living with the wild

Christmas Cards are done!

2010-12-11T22:01:00.000-08:00

Well friends the cards are done! There are actually 2 so you will get one of the two in the mail with the annual Christmas letter by Jason. We are still working on the slightly humorous factor though. Merry Christmas!

Cool Gray Christmas Card

Make a statement with personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas Letter in the Making

2010-12-03T14:40:00.001-08:00

Right before Thanksgiving we got the urge to get our pictures taken at Sears. Yes we had not taken Tana's 12 month pictures - we used one that Mom took at Grandpa's funeral - it is really cute! But really we needed to get an updated family picture done. Christmas is here and the letters and pictures need to go out. This is my favorite time of the year making the cards. Last year I decided that I didn't have time to make the design on our own computer so I turned to Shutterfly for our Christmas cards. And I haven't turned back - Tana's birth announcements were also done on there.

I don't understand why everyone doesn't do it this way. It is so easy. So cute. So much fun. I love the options. I love to play around with the settings! I do go a little crazy and make like 10 choices and then drive my husband crazy by asking him to pick the one he likes. He never picks the right one. I usually then head out to friends until enough say they like mine. This year I am trying to weigh in on Jason's favs but my fav is #3 on his list. Ugh.

I have to say on Shutterfly I am very impressed with the variety of choices and low prices! I think these cards look much more expensive than what they actually are!

I typically pick a photo card with several openings for pictures. This year I was also looking for a card that matched the pictures that we took. Our outfits in our family pictures were dark gray and bright blue. Unfortunately there weren't a ton of options in this area, but I found some I liked!

This one is really nice and it went well with our clothing - obviously that isn't us though :) I needed several openings. It had options to let me have three. This is one of Jason's favorites.

Family Snowfall Midnight

I really like this one, but no options for more than one picture. It is off the list. I like the colors and the fun non-traditional look.

Merry Merry Greetings

I made a card with this one and it looks good, but Jason just didn't like it. I love the cool dots.

Polka Dot Wishes

This is by far my favorite layout, but the cost when we have to buy 125 are a little much for me. I am working on it but Jason is the voice of reality for me.

Cool Gray

This is on Jason's top list but I think the pictures will be a little small, but don't be surprised if this one is sent to you since I like it better than his other one.

Colorful Frames

This is my favorite, but it is Jason's 3rd choice. I love the black background that looks great with our family pictures.

Bold Bright Wishes

So as soon as my cards get ordered we have to get the writer to come up with a great letter again. So coming to a mailbox near you will be the Willis Christmas letter.

Shocked!

2010-06-14T14:02:00.001-07:00

Yes I realize some of you might have just gasped at the thought of me finally updating my blog. I have a list of 48 posts to get through. I typically don't like to post out of order, but I am going to have to so that I can show off my cuties.

Tana is growing like a weed and it is fairly humorous to look at her in the posts just previous to this on and her cute little piggies. She is growing like a weed and keeps me on my toes so much more than the other two. She is a little girl with a big attitude. Can you say drama queen?!?!

Grandpa Melvin

2010-03-27T19:12:00.000-07:00

This is a hard post to write because today, March 27th (yes Ally's birthday), Grandpa Melvin went to be with his precious Savior and Lord Jesus. I have had a hard time about how to feel about his death - happy or sad. He was diagnosed in December with pancreatic cancer - and 3-12 months to live. He missed Grandma Arlene so much and just wanted to go to heaven. His health had been failing for sometime. He wasn't as sharp and witty as he was. He could still tell us some good stories from the early days - but sometimes they were hard to get out. So even though I will miss him greatly, I am celebrating his new life with Jesus where he can see and walk again!

He leaves a huge legacy - in family and friends. Everyone has a story about how Grandpa Melvin touched or taught them. He was one of the most godly men that I ever knew. I knew that if I was ever confused that I could always call him and he would share scripture that would tell me what Jesus wanted me to do. I might have been his grandchild, anyone who walked in the door was family to him. He loved to sing and loved it when we sang with him.

My friend Cam, put it well - he has been promoted to the "Good Ol' Iowa Farmer - sitting on the front porch of heaven club." Grandpa will be missed, but I am sure that he isn't missing this place!

This is a picture of his 90th birthday party. He was so thrilled to have 90 years to live here, but he was so ready to be with Jesus.

Donuts

2010-03-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

Tana is our third child and you can tell it by our actions. We would have NEVER done this with our first and probably a little later with number 2, but Tana - ahhh it won't hurt her!

Well let's just say that she LOVED the powered sugar donut! She is so proud of her self.

Another Attemp

2010-03-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

I think that we got some good pictures for our card out of this sitting, but Tana is the girl of many many faces. Her face does not hid what she is feeling. We think that Ally is a Drama Queen, I think that in the future that Tana might out-do her - and that SCARES me.

The first two before bathtime didn't go terrible, but it is always fun to get pictures of kids in their PJs by the tree.

As you can tell, Tana didn't want to have any part of this...

Really - again mom - I thought I told you how I felt...

And we are done.

Some of you might remember us before kids - but we used to have these silly snowmen. We everyone has their own and we bought Tana's this year, they made the family Christmas pictures.

Attempt

2010-03-27T18:31:00.000-07:00

Here are one of many attempts at getting a good picture for the Christmas card. I know that I am biased, but these are the sweetest and cutest kiddos ever!

The Star - Year 2

2010-03-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Every year the star on the tree is the big deal - there is only one star and only one person gets to put it on. Last year the kids declared order. Last summer Drew reminded us that it was his turn.

Drew and his proud moment with the star.

Getting ready for the big moment on Daddy's shoulders.

Ta Da!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-24T21:29:00.000-08:00

I know that Brenda likes to post blogs in the order that they happened, but I felt like I should sneak in a quick one here to say Merry Christmas.

We had a relaxing day, finishing up a few random things to get ready for the next few days. The rain has not turned to ice or snow yet, so we made it to the Christmas Eve Service late this afternoon. It was a very good service and Ally and Drew sat very well through it.

After a quick super, we got to open the Willis family presents. I think we hit a few home runs with the gifts.

The kids are all asleep now and Santa's presents are under the tree and the cookies and milk are gone. We'll see who gets up first in the morning.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas with your families.

And last, but most definitely not least...HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T06:30:00.002-08:00

I know that I changed my background to Christmas last night, but I think that Thanksgiving is good to have before the Christmas "givemes." I am so thankful for my husband and precious kiddos. Life would not be nearly the fun without them.

Our morning has started out by Jason taking a trip to Casey's to get the paper (for Friday!!!!) and some donuts. We are teaching our children young how to be organized about their Thursday looking. There is a spreadsheet out marking the great deals at each store so that we can plan our adventure tomorrow! By the way - anyone want to babysit three kids so that Jason can go with me - we had a lot of fun last year together - I was moving pretty slow with a watermelon in my tummy.

Tana is a moving machine. She did get under-feet this morning and got her fingers stepped on on her way to the dishwasher. She wasn't too happy with that, but did enjoy flying on the dishwasher before breakfast.

As we head to Grinnel to enjoy family today we remember all the things we are thankful for. Yes we can be thankful for all the things that God has given us here on Earth, but really I am most thankful for my Savior who brought me out of darkness. I am so excited to celebrate his birth in the coming month!

