4 kids, a dog, and 1 tired Mommy

What we've been up to

2012-02-02T21:36:00.004-06:00

Our days have been sailing along around here. We haven't had any major activites until last weekend, but it seems like January flew by. We were able to get outside a ton because of the awesome weather we've had. The twins are constantly talking about building a snowman though, so they would be more than thrilled with a good snow storm! Last week Reagan participated in a cheerleading clinic at school and then they got to perform during half-time of the girl's basketball game. She had a fun time and has decided she would like to be a basketball player and a cheerleader. Not sure how that's going to work! That same weekend, Luke had his pinewood derby race for Cub Scouts. He did great and ended up with 2nd place for his den! I've been busy at home with Drew & Lauren and my childcare kids. Drew, Lauren and I have been working on a letter a week. We read stories and do activities that go along with that letter. Last week was the letter "M" so after reading a book called "Muddy Mess" we fingerpainted with mud (chocolate pudding). In about an hour 5 2nd graders will be invading our house for Luke's 8th birthday party, so I should have some new stuff to blog about soon!

Sorry for the sideways picture. It's fine on our computer, but blogger keeps flipping it. Grr.:(

Christmas Memories

2011-12-26T14:16:00.006-06:00

Thank you hugs all around
The Toy Story Landfill to go with all his new figures.

"This is just what I wanted!"

A new doll and a armoire for all her doll clothes and shoes.

We had a great Christmas weekend spent with lots of family! Friday night was spent with Ryan's extended family. We were sad that Grandma Elli could not be there, but she recently had hip replacement surgery and was still in the hospital recovering. This was the first Christmas in a long time that we were able to spend Christmas weekend with both Ryan's family and my family. That was an added blessing to us and the kids. We had a busy, fun-filled weekend. We hope you were able to have a joy-filled Christmas as well!

This pic pretty much sums up how Luke & Jaren felt about their gifts...a Nintendo DS!

The Buzz Lightyear gun he wanted to go with his costume.

Grandpa Wayne reading the Christmas story to the kids.

Luke got a new remote-control helicopter from us. He's having a blast with it...as is Ryan.:)

Reagan has been asking for an Easy bake oven for months. She was super-excited and has already whipped up some cupcakes for us.

A new doodle bear for Lauren.

Drew received most of the Heroes and Villains from the Toy Story 3 movie.

New bedding for their big kid beds!

Ryan and I aren't supposed to get each other gifts. I made this little picture of the kids and gave him some pistachios though. He totally surprised me with a new Cricut (a super fun craft tool for me to use). I think I'll have to do better next year!

Toy Story bedding (do you see a theme with Drew!)

The kids all got new hats from Grandpa Mike and Grandma Renee (we think they're all super cute...except for maybe the Cyclone one).:)

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2011-12-18T17:07:00.003-06:00

The kids had their Christmas program at church this Sunday and they all did a phenomenal job. This was Drew & Lauren's first time in the program and they've been asking for weeks when they got to go sing on the stage. Drew looked so excited as he walked up front and saw everyone else up there. He had a huge grin on his face! This was also Reagan's first year that she got to stay up the entire program and sing all the songs. We were excited that Pella grandpa and grandma got to come and watch the program also. We are counting down the days until Christmas. I think I have pretty much all the presents wrapped and under the tree, and I started making Christmas goodies this weekend. I didn't want to start to early or I knew they would all be eaten before our get-togethers.:) We're looking forward to a fun week!

Catching Up

2011-12-07T21:27:00.004-06:00

We've been busy around here and it seems the month of November flew by. Here's a quick catch-up on what we've been up to.

Pinterest is one of my new favorite things to peruse after the kids go to bed. I made the JOY artwork on the mantle. The best part was it was under $10!:)

Reagan and Luke had their school Christmas concert last weekend. We tried to take a couple of pictures by the decorations, but it didn't got super well. Lauren was grumpy and refused to even pose for us.

Drew & Lauren designed and built this tower using all our blocks. They were quite proud!

We decided to get a real tree this year, but it has been non-stop trouble. The thing is ginormous and we had to hunt down a tree-stand to fit it in, because ours was too small. It hits the ceiling, so we weren't able to put the star on top this year.:) We have cement blocks holding the stand in place so that it stands upright. Now we discovered that it's not sucking any water, so we had to remove it out of the stand and cut some of the trunk off. Ugh! I think I'm sticking with artificial from now on.;)

Every night in December the kids unwrap one Christmas book. Luke read the story to the other kids on this night.

Luke with the other 1st and 2nd graders at his program. We couldn't get any good pictures of Reagan at all.

Drew helped Ryan hang the lights on the tree out front. He's been wanting to wear his "glasses" alot lately.

My cousin Shelley and her daughter Anna invited Reagan, Lauren and I to go see a Junie B. Jones play at the Children's Theater in town. It was a lot of fun and the girls had a good time.

The kids are waiting for a big snowstorm to come our way. We received a couple of inches one day, so Drew & Lauren quickly went and played before it all melted away.

Ryan participated in the Living History Farms off-road race this year. He and a bunch of co-workers ran together with their matching Occupy LHF shirts and picket signs. He was filthy when he got home and had to throw his shoes away, but he had a great time.

CANDY!!

2011-10-31T13:21:00.004-05:00

The cutest little cowgirl and superhero you ever did see. Drew's look cracks me up.

The original plan was for Lauren to be a butterfly, but then when Drew decided he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear, she just had to be Jessie the cowgirl from Toy Story. I had a terrible time tracking down a costume, but our friends Heather & Chayse gave us this one now that Chayse has outgrown it. She was beyond excited!
Straight out of Top Gun and he knows how to act the part.:)

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue...complete with laser!

Her cute little hat kept blowing away so it only lasted for pictures.:)

We got to use the spaghetti and meatballs costume again, because last year we didn't trick or treat in our own neighborhood.

Candy time!

All five of the kiddos. Anna was a lovely Japanese girl complete with chopsticks in her hair.

The kids went trick or treating around our neighborhood last night. They had a fabulous time and returned home with bucketfuls of candy. I am positive this will last them until at least Easter! Our friend/cousin Anna comes to our house on Sunday evenings, so she got to come with us. Ryan was a trooper and took them all out while I stayed home and handed out candy to the neighbor kids. It turned out to be a great night, so there were lots of characters out and about, but I didn't see any other kids in the same costumes as ours.

Picking Pumpkins at the Patch

2011-10-18T14:27:00.005-05:00

At the beginning of October we headed up to Northwest Iowa for Ryan's cousin wedding. While were there we had to make a trip to Pumpkinland. We had never been there before because we usually aren't up there around pumpkin season. The kids had a fun time and we got some pumpkins for our front porch. I didn't get a picture of the pumpkins after they were carved, so that will have to be a different post.:)

The kittens were a huge hit with the kids. There was a sign that said "Please don't put the kittens on the ground because they are fast." They were right.:) We saw more than one that had to be caught, one of which was dropped by one of our children.

This was taken either at the beginning or the end of the cornmaze. The bigs went with Grandpa and Daddy through the maze while Grandma and I hung back with the littles. There was a little munchkin maze that was more their speed.

So many pumpkins to choose from!

I'll take that one.

Scooping out the goop

Lauren telling me what kind of face to create.

We tried some carmelized pumpkin seeds this year! They were nummy.

Summer rewind

2011-10-03T12:30:00.006-05:00

Labor Day weekend we had the annual Van Mersbergen family campout. The kids look forward to this every year. It's a nice end to summer activities and a fun time spent with family. We had chilly, rainy weather on Saturday, but we were still able to get most of our activities in. Thank goodness for a camper when it's storming outside!:) I was slightly worried Friday night during the storm that it might collapse, but we were still intact in the morning and most of the kids slept right through it.

Luke is getting really good at helping Ryan take the camper down and put it up.

Lauren, Hailey, Drew & Brynn had a good time playing together.

Aunt Sharon helping Drew find the ge0-cache in the tree.

Aunt Lisa and her geo-caching crew

Cheese!

The kids acted out the Sunday morning Bible story on the Jesus' birth. Grandpa Wayne got roped into being a shepherd so that the littles would participate.

Drew really got into the singing..."I just wanna be a sheep" is one of our new favorite songs.:)

We had a Christmas theme this year, so the kids decorated gingerbread houses. I never got a picture of The De Bruin and our camper, but we won first price in the decorating contest with our gingerbread theme campers.:)

All the kids decorating.

This was part of our geo-caching team. I definitely got a work-out in.

Minute-to-win-it games

Here's Drew with his final product. Nice job!

