Fall 2013

I promise to post pictures and events of Ivy's birth soon. I just need to do a little catch up first.
The First Day of School (actually the 2nd day - I forgot on the first!)

Ruth 1st Grade

Cora - because she wanted her picture taken

Mariah 4th Grade

Lindsay Preschool

 CF Energy Fair- We went last year and had a great time. Apparently the utility company in our town knows how to throw a real party. Last year my girls wanted to have their faces painted, but the line was really long and I told them, "next time." So, they patiently waited a whole year, and this is what we waited in line for this year.

 One last cookout in the fire pit. Good times! We cannot wait to do it again. Maybe this winter?

 Me nine months pregnant. I am only posting this for posterity's sake. Apparently I have no great pictures of me pregnant. Maybe that is just how it is when you are huge, swollen, and don't feel like exercising.

 Ruthie lost her first tooth! That was big news in our home. Earlier this fall Lindsay had gone to the dentist and he wiggled one of her teeth and told her it was going to fall out someday. Lindsay told Ruth who broke down and was so upset that her younger sister was going to loose a tooth before her. The real story is that the Toothfairy needs to be fired at our house. She missed the first TWO nights. It must have been a busy time. To make up for it, she had to bring extra money. She needs to remember next time, or might end up broke!

 Lindsay and Cora because they wanted their pictures taken.

 Raking Leaves - We love this activity. My kids did an awesome job this year. They moved all the leaves from where they fell, across the yard and made a giant pile where there were fewer leaves. A lot of unnecessary work, but hours of fun and play.

Cora wanted to be in the leaves whenever possible.

 

I wanted to post this picture of Cora. She loves hats and wears them whenever she can. It seems strange to me that I don't have more pictures of her with them on. Also, check out the picture below- Cora can totally wink. It is the cutest thing.

 Mariah in her school music program. They did a great job. Mariah was selected to play an impromptu piece on the instruments they were playing. She still is playing piano and loving it.

 HALLOWEEN

Our newest pumpkin!

 Carving Pumpkins

 School Parade

 Cora cracks me up. I saw her lying under this table with a blanket on it and it totally reminded me of The Wizard of OZ.

 The Little Witch Herself...

Summer 2012

We had a great summer. With the arrival of baby number 5 coming, we decided to skip our big trip that we had planned west this summer. It was disappointing, but as soon as we told the girls that we were going to get water park passes and see some new places in Iowa, they were happy.  The biggest highlight of summer I don't have any pictures of. We got to eat breakfast with Dad almost everyday and he came home for lunch and to do "summer school" with the girls. They did a lot of Math this summer! It was great to spend time together as a family.

Strawberry Picking

My first bright idea for summer was to go pick strawberries for jam. While it sounded like a good idea, I forgot that I was pregnant and might not enjoy bending over and picking strawberries for an hour. Thank goodness Matt came with us. He ended up picking most of the strawberries while I watched Cora and the girls ate a few. It was a fun place to go with a giant jumping pillow and animals to look at. Mariah was a HUGE help the next day making the jam. We are still enjoying it.

 Swimming Lessons

As usual we did swimming lessons this summer. Everyone passed and had a great time. I even did a parent/child class with Cora. I wasn't sure if she would learn anything, but it really helped her get comfortable in the water. 

 Sturgis Falls Festival

We participated in the children's parade and then ate a lot of fair food waiting for the talent show to begin that some of the youth from our ward were in. It was fun. The next day we went to the parade and loaded up on bead necklaces and candy.

 Dubuque, IA

At the end of June we headed out to see something new in Iowa. We decided on Dubuque because it was only 90 minutes away and heard that there were some fun things to do. The pictures don't do the clouds justice, but we saw some amazing clouds on the way there. Too bad we didn't get any rain at our house. We went to the Mississippi River Museum. It was amazing. The girls had a great time and we ended up staying hours longer than we had planned. Matt and I enjoyed the girls all day. One highlight came after the girls got wood shavings and told if they put them is the Mississippi River and made a wish it would come true.  Lindsay wished for a unicorn (so what are her chances of getting that wish?)

 

 

 Field of Dreams

On the way back from Dubuque we stopped by the place where the movie, "Field of Dreams" was filmed. It was a pleasant surprise. It was one of the most peaceful places we have been. There were other people there, but it had such a good feeling to the place. We didn't stay long, but it was a nice break. We ran the bases and walk out of the corn field. Ruth was especially fond of the bathrooms. When she found out we had to use a Port-a-Potty she was sure that they must be "really nice bathrooms." We laughed a lot.

 Games of Summer

For Father's Day we bought Matt a croquet set. It has been a lot of fun to have. The girls are getting better, but that usually includes a lot of "extra" hits. Matt also built a Washers Game. Mariah still has the high score, but I think you need to stand farther away than 2 feet before it can count. Pedicures galore. My children have learned to enjoy and love having their feel soaked, messaged and painted. Now if I can only teach them to do it to me...

 

Nauvoo Pageant

At the end of July we decided it was time to go to the Nauvoo Pageant again. It has been 5 years since the last time we attended. Neither Mariah or Ruth remembered going. So off we went. It was a fun evening - dancing, making stuff, watching and not so much sleeping. We had an "interesting" hotel in a town 30 minutes away. It's days of glory have long since passed. Cora stayed wide awake until 2 or later in the morning. Until we moved her, she kept looking out the window and saying, "hello" very loudly to anyone she could see outside.

I love this picture. There is no way you can tell that I am 7 months pregnant. The bar must hide the baby bump.

Other fun things we did were play with Neighbors - every day. Lindsay learned to ride her bike without training wheels. We played in the water outside and went to the water park in town. We ate as much 4 Queens ice cream as we could. And mostly I tried to stay out of the heat. Next summer we go WEST! Yea!!!