Hawkeye Game

2009-11-26T06:29:00.005-08:00

This is completely out of the ordinary for Jason and has taken me several years to accomplish, but we finally went to a Hawkeye basketball game. We were watching Tricia Nesbit (a girl from our SS class in Ames - she was only 7 then - wow we are old!). We took the kids on a free night. Ally even got a t-shirt from the family in front of us. She was so excited.

Later the next week an electrician gave us some tickets to the men's game. Now those tickets are give-aways this year. They STINK! We were at half court in the third row. We had fun just being on a date and laughing at the doofusses behind us screaming at the refs - like that was going to help them win. Maybe they should screen correctly or put someone down in the paint. I might be a better coach.

I am sure there will be many more firsts for this Hawkeye family - (as I hear my husband growl...)

Daddy's Hat

2009-11-26T06:29:00.003-08:00

I make everyone smile so much. My daddy doesn't think that he can handle any more of me, but I am so cute that it is hard to say NO!

Three Men in a Tub

2009-11-26T06:28:00.003-08:00

This is a typical evening bath time for us. Tana LOVES being in the tub with them, but they don't like to share the room. For some reason the smallest takes up the most room and splashes the most. I think mom and dad get a bath too out of the ordeal, but we sure can run them through QUICK!

Rally Cap

2009-11-26T06:28:00.001-08:00

Not sure who he was cheering for - probably the last couple Cards game - which were hopeless. I walked into my mom's kitchen to find him trying the rally cap - didn't work.

First Tooth Out

2009-11-26T06:27:00.007-08:00

The first tooth at the Willis house has been lost, but it hasn't been lost by the oldest - but Drew. November 12th Drew and Ally came running up while I was changing after school yelling - it fell out! So here is my big boy with no tooth (and a messy face). He lost a 2nd a month later.

Wigs

2009-11-26T06:27:00.005-08:00

After Halloween, we went out and got some costumes for our dress-up box. This lovely wig is HILLARIOUS especially when it is on Tana. Someday she might have some hair!

Drew's Concert

2009-11-26T06:27:00.003-08:00

Last years Christmas program was a flop - Drew refused to sing and cried on stage. This year he did great. Notice that he is the tallest kid in the back row amoung the 17 boys and 3 girls?

The sad part was that Ally had a concert the same night and missed it due to strep. It was a bummer since she was so excited about it.

I wish we had some video of the concert, but the camera battery died just after 5 pictures. Arghhhh - lesson - bring extra batteries. The positive thing - we had heard the same concert the last 3 years in Amana so we knew all the songs and could have sang a long.

Plumber Butt

2009-11-26T06:27:00.001-08:00

This just made me smile about her little behind. Her pants are a little big and just slide off when she is on the move!

Chuckie Cheese

2009-11-26T06:26:00.007-08:00

We had a hard time with Drew's party. H1N1 was going through right at the same time as his birthday and we were just waiting for someone to come down with it. Luckily we made it through! Drew wanted to go to Chuckie Cheese for his party. He choose 3 friends to take. Two of them got sick the night we went so just Rolen went with us. Those boys had a blast. I have never seen them eat so much pizza either - I think each ate 3 pieces which is COMPLETELY unusually for Drew.

Now I almost have another kindergartener!

Halloween

2009-11-26T06:26:00.005-08:00

My mom and sister stopped by before we headed out with the kids. They posed with Rachel. I think Rachel's costume is the scariest.

Tana was suppose to be a ladybug, but the costume (which was Ally's) didn't fit, so instead she was a lion (which was Drew's). She was so cute and didn't mind the hood!

Ally was Ariel (with a turtle neck on instead of shells. Drew was Bumblebee (a transformer).

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-26T06:26:00.003-08:00

Ally LOVES to carve pumpkins. My little princess is not at all afraid to stick her hand in and pull out the guts. She played with it and sorted tons of seeds. I had the intentions of making pumpkin seeds, but instead they are going to be planted next year in the lot next to us.

Drew on the other hand had to be forced to stick his hand into the pumpkin. He couldn't pick the face on the pumpkin unless he took 5 handfuls out. It was a long whiny process, but it got done.

Now I realized now that I never got any pictures of the final products, but I did get some good ones of my silly family.

Drew's FIFTH Birthday

2009-11-26T06:26:00.001-08:00

Holy Cow, I can't believe 5 years ago we had a sweet shy little guy. Okay he isn't little by any means though - he weighed in 53# and was 48 inches short. He is still flyin' off the charts and a little sister that is following his steps. Drew still has the long eyelashes that any girl would die for.

Our little guy is changing so much. He loves pre-school. He is the star of his class. He writes his name so well and can count high. His teacher tells us that when she wants the class to do something - she tells them to watch how Drew is doing it. I am so proud of him!

He is also becoming a big boy and his interests are changing so much. He is into Bakugans, Transformers, Super Heros and many other stuff.

I wish I understood being a boy and loving dirt and jumping off things. I love my little snuggler!

Matt & Ashley's Wedding

2009-11-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

We headed to Matt and Ashley's wedding in South Dakota. It was a long drive and a long weekend in a small hotel room, but a lot of fun with family that you don't get to see often.

Before the wedding the boys were watching the ISU v. Nebraska game. I can't remember who won? Do you know Amy?

Then during the reception we kept wandering into the bar to watch the Iowa game. I left the reception just as I thought Iowa had lost, but should have stayed for the rest - but instead had to watch the highlights on the news.

Somehow we managed to sit in a different row that our kids which meant that Aunt Amy was watching the big kids during the ceremony - which they were excellent. Tana was suppose to fall asleep soon after her bottle, but of coarse she waited until the last 5 minutes of the wedding. We did learn from the wedding ceremony that we should put on our underware of compassion.

After a quick breakfast at Aunt Lou's we headed on our 6 hour trip home. Thanks for a great weekend.

Great Grandpa John

2009-11-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

Tana got to meet and sit with Grandpa John for a few minutes before we left South Dakota. It was hard to hold on to our wiggle worm - she gave him some sweet smiles and drool.

Rough Sleeper

2009-11-24T15:27:00.001-08:00

First I have to post this precious picture of my drooler (not Jason) and her great socks. I just wish that she would keep them on!

Jason got Tana up from a nap and noticed a hand-print on her face - not just her fingers, but all the wrinkles and fingernails.

Pumpkins Glore

2009-11-24T15:15:00.000-08:00

This year we didn't have a free weekend to head to a pumpkin farm to do the corn maze and all the other goodies, but we did head to Jason's parents who planted tons of pumpkins for the kids. Drew and Grandpa Jim were getting ready to cut one off the vine.

We tried to get a picture of the 4 kiddos, but Makenna wouldn't hold still. (My kids were angels for once - I am sure that will not be the case with Tana at Christmas.)

Grandma Janelle does a scavenger hunt with the kids' names pumpkins. Ally and Drew looked forward to this adventure. I was inside with Tana so don't know if hers were hid or not.

We also opened some presents for Makenna and Drew's birthdays. As a good aunt and uncle, Jason and I make sure that we get noisy toys. The kindness is typically repaid at other holidays and events. This year Makenna got a lovely guitar that plays annoying music. Fun by all I am sure. Makenna loves to dance so it is perfect for her (and her parents)! We are already looking for the perfect present for Christmas for her and her new little baby coming soon.