And here we go again...

2011-09-29T19:13:00.002-05:00

Our tiny little girl was able to injure herself in a big way again. This time it did not entail any broken bones...but stitches. She was being her wild and crazy self in the living room and hit her head on the coffee table. It was quite obvious right away that stitches were needed, so we all loaded up and headed to the dr. I needed Ryan to drive so that I could hold a cloth on it. I went back in with her and she did amazing! She didn't cry until she was almost done and even then she laid completely still. I did really well, too...until it was time to go and then I almost passed out.:) I had warned them that it was a possiblity, so the nurse went back and got Ryan and the kids so they could help us out.:) It was quite embarrassing, but it would have been far worse if I actually would have passed completely out! Then we could have had two sets of stitches. She's all healed up now. When we tell her that maybe she should settle down, her response is still usually "why?".

Back to Reality!

2011-08-23T14:06:00.005-05:00

Summer vacation is over and we are starting to adjust to our new routine. The bigs started school last week (sorry it's taken me so long to post.:)), and have been enjoying their classes so far. Luke is in 2nd grade this year. He's already started in on big projects and has a planner to keep track of his assignments. Yikes! Reagan is loving Kindergarten. She was very excited for the first day of school and I don't think she was at all nervous. When I asked her what she was most excited about, she said "eating lunch at school." That's probably because mom isn't there to make her eat everything.:) She's already had one little incident with talking when she should have been listening, but we've been working on that at home. I knew that would probably be her biggest issue, because it was brought up frequently in preschool for her too. I told Ryan that having a girl in school is going to bring me quite a few more gray hairs than a boy. We've already had drama with another little girl calling her names. She also came home from the first day of school so excited and proclaiming that she had a new very best friend! By Friday (2 days later), that same very best friend no longer wanted to play with her or talk to her. I can't believe all this happens in Kindergarten. Seriously? I feel bad for her, too, but we've been praying about these relationships and I've been trying to give her some tips without getting too involved. Otherwise, they have great teachers and I think it will be a great year. I'm loving naptimes in the afternoon. The quiet is quite enjoyable!

She got this lunchbox last year with her backpack, so she was excited she can actually use it now.

Drew and Lauren needed to get in on the photos, too. I'm not sure what that tree is in Drew's hand. They always insist on bringing the oddest things along to school.

4 children at 7:30 in the morning does not a good picture make.

They all wanted a chance to sit on the lion.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to get a normal picture from him again.:)

Reagan was ready to get right to work. We were able to drop their supplies off the day before so we didn't have to mess with any of that.

I had 6 kids with me that morning and we all went into school (along with 100's of other parents and kids), so Drew & Lauren waited to take a picture after we dropped off Luke and Reagan.

It's a little blurry, but here's a quick snap of Luke at his desk. He wasn't super thrilled about me taking pictures of him in his classroom.:)

Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks...

2011-08-09T13:54:00.005-05:00

or maybe just a big 'ol bag of popcorn. The kids earned free tickets to the Iowa Cubs game through the summer reading program at the library, so we headed to the ball park this past Sunday afternoon. It was a hot one at 3:00 in the afternoon, so the kids weren't super interested in the game, but we stayed until the bottom of the 7th and it was a fun experience for them at least. The Cubs were up when we left, but I never checked to see if they ended up winning or not.:) Luke's been to a bunch of games this summer with his Knothole Gang membership, so he was an old pro at it! School starts next week, so we're trying to quick get in in some last minutes activities while we can. The kids and I went to Cars 2 yesterday morning and tomorrow we're going to use some free passes to the zoo. We're also going to hit the Iowa State Fair sometime this week. Hard to believe it's that time of year again, but I am loving the cooler weather that's coming with the end of summer!

Drewie got woken up from his nap a little early, so he wasn't super thrilled about being there. About 5 minutes in he asked if we could go home.:) After we fed him and got him something to drink though, he was ready to go!

Posing is a requirement even sitting atop a giant baseball!

They wanted to take a picture in this sculpture outside the stadium, but it ended up leading to quite a bit of arguing.

Cabin 2011

2011-08-02T13:17:00.007-05:00

There were lots of smiles, fun and sun at the cabin this year. Every year it gets more fun for us because as the kids get older, they like to do more and more things. Last year, Drew & Lauren were quite timid about the water and were terrified of the boat. This year they were in the water a ton and were begging to go on boat rides! Drew loved the wave runner, but we couldn't convince Lauren to try it out. They all had a great time playing on the neighbor's beach area and digging in the sand. The mini-trail was a big hit with them all (I think they all spotted deer on one ride or another), the swing got a ton of use and there were countless cannon balls off the dock. It was a great weekend and we're bummed that we can't make it up there one more time before school starts. Where do all the summer weekends go?

Sand castle fun

Grandpa and Luke on the wave runner. Grandpa even taught Luke how to drive it. He felt quite big after that.:)

Our blonde haired cutie hanging out on the dock.

These two loved the tube. They wanted to keep going...and the faster the better! Drew & Lauren went on a short ride with Ryan and I, but they were not big fans.

Reagan warming up in the sun.

Luke in motion

Typical, goofy 7-year old boy behavior.:)

Reagan's turn for a ride on the mini-trail.

Digging

Lauren was so excited to go for a ride and then when Ryan got the bike out she ran away. We finally convinced her to at least sit on it for a picture. After Ryan started it she freaked out a little from the noise, but she ended up loving the ride.

Casting her line.

Trying to hook a big one. No fish were caught this year though.

Drew is excited for his turn.

This picture would have been good if it wasn't so blurry.:( I think the smoke from the campfire was causing some problems.

Love them.:)

4 chairs for 4 sweet kids.

Time for smores

On the boat

Luke in his given spot in the boat. Reagan did question that this year and hopped in the front before him. It did not go over well!

All smiles on the boat this year.

A little campfire before bed.

They loved to hang out on the floaties and pull each other around.

Lauren tracing Grandpa

Grandpa tracing Lauren

Those swimming lessons paid off!

Lauren and mommy on the boat.

Reagan's Surgery Day

2011-08-01T16:41:00.004-05:00

Reagan had her surgery this morning in Iowa City and she was a champ. I was really impressed with how brave she was. I was anticipating a less than enjoyable experience (not that surgery is ever that enjoyable) considering the major fit she threw when she had to have her finger poked at her check-up, but she did great! Ryan, Reagan and I went to Iowa City on Sunday evening and stayed over-night, because we had to be to the hospital at 7:00 and didn't feel like leaving our house at 4:30 in the morning. It also gave Reagan a chance to swim in the hotel pool and have a little bit of extra-special time to make it a more desirable experience. We know how to spin things around here.:) They were great there. I actually got to walk back with her and stay in the operating room right beside her until she was asleep. I was so thankful for that, because I think that would have been the hardest part for her. What child wants to walk off with complete strangers into a scary and possibly painful situation? We had talked about it ahead of time and she knew she would be asleep the whole time and not feel anything, which helped her relax some. She hasn't had too much pain either. She started to complain of it hurting on the drive home, but unfortunately I didn't have any Tylenol for her and her ice was melting. She's been great since we've gotten home though. If anything, she might relax a little more! I'm so thankful it went well and it will be interesting to see if there is a noticeable difference once the swelling and bruising goes down. This surgery was a hard decision for Ryan and I to make, but we didn't want it to affect her vision down the line and they said that 5 is an ideal age to correct the ptosis. We're thankful to God that she didn't have any difficulties with the anesthesia and that she has minimal pain post-op.

Modeling her surgery outfit and looking good.

I think I went into the wrong profession. I would have made a stunning surgeon....especially loving the shoes, although I did put on some lovely booties before entering the O.R.

Reagan enjoyed two popsicles after waking up from surgery.

Not the greatest picture, but you can see that her eye is black and blue and quite swollen.

This picture cracks me up because she looks like she had a major tussle with someone and came out on the losing end.:)

This was actually before surgery. They had a nice little playroom with a T.V. to pass the time while we waited to go to the Operating Room

Ten Already?!?

2011-07-28T15:25:00.003-05:00

Ryan and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary today. I seriously can hardly believe that it has been that long already. We were talking with his Grandma Elle about it this past weekend and her and Grandpa Tom would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last week. When I hear that, I think ten years is hardly anything! I found a few snapshots from that fun day. It's always fun to look back and remember that day. It kind of makes me wish we could do it all again.:)

Happy Birthday, America!

