~Indianola Balloon Festival 2012~

We haven't been to the balloon festival since I was pregnant with Cordy, even though we love it.  I decided this year we were going to make it happen.  Even though it goes for almost two week straight, we still managed to wait until the very last night to head out.  This year we left with plenty of time to get there and pick out a spot for ourselves.  We bought a few "fair food" treats and settled in.

A good 20 to 30 minutes after the balloons were supposed to be lifting off they still weren't ready to go.  We were pulling out all the stops to keep our kids entertained.  

Then the festival officials decided that wind was just a little bit too hard to let the balloons lift off this evening. Bummer!  A few balloon teams blew up their balloons but kept them on the ground so we could at least see a few.  The kids enjoyed that, but there was no way we were going to wait around for another 2 hours for the big fireworks show so we called it a night and headed home.

Next year we will try to go earlier in the festival and watch the weather closely.  

~When I Went for a Walk in the Forest~

Despite a beastly hot summer, we had one less brutal Friday evening at the end of July and decided to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors.  After Nick got home we headed out to our favorite camp spot with our little family and spent the night in the woods.  The kids loved it!  

The next morning the kids got up and started swinging pretty early.  They insisted they needed long sleeves and pants but it was probably 70 degrees already at 7:30 in the morning.  Silly kids.  We attempted making breakfast in the fire with muffins in hulled out oranges.  Unfortunately I overfilled the muffins and Nick didn't have his gloves.  Neat idea, though, right?

After breakfast we took a little hike around and then headed over to the big swing, one of my favorite parts of our campouts.  This swing takes you oh so high over a creek bed and makes you feel like you are flying!  Even Cordy demanded a turn or two.  Fearless kids!

Once we got our fill of the swing we loaded everything up in the van and headed home to rest, clean up, and do lots of laundry.  I love camping with my little family.  :-)

~Union Park: A Summer Must~

In years past we have been common frequenters to the Des Moines area splash pads.  Between vacations, day camps, swim lessons and sickness we only made it out a hand full of times this year.  I knew as the summer was coming to an end we needed to make a trip or two over to Union Park, one of our favorite spots.  Lucky for us Jakob and Sofie were able to join us!

 The little girls really enjoyed the water.  The big kids had some fun, but I can tell they are all ready to move onto real pools and just don't find splashing around in a foot of water as excited as they used to.  On this day in particular a game on Tiffany's old iphone was much more exciting that the fountains.  Silly kids. 

After lunch we made our way over to the carousel before heading home.  The kids love this ride and at 50 cents a pop, I don't mind if we take a couple turns.  This was the first year Cordy was really able to ride and she loved it!  In fact, she cried when it was time to go.  Don't worry, little lady.  We'll be back next year.  

~Singing and Dancing In The Rain~

It's the end of August and we've had very little rain and lots of heat.  Give the kids their very own umbrella and send them outside.   

They are bound to entertain themselves for an hour, and you just might get some really cute pictures in the process.

 Pretty eyes on a rainy day. I love that her hair curls and waves perfectly in the humidity.

 This boy belongs on Broadway!  I love that he will do stuff like this around me like it's normal.  This is my boy, uninhibited.  I adore him.

 Overcast skies make pretty pictures of my happy, handsome boy. 

 Those umbrellas sure can be heavy for one little lady.  She loved trying to figure out how to balance it.

What a fantastic way to end the month of August and send summer out with a little bounce in our step. 

~Splash Pad Opening Day!~

June 6, 2011

Hitting up our favorite splash pad on opening day was the perfect way to kick off the warm days. In fact, we ended up spending almost 4 hours there, just playing around in the water all by ourselves.  Then we stopped for some kiddie cones at Snookies.  I wasn't about to bring my camera along so this is the best (and only) shot I could get with my cell phone.

From the very beginning I knew it was going to be a fantastic summer. :-)

~What do you do in the summertime...~

When all the world is green?

 We dress up like superheros and eat homemade fresh fruit popsicles in the backyard.  

 We have a really good time.

What do you like to do?

~Summer Frivolity....~

...at it's finest.