Ally is showing Makenna how to make beautiful music.

Nasty

2009-11-24T15:09:00.000-08:00

This is the face of a very content little girl. We have ventured into the cookies, crackers, cherrios, etc food group. She has two bottom teeth.

But the disadvantage of this period of a young little girl is that she gets nasty and gross. Notice the chunks of goo in her hair, ears, eyes, nose and hands - GROSS!

Meet Me in St. Louie

2009-11-22T18:04:00.000-08:00

Boy do we miss St. Louis! The first weekend of October we headed down to STL to visit some awesome friends, but also to catch the Cardinals final homestand for the '09 season. We left Friday morning and met up with the Scoggins at the Magic House.

Tana was really starting to want to play and loves the water. She was a happy clam sitting in this little chair splashing around. The other 4 were crazy and hard to keep an eye on. By the end of the day, there were 4 very tired parents!

They had a Curious George visiting exhibition.

While at Randy and Melody's we had breakfast for supper. Ally helped Uncle Randy make the waffles. We always have to much fun while there! Thank you guys for opening your doors to our crazies!

We have been really wanting to head to a game, but with three kids it is hard to get away. They also "like" the Cardinals too - probably by default but it counts. We really wanted to take the big kids to their first game too. Ally had been several times when she was younger, but her last game was at 6 months - Tana's current age. We vowed never to take her again because she wouldn't sit still. (Still can't)

Tickets were hard to come by but Randy managed to get us some GREAT tickets to Sunday's game. We had a blast and enjoyed the game. We left a little early since it looked like they were gonna get stomped. By the time we got to the van they had tied it up. I was very frustrated, but glad we left. We had a long drive home. I think the Brewers won over an hour later. It was a rough end to a good season - maybe next year.

We can't wait for our next visit to meet Scoggins third boy - Webb!

Fun Fair

2009-11-22T18:01:00.001-08:00

We took the kids to their elementary fun fair which was INSANITY!!! Tons of kids, silly games and stupid prizes equals a great night to my two yahoos.

I am pretty sure that a couple of the prizes broke before we left the prize store. I have NEVER said - keep buying you still have money. They had so many tickets from their games. I would have been happy with out the junk that went straight to the trash when they went to bed - SHHHHHH.

Pants on My Head

2009-11-22T17:59:00.000-08:00

Who put my pants on my head??? Daddy?!?!?

Her Boyfriend

2009-11-21T15:15:00.000-08:00

Tana: Mom what is in there? Can he come out and play with me? I bet I could eat him.

We watched our friend's baby so they could go to the football game one Saturday. At first Tana just sat and looked at Jason, but then decided that he was boring. A few weeks later, she went to his house to play while his mommy watched her. She thought he was much cooler. Someday they might be able to date - we are still in negotiations with his parents.

Sunday Shower

2009-11-21T15:12:00.000-08:00

Tana loves the water. We needed scrubbed down on Sunday morning so instead of getting her tub ready she jumped into the shower with one of us.

Football State

2009-11-21T14:58:00.000-08:00

I have gotten a lot of crap from my sister about not updating this blog - yes I must admit that it has been awhile, but give us a break we have three kids and work full time! We do believe in feeding them at a reasonable hour. By the time they head to bed, I am usually crashed on the couch or trying to plan for the next crazy day at school, but enough of the excuses here I go - there will be plenty of posts but I will start from where I left off.

We enjoyed (well really didn't enjoy) the Iowa vs. ISU football game with the Lapointe's. Ally is a Hawkeye and Nick is a ISU grad - so she usually dresses half the kids in Iowa and the other half in ISU. Glo was the lucky?? winner to wear the Iowa attire. We put these lovely girlies together and got some great pictures.

These girls someday will be in a lot of trouble together, but for now they were happy to sit around with their parents.

The Hawkeye outfit must not be too important since it got left at our house and it is still sitting in our mud room ready to go to their house. I guess we should put it on Tana for one of the Iowa games!

Sandlot

2009-09-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Sometime during an arousing game of flashlight tag, Drew entertained us with some movie quotes.

Our kids have watched Sandlot - ONE TOO MANY TIMES!

Campfires

2009-09-19T13:36:00.000-07:00

I love the fire pit - if I didn't get so many bugbites from being out their I would do it more. Jason and the big kids went to get some wood while Tana and I got the hot dogs and s'mores ready. It was a lot of fun just sitting by the fire and roasting marshmellows. Not much more you can want on a Saturday night!

Just chatting with her Pop about boys I am sure and all of her boyfriends.

We had a hard time containing Drew. He just wanted to run and play in the yard.

Just the boys...

Girlies...

Crazy Sister

2009-09-19T13:28:00.001-07:00

On the weekends we let our kids get dressed by themselves. Many times it just looks like Jason picked out their outfits though. After church Ally took her skirt off so she could help Jason clean up the pool and put it away. She came out in this stylin' shorts/shirt combo.

Stripes and floral don't quite go - at least she matched the colors though.

Just because she is cute and holds still for the pictures. She has some crazy pants on too but her's match.

Moving Up.

2009-09-19T13:24:00.001-07:00

Our big girl is moving up. We had to pull out the other carseats because Tana's feet and head were hanging over the edge of her pumpkin seat (carrier). Doesn't she look so big?!?!

Who is This?

2009-09-14T19:53:00.001-07:00

We get lots of comments of who Tana looks like. Who do you think she takes after? I think it is clear.

Full of Giggles

2009-09-02T20:27:00.000-07:00

Where She Sleeps

2009-09-02T20:22:00.001-07:00

Tana typically takes a snooze either right before supper or while we eat.

Somehow in the chaos tonight, she didn't get put down in time. We didn't want to wake her up, so we left her sleep on Jason's arm. I guess her Daddy isn't that exciting that he put her to sleep.

When it was time to clean-up he laid her on the table. We were still at the table so don't worry we were watching to make sure she didn't fall.

First Day of School 2009

2009-08-24T19:58:00.000-07:00

The post you have all been waiting for - first day of school.

It has been a crazy month of August while I have been frantically getting my room ready at the new(ish) middle school. We have taken over the old high school. I like my room even though it is considerably smaller.

It is hard for me to enjoy getting my kids ready on the first day as I am in a rush to be ready for my own students to arrive. This year Jason did the duties and took them all to school and to Ms. Molly's.

By the end of the day, Jason had finally sent me an email telling me about the morning. I was hysterically laughing and my advisory kids just looked at me like I had lost my mind - not anything new to them though.

Jason wrote:
While Ally and Drew were eating, I picked up Tana to start her bottle….ended up with an handful of s__t. She has a new outfit on…mine luckily survived.

Drew entertained us with his repertoire of standards jokes, but also added in an impression of a fish doing sign language. (by the way, did you know that one of our fish is currently named 'for free')

Parked at the back of a FULL parking lot and fought the crowd of parents escorting their kids to class and taking pictures at the door, the locker, their desk. Thought to myself that all these other parents were insane…….as I took out the camera and took pictures by the front of the building, at the lockers….

Ally basically couldn't get rid of me fast enough once we put her backpack in her locker. She kept trying to leg-hug me and run off to her room. I finally got a good hug at the entrance to her 'learning center' and sent her in.

