Nauvoo, Leclaire and a Fall walk

The kids got their "x" charts filled out so we went to see a movie.  Hooray!  We saw The Box Trolls, which was pretty strange but cute in a strange way.  Brooke only cried a few times.  She has such a soft heart.

The kids thought these window clings were pretty cool.  They all fought over who was going to move them around, so that was fun.

One day, the kids were supposed to be helping clean up in the yard.  They were not listening and it was making me crazy when they discovered that the garden had still been producing even though it was October!  There were a bunch of green beans and a few tomatoes.  It reminded me to stop being so grumpy.

We went to Chick Fil A to meet up with Grandma Barb and Daryll.  It had been a long ride for William and he was trying to fall asleep on my boot.

William hanging out in Grandma Barb's tree.  It is so fun to take him back there and remember how we made it through the move and how he is our only Iowa baby.

I LOVE the view in LeClaire! We would move back there in a heartbeat.

Grandma Barb's birthday was a few weeks ago, so we brought her a little gift.  She loved it.  Hailey picked it out.  They have a special bond.  They both love gardening and they just became good friends right off.



We were so happy to be able to stay with Barb and Daryl on our way to Nauvoo.  Daryl has Alzheimer's pretty bad so it is good that we can go help Grandma.  We got to meet up with other friends from church for a bit and it was good to catch up.  The best part was we got to share The First Vision video with Grandma and she really liked it.  The missionary work has been so good for us out here.

We were able to visit with my Aunt Mindie and Uncle Paul who were serving a temple mission in Nauvoo.  They were so nice to offer to watch the kids while we went to the temple.  Mindie is a pro with kids, since she had five of her own.  When we got back from the temple, we found William passed out on the floor. He slept for an hour and a half there! Mindie said she was making dinner and turned around and he was asleep.  So funny.  

Paul took us on a tour of the temple and up to the top of the bell tower.  It was pretty amazing to see the structure inside.  We could see from the windows in every direction.  It was the most beautiful thing.  

Ah, the Mississippi. How hard it must have been to leave this lovely home.  But so reassuring to know that they were going to safety.

William loves carrying babies around and hugging them.  He is such a sweety.

We were really busy one day and William missed his nap and fell asleep early on me.  I don't complain when that happens! Wish it would more. He is such a busy boy.  Those lips, those cheeks!

We went on a walk one day after school to check out the leaves.  It was beautiful!  We had never been on this path and there was so much to see.  We were on it for about two hours. It ended at a park, so that was an awesome bonus.  I love this shot of Hailey.  The leaf turned out so shiny!

William is such a pensive boy.  He is always checking things out.  This is totally his personality.

And this is Brooke's personality.  Bring it on!  Tomboy with a love of pretty dresses.  She gives me a run for my money, but I wouldn't trade her.  More personality than anyone I've met! Ever!

I love that our kids are each other's best friends.  They really do love each other.  

Spencer loves being the big brother and William loves him being the big brother.  They love wrestling together and fake shooting things.

Come on! This path!!  This nice lady asked if they were all mine.  I said they were and she said, "What a lucky mom."  I was surprised because people are usually like, boy you have your hands full. It was nice to be reminded that I am totally lucky.

Attitude, girlfriend!

I saw these little red bumps on William and got a little freaked.  I showed them to Grandma Jo, a nurse and my favorite old lady friend out here and she said they were spider bites and not to worry.  She is a native Iowan, so I believed her and sure enough, they went away.  Funny thing is I got a few of them the next day.  Spiders love us.