2011-07-04T14:20:00.006-05:00

Most of our 4th of July activities were done on the 3rd of July instead. We attended church in the morning, the parade in the evening and some fireworks that night. It was a fun-filled day! I put the pictures on here in the order I wanted, but blogger has not been the easiest to work with lately and switched them up. We might hit some more fireworks tonight, depending on the kids attitudes! Two late nights in a row might make for a long week for mommy.:)

Jason and Kristin's family and some of our friends from church came and watched the parade with us. Lisa and Kurtis and kids were supposed to come up as well, but they had sick kids and couldn't make it.:(

Luke waiting patiently for the parade to begin.

I was the only one not wearing patriotic colors for church that morning, so I got a picture of them looking good.:)

This was the theme of the day, especially for Drew. When he would see a firetruck coming down the street he would cover up his ears until it was safely past. It makes it tricky to gather candy when you're standing that way though!

We did some sparklers before we headed out to the fireworks display.

The kids were ready to gather candy. Luke and Reagan ended up with a gallon size ziplock bag filled with candy. Ugh! I combined Drew & Lauren's and they have that much as well. I'm pretty sure we'll still be eating that by the next 4th of July!

My little firecrackers.
I asked them to take a picture together. After the first shot (above), I told Lauren to put her skirt down. Instead, they proceeded to lift their skirts and shirts shouting "fireworks" and laughing hysterically.

This was actually the pre-show fireworks display. A big group beside us lit off a ton of huge fireworks of their own. Drew wasn't a big fan. I'm pretty sure being tired wasn't helping. When the real display started though, he didn't mind the noise and started to get more into it.

Luke wore Ryan's flip flops while we did sparklers. It reminds me of how quickly they grow up and how soon his feet will fit into these shoes!

2011-07-04T14:08:00.002-05:00

All of our kids have their own creative side, and they've been coming out a lot this summer. Luke loves his Legos and does a great job of building with them, sometimes using their designs and many times making his own. Reagan loves to draw and perform. She has been having a lot of art shows lately (the picture below shows one she created with her friend) and dance shows. The couch in the playroom is her stage. She sets up chairs for the rest of us and Luke is usually the D.J. Drew & Lauren's creativity comes out in their 3 year old play. They also love to help me "create" in the kitchen. They're always the first to pitch in when I'm baking cookies. They like to wear their aprons like me. Aunt Lisa made Lauren her very own apron, so now they both have one. The twins have also gotten pretty good at getting themselves dressed. Drew sometimes comes down with his own outfits on, because he is able to reach his summer shirts. The rubber rain boots are usually part of the ensemble.:) It's fun to see their personalities shine through and think about how they might use these creative sides in the future.

The Toothfairy strikes again

2011-07-04T14:04:00.003-05:00

Reagan lost her first tooth a couple of weeks ago (I'm a little behind!). She was super excited but terribly nervous when it came close to falling out. She thought for sure it would hurt and I tried to convince her otherwise.:) She finally wiggled it enough with her tongue for it to fall out....and she found out I did know what I was talking about!

Braving the great outdoors

2011-06-22T20:17:00.007-05:00

Last weekend we went camping with my family. We had great weather (no rain at least!) and a fun time together. The cousins all did lots of running and playing and spent their fair share of time hanging out in the campers...especially ours which is the only one with air conditioning.:) We celebrated Drew & Lauren's birthday there also. They got some fun presents and enjoyed their Buzz Lightyear/Dora the Explorer party. We opted for cupcakes, because they're much easier to transport! We played a fun asteroid water game and did a Dora treasure hunt to Candy Mountain.
I felt bad for Ryan because we didn't get to do too much for Father's Day for him, but I don't think he minded.:) I told him to purchase a grill cover for his gift. I read a Father's Day devotional for our church service and the girls and Drew sang a song about Dad's. I think the dads and grandpa liked it. We had a yummy brunch of Dutch Oven foods and wrapped up our weekend. We might not get out again until Labor Day but we'll have to see what we can do. Lisa and I would like to take the kids out on our own, but I'm not real sure about pulling the camper by myself...and I have no idea to set it up either!

God is Wild about Us!

2011-06-22T20:03:00.005-05:00

It's been busy at the Noteboom house. We were able to go to the zoo with EMC (Ryan's place of employment) two weekends ago. The zoo was open only to EMC employees, so we had a fun time checking out the animals and even were served a free supper. It doesn't get much better than that.:) The new dinosaur exhibit is open now. It was pretty neat and fairly realistic (especially the dinosaurs eating a bigger dinosaur...yikes!). Drew is into dinosaurs lately (he's quite good at roaring), so he got a kick out of it.
We also had Vacation Bible School at our church last week. I helped out and Luke & Reagan attended. The main theme was God is Wild about You! We had a great turnout and it was a fun time. I kept meaning to take my camera to grab some pictures, but it never happened.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

2011-06-16T11:16:00.004-05:00

Happy 3rd birthday to our sweet Drew & Lauren. It's fun to look back and see how much they've changed in just 3 years. They are definitely starting to behave more like children than toddlers even. It's fun that I don't have to do quite as much for them (depending on the day and their attitude.:), but with that sense of independence has come lots of battles. They have mastered the art of throwing a fit, but are also very sweet and helpful.

Lauren loves to play with her baby dolls and to color and sing. She still seems so dainty to us, but she's as rough and tumble as the rest of them (hence to two broken collar bones!). She says some funny stuff and is very easy to carry a conversation with.

Drew loves his trains and Buzz Lightyear. He is very much all boy (except for when he's playing dress-up with the girls) and is quite rowdy at times. He loves to roar like a dinosaur, especially when Ryan is trying to take a nap on the couch.:) We recently had his speech checked out because he is very hard to understand. I wasn't sure if it was because Lauren is so easy to communicate with, but she thought he would benefit from some speech therapy in the fall. We're working with him on some ending sounds this summer. I always feel bad when I can't understand him, but he does pretty good with it and doesn't get too frustrated. Lauren is often able to understand him so she sometimes translates! Ahhh...it comes in handy having a twin sometimes.

It still amuses me that we have twins. I often think about if they would have been identical and we would have double of one of them. I can't imagine, plus then we wouldn't be blessed with both of them. They are great friends, and I hope it always stays that way. They do have their moments, but for the most part they love to hang out together. It's been a fun 3 years and I can't wait to see how they change in this next year. We love you Drew & Lauren!

Can you spot the difference?

2011-06-09T13:23:00.003-05:00

She's done it again! How one little girl can be so accident prone, I'll never know. I came home from getting groceries on Saturday and she was crying. When I asked Lauren what happened she told me she tried to jump. It turns out they were playing on the stairs (which we've told them countless times is a bad idea) and she apparantly tried to jump down some stairs and instead took a tumble. Bummer for her....another broken collarbone, but this time on the other side. This was at around 5:30 on Saturday, so we debated if we should take her in. She was acting very similar to the last time she did this, so I made her wear her sling and gave her tylenol. We decided to wait until the next day to see how she was doing and try to save ourselves an E.R. visit. I knew all they would do is tell her she needed a sling and tylenol, so it wasn't worth $100 for them to tell me that. The next day she still said her arm hurt, but she was using it and acting a lot better. I still had her wear the sling some just to be on the safe side. When she woke up during the night on Sunday and said her arm was still hurting, I thought we better take her in. After some x-rays her Dr. said it was indeed fractured. He said it was fine that I didn't take her in earlier and that it was good that I had her wear the sling. They could tell on the x-rays that it was already starting to heal. I'm not sure what to do with that girl! Even with the sling, she's trying to jump off the couch and climb all over things. Like Dr. Williams said, "we still have make it through 3!":)

Keeping cool

2011-06-09T13:11:00.004-05:00

We've enjoyed our first weeks of summer vacation. The kids have done a ton of swimming in our little inflatable backyard pool. It's not much, but it keeps them cool. Yesterday we tried out some sidewalk paint. We went out at 9:00 in the morning to try to beat the heat. It was probably already 80 degrees at this point though. Today on the other hand is rainy and cool. I love Iowa summers! Reagan is supposed to have her last softball game of the season tonight and Ryan and Luke are heading to the Iowa Cubs game. Luke and my nephew Jaren are part of the Knothole gang (a Christmas present from Grandpa and Grandma), so they get to go to a bunch of games this summer. Hopefully I can get Ryan to snap some pictures.:)

Luke found Ryan and my snorkel gear, so he thought he'd try it out in the pool. I'm sure he saw some unique species of marine life out there.:)

Movin' on Up

2011-05-21T19:09:00.003-05:00

Our little girl is now officially a Kindergartner! Can you believe it? She had her last day of pre-school last Wednesday and on that same day received a letter in the mail saying she was ready for school in the fall. I think that makes it official. I have a feeling our house will be a lot quieter during the days. Drew & Lauren will miss her because she does a great job of playing with them in the afternoons. Lucas has 4 more days of school and then summer vacation can begin. I'm ready for a breadk from driving back and forth to school everyday and being able to have a more lax schedule. I think the kids are ready too!