Pictures from the day...
Our 1st grader! She is in Mrs. Matuska's class. She gets to see her kindergarten teacher as she also moved to North Bend Elem!

She has her own locker - just her size!

When did he get so big? Only 4 but this year might as well be his kindergarten year! He eats lunch with the big kids, he goes to music and before and after school with the older kids. Wow guess I won't have to cry next year.

He also has his own locker!

With the middle school move this year, we had to part ways. It is sad but they have their own place. I couldn't keep watch over them forever (even though sometimes I would like to!) They are open enrolled at North Bend Elementary - still in the Clear Creek Amana School District. It is on our way to work and only a few minutes from our house - so far after 4 days we love it!

It's Starting

2009-08-24T19:56:00.001-07:00

Watch out world - it won't be long until this girl is moving fast. She has to be so that she can get away from the big kids.

She is rolling proficiently. We aren't sure if she will crawl or flop like a seal.

Loungin' by the Pool

2009-08-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

This pool hasn't been used as much as we do on a typical summer, but this summer has been far from normal. But really what is normal - floods, hot weather, rainy? Tana doesn't usually get in since she is napping when the big kids play. She doesn't mind the water when we go to the pool, but doesn't seem to love it either.

Tonight we got out her floaty. She was chillin'. She loved it. Her little feet were kicking a mile a minute but still she was going nowhere. Next year will be interesting.

Iowa State Fair 2009

2009-08-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

After a morning meeting at school, Jason came home early so that we could enjoy our last day before school starts as a family - at the FAIR! Now I know that I didn't start going to the fair until Jason and I met, but I thought I was the only one that hadn't been to the fair. We almost didn't go, but thanks to Uncle Chad who asked the kids when they were going - We didn't hear the end of that until we were in the van on our way to Des Moines.

This year we went through our typical route backwards since the first thing they wanted to do was the Little Hands Farm. We didn't get to play on the tractors or stay in the Varied Industry building as long as we would have liked, but we had fun.

The outside pictures are from this year. The inside picture is from 2006 - our first year back in Iowa. Wow have they grown! (click to make it bigger)

This year we let the kids play in the sprinklers since it was so darn hot! If it would have been okay for adults, I would have been in there too. I smelled rotten by the end of the day. Glad we took extra t-shirts to wear home!

We enjoyed some good fair food. We got a funnel cake that was gone in less than 30 seconds. Next year I am getting it when the kids go on the big slide so that I get more than 2 bites. Who ever the genious was that introduced them to funnel cakes is in trouble. I never get any of it! Our only regret is not finding the chocolate covered bacon on a stick - the trip would have then been complete.

Not a Hammie Down

2009-08-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Tana is the proud FIRST owner of her new high chair which I got on Ebay for half price of what it was in the stores! BRAND NEW! This is her first non-hammie down baby thing. It is cute and will fold-up and might last until we have some grandkids.

Love this quirky smile that says - I am kind of cool enough for you to snap this picture.

Tub Time

2009-08-23T20:11:00.001-07:00

This picture captures it all! She loves to play in the tub. She can be screaming and screaming but put her in the water and all her cares go away for the moments that she gets to splash. We give her tubbies every night for this very reason! (It also makes her smell really good!)

Hats Hats Hats

2009-08-23T20:07:00.001-07:00

One night while I was out, the kids were having some fun with hats. Ally was taking pictures of Tana with her camera with all the play hats on. Jason got out our camera to capture the kids all playing together. I guess he also captured our temporary kid Jonna also.

She is such a trooper for letting her brother and sister torture her!

The Last Time...

2009-08-23T20:03:00.001-07:00

We ate in the living room with a good meal - not pizza - was BEFORE kids! Since the kids were gone, we enjoyed a baseball game while eating Sunday lunch. So much fun. It is the little things that we enjoy.

Isn't Tana cute in her cute ducky sun dress!

Jason Michael Hockenberry

2009-08-23T19:56:00.001-07:00

Ah these are really late, but was a BIG event in our lives in August. One of our good friends had their first baby. Baby Jason (not named after my Jason, but after his daddy) was the newest baby I have every held except my own. Isn't Tana huge according to this 8lb 3.5 oz little guy! She is twice his size!

Drew wouldn't hold Tana when she was born, but BEGGED to hold Jason. When I asked if I could take him back - he told me no! I guess having a little sister around the house softened his little heart!

Baby Jason's first visitors. Our extra child (which I maybe willing to keep) is Hannah. She was babysitting for the day and wanted to head to the hospital to see the baby before we took her home. Mari was Hannah's 7th grade math teacher.

The Hockenberry Family - Mari Jason and Jason.

Eating Cereal

2009-08-23T14:23:00.000-07:00

We decided to start Tana on some cereal. She isn't a big fan of plain cereal, but really likes it if we mix in some fruit. While the kids were gone, I made a TON of babyfood just sitting in the freezer waiting to be eaten up. So far she has enjoyed lots of veges and fruit. She makes some great faces and has gotten the hang of it.

Now for all of our family friends - does your mouth open just the way you want your baby's to open?

Watching Daddy Work

2009-08-10T19:35:00.001-07:00

Jason has been busy all summer on our projects. One cool day, Tana decided to watch while I worked in the house. She enjoyed playing in her walker. She watched her Daddy dig and put rock around the house. Ally and Drew also entertained her as usual. Never a dull moment around here!

Tana thinks Drew is funny - you can imagine why. Ally is our little mother hen. Tana gets mad at her often since she is always so close.

Vacation 2009 - The Dells

2009-08-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

Once again we headed to the Dells for vacation. Last year we went with Chris and Amy. This year we drug everyone else with us. We had our own room, but the rest of them stayed together - complete family vacation with Amy's shower getting interrupted in by my Dad. We let Amy pick the hotel again this year and she did a good job. This is an inside family joke - but really don't stay at the Country Squire something. It is not as nice as the internet makes it appear and that is why it is cheap. I would recommend the Atlantis which gave us free tickets to Mt. Olympus everyday.

Jason carrying Lauryn in the carrier - this was hers but is graciously letting us use it since our carseat was expired in January.

Mt. Olympus is an indoor/outdoor water and indoor/outdoor amusement park. Due to the strange and cold summer we were having it was nice to have all four options. This year we went in July to not get a cold week like last year, but we ended up with an even COLDER week. They set a record low high one of the days we were there. We braved the outdoor water park every day though - one day the high was 64. It isn't too bad after you lose feeling in your extremities.

Kaylee is in the first pink slide and Ally is in the yellow - click it to make it bigger.

This year Ally and Drew were tall enough for most of the roller coasters and could ride with us on all the slides. It took a little coaxing to get Drew on his first roller coaster, but he would drag us to them after that. After one Chad and I were a little sore and Ally's head hurt, but Drew was ready to head back up the stairs.

You could always tell that Ally was coming down the slide since she screamed her head off the WHOLE way down (with a smile on her face though). She loved the racer slides again and even got Kaylee to race with her. We never did get Drew up this one and Amy was also chicken.

We spent our evenings golfing and eating ice cream.

Family vacations are stressful, but fun - hopefully next year everyone will get to head to Arizona and California - maybe the whole Klaassen clan can join us - Hint hint. Forget the consession stand Chuck!

Being at a waterpark - the camera is not often out so enjoy the few pictures that we did have.

