Thanksgiving Holiday & IA vs. NE Game 2015

Our family spent the Thanksgiving holiday at home again this year. It is quite nice because we can take the day easy and not over eat! We got to celebrate with the art they made at daycare. I often wonder how they get such a nice looking hand because whenever I've tried it doesn't look quite like this.

The turkey Little-C made. 

The turkey and saying that R-man brought home. 

Weekend wrap up (10.24.15-10.25.15) - Harvest and Police

We had an extremely busy weekend a few weeks ago visiting the Police Department and my parents farm. After we were at my friend's farm, the kids have been begging to go to grandpa and grandma's farm! Plus, we wanted to get home to help harvest before they finished up.

Saturday morning, we ventured to see the Police Officers. R-man kept talking how he wanted to give the Police Officers a hug. He did just that!

Checking out the Des Moines Bomb Squad Bearcat. 

Weekend Wrap Up (10.16.15 - 10.18.15) - ISU game and Center Grover Orchard

A few weeks ago we had a fabulous weekend with my brother Ray, nephew Ben and his girlfriend and daughter. My brother was turning 29 on Saturday, so I decided to make a quick cake to help him celebrate. His favorite kind is marble, so that's what I made with whipping icing.

My brother Ray and his son! 

A quick visit to the farm - 10.14.15

Last week, Dave was traveling for work so I took Wednesday afternoon off and headed to my friends farm near Kellogg. Julie Van Manen is a CommonGround volunteer! She talks to consumers about how food is grown and raised on her farm. Follow her blog at Farm Life in Black & White. The kids wanted to visit the farm, to see the cows, pigs, and ride in the combine. My parents farm is 2-hours away so I thought the quick 45-minute drive would be good for a quick afternoon trip.

We first rode in the combine and Jacob was driving the combine. The kids had fun teasing him about the Hawks because they are Cyclone fans. But, let's face it...that's all they know. After about two rounds Ryan kept saying, I'm done and I want to go see the cows now. What he doesn't understand is, stopping the combine in the middle of a row isn't that easy. 

The kids and I riding in the combine.

Weekend Wrap Up (Kelsey's Wedding) 10.10.15

This marks my 100th post! What better way to do it than to write a post about the marriage between Greg and Kelsey Hart! In May, I wrote a blog post about Kelsey and how great of a teacher she was. Caroline absolutely loved Kelsey and she was excited for her big day to see her in her beautiful white dress.

On Saturday, we left home around 11:30 am to assure we arrived in Galena, IL in plenty of time. Thankfully we only had to stop once on the way there. Galena was beautiful this time of year, but I think we were ahead of most of the leaves changing by one week or so. On the drive, we were hoping Caroline would take a mini nap, but caring for her baby the entire way was more important. She didn't nap once.

The road heading into Galena.

Weekend Wrap Up (Cyclones football game) - 10/2/15-10/4/15

This weekend was awesome and we finally cheered the Cyclones onto a win! We started Friday evening off a little relaxed with delivering Pampered Chef items to the neighbors. The kids loved pulling up to the neighbors driveway and ringing the doorbell. One wasn't home during the delivery so we'll be taking another spin tomorrow evening.

Weekend Wrap Up - Blank Park Zoo (9.26.15-9.27.15)

Wow, where did this past weekend go? It was a productive, yet busy weekend with beautiful weather. On Saturday, I taught cycling at the Ankeny Y then we spent time with neighbors grilling. It's great to live in such a young and vibrant community! I love that we can step out our backdoor and chat with our neighbors while the kids play.

On Sunday, we attended the 8:30 mass at OLIH. We instructed each of the kids that they need to behave if they wanted to go to the zoo after mass. Little-C was an angel, but not R-man. He's a typical boy who can't stay confined to a small area and be quiet for 1-hour. He threw colors in the aisle and screamed. We had a long talk once we got into the car and headed home. He's a typical boy who has more energy than I do!

They both begged to see the giraffe's and lion's so off we went to the Blank Park Zoo. We stopped by the first exhibit to see the frogs. Little-C kept saying they were dead because they didn't move.