Water????

As some of you know that it rained a lot this past week. Northern Iowa was flooding & Southern Iowa was flooding, we were watching the rivers/lakes just in case here.

Saturday morning as we were getting ready to head up to my brother's house in Clear Lake to help put in new windows. I went down stairs to get the last thing before we left. To my surprise as I rounded the corner there was water & not just a little water it was a lake. I yelled up to Matt & he also was quite surprised. We had been checking on our sum pump periodically since the rains started falling. Everything had been fine.

We called Clear Lake & let them know our plans had changed & we had our work cut out for us here. Matt started vacuuming the water up with the shop vac, while the kids & I started throwing the toys & everything wet out the windows. It looked as if our basement threw up into our back yard. Luckily the kid's toy room downstairs had recently been cleaned up so to that many toys were on the floor. Many things did get wet, nothing major got ruined.

We continued working out our basement from 7:30 am until 2 pm.

Scotch was the supervisor of the day, while our neighbors Scott & Kelly came over & helped get some of the large items out. Then our good friends Heidi & Adam came over & helped get the rest of the carpet remnants out (very full of water & very heavy). Once everything where the water was got out of the way it was just a lot of vacuuming. We added up the loads of water we dumped & we had around 76 gallons of water. That doesn't include all the water that was still in the carpet when we threw it out the window. It's nice to get friends together, but this was for the way wrong reason.

Friends brought a total of 7 fans over to help with the drying out process, along with the wonderful weather we had on both Saturday & Sunday helped with drying out the carpets. The basement dried out nicely & was completely dry by Sunday evening. That is also when we brought the carpets back in the basement except the large remnant by tonight that should be back in.

Matt also got the sum pump fixed that way the floater wont get caught up on the drain tile spouts & not flush the water out.

We did end up making it to Clear Lake for a few hours Saturday afternoon the whole day just didn't go as planned. A big thank you to all who helped us clean up & dry out.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Kenny Rogers

You are still my all time favorite singer!

1st Day of School

It's here, Emmersyn's 1st day of School!

The wait is over & the emotions are running wild. Last night it took Emmersyn a while to fall asleep since she was so excited & this morning when her alarm went off that excitement shown through. we had Bath time first thing, then she got dressed in to her "1st day of school" outfit.

I then asked what she wanted to eat for breakfast. Her request was "Green Eggs & Ham". So I went to the kitchen & I got the eggs going. Both kids enjoyed their green eggs & ham with toast, & they both eat really well this morning.

Emma then decided that she wanted to take cold lunch instead of eat what was on the schedule. We made her sandwich & loaded up her lunch cooler with, carrots, ranch dressing, a cookie, & applesauce. She was very excited to help get her lunch together.

Yesterday we went out & got some letters so we could put her name on her nap towel so she made sure she had that in her bag and then it was time for mommy to take pictures. I made the sign for her to hold that way we would always know what year/grade & teacher.

Tonight after she gets home from school I will have her sign the bottom of the sheet that way we will also be able to compare her hand writing skills each year. Then of course we had to take pictures with her school bag & matching lunch cooler.

Bryce wanted to get into the picture fun so I wanted to get a couple of them together. What is Bryce going to do when Emma's at school, this might be harder for him than it is for Emmersyn.

Last night we were able to take all of her supplies to her class room & let her meet Mrs. Clark & get a feel for what school might be like. This was only an hour long walk though/open house & since the construction of the school is not close to completion we only saw the class room (nothing else is done).

This morning Bryce & I walked her to her class room & helped her remember what she needs to do when she comes into the classroom every morning. Hang up her bag, put her lunch cooler in her cubbie, sign the daily sign in book, get the start of the day sheet, & put her name under what type of lunch she is going to eat. At first she wanted me close then she decided it was okay for Bryce & I to go. We made sure we kissed each others hand (read "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn) then we were off. I came very teary eyed many times throughout this whole 10 min ordeal, but I have yet to shed a whole tear.

We were given this little baggie from Mrs Clark & the letter in it reads:

" Thank you for entrusting your child to me for the coming school year. I will do my very best every day to be your child's guide in learning and exploring this bright, new world they have just stepped into.

After you have

*Wiped your tears with a Kleenex,

*Made yourself a nice warm cup of tea,

*And put your feet up to relax,

*then hold the cotton ball in your hand.

*The softness will remind you of the gentle spirit of your child.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Clark"

This was such a sweet little gesture & She also had the kids trace there hand & put a heart sticker in the middle of the palm as a reminder for their parents of their love through out today. Emmersyn made sure I had her hand print this morning before we left for school.