This was actually taken on her 2nd to last day. They had zebra day at school and needed to wear black and white.

Lauren wanted to be a part of the picture, too.
And not to be left out, Drew needed his picture taken. Nothing like a mini-photo shoot in the middle of our crazy morning routine!

Speaking of moving up, I found Lauren sleeping at the top of the stairs like this the other day. I don't know how she could do that. Thank goodness she didn't fall downt he other way. That would have been a rude awakening!

And I'm moving up in age. The 3 youngest helped me make a decorated cookie for my birthday. Luke was at a friend's birthday party, so he couldn't help make it, but we let him eat some anyhow.:)

Luke...I am your brother

2011-05-13T13:34:00.002-05:00

Tulip Time

2011-05-11T14:03:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we had the perfect weather for Pella's Tulip Time. The kids and I head down every year, and they couldn't wait. Luke had a birthday party for a good friend after school, so we picked him up and got there in time for the night parade. The next day we were able to see some beautiful tulips (they also were perfect this year), watch the parade and eat some yummy food. Luke and I were fans of the Dutch Corndog this year....Pella bologna dipped in corndog batter. Yum!

Reagan was so excited to head to Tulip Time that she suggested we make tulip shaped pancakes for breakfast.
Grandma and the 3 oldest girls heading to out to find some tulips.

8 of the 11 grandchildren. We didn't get any pictures with the other 3 cousins. My mom already says that we're all dressing up together next year though, so stay tuned for that.:)

Grandma and the grandkids posing by the tulips.

I wanted one nice pictures with my kids. This is the best of the 3 we took.

This was taken right before Lauren fell into the bed of tulips and smooshed a bunch. Oops!

Out two girls that would love to be tulip queen someday.

Scholte gardens

Some tulips in Central Park...the girls picked pink ones to stand by and Drew hopped in with them.

When I asked Luke what his favorite part of Tulip Time was, he said this cannon. It must be a boy thing.:)

Grandma always had someone or two on her lap.

We aren't going to make it to Orange City's tulip festival this year, but their Orange City Christian's junior high band was down, so we got a little taste.

This was the highlight of the parade for Drew. We saw the lighted night parade the evening before and he sat on my lap until he saw Thomas heading down the street. Then he took off so he could get a front row view. The next day he kept asking when Thomas was going to come by again. He was very excited.

Hey Batter, Batter

2011-05-11T13:52:00.005-05:00

Baseball and softball season are now underway. This is our first year having two playing, which makes things a little busier. We have at least 2-3 games per week plus practices for Luke, so I feel like we're quickly eating and heading out to the ball field most nights. Luke & Reagan are having fun and Drew & Lauren have a good time playing in the rocks and dirt, so I guess it's a successful season!:)

Posing in her uniform.

A little pre-game pep talk...go Pandas!

Who's on first?

Such concentration...and it was a hit!

Easter

2011-04-29T14:04:00.009-05:00

Grandpa Mike with 3 of his grandkids.
Drew & Lauren in their Easter outfits.
Why is it that the oldest one insists on driving his mom crazy and not taking a normal picture.:) You'll notice in the next photo that he's also messing around!
Ready, Set, Go!
Lauren hunting for her eggs...it will be so much easier when she can read her name.

On the hunt.

Reading the first clue for the geo-cache hunt.

Bethany & Reagan listening to clues.

Trying out their new bubbles.

The bunny cake Reagan and I made. It tasted really good.:)

Drew & Lauren got their birthday present from Grandpa & Grandma a little early, so they can have more time to enjoy it this summer. Unfortunately, we couldn't fit it in our van on the way home. Drew was bummed and said "I can drive it home." Ha!:)

We had a lovely Easter Sunday. What better way to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord than being able to go to church together and worship Him. After a great service, we headed to Pella for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. We were also able to spend the first part of the weekend with Ryan's parents, so it was a fun-filled time.

Feeling crafty

2011-04-22T12:27:00.002-05:00

Last week Saturday morning my sister came over for a while, so while the kids yukked it up and had some quality cousin time, we got busy and made some flower barrettes for the girls. We thought they turned out pretty cute and they're so much cheaper than buying them elsewhere, plus it's fun to create unique ones that match their outfits.:)

A visit with Oma

2011-04-04T20:49:00.002-05:00

We were able to go to Orange City for a quick visit over Spring Break. We didn't have near enough time to visit with everyone we would have like to, but we did get a little bit of time with Oma Elle. The kids always enjoy seeing her and I think she gets a kick out of them.:)

Up, Up and Away!

2011-04-04T20:38:00.005-05:00

It was warm and windy on Sunday so we decided to try out our kites. I think they spent more time on the ground than in the air, but the kiddos didn't seem to mind.:) It was a gorgeous day and it makes us ready for lots more outdoor time.

Finally!

2011-03-23T13:33:00.002-05:00

I think I finally have one of the twins successfully potty-trained! The funny thing about it is it's Drew and I thought for sure Lauren would be the easy one. I highly underestimated my boy.:) Yesterday he finally decided he would poop in the potty and he's done it again today. He's been wearing big boy underwear every day this week and has stayed dry. I'm still putting Pull-ups on at night even though he's stayed dry the past 3 nights also. I just don't want to chance it and have to get up in the middle of the night. Selfish, I know! Lauren's a completely different story. She did awesome the first 2 days of training and now she just doesn't care. I decided to back off a bit and concentrate on Drew and we'll get back to her later. She'll go if I ask her to and every once in a while on her own (usually when we're at school picking up Reagan...who can resist those potties that are just their size), but her pull-up is always soaked by the end of the day. We'll keep plugging along. I'm hoping that she'll finally decide she can (and wants) to do it and we'll be completely diaper free in the Noteboom house!

An attempt at funny:)

2011-03-14T13:54:00.002-05:00

The kids love to watch "America's Funniest Home Videos" and are always telling us, "you should have gotten that on tape." Of course, their idea of funny isn't always the same as ours.:) Reagan and Drew came up with this video and got Ryan to tape it for them. I don't know if it will win us $10,000, but it got some chuckles out of them!

milestones

2011-03-06T18:03:00.006-06:00

We've had a lot of firsts lately. Luke had his first Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts. He officially became a Tiger Cub and received the mark of the tiger on his cheek (you can see the orange marks if you look closely!) and a tiger symbol (the headband). It was fun to watch and be a part of it.
Drew & Lauren have been working on potty-training. It's proved to be much more difficult than it was with the older two kids. We're just going to keep plugging away and hope we're fully trained sooner rather than later.:)
Reagan had her first dance show. She participated in Pella Christian High School's dance team clinic last Saturday. They practiced during the morning and then got to perform at the show that evening. She said she was a little nervous to dance in front of all of those people, but I think she did a great job and she had a fun time.
We're getting ready for spring around here, although snow is falling right now! Next week is Spring Break and the kids are ready for some time off school. I think it will make the rest of the school year fly by!

Happy Birthday to our first born!

2011-02-05T11:04:00.004-06:00

Blogger is acting like a child and not cooperating with me today, but here are few pictures of Luke over the last 7 years.:) Today is his birthday and it is always fun to look back and see how much he's changed and yet remained the same. This past year he has really grown, not so much in size, but in knowledge and behavior. He has been learning a ton at school and has just recently taken a liking to reading without being asked. That's huge for me because I love to read! He still loves Star Wars, Legos and playing the Wii and computer. He's recently begun taking a big interest in science and math. He definitely gets the math from his daddy.:) We celebrated with some friends from school last night. We took them bowling and to the Pizza Ranch and had a great time. Tonight we get to celebrate Luke with our family. I was telling him about the day he was born this morning, although he didn't really want to sit and listen.:) What a blessed day it was for Ryan and I. We can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays with our oldest son.

Snow Day

2011-02-03T13:51:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was a SNOW DAY due to the blizzard conditions outside. The kids were excited (and so was I!) and we had a fun-filled day.

We started the day with chocolate chip pancake for the kids...

and lots of coffee for mom!

It's always exciting when they get to watch cartoons in the morning, because that doesn't happen on school days around here.

We did a little dancing

and some bathing.:)

Reagan and Luke worked on their Valentine's.

We had a movie and picnic for lunch.

We played some games

and braved the cold weather.

