attention at the time!

Waita go little guy...major milestone :)

Tangled

2011-09-17T10:16:00.001-05:00

Josh downloaded the Tangled soundtrack on his iphone. The kids listen to it every morning. I don't think Kenna realized I was taping her as she was singing it this morning...she does get a little "testy" when Zachey sings "her part." :)

Stinker

2011-09-12T21:42:00.001-05:00

I thought Kenna looked so grown up today. She had on these little shorts, high pony tail and a little pink superman shirt. I asked her to pose before school and she just.wouldn't.do.it!

Oh well, I captured a few with the attitude anyway :)

Apple Orchard

2011-09-12T21:37:00.000-05:00

On Sunday we went to Center Grove Orchard. Each year they build new fun things for the kids to do, and we thought it would be a fun way to spend the day with Andersens. When we got there we saw that a season's pass was only $17...so we decided, why not get that and go a couple times this season.

--the corn pool, always a hit!--

--zachey was a little leery, but had fun, once he got in--

--zachary HATED this slide. The girls when by themselves this year and had a blast!--

--two girls playing Alice in Wonderland--

We ate lunch and played on the giant bouncy balloon, we bought some honeycrisp apples and I got a caramel apple - YUM! Grayson did great in the snugli. He slept for a little bit, but we probably waited a little too long. About 15 minutes from home, he let his needs be known...there was definitely some loud crying...the kids were not fans :)

My Boys

2011-09-12T21:18:00.001-05:00

Look at my two cute boys...Zachey on top, Grayson on the bottom

In Love with This Face

2011-09-12T21:13:00.000-05:00

Owie-palooza

2011-09-12T21:09:00.002-05:00

McKenna has been extra ambitious lately. With soccer, recess, general running and trying to keep up with friends....her poor knees have taken a beating. In fact, tonight at dance she actually was bleeding through her tights...doesn't seem to be bother her too much!

Apple Tree

2011-09-12T21:03:00.000-05:00

We have a somewhat giant apple tree in our front yard...and from this very large tree...we got 5, count them 5 pretty mediocre apples. But, fun that we can grow apples in Iowa! I think I am just spoiled from my childhood in Washington :)

Bags, Bags and More Bags

2011-09-12T20:59:00.002-05:00

As our kids get older, our life has become full of bags, bags and more bags! Below you will see what our life has come to...

As pictured: lunch bag, soccer bag, my laptop bag, kindermusik bag, dance bag, toys to take to dance bag, backpack, breastpump bag, my school bag, and the diaper bag....not featured is my gym bag, my lunch bag, Zachey's kindermusik bag and daddy's racquetball/gym bag. You can imagine why my front room is never clean!! We use each of these at least once a week. Thank goodness daddy finished the mud room in our garage! We need a place to hang all of these!!

Zachey's Vacation

2011-09-08T21:09:00.000-05:00

Zachey had quite the time while we were away. Gona captured some of his more funny moments:

- He loved to ride the tractor and direct whoever was driving "dis way, dat way"

- said "yip and nope" a lot. They played the opposite game saying yes or no whenever Zachey would say no or yes, he thought it was pretty funny

- Our 3 ducks surprised us with one egg on Sunday. I called Baca, Z, Em and Kade over to look. Then, in the house I showed Z and told him the duck had laid an egg. He emphatically said, “THAT is yucky”! “It is NAUGHTY!”

- Picking up sticks with us. “I IS HELPING” When I laugh and say he is funny, he exclaims, “I IS FUNNY

- At nap and bed, sings with the Dora musical book, talks and talks, like he is reliving his day. Heard him say “Auntie Em” once in the conversation with himself.

- We got a text from Em while in Washington. Something to the effect of, Zachey found a glue stick in the crayons, she turned around and saw him smacking as if he applied lipstick. He confidently said "I did it!" Yucky chapstick Zachey!!

- He went downstairs at Emmi’s house, on his own-to look around-doesn’t ask or comment, just goes confidently. She says,” this blows my mind –I think of him as an infant!” He went down and started playing Kade’s drum set. We heard this rat tat tat tat-bing (on the cymbals). He had perfect timing and did it over and over.

Thanks Gona for the funny stories!