After I left the school I headed to a local Coffee shop were our Church was hosting a "kindergarten parents" fellowship hour. This is were a few of us gathered & shared our stories, experiences, expectations & fears over a hot cup of coffee & with good friends. This was needed that way Bryce & I didn't go directly home to a somewhat empty house.

Now we are home & Bryce has already asked to go pick Sissy up many times & wanting to play with her. It will take a little time for him to understand that school for sissy is now an all day event.

The day is not over yet & I might shed a tear. I just can't explain how bitter sweet this morning has been. I'll get through it & I know Emmersyn will too.

Another day at the fair

This will be the last day at the fair for our family. Almost but not all fair-ed out.

This morning we took our time getting to the fair since Emma didn't dance until 2 pm & we didn't want to wear her out too much.













Today the kids wanted to get their pictures taken in the picture boards( the ones with the holes for your face. So here are what they came up with.

As you can see the kids were having fun &








they decided to switch places for the last picture. Cute Bryce cute.

We headed back up to Matt's dad's house around 12 (noon) that way we could get Emmersyn ready for her dance. Around 1:30 pm back down at the fair for her to preform. She is getting so much better at all her dance moves & she can't wait for the new dance season to start.





Look at all the concentration on her face, she told me she was trying not to watch the teacher & just know the steps. She did a wonderful job dancing.


We weren't able to watch the rest of the studio dance because Emma was so hot in her costume & tights she just wanted out of them. So back up the hill to Matt's dad to change again.

We spent a few hours back down at the fair before we called it a day.
Of course we couldn't leave the fair without doing one of our family traditions. The "Giant Slide" we have taken both kids down the slide since they were born & this year wasn't going to be different. It took a little convincing to get both of the kids to agree & then we had them.


Bryce wasn't happy at all the entire ride down as you can tell & Matt said Emma wasn't quite sure about the whole blanket part.
Asking them about the slide after the fact they both enjoyed it & wanted to go down again. We told them that we will next year. Something to look forward to.

We left the fair around 6:30 pm that evening, went home to relax & watch a movie before calling it a night. We were all tuckered out & needed to sit a while.

Sunday my sister Danielle & I decided to do the fair thing one more time. So off we went to the fair in her mind for lemonade & in mine for doughnuts (we got the best of both worlds by sharing). We walked around for a while & then decided to go & watch the tiger show, then it happened. The sky let loose, we got wet. not just a little wet we got drenched. We might as well been taking a shower with our clothes on because not an inch on us was dry. So we took that as a hint the our time at the fair was over. As we headed back to our car we stopped & picked a "Gizmo" sandwich up to take home to Matt & another bag of doughnuts (to take some home to the kids).

Good Bye to the 2007 Iowa State Fair!!!

Do the fair

After the kids & I did some errands on Friday morning Emma suggested that we go to the fair. Since Matt & I were planning to take them that evening I said why not. The kids & I got fair & made our first stop at the J.R. doughnut stand (they get our business a lot) then we started walking down the grand concourse.

The kids saw a lot of tents with free crafts for kids to do, so this is where we spent the next hour & a half. The kids made tambourines, beaded bracelets, necklaces, a cross, wrote their names on sign language stamps. Along with a bunch more crafts.

They got their faces painted. Emma choose a flower & Bryce choose a robot.

While we were there doing our crafts a balloon artist started taking requests off a list of items to make, so we got in line for this too.

Emma a heart with a flower wrapped around it & Bryce a fishing pole with a fish.

The kids enjoyed the hands on projects & I enjoyed them putting their own individual ideas into each project.

When we got finished with all the projects we decided to walk back down to the animal barns. Bryce wanted to visit this calf named "Shrek". Then to the swine barn to play in the corn. This is such a fun area for the kids, because it is something they don't get to do that often. They took off their shoes & off they went. They said it was a fun feeling against their feet & it was a lot of fun to play in. After about 45 min I decided it was time to head back home to get Emma ready for her dance rehearsal.

After rehearsal we came back with Matt & walked around for a while seeing many things. One of the highlights for Bryce was seeing Dale Jr's race care that was on display & of course the ice cream he's finishing off.

Another wonderful day at the fair, we'll have a few more pictures from when we go back on Saturday. Emma is getting excited about dancing tomorrow.

A day at the fair

Last Sunday we spent almost all day at the Iowa State Fair, and I just thought I would share with you a small piece of the fun we had. We arrived at 9:30 am (this is after we got there & had to drive back home for the tickets that I forgot).