We made a Valentine's heart craft out of yarn.

We gathered snow from outside and made snow ice cream

Sugar, milk, vanilla, and fresh snow=yum!

And what snow day isn't complete without hot chocolate?

It was early to bed for mommy and kids after our fun, snowy day.

Racers...start your engines

2011-01-31T20:18:00.004-06:00

Luke had his first Pinewood Derby race for Cub Scouts this past Saturday. We had a great time watching his car "Big Blue" race. Grandpa and Grandma Van Mersbergen were able to come cheer him on as well. He ended up getting 3rd place in his Tiger Cub den out of 10 racers. Ryan and Luke did a great job working on his car and have a nice shiny trophy to show for it.:)

Some of the tiger cubs waiting for the race to begin.

Luke's car is the blue one on the far left.

Showing off his car and trophy at the end of the morning.

Frozen Noses

2011-01-28T19:08:00.003-06:00

We headed down to Pella last weekend to take the kids sledding. We were going to go over Christmas break, but a case of the stomach flu kept us indoors. My parents have a great hill for sledding down. It's a beast to climb back up, but it's a riot going down. Lisa & Kurtis were out of town and their 3 oldest were staying at Grandpa & Grandma's, so we had a fun winter party.

This was actually after the last time down. Drew finally decided he could pull his own sled up. He made it most of the way, too. The other times he would ride on the sled and we would pull him up or he would catch a ride on someone's shoulders.:)

Grandpa Wayne, Lauren, Drew, Luke, Jaren, Bethany, & Reagan. Erica got too cold by this point so she went inside.

I got Lauren to go down twice with me, which is an improvement from her one time last year. She didn't scream all the way down either! She preferred to make snow angels instead.

Reagan ready to fly down on the tube.

This was Drew's typical ride up the hill.

He went down head first on his belly everytime. He loved it. We finally had to make him come inside, because we were all getting cold!

Weekend getaway

2011-01-23T18:29:00.006-06:00

Mom and Dad Noteboom treated us to an overnight stay in Omaha last weekend. We surprised the kids and told them we were going to run errands on Saturday morning. It took 45 minutes of driving for them to finally ask where we were going. They were pleasantly surprised when we pulled into the Children's Museum parking lot. They were even more surprised when they saw Grandpa and Grandma in the lobby and Aunt Elise and Uncle Adam in the parking lot. We had a great time at the museum. There was a ton for the kids to do. The science room was a big hit with all kinds of balls and air features. We then headed to a fun hotel with an indoor water park area. The littles loved the climbing and it had a zero depth area, so we didn't have to worry so much. It also had a fun enclosed water slide that went outside. Luke probably went down the thing 30 times and tried to recruit everyone else to ride as well.:) We were able to order in pizza and relax that night. The kids all went to sleep right away after a busy day. We went to church together the next morning and hit the Old Market area for a couple of hours before heading home. It was fun to get away. Reagan was asking if we could go again this weekend! I'm pretty sure they'll be suspicious for awhile now every time I tell them we're going to run errands.

Ready for a new year!

2010-12-30T11:56:00.004-06:00

We have been having a rough month of December. We had a great Christmas with our family, but we've been having a lot of sickness and injuries in between. 3 weeks ago Lauren and Drew had colds and Lauren ended up with an ear infection. Then the week before Christmas she fell and hit her head on the coffee table. She ended up with a huge goose egg and a black eye. Two days before Christmas, Reagan got a stomach virus and as of yesterday, we're finally all over it (I hope!!). I'm the only one who didn't end up catching it, so I'm crossing my fingers that I'm in the clear now. The grand finale was Lauren falling off her booster chair on Tuesday and breaking her clavicle. She's now in a sling for the next 2-3 weeks. She is not a fan of it and I don't blame her. It's hard to play with toys one-handed and it's hindering her hair twirling ability.:) Thank goodness it's almost 2011. Here's to a healthy and injury-free New Year!

Cookies and Christmas Fun

2010-12-23T18:07:00.003-06:00

We've been busy baking and preparing for Christmas. The kids love to help me with the baking, but it sometimes gets to be a little much when they're all around the island. I put them to work unwrapping all the kisses for the Peanut Blossoms the other day instead. Surprisingly, not one of them ate a single one. I couldn't believe it! I did reward them each one for their hard work.:) We also made our cut out cookies today. They won't win any awards for beauty, but they taste really good! It's one of my favorite traditions, because I remember doing it with my mom every Christmas and I'm sure my kids will do the same with their kids one day. We've been busy with our advent calendars, nightly Christmas books, and even went to Jolly Holiday Lights this year, which the kids got a kick out of. We've already celebrated Christmas with the entire extended Noteboom family and Ryan's parents and are looking forward to celebrating in Pella on Christmas day. I love the whole month of December, so I'm actually a little sad that the fun is getting close to coming to an end for another year! I signed the big kids up for softball and baseball this morning though, so I guess now we'll start looking forward to spring.:)

The kids got new pajamas and toys from their Great-Grandma Marge and Great-Grandpa Orville.

Even the animals praised him!

2010-12-18T17:10:00.002-06:00

Luke and Reagan participated in our children's Christmas program last Sunday at church. It was about Christmas through the eyes of the animals. They all did a great job and it was worth the trip on the not so nice streets to see all the children praising God and celebrating the birth of Jesus!

The first snow of winter!

2010-12-16T21:35:00.002-06:00

The kids have been waiting and waiting for it to finally snow. It did last weekend, but then it was too cold to play out in it! On Monday it reached 12 degrees, so I decided to let them venture out for awhile. They had a great time and enjoyed some well deserved hot cocoa when they came back in.

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Happy Birthday Dear Reagan

2010-12-07T19:52:00.004-06:00

Wow! Yet another one of our children has hit the big milestone of "5". I'm not sure what it is about that age, but it seems significant to me. Maybe it's because she's now old enough to go to Kindergarten or they just seem to start branching out a little on their own at this age. It makes me a little teary-eyed to think about it, especially as I look back on pictures from the past 5 years. It really makes me stop and realize how quickly the years are flying by and the growing up she's done. Reagan at this age loves to learn. She is becoming very good at printing and letter sounds. She is excited to learn to read and is very curious about everything around her. She remembers pretty much everything she hears and learns. She loves babies! She would love for us to have many more, but she is content to hold her new baby cousins whenever she gets the chance.:) She is such a great big sister to Drew & Lauren (she even changed Lauren's diaper the other day just because she wanted to) and is loving towards her big brother (even on days he doesn't deserve it!). She is a sweet little girl with a mind of her own at times, but that's why we love her all the more. We are proud of the little girl she is and excited about the years ahead. Happy Birthday, sweet Reagan! We love you.

Practice make perfect

2010-11-17T14:19:00.003-06:00

Since Reagan did such a marvelous job of being a flower girl in September, she got to try out her skills again! Ryan's cousin Abby was married this past Saturday, and Reagan was honored to be the flower girl for them. Unfortunately, our camera batteries were dead and I didn't realize it until we were at the church, so I didn't get very many pictures. Here a couple of cute ones though. Congratulations, again, Abby and Sam!

The crunch of fall

2010-11-17T14:09:00.002-06:00

The last of our leaves finally fell from the trees and and thus began the huge undertaking of raking them all up! Ryan took the afternoon off work and we finished right before the sun went down. I think he ended up with at least 10 large piles for the kids to jump in. We have a good system down though. He rakes...and I watch.:) Not really. I hold the large piece of plastic and then we haul them into the corner of the yard where we dump them into a fenced off area. We're too dutch to pay someone to haul them away.:) The kids had a great time jumping in all the piles, although a few of them (namely Drew) almost got raked up themselves a few times!

I think she was momentarily distracted by a plane overhead.

Is it more effiecient to rake as you sit in the pile?:)

Trick or Treat

2010-11-03T21:14:00.003-05:00

What do you get when you cross Spaghetti & Meatballs, a lion, a Care Bear, Darth Vader, Bob the Builder, Super Jacen, and Spiderman? If it's any night other than Halloween, lots of strange looks, but on this particular night, lots of smiles and candy!
This was Drew & Lauren's first time Trick or Treating and the quickly caught on!

We ended up trick or treating in Orange City this year. It was a last minute decision and the costumes added to our luggage load, but it was well worth it. The kids had a blast and it was a beautiful evening. There were lots of family members who were excited to see the kids in their costumes. We even got to take a picture with some of Ryan's cousin's kids (see pic above). Reagan's costume was pretty much falling apart by the end of the night from taking it on and off so much to get in the van, but most people knew what she was and were impressed.:) They're loving all the candy..and so am I (ha!)

