Taking Flight

Luke & Ryan recently traveled to Omaha with Luke's Cub Scout group for an overnight trip.  They got to stay overnight in the SAC museum in Omaha and then did some Cub Scout activites at the zoo the next morning.  They had a great time and Luke had fun sleeping in one of the planes.  Drew was sad he didn't get to go have boy time with them, but I told him maybe in 5 years or so they'll go again and he'll have a turn!

Catching Up

So I know that I am way, way, way behind what's been going on in our house.  I do have a somewhat good excuse, because I didn't have a good way to update the blog all summer.  Our house underwent major unplanned construction.  But now it's almost December and the house has been put back together since September, so I'm going to try to catch up on what we've been up to.


All four kids are in school this year, which is a big change for us.  This is the first time that I've had my childcare kiddos here for part of the day without any of my own.  They're all loving school though and are doing great, which is such a blessing. 

 Luke-3rd grade

 Reagan-1st grade

 Drew-4 year old preschool

 Lauren-4 year old preschool

 

We also spent part of a day at the Iowa State Fair, attended a baseball game, and went camping with my extended family over Labor Day.

 

 Drew has a horrible gag reflex to bad smells, so he spent a lot of the time in the barns with his nose plugged.:)

The big slide. 

 

We attended a Friday night game so we could see the fireworks after.  The kids got bored during the game, but the fireworks display made up for the boring baseball game.

 

 









Osh Kosh

This is probably a post that I should have Ryan work on, because I wasn't there and I don't know much about the pictures.  But they are memories that Luke & Ryan made that I want to remember, so I better do it.:)  The last weekend in July Ryan and Luke flew with Mike (Ryan's dad) to Osh Kosh, Wisconsin.  There's a big air show there every year and Luke had never been.  He flew into Ankeny and picked them up and then they continued onto Osh Kosh.   They arrived safely and set up their tent and then went out to have a look around.  While they were eating a huge storm blew in and by the time they got back to camp, there tent was blown over and their sleeping bags were soaked.  They proceeded to lay out their sleeping bags and other wet items over the side of the plane so they would be dry by the time they returned for bed that night.  I think they rested for a while and then went out to check out some more things.  They do a movie every night on a big screen outdoors so they settled in to watch.  Partway through the movie it began to rain again.  Unfortunately for them, they had not brought their sleeping bags inside.:(  They were a wee big chilly that night.  Mike and Luke shared a blanket and Ryan used a small towel....not the greatest night of sleep! The next day they took in some more of the show and went over to the air museum.  They did get to make it through the entire movie that night and managed to stay dry! The next morning they left to head back to Ankeny.  On the way home they hit a huge band of storms.  They made a pit stop in Independence, Iowa until after 2 hours they saw a small opening they could fly through.  They finally made it back home.  That day was also Ryan and my 11th anniversary.  We didn't get to celebrate, but we ordered up some wings that night and at least we were together! Sunday morning Mike headed back home with Luke & Reagan in tow.  They got to spend the week in O.C. and we met them up there later in the week for our cabin trip.  They had a great boy's weekend and maybe next time Drew can come along, too!

Relaxation

We were able to make it to Ryan's parent's cabin in Minnesota twice this summer.  We love being able to go and relax and not have any real responsibilities.  The first time we came back home, we discovered our house was flooded (that will be post of it's own).  We were crossing our fingers that this time around things would be as we left them (all was good).:)  The weather was cooler this time, but the water temp was still nice so we could still swim a bunch.  The boys took a field trip Saturday morning, but Drew came back worried that Indians were going to attack, so I don't know if that was such a great idea! Luke's been learning how to drive the boat, too, and he thinks he's pretty big stuff.:)  3 of the kids and I were able to visit with my friend Maria and her kiddos on Monday morning before heading back to Des Moines.  Reagan wasn't feeling well, so she stayed back with Ryan.  It was a nice way to wind down our summer.  Only 2 more weeks until school starts!

Adventureland

We spent a Friday at Adventureland a few weeks ago.  Luke went a few years ago with my cousin's family and he's been begging to go back ever since.  The kids are all finally at a good age to enjoy the rides and handle a full day at an Amusement Park.  Ryan's parents came along with us, so we could hit the rides man to man.:)  It worked out well because we always had someone who could stay back with the kids that didn't want to ride something.  I was curious how Lauren would do because she is not a very adventurous child, but she actually went on quite a few rides.  We had a great day and it wasn't super busy, so the lines were manageable.  We missed out on the waterpark, because about 10 minutes after we got there it started to lightning, so they had to close it down.  It then proceeded to pour down rain for the next 20 minutes.  We got drenched but were able to take cover under a large gazebo type thing and wait out the rain.  Most people left during the storm, so the kids were able to go on a few more rides that they had missed out on and not have to wait at all.  It was a fun day and the kids are already asking when we can go back!

Drew & Lauren liked these little ladybugs.

The hot air balloons ride.  Lauren is sitting beside Grandpa Mike in this picture and she actually liked the ride.

Drew & Lauren opted out of the Raging River, so Grandpa stayed back with them.  I was really hoping to not get so wet on this ride and we manged to stay fairly dry.  Too bad we got even more wet a few hours later from the rain!

Lauren didn't want to go on the Log Ride either, so she hung back with me.  This was one of the few rides that had a larger line, so we had to wait a while.

Luke, Reagan, and Grandpa

Ryan, Drew & Grandma

This water ride was a little more Lauren's speed.:)

Reagan is our child who has no fear.  She was bummed that she couldn't go on any rollercoasters at first.  Ryan checked to see if she wanted to go on the Tornado with him and she jumped at the chance.  The lines were short so they went twice in a row.  Luke went on it with Grandma, but he wasn't quite as big of a fan.  This is the best picture I could get of them on the Dragon.  Reagan wasn't sure about going on that one because of the loops, but once Ryan convinced her to try it she loved it.  They proceeded to go 3 times in a row.:)  Reagan said the first time she closed her eyes, the second time she had them open and the third time she yelled "wahoo!!!".  She definitely does not take after her mother.

Lauren did not like the ride below.  She went on it and started to get more and more nervous as the ride proceeded.  The ride attendant kept looking at us to see if she should stop it and we kept telling her she was okay.  We finally did have her stop the ride, because we were afraid she was going to totally lose it.  At least she tried!