Chelsey and Spencer

2011-09-08T20:51:00.001-05:00

We have been looking forward to Chelsey's wedding, as we got to see first hand a lot of the planning over the summer :) On Thursday Gona and Baca came over to get a briefing on all things Zachey. We toiled with whether or not to take him with us when we were buying tickets. But with two full days of travel and lots of events in between...we thought it better to leave him home with Gona, Baca and Auntie Em. It ended up better for both him and us.

On Friday we dropped him off at Eski's and took Kenna and Grayson to the airport. I will say that Josh and I are a well oiled machine when it comes to airports at this point. I was el cheapo and insisted that we get everything in two carry ons. We flew through Minneapolis and through to Spokane. The kids did great!

We landed in Spokane and got our rental car. We thought we would be clever and find a restaurant on the 2 hour drive to the Tri-Cities. Well, no one told us that the one and only restaurant was attached to a gas station in the middle of no where.

After a round of very mediocre chicken strips...we were on our way to my mom's house. I was surprised at how well both kids did with the crazy day and 2 hour time change. We got to see all of my family at my mom's; she threw a BBQ for all the travelers.

On Saturday we got up and got the kids ready (including Ms. Kenna's hair that took almost 2 hours!) I will say I haven't done hair like that since my days of prom...many moons ago. Then we went to get pictures taken, came home and played, and went to the reception that afternoon.

--Kenna in her flower girl dress--

--seems wrong not to have the boys in the picture--

--Shawnte and Kenna are only a few months a part, they had a blast together!--

--flowers and Lyndsi and Mikayla--

--just married--

--kenna andrew and anna being silly--

--pretty hair--

On Sunday I got a chance to visit with Maren and take Josh and Kenna down to the playground of dreams near the river. She has quite a lot going on right now in her life, so was good to just chat for a while. Josh and Brandon got a chance to play frisbee golf and I made salmon and pizza for dinner. That evening we watched Chels and Spence open their presents and played games into the evening.

The visit went by very quickly, and I am very glad that we all got to go! Monday's trip home was very good and relatively uneventful. I will say that my kids are great flyers and Josh and I make a great traveling team! Yay for ipads, surprise plane presents from Gona and Baca and friendly people who will give up their seat so we can sit together :) Stay tuned for the adventures of Mr. Zachey while we were gone and more photos of Chels and Spence.

Giggles

2011-09-08T19:42:00.000-05:00

Grayson has been smiling for a while and if you tickle him on his chest or thighs he gives a cute little baby giggle. Well last night we went to a birthday party at Backyard Adventures. It was sort of a last minute affair and I took all three kids. Kenna was trying to entertain Grayson on the way home and was blowing raspberries in the air. I heard his first real giggles (at least laughing AT someone) as we were driving. Guess he thinks his sister is hilarious :)

Hmmm Genes are Funny Things

2011-08-23T12:57:00.003-05:00

I ran across these pictures of the three kiddos all in somewhat of the same position...so fun to compare them! Grayson looks ginormous!!!

--Miss McKenna--

--Zachey--

--Baby Gray ;) --

Aww my sweet kiddos!

Princess and the Pea

2011-08-21T14:18:00.000-05:00

Kenna started by building a fort, but ended up making the bed from princess and the pea. In the book the mother of the groom keeps putting more and more matresses on the bed because she feels as if a true princess could feel a tiny pea under all of them. Well, Kenna didn't have a pea but she did enjoy stacking all of the pillows and blankets in the living room in a giant pile to create a "super dooper comfy bed."

Frisbee Golf and Block Party

2011-08-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

Last night daddy came home...yay! We sure missed him. I got to sit and enjoy a meal last night at the block party without holding someone, rushing, or also trying to feed someone besides myself...it was wonderful :)

We all headed down the street around 5. I loaded Grayson in the stroller with the brownies we made and drinks for everyone. Then I got Zachey and all our chairs in the wagon while Kenna rode her bike. We set up our chairs and played for a while before daddy got home and joined us. This year they got an acoustic band that came to play cover hits, and they were really good! Also, after a few hours a police car, fire truck and ambulance came. The kids got to meet the officers, climb in the vehicles, get handcuffed and finally got sprayed by the firetruck hose. The screams were hilarious! We got to meet some more of our neighbors and catch up with those that we don't see as often - lots of fun!