Holding my Bottle

2009-07-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

Learning to hold her bottle!!! Woo Hoo! This gives us a free hand to do something else! She isn't great yet and it moves all over the place, but it is a start. She is growing up so fast! She was doing it much better, but I couldn't get the picture snapped fast enough.

She also "sees" her bottle coming and starts panting and opening her mouth. We would never tease her though....

Tana Banana

2009-07-28T10:52:00.001-07:00

Our little fairy princess is growing up. At our 4 month appointment she was 16 1/2 pounds and a little over 26 1/2 inches long. Let's just say she is big!!! She is greater than 97% on both stats - at least she is proportional. (Sorry non-math people for that big word!) She is really a good girlie, but is still not the happiest camper in the evening. We wear her out easily. With 2 older siblings we are on the move a lot - especially when Daddy is home to play at night!

She sleeps WONDERFULLY and should knock on wood since I just wrote that. She awakes bright and early between 6:30 - 7:30 to enjoy a frosty cold bottle since she is not willing to wait to warm it up. She takes at least 2 good naps that are about 1 1/2-2 hours long and several cat naps in the late afternoon/evening.

She loves to giggle and smile at her brother. She is finally okay with being held by Daddy - vacation really helped. Daddy won a couple of crying battles!!!

We aren't ready to feed her cereal since once you start you can't stop! So we will wait. She sits in her high chair for short amounts of time while we are working in the kitchen.

Here she is enjoying some toys!

A more serious note - obviously agitated that brother keeps getting in the pictures of her and ruining them!

Close to Camping

2009-07-28T10:41:00.001-07:00

The kids have been obsessed with having a camp out in their room. Ally has been pretending "camp." Since she returned from EIBC. They knew we had a tent, but it has been in storage for awhile. I finally broke and got it out. I thought it would be COOL to play with it outdoors, but one fly flew in and that was the end of that. So up to their rooms it went.

On Friday night we let them sleep in the tent. They insisted on closing the door. I was positive not much sleeping would get done. When we went to bed, Ally was half awake and sweating. She ended up climbing into her cool bed. Drew awoke at 5:30 wondering where his sister was. He climbed into his bed since he didn't want to sleep alone. Tana never complained that she had to sleep in her crib.

So I guess we aren't ready for the backyard and that is fine with me! I don't enjoy sleeping on the ground with all the fun noises.

Pi Cake

2009-07-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

When else do you get to put pi (3.14....) on a cake unless it is a baby shower for TWO math teachers! I hope Baby Hock comes out soon!

My Supper Spot

2009-07-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

I get really cranky during supper time. Mom and Dad ALWAYS try and put me to sleep but that is NOT what I want. I want to be apart of the action right here on Daddy's knee. Soon I will starting eating whatever they are, but right now I am content to grab his plate and throw his spoon on the floor. I like my spot here since I get to sit next to Drew and see all the silly stuff he does. Mom is in plain view too!

Sisters

2009-07-24T10:59:00.001-07:00

I hope these two are good friends someday. Right now Ally seems to torture Tana by trying to carry her. Up down up down....Tana has some great faces. And to throw Daddy off, she sticks out her tongue.

Goggles

2009-07-24T10:56:00.001-07:00

Oh this just makes me smile. Gotta have our goggles!

She Likes It!

2009-07-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

She is our third child. We are more flexible about what happens with her. We have let her lick (or suck) on our ice cream. As you would all guess - she likes it. Last night while I was eating a drumstick, I put some in her mouth. When I took it out, she grabbed my hand and cone and brought it back to her mouth. she also likes to suck on the kids' icys.

Cannonball!!!

2009-07-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

I don't think that there was a day that got into the 90s in July so the water has been cold. We did get a swim pass for a month to go to the city pool. It was frustrating since it was so chilly so I didn't use it as much as I would have liked.

Ally took the swimming test and passed. Our little Allycat is growing up. She braved the board and does some great pencils and cannonballs and spinny thingys into the water. I think that our neighbor Chase was trying to talk her into the high dive which would have given me a heart attack. She is growing up and we are learning to let her do things on her own - which is HARD!

Drew is doing a pretty good job at swimming too. He loves to play in the "deep end" (4-5 ft). He jumps in and paddles to the side. He wishes he could go off the board, but his excuse is that he isn't old enough. He really does need some more practice since he has to do the crawl for the swim test.

Tana likes the water as long as she is not dunked immediately into the fridged waters. She is content to relax in her mommy or daddy's arms.

Seeing Makenna

2009-07-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

Before we headed to the reunion we stopped to see Jared and Allison's new house. It was a joy to see Makenna. She is just about 5 and a half months older than Tana. I am sure they will be trouble - I mean good friends someday. They are already trying to edge each other out for front stage.

Our little girlie is about the same size as peanut Makenna. Tana did have a couple pounds advantage at birth. I am sure that Christmas will be quite interesting with these two. I love Tana's face here that says - Who do you think you are? You are stealing my thunder!

Drew loves to wrestle with Uncle Jared. He is a great man-made jungle gym. Makenna wants in on the action so we must be a little bit more careful.

Newest ISU Fan

2009-07-23T10:01:00.000-07:00

I probably won't be allowed to babysit again for this little guy which will be so sad. He was so good especially with Ally & Drew wrestling beside him on the floor while he slept. Tana thought he was cool too.

This Kampman is going to play for the right team. I am pretty sure the next time my kids are with Abbie she will continue the Hawkeye influence. Cyclone is not in his mommy's vocabulary.

Nodding Off

2009-07-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

We headed to Ames a few weeks ago to my FAT FISH reunion. It was fun but a long drive to get to Ames. On the way, the kids were watching a movie. Drew claimed that he was awake, but you can obviously see differently.

Now you ask what is a FAT FISH? It was our freshman group from Salt Company in college. It stood for Faithful, Available, Teachable, Freshman In Service to Him. Looking at the picture it is funny to see how many of us married within the group. Most of this group lived by Jason so were also his good friends. There are a lot of kids here! We were not at the Friday night activities when this picture was taken. I hope that we can all get together more often.

I am looking forward to our Boys who worked for Jensen party in August!

Teaching Tana to Cook

2009-07-22T08:59:00.000-07:00

My kids LOVE Ms. Kate! That might be an understatement. She does lots of fun stuff with them when they visit her like make dipped pretzels, play wii, make masks, braid hair, etc. They went to visit Ms. Kate while I ran a couple errands. Several days before the visit Ally planned on making her a special treat - easy bake cake. I know you would be thrilled to receive such a cake from Ally! We decided to make 2 since Mr. Jim would want one also.

Tana sat on the counter and watched while we make s'mores for them. She was thrilled to be apart of the action.

Thank you Ms. Kate for playing with us. Maybe if it gets warm we can go swimming too!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2009-07-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

We haven't braved a STL baseball game yet with the kids yet. Mercy had a day at the park for the Kernals. We decided to take advantage of the cheap tickets to see how the kids would do. They were so excited. Three seconds after we sat down, Drew asked if we could get a snack.

Ally asked questions the WHOLE game and Jason answered them patiently as a daddy shared one of his most precious pasttimes. Nine years ago we wouldn't have watched a single game. Now we wouldn't miss one - even on vacation we checked the score occasionally on Jason's phone.

Now for the many faces of Tana - isn't she precious?

What do you think she is saying/thinking here?