Just horsing around

2010-11-03T20:47:00.002-05:00

We've got to spend time in Mike & Renee's new house for our past few visits and one of the highlights is Dewey the horse. He belongs to their neighbors, but he practically lives in their backyard. He provided hours of entertainment for the kids. They were frequently watching out the back door for him and the big two got some fun rides on him. Grandpa Mike couldn't wait to get them out there and walk them around. They've only each been on a horse one other time, so this was a treat for them. Drew & Lauren didn't ride him this time, but maybe next summer I'll trust them a little more.:)

Drew took some time to relax in the busyness of the weekend. He propped a pillow behind him and put his feet up. Ahhh...the good life!

Our little cowgirl

Luke's turn

They even rode together...with no fighting!

Opa Tom

2010-10-28T20:22:00.004-05:00

"Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the rock eternal."

This has been Luke's memory verse this week and we were talking last night about how this verse would have been one that Opa Tom would have lived by. Ryan's Grandpa Tom passed away this morning. He was truly the head of his family and was admired by his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I am so glad that he was able to meet all of our children and that Luke and Reagan will be able to remember some fun times with their Opa. Ryan learned a lot from him over the years and was able to go up and spend a little more time with him this week. We will miss him a lot, but are so happy that he is now healthy and celebrating in heaven.

Sunday morning photo shoot

2010-10-22T12:06:00.004-05:00

Ryan's parents were in town recently, so on Sunday morning they went out and took some cute pictures with the littles. Luke, Reagan, and I were already at church for Sunday School so we missed out.:( I love photos in the fall!

Lauren looks taller than Drew in this picture, but I think it must just be the slope of the driveway.:)

This is probably his ornery face after he drove our riding toy off the front stoop.
Lauren and Grandma Renee

Grandpa and Grandma Noteboom with Drew & Lauren

Drewie with Grandpa Mike

Daddy & Lauren

Daddy with his sweetie pies

Reagan's first field trip!

2010-10-20T10:31:00.004-05:00

Reagan recently got to go on her very first field trip. They went to Howell Tree Farm which is a pumpkin patch nearby. Ryan took the day off and went with her, which was a huge added bonus! One of the most exciting parts for her was riding the school bus. I take them to school everyday, so that's not something they get to do otherwise. She picked out a pumpkin that was just right for her and had a great time with her class.

A beautiful day

2010-09-24T21:16:00.004-05:00

We have an awesome backyard....except when it rains. The trees and the poor drainage make it a muddy mess for days. With all the rain we've had this summer, it's been hit or miss for playing outdoors. We've started having some beautiful fall days now though, so we've been taking advantage of them. At the beginning of this week we played in the backyard for a couple of hours and burned some much needed energy! The kids had a great time swinging and playing on the slide and in the clubhouse.

This old pump was cemented into the ground as a landscape piece, but we put our swingset where it was. So now it leans against the fence until we find a better place for it!

Look out Brynn...here comes Lauren.

This is what Dexter prefers to do on a sunny day.

Hailey loves to swing!

Peeking over the clubhouse wall.

I thought this swing would be fun because they would be able to pump themselves. I was wrong...and now I just have another swing to push.:)

Adam & Elise's wedding

2010-09-13T09:23:00.005-05:00

Ryan's sister Elise was married this past Saturday at Copper Creek Golf Course in Pleasant Hill. It turned out to be a perfectly beautiful day for the outdoor ceremony. Lots of friends and family came to help them celebrate and I think everything went pretty smoothly! Lucas and Reagan were the ring bearer and flower girl and I was honored to be the Matron of Honor. It was fun to see our little family all dressed up for the occasion. Congratulations, Adam & Elise!

Reagan in her flower girl dress. She loved to twirl!

Drew looking good in his shirt and tie!

Lauren enjoying a snack with Grandpa Wayne before the ceremony.

The bride, bridesmaids and flower girl

The Notebooms looking spiffy!

The entire Mike Noteboom family

The Great Grandkids with their Omas and Opa

When Reagan got almost to the end of the aisle she said, "Uh Oh, I ran out of flowers!" I was trying to motion her to just keep on walking!

The rings

We finally got to dance. All Reagan really cared about was the cake and dancing!

Drew and Lauren on the dance floor.

Ryan thought Drew looked like a stock broker after a long day at work.:)

We finally got Luke out on the dance floor and boy does he have some moves!

A miniature Fred Astaire. Hee Hee!

Exhausted!

2010-09-06T19:33:00.002-05:00

We had a great time camping this weekend with almost all of the Van Mersbergen extended family. Every year we get together for a camping trip. Last year we started going to a Loop campsite at Saylorville, which is really nice for all the kids we have along. They can run and ride their bikes and we don't have to worry about them being on the road. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so I'll have to try to snag pictures from family members. We had a great time. It was nice to be able to use my Uncle Jim and Aunt Arlene's old camper again....especially last night when it rained (Thanks again, guys!)! Drew is definitely our child that likes camping the least. I'm not sure what his deal is, because he loves to be outdoors, but he gets so tired and crabby. I asked him if he likes camping and he shook his head "no" with a sad look on his face.:) Hopefully once he turns three he'll enjoy it more! It was a great weekend. The kids were so exhausted that they were all in bed by 6:30. I think it will be an early night for me as well! It kind of marks the end of our summer activities, but this weather is getting me excited for fall! Next weekend is Ryan's sister's wedding, so look for those pictures to be coming soon. I won't forget my camera this time.:)

Our favorite things

2010-08-30T10:15:00.002-05:00

Books!!

And Trains!!
....and our grandpas and grandmas!:)

Milestones

2010-08-26T21:26:00.002-05:00

Reagan has now hit the big time...as far as preschool goes at least! She started her 4 year old preschool this week and is loving it. She will be going to school 3 mornings a week, which is just enough for her and mommy.:) She has a large class of around 27 students, but there are 3 teachers in the room with them. One of the things she noticed right away were all the boys in her class, because last year she only had 2. I'm sure that will be a big difference, although it sounds like she was already trying to boss them around on the playground! Her personality is definitely a lot different than Luke's in that respect.:)
Drew and Lauren have also made the jump up to big kid beds. We converted their cribs into toddler beds because they were climbing out of them and I didn't feel like dealing with bumps to the head or broken bones! Lauren was a little hesitant, but I think she likes the freedom now. I do have to separate them for nap time though because they just mess around with each other instead of sleep and then they are grumpy. Drew is funny because when he wakes up he'll be out of bed, but then if he sees me coming he quick jumps back in because he thinks he'll get in trouble. He hasn't figured out that after he's slept he's allowed out! The next big milestone for them will be potty training. Lauren is super interested, but I'm not quite ready yet. I still feel like they're a little young and I'd rather wait a bit and have the process go quickly. Drew just doesn't care, so I'm hoping he'll take cues from his sister!
We're adjusting well to our new school routines. Luke is loving first grade and his class and teacher. We're gearing up for the first football game of the season this Friday and one more camping trip over Labor Day. Lots of fun over at the Noteboom house!!

The 1st Day in the 1st Grade

2010-08-18T13:07:00.003-05:00

Luke's first day of school was today. He was excited to start First Grade and had some friends from last year in this class. I think he'll learn a lot and have a fun year! I don't think anyone will have any trouble figuring out his interests either. He picked out his Star Wars shirt to wear with his new Star Wars backpack, which held his Star Wars lunch box and Star Wars thermos.:)

Let the countdown begin

2010-08-05T18:02:00.004-05:00

This summer has seriously flown by. While I don't think of summer as being almost over, it is after all only the beginning of August, the school calendar tells me differently. Luke is down to less that 2 weeks of summer vacation before the big first grade year begins. I was feeling a little glum about that the other day as we were enjoying some leisurely play time in our backyard, but then I started thinking about all the wonderful fall things I like and I perked up a little.:) We still have lots of fun things planned though. This Saturday we're heading to the zoo with Ryan's work. We get in free, which is an added bonus! Next week we're taking an extra long weekend to head to Orange City and the cabin one more time. It's kind of a last minute planned trip, but we needed to get back there while we could. We have tickets to the Iowa State Fair and we're going camping Labor Day weekend! I told Luke all the plans we have for the rest of the summer and his face lit up. It should be a fun time.
I've also been counting down the numbers on the scale. I had a master plan about 2 years ago, which backfired big time. I joined Weight Watchers so I could lose the 20 pounds of baby weight from Luke & Reagan. I thought that if I lost the weight before getting pregnant one more time, it would be easy to get right back down to it. I did lose the weight and then got pregnant...with twins! Unfortanately, I gained 60 pounds instead of 30 pounds and now have...you guessed it, 20 pounds to lose. So I started using a free website called Myfitnesspal.com. It has been great so far! You input what you eat and it takes away calories, carbs, fat, and protein from what you should have daily based on your requirements. You can also input any exercise you do. I've lost 4 pounds so far and am still feeling motivated. The best part is that at the end of the day when you input all your data, it tells you, if every day were like today you would weight "input weight" in 5 weeks. That makes you want to keep on going. I just thought I'd share in case anyone else is trying to lose weight or just eat healthier.
We also had pictures taken by someone in our church at the beginning of July. They turned out pretty cute. The twins were not very cooperative at all, but we were able to get a couple of good shots of them. Luke & Reagan had tons of great ones! Here are just a couple. Enjoy your weekend!