Today we wanted to get outside and do something. Daddy suggested that we go play frisbee golf. I wasn't sure how the boys would do, but we thought...why not? So off we went to Big Creek State Park and played on the course there. There was no one there, so we didn't look too silly pushing a stroller through the frisbee golf course :) Kenna did a great job and had some really good throws! Zachey was more interested in spider webs, sticks and leaves...but he did get a kick out of throwing the frisbee a bit and being outside :)

Tonight we are going to Andersen's for dinner to hang out with Leticia and Jason while they are in town and this ends my maternity leave. I am excited to do my internship this fall, but I am also bummed that my snuggle time with Grayson is over. Going to take advantage of every minute of downtime that I can, because he's growing up so fast!!

--loving his hat, and this giant stick--

--grayson was loving just being outside--

--blowing on a dandy lion--

--kenna was upset that we didn't bring the snacks she wanted--

UGH

2011-08-20T11:42:00.000-05:00

So after a few very successful trips to the grocery store with three kids who all want to ride in the cart, today we had a major turn of events. We have a block party tonight and I had to get like 3 things to make some amazing marshmallow peanut butter brownies. Well we started off well, scoring a cart that would hold all of them, but about halfway through the store Grayson started crying, at first whimpers then full on ugly cry...he was tired apparently. Then Zachey started pushing Kenna in the little car attached to the cart, and Kenna started pushing Zachey, then they both started screaming "stop it" louder and louder. No amount of scolding stopped the endless pushing and yelling. Finally I just grabbed what I needed and headed to checkout where the bagger went slower than I have ever seen...I got some sympathetic looks as well as some irritated ones. Apparently my pep talk about being good in the store fell on deaf ears with my older two.

I grabbed Grayson's car seat, Zachey's hand and the nice man followed me out to the car and loaded my groceries (they do that at this grocery store.) Of course I see some people I know and they are like "out on your own with all of them today eh?"

I can really handle all three, they are normally very good and listen well...they must know that daddy is coming home today and wanted to finish the week strong....Ugh.

Water Party

2011-08-19T19:51:00.000-05:00

We had our annual August barbecue and water party again this year. We usually make burgers, hot dogs, corn and watermelon and supply drinks. Then everyone else brings a dish to share!

It seems each year we have to up the stakes, and this year was no different! Josh put out his killer slip and slide. Some of the parents tried it out, and most of the older kids did!

--katie enjoying some watermelon--

--kanon splashing--

--kevin is getting so big!--

--I hardly recognized Abhi--

--megan on the 100ft slide--

--it was chilly in the shade...at one point Zachey's lips turned blue!--

--ladies corner ;)--

I feel like I haven't seen some of these kiddos since our party last year! Its amazing how much they are growing up and how quickly time flies!!!

Thanks to all that made it!

Zachey-isms

2011-08-19T19:31:00.000-05:00

Two funny things that Zachey says that make me laugh every time:

"mommy, dats de-wish-us" everything from popsicles to salmon....the boy eats everything in large amounts

and

"mommy, dat dan-ge-wus!" I am not certain he knows what it means, because he says it at the funniest times. Sometimes when jumping off of couches (this makes sense) but sometimes when looking at a bug...hmmm its still adorable!

Single Parenthood

2011-08-19T19:29:00.000-05:00

Josh was debating on when to go to a weeklong training for work. His options were right before Grayson was born (as in days before his due date) this past week and a week in September. None of them were really good options, but this was probably the best week for him to be gone. I was still on maternity leave, and hadn't started school yet. We have been having a surprisingly uneventful week. It usually involved me getting up early and packing Kenna's lunch for school. Then I would get her cereal and banana, juice and vitamin ready leaving the milk in a cup next to her bowl. Kenna would get up with her alarm clock, get dressed and eat her breakfast while I was feeding Grayson and getting him ready. While Kenna was brushing her teeth and hair I would get Zachey up, fed with teeth and hair brushed. Then we all got in the car and off to Eski's we went.

After I dropped the boys off I would take Kenna to school and we would practice where to get out of the car, where to go when she went into school and how to get everything in her locker. Then I would go to Kosama and have spent the rest of the day preparing for school, laundry, making dinners, running errands, etc. Eski would let me know when the boys got up and I would either get them first, or pick up McKenna from school, depending on the time. This week was also a week for Grayson to get used to Eski's in small doses, eating from a bottle, etc. He has done great!