And for snacks...Drew got a bag of peanuts and Ally got popcorn. Jason and I shared a pretzel. At the end of the game we decided to share a funnel cake. It was Ally & Drew's first one. We were hoping that they wouldn't like it. I am not sure what we were thinking - they liked it. NUTS!

Now I hate this picture. I don't know why I was making that face, but I put this picture in for the little girl trying to steal the funnel cake. Notice her hand? We start them young.

Enjoyable evening. Glad it wasn't too hot, but wish that we could have wore shorts.

Summer COLD Fun

2009-07-21T20:11:00.001-07:00

It has not been a warm summer. I say that now and we will get pounded with HEAT for several weeks. I wish the kids could swim more, but I don't welcome the 95+ heat. Mid to upper 80s would be nice.

One Friday Jason and the kids got in. It wasn't extremely warm, but better than the previous days. I HAD to hold Tana so I couldn't get in. I did get some great videos of them jumping in.

Drew

Ally

and the grand finale..... JASON.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

2009-07-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

I am not going to give my mom's age away, but she turned 50 the year Ally was born. (Ally is six.)

We enjoyed grilling with them and Linda's family before watching the Coralville fireworks. Tana slept through it all and did great! They were some of the best fireworks that I had seen in a long time.

One of my facebook friends said, "If you don't grill on the fourth of July, you must be deported." Oh how I love to grill - an American tradition.

Picnic at the Park

2009-07-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

On Friday night we gathered the troops to head to the park for a picnic - of McDonalds. What we didn't realize was that about a couple thousand other people had the same idea. Coralville was having a Fourth of July celebration and free concert in the park. Some guy that used to sing with STIXS was singing.

So we ate, played on the crazy catapillar and

swung on the swings.

EIBC Update

2009-07-08T20:23:00.001-07:00

Ally had fun at camp. She won't tell all the stuff they did except this silly movie they made as a cabin. Here is a picture of her and her counselor Kara.

Ally standing in front of her cabin. I miss the numbers on the cabins. They are all the same color now so it was hard to find her cabin - please bring back the numbers!

She is already looking forward to next year!

Race is On!

2009-07-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

She is either going to love this in the future or hate it.

Most of the time she is not fond of her brother and sissy in her face. This time she didn't seem to mind the attention.

Stare Down with the Fish

2009-07-01T09:48:00.001-07:00

Today we got out the walker. It is quite dirty so it needs a good scrubbing but we couldn't resist letting Tana play. She is stronger than the other two. She is in this slightly before the others and doesn't need any blankets to keep her steady.
All of the kids loved the toys on this thing. Typically they stare down the fish and eat the butterfly. I wouldn't let her touch the butterfly yet because it looks as if we didn't wash it before we put it away from Drew.
Drew is ready to give her a ride. She was content and let him push her all over the kitchen.

Now you can't tell me that she looks like either of the other two kids. They are all within a week of 3 months at this picture in the same toy. All of them are unique and special and so CUTE!

Meet Sienna

2009-06-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite girl's names is Sienna. I have tried and tried to get Jason to let me name one of my girls - Sienna, but I have obviously failed. He told me on girl #4 I could. I don't think I will make it to girl #4. So I guess I have to name my new van Sienna.

We traded in the Kia for something HOPEFULLY much more reliable. So far - it hasn't been true. We got this 2006 Toyota Sienna is Moline. It is has the essentials for us (DVD player, power doors, moveable seats etc) and some more - leather, sun roof etc.

On our way home something happened and tada - we have a flat time. I was driving and don't remember anything on the road. Jason said that it was the easiest flat tire he has ever had to change. I hope I don't ever have to try it myself!

Ally's Cabin

2009-06-30T08:49:00.001-07:00

We dropped off Ally yesterday afternoon at camp. She got the top bunk. Her counselor's name is Cara. Cara is from Cedar Rapids, but is a student at ISU and goes to Cornerstone.

She is in a cabin with her cousins - Hannah, Malee and Abby. I am sure it is not a quiet cabin. I wonder if they got any sleep? We pick her up on Wednesday late afternoon and I am sure we will hear all about it!

As we were there it was fun watching other parents walk in and realize that hey I worked with them. I went to camp with them. It's that great of place to send your kids! Anyone want to join Ally next year?

I think that Drew misses his playmate - mommy just isn't the same.

Swimming Lessons

2009-06-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

I am trying to document our summer activities. We just finished swim lessons. I think they were in too low of class but oh well they had fun and learned a few new things! One thing that I love with swimming lessons (a selfish thing) is that I get to chit chat with moms from school or church. We never plan with anyone when to take them - we just ended up there at the same time. Love it!

It was hard to snap any pictures since I was typically trying to entertain a bundle of wiggles. Drew is on the end in the lime green shorts. He was so good for his teachers even though the other little boys were ALL over the place!

I think that Ally had just jumped into the pool as I snapped this one - oh well.

Three Months

2009-06-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Can't believe our little twinkle toes is 3 months old already! She is so much fun. She is starting to talk or babble or screech. Whatever you want to call it - it is NOISE. Oh the noise that will be in our house in the future. Who will win? I am sure it won't be Jason or I.

She is batting at toys and starting to grab them. Her pincher/grabbing reflex isn't very accurate yet, but she is changing so much every week!

She is quite the smiler and has very sweet eyes. She is wiggling around and spinning when we lay her on the floor. She loves to arch her back and look backwards. I think that she would roll if she was interested in getting a toy.

Corn is Here

2009-06-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

The start of summer means lots of corn on the cob. So here is the annual corn on the cob picture. It isn't ready in the fields yet, but sometimes you can get a good batch in the grocery store.

The kids are getting better about eating it in an orderly fashion. Even though Jason and I think that you should eat it in rows instead of around!

Next year we will start Tana and I am sure she will love it as much as the rest of us do! But what will I do we won't have enough cob holders or plates!

T-Ball is Over

2009-06-30T08:19:00.001-07:00

T-ball is over. It was a rainy season with many games getting cancelled, but we had fun when it wasn't raining! This year they were both on the same team which made it nice. Next year we will be there all evening on Tuesdays and Fridays since they will be in different leagues. I guess supper will be on the consession stand those nights. Hope Tana likes to play in the dirt!

Drew is our hard hitter! He is very coordinated and can wam that ball out there. He can throw and catch fairly well for a 4 year old!

Ally is also a good hitter when she is paying attention.

She isn't as good as thrower, but has improved greatly from last year! At the end of the season she finally figured out how to catch the ball over-hand. She is excited to be on the BIG girls team next year - so she practices every night. Oh boy I can see lots of CCA softball in our future.

Grizzlies shaking hands with the other team.

Guess Where My Kids Have Been?

2009-06-30T08:07:00.001-07:00

It was HOT last week. This week not so much this week. The temp of the pool is already down at least 10 degrees! Ally & Drew were out almost everyday for two hours or more. One day they got in a 10 am since we were going to be gone that afternoon. They have a blast. One day Tana and I got in with them, but she isn't much fun in the pool yet and shouldn't have that much sun on her fair skin.

Typically she sits in her bouncy seat or swing in the kitchen and I wander in and out to the deck to watch the kids. I really do put (and reapply) sunscreen on them. We do it at potty breaks and icy breaks.