2010-07-20T09:46:00.003-05:00

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The Sights and Sounds of Summer

2010-07-13T12:39:00.007-05:00

We've had a busy two weeks of July so far! We had a great time celebrating the 4th with our little family and friends. We went to West Des Moines' parade on the 3rd. The kids enjoyed gathering tons of candy. Drew & Lauren had quite a few meltdowns everytime the firetrucks went by with their sirens blaring, but once those passed the parade was a hit with them. Drew even figured out how to run out and grab some candy for himself.:) On the 4th we had friends over. It ended up being rainy, so the evening was spent indoors, but it was a fun time. Our holiday weekend stretched into Monday when we went to Urbandale's fireworks display. This past weekend we went camping with the DeKoning side of the family. The kids had a great time, but they were tiiiiiired by the time we got home on Sunday. Ryan ended up taking Drew & Lauren home to sleep on Saturday night because Drew woke us all up on Friday around 4:00 when he fell out of bed and we were all pretty much up the rest of the morning. Luke, Reagan, and I slept much better on Saturday night, even though I thought the camper might blow over in the wind! Tomorrow we're leaving to go to Orange City and up to Ryan's parents cabin in Minnesota. It looks like the weather will be beautiful, so we're looking forward to lots of water time!

Watching the parade

Reagan's trying to flag down some candy while Drew & Lauren hang on to me for dear life.:)

Waiting patiently for the parade to start.

Drew & Lauren showing off the firework display.

We did sparklers when it wasn't really dark out, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

This is pretty much what happens everytime I try to take a picture of Drew or Lauren.

The kids had fun playing at the park when we were camping.

Reagan and Bethany

Erica and Drew playing in the rocks.

We played some Minute to Win it games. The kids had some fun games of their own. Even Drew got in on the action (Lauren was fast asleep) and did quite well!

Luke trying to roll marbles and get them to stick onto the tape.

Ryan did awesome at shooting the rubberbands to knock down the pop cans. He had the fastest time by far!

I think I was the only one on my team that wanted to look like a dork. I was supposed to catch ping pong balls in the cup after bouncing them off a table. I did not succeed.:( My team did end up winning the overall competition though!

The kids taking their turn at bean bag toss.

Becky brought a fun bracelet craft for the kids to make.

Summer treats

2010-06-29T14:07:00.001-05:00

Party like a Preschooler!

2010-06-28T14:17:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Drew & Lauren's 2nd birthday last Sunday. I felt a little bad about it being on Father's Day, because Ryan got over looked more than I would have like, but he said he didn't mind.:) They had a great time and got lots of fun gifts. Thanks for helping us celebrate, everyone!

Digging their new shades, although they can't quite figure out how to put them on the right way!

Now they're ready to go camping.

They love their new bikes and had lots of fun scooting them around the house.

Elmo!!

Summer birthdays are great because the kids can go outside to eat and leave their messes there.:)

Blue frosting...yum!

Red isn't much better.:)

Drew taking Reagan for a ride.

Playing in their new tent and tunnel.

Happy 2nd Birthday!

2010-06-16T08:42:00.002-05:00

Wow! Last night I was thinking about how 2 years ago I had been thinking about going into the hospital the next day and how nervous I was to have twins! We had no idea what it would be like, but it has been a fun two years. I've said it before, but there is something about twins that is so funny. I think God knew I would get a kick out of them.:) They are really growing up a lot lately. They have begun saying a lot of words and you can somewhat have a conversation with them. Lauren has developed the art of the high pitch girl scream. Not one of my favorite qualities in her.:) They both love to play outside. This rain we've been having has not gone over well around here. Lauren has begun taking naps in Reagan's big girl bed and I think she is quite proud of that. She always takes much shorter naps than Drew and would end up waking him up too early, so she had to move somewhere on her own. I'm not quite ready to move them out of their cribs though. Until they start climbing out, it's nice to have them contained at night! They fight, like all siblings, but you can tell they are good friends, too. The other day Drew was crying because he was getting tired and Lauren came up to him, said "come here," and wrapped her arms around him. He laid is head on her shoulder and they just stood there for a while. It was the sweetest, cutest thing I have ever seen. I hope their relationship is able to stay that way!
I'm excited for their birthday! Two is such a fun age. We have a lot of "issues" to work through (hitting, pushing, biting, screaming:), but toddlers are so fun. I don't think they quite grasp the whole birthday thing. They did understand when I told them they get to open presents, but this morning when I went to get them and told them "Happy Birthday" they smiled and Lauren pointed to her diaper and said "poopy." I guess there are more important things to think about when you're two!

And summer has begun!

2010-06-02T13:18:00.006-05:00

June is here and it feels like summer has officially arrived! Luke is finishing up his last few days of Kindergarten, which is hard to believe. It will be nice to have him home this summer and not be running back and forth. Hopefully I can come up with enough things to keep the big kids busy. We've already been able to spend a ton of time outdoors enjoying the pools and water guns. We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Ryan and I got the entire playroom painted on Saturday and still had Sunday and Monday to relax and spend time with friends. Luke attempted riding his bike without training wheels. He can't do it on his own yet, but with a little more practice I think he'll have it. I'm really looking forward to this summer. All the kids are at a fun age and Drew & Lauren are big enough now to be able to play outside a bunch and for us to get to do some fun things. Enjoy the sunshine!

Ready to go.

Jumping and splashing

Drew would rather play with the water in the sandbox than the pool.:)

I took all the kids outside to play and swim the other day. They all sat and ate their snacks out there too.

Lauren, Brynn, Drew & Hailey

Hmmm...I have no idea.:)

Luke was excited when we found this Star Wars swimming suit

These new squirt guns work awesome! Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!

Lauren all dolled up. Her headband looked cute, but it never made it into church.:(

I was hoping for a nice picture of all 4 of them, but I don't know if that will ever happen!

Reagan taking a try at the 2-wheeler while Luke cooled down a little.

Watch out...it's a Tiger!

2010-05-25T14:06:00.003-05:00

Luke recently joined Cub Scouts and he is thrilled about it! He is quite proud of his new uniform. He would love to be able to wear his shirt out just for fun, but I told him it is only for Cub scout meetings and events.:) He was able to attend the last Pack meeting of the season and is hoping to attend a Day Camp this summer...where he gets to shoot a B.B. gun. We're excited for our new Tiger Scout!

Our new pet

2010-05-05T13:35:00.001-05:00

I forgot to include this picture of Reagan with Scoodles, her new Zhu Zhu pet. It is quite a cute little toy and better yet, she saved up her own money for him!

New pictures as promised...:)

2010-05-05T13:14:00.007-05:00

Go Braves!

Luke had a short program at school with all the Kindergartners.

Drew does this pose a lot when asking where something went.

I think we need a bigger wagon!

Drew, Brynn, Lauren, and Hailey

They just had to have some "eyes" when we were at the store.

Bubbles!

Reagan asked me to take a picture of her with the daffodils.