The days have flown by. Bathing and getting 3 kids ready for bed is probably the hardest part of the day, but I have great kids who do a pretty good job of helping eachother and mommy! Kenna has really stepped up and done everything from get Zachey's shoes on to helping him go potty to grabbing diapers for me. Such a big helper!

We are sure excited to see daddy...phone calls everyday aren't nearly enough! This weekend we have a block party and dinner at the Andersen's with some of Josh's friends from high school!

--this picture is a little blurry, but love this outfit from Andersens! --

--such a great big sister!!--

Grayson's 2 Month Stats

2011-08-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

I know I shouldn't compare them..but its almost impossible not to!

Zachary's 2 month Stats:
Height 23" (50th percentile)
Weight 13.5 lbs (75th percentile)
Head 16" (50th percentile)

Grayson's 2 month Stats:
Height 24" (78th percentile)
Weight 13.7lbs (79th percentile)
Head 16 and 5/8" (98th percentile)

Grayson was a little overdue being a week late, but they are eerily similar!

PIZZA!!!

2011-08-16T21:33:00.000-05:00

Some photos from our celebratory dinner for Chelsey finishing her MCAT. The BIGGEST kid's meal pizza I have ever seen and a walk around the lake at Jordan Creek....yes his shoes are on the wrong feet...he did it himself :)

First Day of School

2011-08-15T20:54:00.000-05:00

McKenna has been SOOOO excited for school. We went to meet her teacher on Thursday night. She was definitely a little intimidated by the 650+ kid school. April, Kenna, Kanon and I walked over and we met Daddy there. We met Mrs. Stevenson and learned that she is awesome. She has 33 years of experience teaching kindergarten and just loves loves loves it. She gave Kenna a list of things she had to do before she left that evening. We put all of her supplies away, located the bathroom, gym, music room, guidance room, library and got to know the school.

She enjoyed her last weekend as a pre elementary student. Daddy had to leave on Sunday for a training in Chicago. He was sad that he wouldn't get to see his girl's first day of school, but he had a surprise in store! While Kenna and I were getting our nails done on Sunday he had set up an elaborate treasure hunt! We didn't know until bedtime. Kenna laid down on her pillow and heard a krinkling sound. He had hidden a paper in her pillow with her first "clue." It told her that she had to wait until Monday morning to finish the hunt.

I thought that it was such a sweet and cute idea. As I was laying down in my bed, I was surprised that I had one too! He made me wait as well because the first clue led me to Grayon's room and of course he was asleep...darn!

The next morning I got up early to get the boys ready as well as McKenna. She woke up with her alarm at 6:30 and immediately went in search of where the clues led her. After much searching we ended up in the garage and found a repunzel doll that Kenna thought she had picked out for one of daddy's friend's daughters (very sneaky daddy!) I followed my clues and it led me to a pair of very dangly, very girly earrings. I can't wait to wear them :) Daddy is so creative! It really made Kenna's day!

I successfully got the boys to daycare by 7:30 so I could spend time taking Kenna to her classroom and her locker and making sure she was comfortable.

--my sweet kiddos!--

The parking lot was a madhouse! Imagine the parents of 600 kids all trying to drop them off....oh my!

--here she is by her locker--

--she gave me a sort of nervous goodbye, but walked right in!--

I don't think I could be any more proud of my little girl. McKenna you are a beautiful, kind, energetic, happy, wonderful young lady and most importantly so excited to learn. I hope that you always have this energy, I am so very proud of you!

The Zoo

2011-08-14T10:48:00.000-05:00

On Friday we braved the zoo with 5 kids. I thought it was a great idea until I tried to load 5 kids, a double stroller and single stroller in the acadia...but we did it!

--tight fit, but we barely made it!--

The girls were very good and patient as we fed and changed babies, and tried to keep Zachey occupied with multiple treat stops. The weather was amazing around 75 degrees and hardly any humidity!! The girls got to go inside the parakeet exhibit and feed them with nectar sticks. Some of the birds climbed on them and their arms and shirts. The giggles were priceless :)

After divvying out some snacks we went to see the dinosaurs and spotted some monkeys along the way.