Drew is a ton braver than last year. It was hard to get him pried off the ladder last year and now he is FLYIN' in. He is starting to get the hang of swimming across - doggy style of coarse.

Ally has figured out how to dive and can swim across using the crawl. She isn't incredibly strong yet, but it will come with practice.

Soon they will be better swimmers than daddy. Drew did try to "leap" in over the side like daddy but failed. He needs to be a couple feet taller!

Packed for Camp

2009-06-28T19:27:00.001-07:00

My baby girl (okay Ally isn't a baby anymore, but wow has 6 years FLOWN by fast) is packed for camp. We had to talk about everything in the suitcase and several situations - like there are underware in there and you HAVE to change them. Here is your hairbrush - have your counselor help you with your hair. I wonder what she will look like when we pick her up on Wednesday night. I will take a picture.

She is headed to East Iowa Bible Camp. She will have fun. She will meet friends that she will have forever. I wish I could list all of my great friends from camp. Ahh why should I list them - many are on my friend's blog list. I can't wait to see the friends that Ally makes from camp. Those are my friends that are still around - not my high school classmates.

Pray that God will work in her heart and teach her more. I pray that she will become a woman who fears and loves God with all of her heart. I pray that she will be greatly used by Him.

Happy Birthday

2009-06-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

For a few months I can harass Jason for being another year older than me. Today he turns 33! I could say all the wonderful stuff about him that would make everyone gag. We know he has a servant heart. He is a hard worker and trust worthy friend. He loves his family more than anything - except God. I could say I am look forward to the next 33 years, but I would rather say that I am looking forward to the next 100 years!

Tana is now our earlier riser (gooness what were we thinking we were finally getting to sleep in again!). She greeted him this morning with some smiles....

After a scared frown - I think she saw his hair!

Sleep Walking

2009-06-22T21:08:00.001-07:00

We heard some noise tonight as we were sitting in the office. Sometimes we hear Ally get up and head to the bathroom for a drink. We have a guest staying with us and at first I thought he was coming up for something.

Finally we heard a squeak - litterally. I walked out to see Drew standing at the banister. All he would do was squeak. Finally he came down the stairs and gave me a hug and said that he loved me. Then he laid down on the steps and fell asleep. As any good mom would do - I grabbed the camera to take a picture for the blog. Then gave him a hug as Jason took him back up for bed.

Don't think he was conscience and probably doesn't remember the sweet lovin.

First Swim for Tana

2009-06-22T13:57:00.001-07:00

The kids are having a blast in the pool - well except Tana. Her first experience was not so positive. She is not fond of cool water. The water was about 80 degrees which was really nice for the hot days. Jason knew that her time in the pool would be short so he put her in right away to get a pictures of all three of them on the side of the pool. He wanted to get her before she started screaming. Didn't work.

Then he tried to easy her in a talk to her. Not happy.

Finally calmed down, but she is very mad at her daddy.

Day 2 - it is almost boiling out and we took another try at the pool. She did much better and even smiled at me. Much calmer when you SLOWLY work her into the water. Hopefully tonight we can go to the NL pool and play.

Apple Bottom Jeans....

2009-06-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Big Girl Tub

2009-06-21T21:07:00.001-07:00

Tana took her first big girl bath tubbie. She loved it. She loves the warm water poured on her tummy. She was full of smiles and kept turning her head back and forth feeling the water on her cheeks.

Iowa Storms

2009-06-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Storms are fun. Now don't get me wrong the kind that don't cause damage or harm are the fun ones. Tonight just as we were getting the kids in the tub the sirens went off. Great. There goes the early bedtime for the Willis kids. We all got our shoes and headed down to the "tornado closet." All evening the sky was showing God's amazing artwork. Not much came out of tonight's storm in our area. I guess some pigs an hour from us lost their roof on their building but that is about it.

Friday night we got A LOT of rain in one hour. We needed a new rain gauge - it's an Iowa thing to have one. It is the first question our of many people's mouth if they new you got rain. It was never reported in weathercasts in STL. Due to the error of someone that mowed the lawn last year our rain gauge was no longer holding water. Jason and the kids bought a new one. I was quite embarassed by its HUGENESS. In my mind, I picture a old guy with no teeth standing next to it, but I can see how much we got from my window. Friday we got a little less than 2 inches in 1 hour. Now that's a lot of water.

Our neighbors had a lot of water sitting in their yard. The storm sewer got back-up.

We had wind blasts that were strong. It ripped off our playhouse cover. Notice in the back the river running through the backyards - that isn't usually there. That's a lot of water.

In the front yard, there was so much water that it was running OVER the curb. Do you remember a couple years ago when Jason was driving through this with his truck?

tana smiles

2009-06-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Tana spent the last few weeks of school at different friend's houses. She got to spend a couple days with the Sterners. Hannah is one of Ally and Drew's favorite babysitters. They love playing with all the Sterner kids.

Carrie takes some marvelous pictures. She captured some great Tana faces. She is such a happy little banana when she is full and had her naps! This week she has found her hands and figured out how to grab at toys. She is spinning on the floor some too under her toys. She has a STRONG head and when on her tummy she looks everywhere - this is a problem at naptime.

Swimming is Here!

2009-06-19T09:11:00.000-07:00

It hasn't been that warm this summer and we finally got the pool up. It is a mere 70 degrees. Jason had to get in earlier this week to fix some holes. Everyone would have been thrilled if I could have gotten pictures of this adventure but I got the look of death when I told him I was going to get the camera. All I have is eyewitness accounts from our friend Val. We were both rolling on the ground - especially when he put the kids' goggles on to go under the water.

The kids got in on Wednesday afternoon and evening. I can't wait to get in but it is a little chilly for Tana banana so I have had to sit it out right now. Tana got her feet wet. She didn't mind it, but the sun in her eyes was more than she could handle.

We started swimming lessons this week. Both kids have had a blast and are little fish. If I could handle another session I would but this 2 week stint might be all I can handle with the morning crazy routine!

Drew has definitely got more confidence this summer and isn't connected to the ladder all the time. He still stays fairly close and like to hang on it but will swim out more.

Cannon Ball!!!!

Ally fights to get on the ladder so that she can dive it. We are working on putting her head down so that she doesn't belly flop every time. It doesn't seem to hurt the first 5 times, but after that we get a belly ache.

Practicing gliding.

So if you want an afternoon of fun - come join us or let us meet you at the pool!

Sweet Sayin's

2009-06-19T09:02:00.001-07:00

Oh the joys of summer are here and it is fun to listen to the kids talk. Some great ones from the last couple weeks...

After coming in from eating an icy
Drew: Ally - you want to read the (kids) Bible with me?

Talking with Ms. Val about coming over to play with her kids sometime.
Ally: We can come over while mom & dad go on a date. A date is where they go out for supper and then kiss in private.

Where does she get that from? I will blame Mari!

Another from Ally as we were drying her hair one night while watching a Cards game. Albert Pujols was up to bat. If you don't him he is one of the best players.
She looks up and says - Mom, Is that Chuck?
B: No - that is Pujols.
A: Man Albert Pujols looks just like Chuck.

On going funnys that they learn from their Dad....
Either one: I am going to have a meeting. (as they head to the bathroom)

Who can't get enough of this little sweet face. I will post more of her and some more summer fun soon!

