Block Party

On Thursday the kids and I were planning on going to the pool with Stones. We discovered that since school started on Wednesday, they closed one of our pools for the season and the other one didn't open until 4 :( Luckily, Andrea told us that the Clive pool was open at 11:30! The kids had a blast! It as 3 seperate pools, a floating river, waterslide and kiddy pool. Of course they spent all their time in the zero depth - 3 foot pool, but by the end even Zachey was into it! They were pretty tired by 1:30 and we headed home for lunch and nap. That night we had Gentrys over for dinner (roast and potatoes in the crockpot.) They were getting ready to leave and Nolan pulls out a shirt that said something like - I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but I'm going to be a big brother! We are SOOO excited for them! She is due on March 1st!

Yesterday we had our annual block party. The family that throws it really does a great job. Free bouncy house for kids; catered BBQ; beer keg; and water baloon fight. So many people came, and everyone's kids are getting so big! We showed up around 5, and so did most everyone else! We heard all about Colon's trip to Germany and him driving 150 mph on the autoban, and about what everyone's kids are doing in school this year.

--this is a princess picture Kenna drew last week....pretty impressive!--

--Zachey has discovered hats..just loves putting them on, taking them off, putting them on, etc --

--water balloon fight--

--bouncy house--

--kenna narrowly missing water balloon splash--

Cute Zachey Moments

I have forgotten how much fun the 18 month-ish stage is! Zachey seems to be learning things by the second. Some of his favorites are:

Daw-he (doggie - been saying this since 12 months)
Ma (me)
Ite! (light)
mo (more)
Ne-na (kenna - this I have only heard once)
Ba (ball)

He also loves to play with Kenna's stuff. Most recently he has enjoyed playing tea party either with people or on his own. (He wants to do EVERYTHING big sis does!) Josh said we need to get him some army men ASAP, but I think he was relieved when we caught Zachey playing tea party with Josh's old skeletor from He-man.

OUCH!

Last night Josh and I had a date night at the first annual Jest Fest in Des Moines. Had some great comedians, and we took advantage of having Gona and Baca babysit and painted some of the basement. Unfortunatly they are both sick and Kenna was up most the night...sorry Gona! We called the doctor and he perscribed an antibiotic without us having to go in (yay!) and we will go in to get it checked out first thing next week.

We met Denny with kids at Em's garage sale. In between talking Zachey fell and scraped his face...poor little dude! Hasn't dampened his spirit! Happy guy!

The Rest of April's Visit

We had such a fun (and HOT) time with Auntie April! She is having a baby and moving to Germany soon, so before she left she came to visit us in Iowa!

After the BBQ over the weekend we spent all day Sunday shopping (looking for cute baby stuff was the primary goal ;) Then Monday, I had to work, but April enjoyed the crazy thunderstorms, losing power, and I think she gave up and took a nap :) Tuesday we took the kids to Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines. I had never been there but was pleasantly surprised! The zoo is perfect for their ages as it only takes about 3 hours to get through the whole thing. And it has a good sampling of animals, shade and well maintained grounds!

--Kenna checking out the otters--

--the Austrailia exhibit had Wallabies just wandering in a grassy area that you walked through--

--Swans--

--kenna liked the big cats, here is are the lions--

--stopping for a snack, and trying to avoid the 85+ degree temps with 80% humidity...bleck!--

--growling like a tiger--

--giraffes were cute!--

--stopped for a snack in a shady area--

--as usual Zachey was starving--

--poor monkey looked bored--

--Zachey liked to watch all the animals but especially liked the monkies--

--bald eagles--

--sweaty mommie and zachey waiting for the train--

--train ride!--

--the train was like 9 minutes, but pretty fun :), complete with tunnel! --

We got the kids home just in time for nap. That night Josh watched the kids while April and I volunteered at the ICubs. That is Iowa's minor league baseball team. Best Buy runs one of the concession stands. We supply the labor (all volunteer) and the proceeds go to the Animal Rescue League. I felt bad dragging April there, as I had signed up months prior. It was SOOO hot and humid that sweat was running down my back while I was steaming the hot dogs and sorting the buns. THe back room had to be 1oo degrees....but up front serving beer and snacks wasn't awful. We got a free hot dog and couldn't wait to get home to shower!!!

Wednesday I had to work again, but I think April passed the day watching movies and enjoying the air conditioning :) That night we went to Sam's birthday party. They had a young explorers theme in a neat parkground in south des moines. It was called Raccoon River. The kids ate pizza then played with various animals and fed them. They ignited a volcano and learned about dinosaurs. They painted fossils and ate cake then opened presents. Kenna had a great time!

--learning about volcanoes--

--Zachey got rather bored waiting in the lobby for two hours. We entertained ourselves with balloons and food :) --

Thursday we did a crazy thing...braved the Iowa State Fair with a heat index of 103...UGH it was hot. We just alternated between something outside and something inside. Then it wasn't so bad. We hit all the booths, vendors, and many of the food stands :) We probably saw about 75% of what there was to see that day, but it took almost 5 hours! Man, yet again we took a shower when we got home...oh well, was worth it!