We moved on to see the giraffe (Zachey's favorite) and I sprung to have the kids feed them some lettuce. Their tongues are sooo long!

Then we saw the new Australian exhibit where they have many animals just wandering around near the trail that the kids walk on. It was pretty cool!

We also saw the big cats and Zachey LOVED this little jeep they could "drive."

Fun day at the zoo! Kenna and Megan did a good job of helping. We were definitely ready for lunch and nap when we got home though! Not sure how parents of this many kids handle it!!

Kanon and April Visit

2011-08-11T10:20:00.000-05:00

April and Kanon got her Sunday. It was Kanon's first experience on an airplane, and from what April says, it went really well! They were exhausted after their trip, so both took naps and we had a low key evening. So far we have gone Union Park where Kanon got to play in the splashpark and watched Megan and Kenna on the carousel. We also have gone on walks, went on the search for a replacement travel stroller for April, and have been entertained by the dance stylings of Ms. McKenna and Megan :)

--he is sooo tall! My kids could barely see over the top of the high chair at 6 months--

--Kenna and Megan have been doing dance recitals for us all week--

--I love this little costume that was Megan's--

--Kenna and Megan doing an interpretive "waking up" dance routine--

--Kanon at the splash park...he got soaked!--

--loved it! poor April's back from leaning over :) --

--Kenna and Megan playing in the little pool--

--and riding the carousel--

--after their slumbe rparty, they served us breakfast--

--Kanon bouncing--

We really haven't done a ton of activities. Trying to coordinate two baby's schedules with eating and sleeping has been somewhat impossible..most days we don't really get going until 10-11...but fun to sit around and do nothing!

Carousel

2011-08-11T09:26:00.000-05:00

Sunday the Heritage Carousel had a family fun night. There were clowns, free food, bouncy castles, and free rides on the carousel! I thought it would be a great event to welcome April and Kanon to Des Moines. Once I picked them up I found out they were exhausted. So they took a nap and we headed to the park with the Gentrys.

--the clowns were sorta scary..--

--we didn't bring suits, but the kids still played in the splashpark--

--kenna got soaked!--

--bouncy houses--

It was definitely a unique experience, as Union Park is in a sort of sketchy neighborhood. We saw all walks of life and parenting styles...from cutting in line, to screaming at kids...made us appreciate what we have and how we were raised...thanks parents!

2 Month Pictures and Gryte Ice Cream Party

2011-08-11T09:16:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago we were invited to an ice cream party hosted by the Grytes. We got there and were surprised by a Tangled chalk drawing that Cyndi and her dad did for the girls. Then we went searching for fairies on the secret trails behind their house. Cyndi had written a little note that the girls thought were left just for them by the fairies. It was about 1000 degrees and humid, but they got a kick out of it. We finished the evening with ice cream and toppings.

--Grayson at 2 months...playing to exhaustion :) --

--aren't they talented?--

--I think it was a hit!--

Balloon Festival

2011-08-10T14:40:00.000-05:00

Before Chelsey left we ventured to the Indianola Balloon Festival. It goes on all week, but we decided to go Saturday with Auntie Em and her family. We thought that leaving an hour before it started would leave plenty of time to travel the 30 miles to get there....well, apparently so did all of Des Moines. We hit the beginning of the town and came to a dead stop. It took us about 30 minutes to go 5 miles because of all the traffic! We made it just in time to park in an alfalfa field, unload the stroller and kiddos, and make a mad dash for the area where they were launching the balloons.

We ended up getting there at the perfect time. They were just starting to fill the first balloons, and we got a great spot up front. It was a fair like atmosphere with tons of people, food, music, and we had a good time! We didn't stay for the fireworks and after dark festivities because the kids were exhausted! And, because they were so good, I braved the wendy's drive through for a few junior frosties that I felt were well earned because they were on their best behavior! Even Zachey did pretty good about not getting it everywhere (maybe because I made a giant napkin bib :)

--starting to fill up balloons--

--the meadow was full of crickets and it was about 95 degrees....but still fun!--

--we counted over 60 total!--

--my favorite--

I think if we do this again we will definitely go on a weeknight, or get there a lot earlier to avoid the choas! Maybe bring a picnic dinner and play frisbee on the grass! It was the closest I have ever been to hot air balloons, and it really was quite magical with a blue sky full of them!