We walked through the new animal birth building saw some day or two old cows, goats, lambs, chicks & pigs. Some of the animals were only minutes old. The kids really enjoyed petting the babies. Then we walked through & saw the butter cow & the butter Harry Potter.

Up the big hill to see more animals up at "Grandfathers Farm" were Emmersyn got to go on a pony ride, Bryce was planning on riding too, then changed his mind. While we walked through the barn Bryce stubbed his toe pretty good, so out side with water we cleaned up the blood & covered with a band aid. As most of you know band aids don't stick to a toe especially a kids toe. Trying to explain to Bryce that when the band aid falls off we don't need to replace it unless it's bleeding was quite the challenge for a while.

Back done the hill we were able to catch "The Can Do's" on the kids stage. Both Emma & Bryce enjoyed this show & the message they brought home was there is no such word as "Can't". We will see how long the kids remember that.

Across the fair we went to all the animal barns & of course the Hall of Breeds" where we got to see the large mule deer along with miniature cows, the "Oreo Cookie" cow & many other animals.

Emmersyn even got to hold a chick while Bryce pet it. Bryce again decided against holding the chick.

Give him another year & he'll probably hold anything given to him.
Bryce did enjoy when we stopped in the cattle barn to see the "Big Bull" it even raised his head to look at Bryce. As a treat for the kids I took them on the Sky Glider ride (Matt walked the stroller to the other end). The kids likes looking down at everything & realizing how much higher we were compared to the tractors, people, tents & buildings.

We enjoyed the entire day (until 3 pm) at the fair, looking at everything & eating our way through. We'll be back at the fair next Saturday since Emmersyn dances at 2 pm on the Susan B. Knapp stage.

Matt was great on taking pictures today that way I could actually be in the pictures so a big thank you to him.

More food, more sights & a lot more family fun. We can't wait.

MOP's Retreat

This past Friday night & Saturday I attended my MOP's (Mothers of Preschoolers) group leadership retreat. It where the planning/steering committee members get together for fun fellowship & for planning the upcoming MOP's year.

There were 12 of us at the retreat, in a beautiful cabin just north of Pella (about 45 min Southeast of Des Moines).

We started the trip about 6pm on Friday after the drive down to the cabin we had about 15 min to take in the beauty of our surrounding & to thank God for giving it to us to enjoy, we also left all our worries & pain with him so fully enjoy the retreat.

Through out the evening we played games, got to know each other, ate snacks, talked & started planning. then around 9 pm we went out & started a fire in the fire pit, had smores & and of course more socializing. We headed inside around midnight, but talked until almost 3 am (it's been a very long time since I stayed up that late, early, late, whatever).

Up at 7 am to shower & get ready for another day. Breakfast was delivered around 9 am by a family member of our co-coordinator & was a wonderful start to a rewarding day.

Again we played games, got a lot of planning done then broke for for lunch (pizzas again delivered in). The afternoon went pretty fast with more planning. I am very excited about this upcoming year with the crafts & speakers we have decided on it should be a wonderful year.

This retreat helped us get closer to God, to each other & to ourselves. Sometimes we just need to let go & spend a little time away to realize just what a gift we have been given.

So if you know any moms that would have the 1st & 3rd Wednesday mornings off every month please let them know that they are welcome to come & join us.

1st & 3rd Wednesday of the month (Starting Sept 19th)

9:15 am - 11:15 am

Rising Sun Church of Christ

Quality Child Care is Provided

any questions call myself or

email me for the co-coordinators phone numbers

Little Hands

If you have never experienced the "Little Hands on the Farm" at the Iowa State fair, I highly recommend packing up the kids & heading over to the fair.

We took the kids to the fair on Thursday the 1st day, our 1st stop was this exhibit. Its made for children 2-8(?).

The kids start out by getting a apron & bucket... following the path they then pick out a tool & watering can....then they pick out a seed of what they want to plant (potato, onion, tomato, carrot, pepper), they plant the seed & pretend water it.... they go & harvest their crop (put a plastic veggie in their bucket.... to the grain bin to collect the corn & soybeans... through the apple orchard to get an apple...

Into the chicken coup to collect an egg... They hand in their soybeans to make soy fuel (to run the tractors)...

Off to the sheep barn to get some wool... around the the path to feed the cow our corn that way we can then milk it.

The kids end up at a farmers market where they empty & hand in the buckets & aprons.

Off to the market to purchase something yummy with their "Little Hands" money. Bryce decided on the Popsicle & Emma went for the cereal that she could eat later

Emma & Bryce have looked forward to this since last year (after looking at pictures). They want to stop & go through it every time we pass it. We will probably go through it at least on more time before the fair is over.