I love summer, sandals, and pink painted toes.  :-)

~What do you do in the summertime...~

When all the world is green?

(I love almost everything about this picture.)

 Mr. Alec has taken up spending hours on the swing in the backyard now that he has learned to pump.  It's so fun watching him make himself go oooooh soooo high, smiling to himself, happy in his thoughts.  Amazing to think that not that long ago I was introducing the baby swing to him, spending hours on end pushing him high into the sky.  Now he does it all himself. 

 Cordy loves being outside in the yard.  She loves to pull up all the grass and tries to sample everything in sight.  She's pretty fast and I'm not as vigilant as I probably should be so she's already tried dirt, grass, weeds, sticks, rocks, and tree bark.  Grass still seems to be her favorite.  (Silly Cordy!  It's yucky!)

 These three also spend a great deal of their summertime entertaining each other.  Alec and Elyssa are the best of friends (and frienemies), and Cordy can do no wrong in their eyes about 98% of the time.  They all like to make each other laugh and be silly.  Add it all up and most of the time it equals a goofy fun time for all.

 We sure love summer!

~Goodbye Barbeque~

As the end of May loomed I had to fight of the urge to sit around and feel sorry for myself since many of my friends were moving away.  The fact that Alec's Fabulous Five was breaking up made it even more sad.  I decided we needed to do something fun, so we had a Preschool Reunion/Goodbye Barbeque Bash!  It was perfect!

I would love to be a fly on the wall, privy to the conversations between these five little boys.  They are a hoot!

 We ate delicious food (provided by all in attendance), kids played, parents chatted.  The weather was perfect.  I couldn't have asked for a better night to barbeque.

After we filled our bellies,  the conversations, jokes and games continued.  Though I have no pictures of the action on the trampoline, believe me that there was always someone bouncing away to their hearts content.

Then I demanded a Fabulous Five Photo Shoot.  

These boys crack me up!  They have been Alec's buddies since before he can remember. 

(Isaac Payne, Chase Pluid, Alec, Harrison Mons, Carter James) 

Each has their own unique personality and have played a very important role in Alec's life over the last 3 1/2 years.  He can be so reserved and shy at preschool, but with these boys he is the true Alec that I know and love with no inhibitions.  I think that is probably why I feel the most sad about their mass exodus from Iowa.  I wonder what Alec will do without them!  I have comfy special spot in my heart for each and every one of them for the wonderful friends they have been for my little boy.

(Mandy James, Kelly Pluid, Sara Payne, Robyn Mons, Me... fighting back tears)

And these are all their pretty Mamas!  All women that I have looked to for advice, answers, sympathy and laughs.  All women who have taken the time and room in their great big hearts to love me and my crew of little people.  They taught my boy his shapes and colors over a year ago, but they have taught me soooo much more.  They have loved us despite our imperfections, supported us in good times and bad, and been my role models as they have mothered their own children.  I love them all like sisters, and will miss them all terribly.  It's been and honor and a privilege to call them "friend" these last four years and I am forever grateful for each and every one of them.

~Backyard Pool Party!~

What better way to kick off the first hot summer day of the year than through a backyard pool party!!!!  On May 10, 2011 it was a sultry 95 degrees outside, and thats without the humidity!  Older siblings are all in school and the pools/splash pads aren't open.  I figured my backyard would do the trick.  We set up with home-squeezed lemonade, rocket popsicles, minutemaid popsicles, water balloons, bubbles, and our two kiddie pools.  Then we texted everyone in my phone (and even made a few quick last minute phone calls) and invited the world to come jump on our tramp and slash in our pools.  Everyone brought along a towel and sack lunch and we had a blast!  (Cordy slept the ENTIRE TIME in her crib.  That girl is one amazing sleeper.)

I've learned that while playing hostess I am terrible about taking pictures.  I realized at the end of the day that I only had pictures of a handful of our little friends and none of the fun Mamas that came to play that morning!  Still I hope the kids remember that it was the perfect exciting morning, splashing and playing with friends, and a welcoming the happy summer weather. :-) 

~Grilled Pizza!~

One of my new found favorite warm weather meals is grilled pizza.  We've probably made it 5 times in the last month.  I love this stuff, and it's soooo easy!  It tastes delicious, doesn't take much time to make, and doesn't require heating up the house.  Perfect for hot summer days. 