Pure Bliss

2011-08-02T20:39:00.000-05:00

This was taken by Gona at her house when it was raining. We didn't bring any rain gear but a t-shirt and hat worked just fine! We are going on a few weeks straight of 85+ degree temps and sure are wishing for rain right about now!!

Biggest Slide Ever

2011-08-02T15:59:00.001-05:00

I must say, I had some reservations when Josh said he wanted to make a giant adult sized slip and slide down our hill....but what fun it was! On Sunday we had Gentrys, Gona, Baca, Kade and Tali over for dinner and water fun. Daddy built a huge 100 foot water slide in the backyard!!

--chels getting her slide on--

--zachey getting into it--

On Monday we went to Gryte's for some home made ice cream and to go on a hike looking for fairies in their massive acreage full of trails, bridges and surprises! Cyndi is very princess like and the girls really believe she is a princess. She carries sparkly perfume in her purse, sings angelically and is always dressed up....of course she's a princess! She hid a little note from the fairies in the playhouse and the girls thought that was awesome!

--a repunzal chalk drawing they did to welcome us--

--home made ice cream with toppings...yum!!--

Here are some fun videos from our water fun...I think Denny holds the distance record!!

Chatty Baby

2011-08-02T15:43:00.001-05:00

Willy Wonka

2011-08-02T11:15:00.000-05:00

Today driving to the library, Kenna says:

"Mom, if Willy Wonka said I could have his whole chocolate factory, I would still choose you. I love my family even more than chocolate"

Such a sweet sentiment little one :)

Some Pictures from Josh's Mexico Trip

2011-07-24T06:47:00.000-05:00

More Baby Gray Photos

2011-07-23T18:12:00.000-05:00

Some pictures from the last few days of Baby Gray.

--Kenna helping with bathtime--

--look at those baby blues!--

--he's almost at the point where he likes to look at dangly things--

--zonked--

--what a sweet face!--

Feeding the Ducks

2011-07-23T18:02:00.000-05:00

I did it! I know it has been 6 weeks...but I successfully had a day trip with all the little ones on my own. I mean, I have gone some quick places like a drive through bank, or to Eski's and back, but this was a full on outing :)

Josh, Chelsey, Tali, Demonte, Emmi and Kade went to Adventureland today, a six flags and waterpark just east of Des Moines. I think it will be a blast when our kids are older, but they aren't really at the age to fully enjoy it yet.

So, not to be outdone, we went to the lake and fed the ducks. There is a great spot in Ankeny that always has a million ducks and isn't crowded, so I could easily push Grayson around and watch the kids.

--Posing with Grayson--

--don't let that look fool you..he is just mad he had go potty before we left--

--the ducks were not afraid at all--

--Zachey kept saying "here ducky"--

--what is this face?--

So, while this was impressive enough, I then ventured to the grocery store! Let me tell you, there is no cart that holds three kids, at least by design. I found one that had a "kid" part with steering wheels up top, then squeezed grayson's car seat in the lower part...not the safest, but it worked. And we are enjoying baked sandwiches and strawberries as we speak. They were so great, actually not nearly as bad as I had envisioned!

Phrases

2011-07-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

Some things I have to write because they are hilarious!

Zachey mispronounces truck. He replaces the t with an f...so he is caught saying fruck quite often..I have received some looks in the grocery store for that one :) My other favorite is drink. Especially when he is in a hurry or REALLLY thirsty he asks "mommy, I need my gink..." so cute :) He also runs things together. There are a million but my favorite is "in there" as in "momma - der is a hole-in-der"

Kenna really says most things as she should now (which is both good and saddening.) But she still forgets a few things - one being connect. She says ni-neck - which josh and I both find adorable.

At this point Grayson has started cooing - but isn't mispronouncing anything.

Adventure

2011-07-17T09:23:00.000-05:00

Daddy planned a big adventure for us on Saturday. We took Grayson to Auntie Ems and the big kids and Rylee went on a hike with us in Ames. There is a national known frisbee golf park that is built in an old forest with trees and meadows. It was really pretty and we hiked the whole thing! Zachey made it almost the whole way, but was definitely worn out by the end and needed daddy to carry him.