--tattoos were the thing this year. April sporting her free egg tattoo and free egg on a stick--

We scored some free bags at the breast cancer awareness booth. Pretty pink ones perfect for the pool or gym! Also tried many "things on a stick." We had an elephant ear, caramel apple, deep fried pineapple on a stick, and finally a twinkie log. The twinkie log sounded right up April's alley, but ended up being pretty gross and she threw it out :(

--twinkie log--

Overall a fun, sweltering day! It was the only day we could go, and we still had a great time! Friday we got the kids ready for the prince/princess party at Eski's that day. Then we spent the day garage saleing! I got quite a few treasures, but April was a little reluctant as she would have to pack it all home! After we finished it was time for lunch then I had to take her to the airport! It went by too quickly, but I get to go visit her in October, which isn't that far off, so something to look forward to!

--princess kenna, in full gear with makeup!--

--prince Zachary from China....the best I could do ;) --

April's Visiting and BBQ

We are having a great time with Auntie April! She got here Friday night after a little delay at the airport. We didn't do much but put the kids to bed on Friday. She brought some cute clothes and books for the kids, so of course that was the bedtime story that night!

Saturday we got up early and went to the Farmers Market downtown! We just love going there. Lots of booths and people watching. We got some veggies and Kenna got a balloon animal! I would like to preface this post by thanking april for letting me steal her pictures as I didn't have my camera :)

--Kenna got an elephant--

--and the highlight of the day was snowcones!--

later that day we had the 3rd annual Skinner BBQ and pool party. We borrowed a HUGE waterslide from my friend, made burgers, corn, watermelon, lemonade, hot dogs and brats. The kids had a BLAST!

--Zachey checking out the craziness--

--Vandana and Abi (10 months)--

--Kenna enjoying the water (had to be about 90 degrees....so felt great I'm sure!) --

--all the party goers (Gentrys, Andersens, Gantis, Dietzs, April, Gona and Baca and Auntie Em and Kade stopped by with Faaborgs for a bit)--

--nolan manning the water cannon!--

--Zachey spent the WHOLE day in this little pool, he loved it!--

--view of the giant slide thing--

--kenna eating her open faced burger--

--At one point both kids were chomping down the watermelon!--

--zachey ate more than I have ever seen him eat....his belly was FULL--

--Lucy, so cute!--

--Rylee after stealing half a hamburger from Kenna...happy dog--

--this is the face of someone who had a great day!--

What a perfect day, we had such a good time! The kids loved that water slide thing, I think they would still be out there doing it now if we had let them!

The Last of the Ragbrai Posts

Finally had time to upload the videos from our trip! Hope you enjoy :)

--at the PB&Jam location, they always set instruments out for all the biker hippies to play, I really enjoyed both the sandwich and the entertainment!--

--this was a place I stopped to, you guessed it, eat something. Just watched the bikers come up over the hill--

--just me panning at one of the local towns...video and pictures did not do the enormity of the amount of people there justice!--

My Little Boy Is Not So Little

I just love that Zachey is learning to play by himself...I will often catch him "talking" to his toys or making car noises with little trucks....got this one on video!

Cute Kid Pix

Just a couple shots I took over the last few weeks. Before Ragbrai I took the kids swimming at the Ankeny Pool. Kenna seems a little more excited than Zachey, probably because he hates getting sunscreen in his hair :)

--they really did have a great time...Kenna loves her goggles!--

Zachey has just recently started to enjoy Sesame Street and Kenna is getting back into it as well. Now that she knows letters and numbers I think she feels like she can be the teacher. Today the kids got up EARLY, like 5am early...ugh! So we spent the morning having some cheerios on the couch with our blankies, enjoying some early morning sesame street :)

--Zachey wants to do everything sis does. He has recently started calling her "Ne-na" so cute!--

Auntie Em's Birthday

We had a fun time at Gona and Baca's for Auntie Em's birthday. I started the day by riding my bike there. It was a great ride, only about 34 miles, all trailed. We had lunch and participated in a relay race, of which Kenna, Josh and I dominated ;) (Even though it was rigged.) We are the champions of barefoot relay.

Happy birthday Auntie Em!!!

Swimming Lessons

This year Kenna took swimming lessons at the Country Club. She went in a little fearful of the water, but after 8 lessons, she was able to jump in, go underwater and retrieve a ring, float on her back, flutter kick with a noodle, and blow bubbles underwater. She did a great job in level one, and we were so proud of her!

We really lucked out as her session only had 3 kids in it! It was perfect for her because I think it really helped her overcome her reservations about wanting to put her face in the water!

--there were two pools, this little one is where they started, then moved into the big pool--

--blowing bubbles--

--this has nothing to do with swimming lessons, but Zachey is getting really good at using a spoon/fork!--

Next year we'll probably repeat level one, as she didn't master every skill necessary to progress, but she is only 4!