 (I make my own dough and roll it out really thin, but store-bought dough would work well too.)

(Have everything ready to go next to your grill because once you need it you need it fast)

Step 10: Cut and Server Right Away!  

The topping/sauce/flavor posibilities are endless. 

My favorite is actually homemade pesto sauce with mozerella cheese, olives, bacon, and tomatoes. Yummm!

Enjoy!

~Balloon Festival 2010~

Way back on July 31st (so an entire month before Cordy joined our family) we decided at the last minute to go to  an awesome balloon festival with some good friends.  

Since we had never been we didn't realize how bad the traffic would be so we actually saw most of the balloons go off from the parking lot.  In some ways though it may have been better because we got to watch the balloons come up and fly over head together, decorating the sky with brightly colored hues.  

The kids were absolutely in awe.  (Check out that monster belly... I'm soooo glad she's not in there anymore.)

Once we got inside we watched the remaining few balloons launch.  It was really neat to see them fill up with air before lifting up into the evening sky.

 Since we didn't plan very well in our rush out the door we settled down and ate fair food for dinner... and the kids climbed all over Nick.  Such a patient guy.

   

We let the kids ride on a few rides and then we settled in to watch the evening fireworks show.

The fireworks really were pretty amazing, especially considering it wasn't the 4th of July, but to be honest it was just as entertaining to watch the kids reactions as it was to see the explosions in the night sky.

 Thanks Chase, Austin, and Kelly for joining us for the evening.  We had a blast!

~Another Lazy Summer Morning~

August 26, 2010 (Pre-Baby Cordelia)

Clothing is optional inside our house during the summer months, but for some reason as long as they can wear their pajamas they tend to keep them.  Funny how that works.  The end of the summer (and my pregnancy) brought many lazy mornings of sitting (or jumping!!!) around in our pajamas until noon.

Check out that HEIGHT!  It must be the shoes.

And that whirlwind of HAIR!  So much action!

Hard to believe a year ago these kiddos could barely jump off the toy chest while holding my hands...  Now they're both so brave!  I can't believe how fast they are growing.

~Summer Vacation 2010: Musicians~

June 24, 2010

One of the magical things I love about my parent's house is the almost constant serenade of music.  

Growing up there was always music playing, and I remember my mom sitting at the piano every day.  When I moved out the music in my family grew and grew and grew.  Now sometimes I feel like the "untalented child" of the family as I sit back and enjoy everyone else's musical creations.  

Alan practices his cello, while Robert and Michael strum away on guitars, with my Dad plucking away at his mandolin.  

What a lovely way to enjoy the end of a long summer day.

~Summer Vacation 2010: The Lemonade Pool~

(Note: I was horrible about taking pictures on our summer vacation this year.  Between Nick and I we took a TOTAL of 30 shots... which is really pathetic.  I wasn't great about writing things down, and well, even if I was I don't have the energy to creatively share every day of our grand adventures.  Lucky for me, my dear sister and her husband DID take some pictures so I have some proof we were there.  Due to my laziness there will be much of our trip left out, especially our time in Idaho where we had so much fun and no one took photos.  Sigh.  I cross my heart and promise to be better about taking pictures once I stop getting kicked in the ribs in a few weeks. Wink wink.)


June 24, 2010
Grandma's are wonderful! They let you do things that mom would never let you do at home.

Like turn the kiddie pool in the backyard into a lemonade pool!  

Did you know that lemon's cut in half and squeezed make wonderful bombs?  

When you stand at the top of the deck and chuck them at the pool they make fantastic splashes!  

You also get quite a reaction when you chuck them full force at your Uncle Robbie's head.  Luckily he's a good sport about things and helps you gather up all the lemons you threw that missed him. Hours and hours of fun can be had just collecting and throwing cut up lemons into the pool.   

And who makes all this fun and stickiness possible?  Grandma.  

Isn't she the coolest?  

My kids sure think so.