--not sure who was the most excited...Kenna or Rylee!--

--don't we look like adventurers?--

--big stairs mom--

--eating a snack by the stream--

--kiddos had fun walking in the water--

Aside from the 90 degree weather and 127% humidity that is Iowa summer, we had such a fun time. I think the kids really enjoyed being outside and exploring new territory. Kenna really got into the whole adventure thing :) We ate pizza at a local place in Ames then headed home for much needed naps!

That evening we had an impromptu BBQ with the neighbors. A few of them had a smoked pork contest, some smoking it for over 8 hours. It was really amazing, and I am not a pork fan! Some brought sweet corn, salads, dip, and I made twice baked potatoes. It was REALLLLLY hot, but it was worth it to have a fun evening catching up with the neighbors. We are lucky to live in such a nice neighborhood!

Dinner at Dean Park

2011-07-17T09:10:00.000-05:00

There is this great park they built in Ankeny last year. It has a free water feature with recycled tire flooring, so it is super bouncy and fun. The kids love splashing in the water and we decided to have a picnic dinner there a few nights ago. Kenna was being silly and sticking her bum in the water. Zachey had more fun getting wet in the drinking fountain, but at least they ran some of their energy off!

--she thinks its hilarious to get her bottom wet--

--looking at his silly sister--

--sleeping through the whole evening :) --

Grayson is Smiling

2011-07-17T09:03:00.000-05:00

Grayson has officially smiled. I was sort of seeing it last week, but hard to tell if it is gas or genuine smile. Well we've seen a bunch this weekend while talking to him. Auntie Em says she is taking full credit :) She watched him Saturday for a few hours and said she got lots of toothless grins.

--dreaming of something happy!--

--just love that chubby little face!--

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-17T08:49:00.000-05:00

Kenna started swimming lessons this last week. I was a little worried, as last year she was somewhat fearful of putting her face in the water. And there was no way she was jumping in the water. Well because of some peer pressure from Megan the last few trips to the pool, and trying to show off for her new friends, she is pretty fearless this year! They have been playing various games that get them used to being under water and practicing both front crawl and backfloat. She is really doing well. I am also impressed by her ability to make friends quickly. There are a few girls that she really warmed right up to...so cute!

Trying to manage a newborn in the heat while trying to be attentive to Kenna has been somewhat challenging. Sometimes I take her into class, go out to the car to feed Grayson, then am back in time to catch the last bit of her lesson. I met a mom that I have had fun chatting with so I have really enjoyed swimming lessons as well!

Summerfest

2011-07-11T08:08:00.000-05:00

We had a busy holiday weekend. I know it wasn't a holiday for most, but for us it was! It was Ankeny's annual summerfest celebration, which is always the weekend after the 4th. There are games, volleyball, vendor shows, softball, parades, carnivals, fireworks, bands, just a very busy 4 days!

This year Brandon and Chelsey were here, so we ventured out and did a little more than usual :) We started with the parade on Saturday where we got way too much candy. We met up with Eski and her family, Kohls, Andersens, Aunti Em and Kade. The kids loved getting the candy, but the parade has turned more into an election campaign and advertising for businesses rather than the parades I remember as a kid...but still fun. Zachey loved the old firetrucks, police cars and tractors :)

Later that day I got the kids up early from nap to head to the cardboard boat rigada. Our neighbors spend months working on their boat. There are prizes for best titanic sinking, fastest, and most creative. This year they built an amazing boat, probably 10x5x5. It resembled a wave with a shark jumping through it and biting the surfboard....it was very cool and kicked everyone else's butt by at least half the race course.

Taking all the kids to the boat race was probably a mistake. Grayson was not happy because it was so hot. So we walked quickly to the snacks to get the kids some treats while Grayson got something to eat as well. A bright red popsicle on a 90 degree day may have been a bad idea...it stained Zachey's skin temporarily, but did wash off in the end :)

--one happy sticky boy!--

--kenna was much more happy with her ice cream cone choice!--

That evening the big kids went to Gona and Baca's and Josh and I had a chance to go out for a nice dinner. It was quite fun, and the first time we'd been alone since Grayson was born really! We went to Rinallos and I had some great wine and Josh got his favorite food in the world fried Brie!

