Four Jingle Bells

 We went to a kid's museum on the dollar day.  It wasn't as great as the one in LeClaire, but it got the job done!  This was an old fashioned school area.  They had a grocery store area.  Lots of digging stuff.    The best kind of man.  One who will do the shopping!  And enjoys veggies.=)  The archaeology area.  It was pretty neat!  The man who painted this picture lived in Iowa and the farmhouse is somewhere nearby so we will be going there someday!  Brooke was super excited to be a tiger.  I have been doing this interval training workout for 2 or 3 years and the kids know when I get up, I will be doing 20 second fitness for 15 minutes.  Sometimes they do it with me and it is always hilarious and sometimes very crowded.  I am glad they know about good health though.  Blake sanded our table, so we could even out some of the drink rings and the "Hailey"s scratched into ...

 We are so lucky to have a park right across the street from us.  We spent a lot of time there when it wasn't boiling hot.    We don't get to see a lot of Blake during study season, so it was so great to get to go to the park with him.  Hailey had to take this picture.  I can still get very high on the swing, even in my old age.  These two are buds  Brooke is so adventurous.  She always wants to do the craziest thing.  It scares me to death but I am glad she is brave!

 For Father's Day, we had brats and ate outside.  It was a great day with perfect weather.  We made Blake eggs benedict, Blake's favorite and he got to sleep in.  Happy day.  Brooke has really started helping William a lot. I like that they are buds, even if she terrifies him a little bit with her excitement.  Yee haw.  With all the moving we have done recently, Hailey and Spencer have become best friends.  They are always willing to go along with each other's games.  It is pretty fun and funny to watch.  We did a marshmallow shooting war.  William ate a ton.  He was the happiest, I think.  This is going to be a tradition now.  They are all preparing to shoot marshmallows at me in this picture. For dessert, we had s'mores with different candy bars.  It was evily delicious.  Spencer got his first library card.  When the kids can write their names, they get a library card.  He ...

 We celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary June 15th.  We were able to find a babysitter, even though we had just moved in.  Thank goodness for Young Women!  11 years is a long time, but doesn't feel like it.  In fact, it feels like we have always been married and is strange to think that I was ever not married to Blake. He is such a hard worker and loves our family.  He cares about our feelings and our lives.  We are so blessed to have him as a dad and husband.  Now here's the fun part of the story.  I got a deeeelicious dinner!  It was wonderful.  I had almost eaten the whole thing when Blake gets a weird look on his face and throws up all over the table.  He had had some lobster bisque, even though he has a seafood allergy. He thought he could get away with it, bummer!  In happier times, before the allergic reaction.  The waiter felt so bad, he gave us a buy one get one free for next time.  On the ...

William pooped out on Grandma Barb while we were packing the last day in LeClaire.  I love this lady! And so does William!  They are good pals.     For the first few weeks of summer, we played in water and more water.  Ate popsicles, ate outside, played and played.  It was great weather for all of June and we were pretty spoiled!  Of course, whoever has the hose has the most fun spraying!  Spencer looked so cute in these. I just love his little smile and freckles. He is all boy!  Hailey checked out a yoga book from the library.  Doing the "frog" pose.  She is such a hippie!  Hailey weeded this huge section of the garden out back. We moved in to gigantic thistle weeds.  She worked for 2 straight hours and got them all done.  She said "That's the hardest I have ever worked."  Probably true, those weeds were hard to get out!   William loves "outside".  Pretty much his fi...