Teaser

2010-05-04T21:56:00.002-05:00

Updating the blog has been on my to-do list for quite some time now, but it always seems to get thrown to the bottom of the pile. Maybe I'm just too lazy to go downstairs and take the pictures off the camera! I thought I'd type up this blog and tell everyone that I'll add new pictures tomorrow, so now I'm being held accountable.:) We've been busy around here. Luke has started his 2nd year of baseball. He's busy with practices and games, which makes the rest of us busy also. He seems to be enjoying it. He wasn't super thrilled with playing again, but I thought it was important that he be involved in something (besides the wii).:) He's pumped about being able to join Cub Scouts next year. Someone has been coming to their class and talking to them about it and now he can't wait to go out hunting with a bee bee gun! Do they really let 6 year olds do that? We're getting closer to the end of the school year. Tomorrow is teacher appreciation day at school so Reagan and I made some cute decorative jars filled with jelly beans for them to take to their teachers. They have both really loved their school year and we're so thankful for the great education they are getting. I recently applied for a teaching position for next year. They haven't begun interviewing or anything yet, so we'll see what comes of it. I'm torn about it. I'm excited to get back into teaching, but I can't imagine leaving Drew & Lauren.:( I reassure myself with the fact that at least they have each other! Going back to work would help tremendously with the kids' tuition though. I'm trying not to worry too much about it and leaving it in God's hands. Drew and Lauren continue to be their ornery selves.:) They have really enjoyed playing outside and I am loving our fenced backyard! They are both starting to talk a bunch more, especially Lauren. She had her first hair cut yesterday. You can't tell much of a difference but it did tame the craziness down a little. I was nervous about how she would do, because when the lady who was going to cut her hair asked her if she was going to get her hair cut next, she stomped her foot and yelled, "NO!". She sat on my lap and didn't make a peep the whole time. Drama queen!:) She is taking after her sister in that way though, but the basement stairs are her special little place when she starts to get out of control.
It's time for bed around here. So here's an update about what's going on and now that I've told you it's so, I'll post pictures tomorrow!

Easter

2010-04-05T16:55:00.007-05:00

We had a busy, but fun, Easter weekend. On Saturday evening we went out for pizza and bowling with my mom's side of the family. My mom was gracious enough to take Drew & Lauren back with her during the bowling segment. We tried to take them a couple of weeks ago and they tried to go everywhere they weren't supposed to, so this was much more enjoyable! On Sunday we were able to go to church with my parents in Pella and then my family came over for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. It was nice enough out that the kids could spend a lot of time playing outdoors, which is always a plus!:)

We tried (unsuccessfully) to take a picture of the kids. I guess it shows their true personalities!

An attempt at a family photo as well.

Mr. Serious

They got some jelly beans at church that they couldn't wait to eat, but I wouldn't let them have them until their Sunday clothes were off. Lauren kept giving hers to Luke and saying "open" the entire way home.

Lauren searching for her eggs and things.

Luke filling up his bucket.

Reagan on the search.

Brynn showing off one of her many eggs.

A cute shot of Erica

Drew taking Lauren for a ride.

The twins finally crashed in the late afternoon. They were quite grumpy today though!:)

Signs of Spring

2010-04-02T18:10:00.005-05:00

It has been so nice to be able to open the windows and enjoy playing outdoors. The first thing Drew & Lauren say every morning now is "outside?". We went to the park the other day and ate our lunch on the deck. I'm sure it will be the first of many times! Luke and Reagan have been begging to get the pool and sprinkler out, but we've held off on that....although it was warm enough. Luke also had his first baseball practice last night, so the busyness is upon us. We're excited for a fun Easter weekend. Enjoy yours!

This picture is for you, Grandpa Mike. Drew & Lauren have taken a liking to Ranch dressing. They like to dip everything into it and Drew was even eating it with a spoon the other day.:)

Start your engines...

2010-03-27T18:11:00.004-05:00

The big kids and I headed to Oskaloosa this morning for a pinewood derby car race. My dad had made each of the 5 oldest grandkids 2 pinewood derby cars. He let them each paint them to their liking and then he got them all ready for them. Luke & Reagan definitely didn't win best in show, but they were their cars!:) Luke won 2nd place in both his classes and was pumped about the two trophies he got to take home. They are currently sitting on our mantle, because he told me they are display trophies. Reagan received 4th place for one of her cars and unfortunately just won some beads and not an actual trophy, but she did get a participation ribbon also. I also had a car and came in 10th place. I had no idea how seriously some people take car racing! The kids had a fun time. Thanks, Grandpa Wayne, for making the cars for us!

Reagan's 4th place beads and ribbon

Luke's two 2nd place trophies and Jaren with his 1st and 2nd place trophies.

Lucas watching the action.

All the kids in a row waiting for their cars to come down the track.

One of Reagan's cars. It started out purple with a red heart on it and then ended up being graffitied with yellow.:)

Bethany-lane 2, Luke-lane 3, Reagan-lane 4, Erica-lane 5

The kids on their numbers before the big race.

Grandma and Reagan

Grandpa with the 5 oldest grandchildren

Family Business

2010-03-21T20:10:00.003-05:00

For any of your computer needs give the Noteboom's a call.
We are not responsible for any damage that may be done in the process.

No time to blog...

2010-03-04T10:34:00.004-06:00

The housekeeper is terrible...

I've been giving lots of extra baths....

and our children seem to be multiplying!

Fun with pictures

2010-02-11T17:19:00.004-06:00

I found this site that lets you edit your photos for free, which is fun to do. This is a picture of Drew & Lauren slurping down their yogurt drinks. Notice Drew's spiky hair. He put his sticky plate on his head that morning after finishing his waffle.:)

P~A~R~T~Y!!

2010-02-10T10:20:00.003-06:00

We had a full weekend of partying last week. We celebrated Luke's 6th birthday with not one, but two parties and then threw in an impromptu Super Bowl get together as well. On Friday evening 7 boys from Luke's class came over for a Star Wars bash. We had a fun time playing games (although they would have been just as happy to play with toys for the 2 hours!), eating, and opening gifts. This was Luke's first "friends" party and he had a fun time. Saturday evening our family came over to celebrate. All the cousins always enjoy getting together and we get to have lots of birthday parties in the winter months! I think Luke had almost all of his new Lego sets put together by Sunday and is having a great time with his new gifts. Thanks everybody for helping us celebrate!

Ryan and his dad made marshmallow shooters for all the boys. They decorated them with stickers when they first arrived and then we used them for a game. They needed to shoot Darth Vader with their marshmallows and then rescue Princess Leia. The boys thought it was much funnier to feed Princess Leia to Jabba the Hut though.:)

Luke wearing the Darth Vader mask for the stick the asteroid to the ship game. We had two teams...the Vaders and the Clones.

Luke with his lightsaber cupcakes. He thought it would be a good idea to make it look like he was holding the lightsaber.

Eating a meal of Jedi pizza, Anakin apples, and Yoda soda. I think this is the only time they were sitting still the entire two hours!

Some of his friends watching him open gifts.

Luke and his new Voice changer Clone Trooper mask.

His Captain Rex cake for the family party

Happy Birthday to you!

The girls had a fun time dressing up.

Luke and Jaren had fun playing his new Star Wars lego game on the Wii. He would play this game all day everyday now if I let him.:)

Happy 6th Birthday, Lucas!

2010-02-07T11:42:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to our first born son. I was thinking about how 6 years ago today we were bringing him home from the hospital. He was 2 weeks overdue, so we were more than ready for his arrival! At 6 years old, Lucas is learning to read and write and is doing quite well at it. He loves Star Wars, Legos, and playing the Wii and computer. He is enjoying Kindergarten and making some good friends. We enjoy having this guy in our family and are excited to see what the next year brings for him. Happy Birthday, buddy!

TROUBLE

2010-02-03T13:37:00.002-06:00

We have four very funny little people at our house, but 2 of them are definitely wearing me down! I don't mind winter or the snow, but you can only keep two 1 year olds out of trouble for so long. They have been learning a lot of new things lately, one of which is how to sit on time out.:) They are becoming quite good at it. The big problem is that when one is sitting on the naughty step, the other either goes and sits down beside them or brings them a toy...both of which defeats the purpose! They like to push the chairs to the drawers and take out the utensils and silverware. I brought the toy kitchen up to the playroom, but the real stuff is still better, I guess. They love to play peek a boo. Anytime I ask them a question though, they cover their eyes with their hands. Ha! They also will go and sit on the fireplace hearth anytime you want to take a picture of them. That's our "official" picture taking spot. I've been trying to come up with new activities for them to do. They enjoy coloring for a few minutes at a time, but they usually end up eating the crayons instead of drawing with them. I haven't given them play-doh yet for the same reason! They do like to dance though and will hold hands now when they do that. It's pretty cute to watch! It's hard to believe they're 19 months old already. I've been trying to call them the little kids instead of the babies, because one of these days that's going to make them mad! We're getting ready to celebrate Luke's birthday this weekend. He gets to have his first friends party with some boys from school, so I'll post pictures of that soon.

Lauren and Drew coloring. Luke was putting address labels and stamps on his birthday invitations!

This is from the ice storm a few weeks back.

Wearing overalls and sitting on the hearth. They like to put their hands in their pockets now.

Drew & Dexter hanging out together. They love Dexter and he does a pretty good job of tolerating them.:)