Update for July

So, you would think that I'd have plenty of time to update the blog a little more often during the summer.  However, it seems that the time is passing much more quickly than I'm willing to admit.  We have stayed pretty busy for the past few weeks and I have tried to give the kids plenty of things to do when they're not at Lilypad.

Less than a week after returning from Florida, we decided to head to Missouri to visit everyone down there.  What's another 6 hour drive?   We figured it would be a piece of cake compared to our previous vacation.  We got to celebrate both Nick's and my Dad's birthdays while we were down there and also got to go out with Annie and Chad.  River has grown so much since the last time we saw him!

We found this in the barn when we got back.  Owen was pretty excited to hold the snake.  He was released into a field about a 1/2 mile away.  Hopefully we won't see him again.

Gracie tried tumbling and tramp for a few weeks, but is now back doing gymnastics.  I think she likes doing all the different things better than just tumbling.

Gracie and Owen getting ready to swim in Missouri.

We got the kayaks out for awhile before boating. 

Gracie went by herself and only got stuck in a slip once.  Not bad.

Celebrating birthdays!  They each got their own cake.  Luckily they were willing to share!

Having fun with River!

Look how big he is getting!

What a cutie!

 

More fun with River.  Gracie and Owen love playing with him.  It's crazy that just a few months ago he was such a little peanut.  Now he's almost crawling!

 

Our awesome neighbors took the kids tubing!  What a fun day!  Nick even took a turn on the tube.

 

We celebrated 4th of July by going to the parade in Slater.  The kids rode their bikes with Lilypad and we stayed for lunch at the park.  Nick was supposed to do the dunk tank, but they canceled it later in the afternoon, so he lucked out and stayed dry.  Then later in the evening, our neighbors had a party and some fireworks were lit for our viewing pleasure.  We also set up our tents and slept in the back yard.  The kids were up really late, but luckily, had a nap earlier in the afternoon. 

The next day, we all took a bike ride on the high trestle trail that goes over the river.  The kids did great and had fun.  But I think they were really looking forward to the ice cream afterward.

Gracie taking a break in the middle of the bridge.

 

Owen posing on the bridge.

Ice Cream after riding bikes!

 

 The kids both did swimming lessons this year.  There were a couple days that I didn't know if Owen was going to make it because he refused to get in the water.  I don't really blame him because it was pretty cold.  He also is not the best at floating, but knows how to get through the water with no problems.  They both ended up passing and were pretty happy kids!

 

Owen learning his back float

 

Gracie and Owen getting ready to play a game of shark.

Gracie practicing her dismount on the bars.

Owen playing at the park.  Gracie stayed with her Lilypad friends at the pool after swimming lessons.  I didn't let Owen stay because this was one of the days that he refused to stay in the water because he was so cold.  He seemed much happier playing here.

All smiles!

 

The following weekend was spent getting more work done on the barn.  Nick had help from one of our neighbors, who came over in the heat to help put siding on.  They got all but one side done on the barn.  That's Nick on the roof.  Our neighbors stayed for dinner and roasted smores later.  They got a lot done in just a couple days.

Looking much better!

 

My parents also visited for a couple days and we had our family out to our house for dinner.  It was great to have everyone here.  They also got to go watch Gracie at her gymnastics practice.  Wish Annie and Chad could have joined, too!

 

After swimming lessons were done we took kids to the Science Center of Iowa.  They had tons of fun!  They loved making their own rockets for the rocket launcher.  They also had fun with the huge bubbles and trying to build packaging that allowed eggs to drop without breaking.  We watched an IMAX moving and learned about lemurs in Madagascar. 

 

Owen is an astronaut!

The Science Center had a construction area for kids to build stuff.  We spent quite a bit of time here.

Raegan and Gracie making their egg packages.

 

Nick is now in Fargo, ND coaching for the Iowa freestyle team and some Ballard wrestlers for the next week.  The kids and I started off on Saturday running and riding bikes.  Gracie made it a whole mile with me.  Pretty impressive!  We also went out to eat at Hickory Park and did a little shopping. 

Gracie's red face after running with me.  She did a great job. 

Owen also did great riding his bike with us!

Owen ran out of orange juice, so he wanted to try to suck the juice out of an orange. 

It kind of worked. :)

Gracie and Dancer both agree that a real pool would be better.  However, this does cool you off when it's really hot out!

After lunch at Hickory Park Owen got his football cleats! 

He was pretty excited.

 

Nick set us up to Skype with him while he is gone and the kids have also talked to Grandma Deb a couple times now on Skype.  They love being able to see who they're talking to!  Hopefully this helps them not miss their dad and grandma so much. 

 

Looking back on the last several weeks, we've been a lot busier than it seemed at the time.  Especially after looking at the amount of pictures I just posted.  It's amazing how quickly the summers go by.  We got letters yesterday for the class assignments for the upcoming year, and school will start again in a short 5 weeks.  I have received my license for school counseling and submitted all that stuff to the district office.  We still haven't received our contracts, but hopefully those will come soon.  I have three weeks of summer school left and then two weeks off before starting back to work full time.  CRAZY!

 

We are planning to visit Stephanie for a weekend, and also make one more trip to the Ozarks before school starts.  I have also bought supplies to start staining our deck and I'd like to get the mud room and the kids' rooms painted.  So much to do before life gets super busy again.  We also have a couple important birthdays coming up!  Those will be here before we know it!