On Sunday we let everyone sleep in, watched a movie and Chels and I went to what we thought was an art show...turned out to be a vendor fair, but I did get a cute insulated lunch bag! Then we came home and Chelsey practiced doing McKenna's hair for her wedding. Was VERY cute, but took over an hour...hmmm wondering if she will hold still that long again!

--so pretty! She looked so big!--

Then it was time for fireworks! Zachey was exhausted, so I put him to bed around 730 but woke him up at 915 to head to the fireworks! We have a great method. We load everyone in the car and pull off on a side road right by the fireworks show. We put out our lawn chairs, eat popcorn and cover ourselves in bug spray. Then during the finale we throw all our chairs in the car and zip out of there! Then we beat all the traffic and are still able to see the show! Worked out great!

--it was still 86 degrees at 10..so we sat in the car for a few minutes--

--Zachey was so cute--

Zachey kept saying, "oh data a loud one" or "oooo dat bright!" There were also some planes circling the fireworks and he was pretty excited about seeing the airplane as well. I am glad we woke him up...was very fun!

This morning we are all dragging a little...there was a crazy thunderstorm last night that woke up Kenna. She has a busy day with swimming lessons and an eye dr. appointment...the summer is flying by!

Video of Mr. Grayson

2011-07-08T16:51:00.001-05:00

4 Weeks Old...crazy!

Keeping Busy

2011-07-08T16:28:00.000-05:00

This summer is flying by too fast! Grayson is already a month old...and I only have 10 weeks of maternity leave left...boo! Potty training was less than successful. Zachey gets it, and I think he knows that he needs to go, but is so busy playing and having a good time he would rather just go in his pants. UGH. Oh well, I did the same method I did with kenna and he was just not having it. After 4 days of utter exhaustion, I said forget it...we will try again later and in the meantime remind him of the potty and work with him at his pace.

Brandon got here yesterday and we headed to the zoo today with the boys. Chelsey took Kenna and Megan to the new pool in town. Sounds like it is pretty crowded, but that is typical on a hot summer day! I prefer the quiet pace of the city's older pool, but the new one is far cooler :)

This weekend we are going to be doing lots of fun Summerfest things! Parade tomorrow, carnival, boat rigada, fireworks, should be fun! We'll see if Grayson can keep up with us!

--Chelsey made a yummy ice cream cake for a dinner party with Josh's friends from high school--

--Kenna loves her little brother--

--he kinda likes her too--

--kenna playing dress up with Rylee--

The other night Megan, Jillian and Megan set up a stand to make some money. I thought, cute idea! Then I saw that there were selling...wait for it...ice water..hmm not the best business venture. And on a cul-de-sac....hmmm. Well, I brought them out some watermelon slices to eat as they waited. They ended up selling those and making about a buck each. So I guess it wasn't a total flop! Pretty funny :)

Fun pictures from Gona and Bacas

2011-07-03T14:09:00.000-05:00

Was going through my email and found these fun pictures from a visit to Gona and Bacas :)

--one of the last pregnant photos of me, wow, Kenna and I are totally related!--

Potty Training

2011-07-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

So - this weekend we took on the very fun task of potty training a 2 year old boy. There are many differences between training McKenna and Mr. Z. He is much more into the game/toy he is playing with and has a harder time knowing when he has to go. There is definitely the added challenge of aiming down into the potty (Josh referred to it as arterial spray I believe?) And, the method I used with McKenna and Zachary is the same with one slight difference...with Kenna I made her drink juice boxes all day (so she had lots of opportunities to "practice".) But, I bought the cheap, mostly water and sugar version. With Zachey, I made the mistake of buying 100% fruit juice...instant diarrhea...oops! Poor little man.

But he is doing really well day two. Told us lots of time he has had to go, and only had one pee related accident...waita go Z!

The funniest moment has had to be trying to teach him to "hold it" when he had to go. He says, "Okay mommy, I hold it." Then he grabs his crotch and walks around....not quite what I meant ;)

--playing on the hardwood, for easiest cleanup--

--proud of his undies--

Twins 2 years apart?

2011-06-29T11:28:00.000-05:00

--Zachary--

--Grayson--

--stick em up zachey--

--stick em up baby gray :) --