Instant Yard

2009-06-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

One of our many projects this summer is fixing the grass in the backyard. Originally they sodded the first half and front yard. We seeded the back in hopes to save some money. We slightly regret that - but know that we have done some reworking to get it to drain correctly. After much driving on it with the skid loader, tiling and retaining wall stuff, we got around to INSTANT pretty yard. It is quite soggy though since we have to water so much.

We are very thankful for Andy & Michael that came and played in the mud with Jason. It poured the night before. We had the sod machine coming already and 10 rolls of sod waiting to get down. Thus yuk mud for the job.

Fun Days in North Liberty

2009-06-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

What a year it has been! Last year at this time they cancelled fun days due to a lot of water surrounding us and taking up everyone's time. What changes there have been in a year. On Thursday night we took the kids to the carnival. None of the rides look extremely safe (or the people running them), but we paid $12 for unlimited rides for the night. It was well worth it. Ally and Drew had so much fun. They didn't even need Daddy to ride with them on the big kid rides. They are growing up!

Tana was such a good little trooper. She was content to sit in her stroller the whole evening. If you have been around Tana lately you would know that isn't her favorite place to be. I finally picked her up just because. She did get a little hysterical at the end, but it was WAY past her bedtime. She is swaddled for bed - thus to make her feel "normal" we swaddled her in her seat. We really aren't mean parents!

For Liz we ate a funnel cake and Ally got her cotton candy. Oh the sugar that was running through her blood for several days afterwards it seemed! We didn't end up going to the parade since it was raining - who wants to sit in the rain to get candy we don't need??? Well some people did - not us!

We didn't get to enjoy much more of the activities due to our sod project and Mercy's family picnic on Sunday. They are already asking when Fun Days are again. I guess Jason and I aren't fun enough for them!

Pinkalicious

2009-06-14T12:44:00.001-07:00

Lots of feet in this picture. Notice that not ALL of them have pink on their toes! I pray that someday these feet will carry the Good News all over the world!

Just Plain Precious

2009-06-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

Wow - couldn't have gotten a better picture of the three of them. Well if Tana would have smiled that would have been perfect, but I think that she realizes that she is not in the safest position with the crazies holding her!

If Ally could she would carry her around all day long pretending that she was a doll - a real doll. She kisses her sister way more than this mommy would like but I guess she loves her. I am sure I will be wishing in a couple years that Ally would be happy with Tana following her around.

They love staring at her, kissing her, feeding her and SOMETIMES changing her. She doesn't have many dirty diapers so they don't get grossed out - yet.

Sweet Face

2009-06-11T12:43:00.000-07:00

My little twinkle toes has a cold. I think she is on the mend, but her little cough sounds so awful sometimes. She is a growing though. When we headed to the doctor to make sure that the cold hadn't spread into her lungs, she weighed in at a whomping 14 lbs 4 oz. She isn't a chunker since she has some good length on her.

This week she is started to discover her hands and feet. She isn't playing with them, but I have caught her a couple times staring at them. She has figured out toys on her bouncy seat or playyard. She enjoys watching them. She also has gained a new friend in a pink fuzzy blankie.

Here I think she is staring down the butterfly hoping he won't attack. Or maybe she is staring him down to pounce on him at just the right moment.

She is a really good baby if she takes her naps and stays on her schedule. She still hates her carseat and cried all the way to Rachel's house last weekend. It makes for a LONG ride (in the truck) for all. Ally & Drew have just resorted to yelling over her. Thus Jason and I had headaches.

If Tana Could Speak

2009-06-09T08:25:00.000-07:00

What do you think she is thinking only wishing she could get the words out!

Dad - are you crazy? He is an animal. AND he keeps taking the bottle out of my mouth. Please take me back!

Really am I related to these two. Dad is trying to take a decent picture so this girl will stop talking and HE budges in. Goodness.

Squooshing my head silly. If I could only do it to you - you just wait til I am bigger.

Eyelashes

2009-06-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Wow - where do they get these beautiful eyelashes. Poor Ally has nice eyelashes, but not nearly as long as her brother and sister.

I don't think Drew has figured out the power of his eyelashes yet, but he flirts those toward anyone and he melts your heart!

We knew that Tana had long eyelashes, but they were very light, but in the last 2 months they have gotten darker and darker. They are almost as long as Drew's. They add to her beautiful HUGE blue (arghhh - I wanted brown) eyes.

Last Day

2009-06-06T20:41:00.001-07:00

I haven't felt so giddy to be done with school. I am so excited to be at home and hang out with my kids doing fun things. I am looking forward to swimming, Wednesday Kids' Days at church, walks, bike rides, t-ball, lunches with Daddy, hanging out with friends. I know that Ally was a little sad that she will be leaving all of her friends for a new school next year, but she is excited that there will be some familiar faces to greet her. I am also excited that it is possible that Drew will have Ally's preschool teacher and kindergarten teacher in the future. Both teachers were so special and made huge impacts on Ally.

I finished up at school before lunch on Friday! Our middle school is moving to a "new" building to us next fall. It is only about 10 minutes from our house. Packing all the boxes was quite the chore - there were 41 boxes plus about 30 random furniture things. The girls headed out to lunch and enjoyed adult conversation.

I picked up the kids from their favorite babysitter - Hannah's house. I asked on the way home what their favorite part was, in unison they both said EVERYTHING. Thank you Hannah (and the rest of the Sterner fam) for playing with my kiddos.

Picnic on the Deck

2009-06-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

First summer picnic on the deck!

I love to grill - it doesn't have to be summer to grill at our house but it is much more fun to go out on the deck when you don't have to freeze your tootsies off! This picnic was enjoyable also since Tana was napping instead of crying through another meal.

I am sure that it won't be the last.

Egg Toss

2009-05-31T13:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what activities you might do at a Klaassen bbq? Well throwing eggs at trees - DUH!

This is not a typical Iowa thing, but at Drew's birthday a couple years ago my mom told me that she was going to set up an egg "golf course." Whatever keeps them busy!My mom has a lot of eggs. She gets like 4 dozen every week from a local lady. If one of us kids don't take some they get old, not really sure if eggs spoil though?!?!

At bbqs each kid takes a dozen and aims at a tree. Fun! Practice for high school pranks! Each time we have done it, I have almost gotten nailed from the BIG boys aiming at each other - I won't be happy if I ever get nailed.

Watch the video again and watch Kaylee's aim (she is the front girl). She must get the aim from her mom.

This year when asked what he (Drew) wanted to do for his birthday party - he said - throw eggs at Grandma's trees!

Memorial Day

2009-05-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Watch out Iowa - The Scoggins came to town!

Ignore the dead looking baby in the front, but as you can imagine our house was very loud and busy this weekend. We enjoyed having the Scoggins family come and meet our little twinkle toes. She was cuddled and loved by all. I can't wait for the next Scoggins to come and add to the mix.

Quinn loved to hold Tana. Trip - not so much. He will be a big helper to him mommy when his new sister comes. (I keep saying that in hopes for a little girlie!)

We enjoyed a trip to the fossil gorge and then to my parents. Scoggins enjoyed a good ol' Iowa barbeque - complete with an egg throw. My brother's family joined us and we had fun eating Kaylee's birthday cake. Lauryn was so precious even though she got a little messy when climbing down from the four-wheeler that had been in the cow pasture!