Tour of Iowa

We began our tour of Iowa by heading to North Liberty for the Bisgard’s housewarming party. It was so fun seeing them and the Iowa City crew again!

Adam grew up playing a game made up by the Bisgards called “garage ball.” I would need him to do a guest article on the blog to explain all the rules-but they LOVE IT!  The guys were able to break in the new garage with a couple heated games. Pictured here are Jace and Adam determining whether or not the ball was in the strike zone.

Mr. B in mid-pitch and Adam ready to field the hit.

The kids had a blast! Nothing better than a party:)

Jaeley update

 

In the part- baby book purpose of this blog I want to take a minute to record Jaeley’s 3 year-old stats. At her 3 year doctor appointment she was 38 lbs and 39 inches tall. (95th percentile in weight and 85th percentile in height) She talks in full, long, loud sentences and we often have to remind her that we’re sitting right next to her:) Jae was completely potty trained a few months before her 3rd birthday- and it was accomplished with M&M rewards- it’s pretty hard decision whether or not you want to poop in your diaper or get a piece of chocolate, but she eventually figured it out!:)

Favorite foods are juice, cheese, and ICE CREAM. (She takes after her Great Grandpa Meinders and Papa and thinks ice cream is a good breakfast food.) She takes after Daddy and Grandma Ellen in that she loves a good debate-and sometimes I get the feeling she is telling me off!  Jaeley is obsessed with babies and loves talking to and playing with them:)

She LOVES to pretend and loves all things Princess (Jasmine, Belle, Ariel, Tianna, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty.)  Jaeley wants to be Buzz Lightyear when she grows up, “So I can FLY!!!”

On Wednesday she ASKED to have her fingernails painted for the first time. Her toenails were first painted by Celli Whipple in Jefferson when she was 4 weeks old and I left her there for a few minutes while I got my hair cut:) It must have been a girly day because she also insisted on her “twirly dress.”

Swimming at Valley View

Today we took advantage of the super hot weather and the fact that our friend, Erika, wanted to hang out with us and headed to “the huge waterpark” as Brevin calls it:) It was a good thing she was along because it was WAY too crowded for one mom to be able to keep track of both kids at the same time. Brevin loves to swim underwater with his goggles on; pulling the water back with he goes. Jae likes jumping off the edge (with “NO HELP!”) and will only accept assistance when the coughing and choking starts. We also had to have a good cry about not getting to play with another girls’ Barbie mermaids. It was sad:(

Weekend at Ahnya and Papa’s

Breakfast on the deck with Papa

We ride the gator on our “race track” around and around through the garage and out onto the driveway. Brevin had to have the gator “unplugged” for awhile because he kept running into things on purpose. So he and Ahnya brainstormed things he could run into and he thought of dinosaurs. So Papa drew him a dinosaur on a piece of cardboard and he preceded to smash into while Papa held it up in front of him. How fun is that!?

 

When we’re done riding we like to park by the front door.

Fishing in the pond- the sunfish are very cooperative and bite almost as soon as we throw our poles in.

We went to the drive-in with the whole family on our trip earlier this summer. Kara Jo likes it when I do her hair;) Jae requested a “white” malt and Brevin wanted cheeseballs. We ended up eating all of that PLUS Ahnya’s rootbeer and cheeseballs. Oops.

While celebrating our 8th anniversary in Chicago, we scalped Cubs tix for  $40/piece. Great game to be at- this was during the '”Go Cubs, Go!” celebration at the end. We Pricelined a hotel out by O’Hare because the downtown hotels were booked and took the train downtown Sunday morning so I could do my 8 mile run on Lake Michigan. Adam was a trooper and went along- pretty easy to keep up with his slow wife I guess:)

Weddings!

Today we had two special weddings to attend, so unfortunately we had to split up. The adults headed to Chicago to my friend Carrie’s wedding and Brev and Jae went with Ahnya and Papa to Cousin Rachel and Tyson’s wedding in Waverly.

Brevin and Jaeley with “Princess Rachel.” She looked BEAUTIFUL!

B and J pretending to get married, of course! That is kind of the theme of the summer. Ahnya reported that Brevin spent all his time running around with Cousin Parker and Jaeley made Rachel and all the bridesmaids spin their dresses over and over. Congratulations Rachel and Tyson!!

 

Congratulations Carrie and Luke! It was so fun to hang out with the AXO ladies…almost felt like a college girl again:)

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 8th anniversary! I don’t have any of our wedding pics scanned onto the computer yet, so instead-here is a picture of our new kitchen table we found at Costco last weekend. Adam celebrated our anniversary by putting it together while the kids and I were at bible school tonight. It replaces Adam’s grandma’s table we have been using since we got married.

Erin and Evan’s wedding

Today we went to Adam’s cousin Erin’s wedding at Reiman Gardens in Ames. It was a beautiful wedding and such a nice day! 

During the ceremony the kids munched on animal crackers and watched the bees buzz around on the flowers. They were mostly quiet:)

Congratulations Erin and Evan! Thank you for including us in your day:)


Playing in the garden with Maggie, Riley, and an “adopted” cousin for the day:)

Jaeley is a lucky girl that we’ve had a few weddings this summer so she can live out the princess life. When she saw Erin coming down the aisle she exclaimed “There’s the princess!…..Where’s her king?” In this video she and Brevin were pretending to be prince/princess while the groom was singing to the bride. Brevin delivers an intense performance; and it’s kind of half dancing/half wrestling. Notice the kiss on the cheek from Jaeley. Now this is one video that will be good and embarrassing in a few years.
*Please note-You can scroll to the bottom of the blog and "pause" our music so it doesn't conflict with the sound in the video.*

Pool Party!

Spent the afternoon at a pool party/bbq. It was glorious:) Actually glad I was behind the camera for the pool-side shots!

Movie Night

Tonight we had a movie night! I chose the movie “Up” because Daddy hadn’t seen it yet. We covered up the windows so it was completely dark and got out the sleeping bags so we could be nice and comfy. We even picked up a box of Mike and Ikes for the occasion.

Shoppin’-N- Sleepin’

Needed a major stock-up on groceries, so we headed to Costco AND Super Walmart today. Kids did alright, but at 3:30 it was apparent that we were not going to make it through the rest of the day with no nap. So all three of us laid down in the guest bed with every blanket we own. Kids slept til 5:10 p.m. when I woke them up. Yah…it was not easy to get them to bed tonight but sometimes that’s worth it.

(Notice the princess dress clutched in Jaeley’s hand…this is becoming a theme…)

Lazy day

Today was a lazy day spent recovering from vacation and the stay at Ahnya and Papa’s. In the morning Brevin and Jaeley got all caught up on the episodes of  “Krypto the Superdog” they missed while we were gone. It seems very odd that they will never understand that you weren’t always able to rewind TV and have your favorite episodes on demand like we do with DVR! I took advantage of the TV-babysitter to finish unpacking.

This afternoon Aunt Sue from Kearney, MO stopped on her way by to visit us! (Wish I would have gotten a pic!) It was so good to see her. Brevin decided that just sliding down the slide was not daring enough, so he decided to go from the top of the playset into the water. Mommy allowed his little fair-skinned self to be outside all afternoon without his swim-shirt and he fried his back:(

Jaeley ALWAYS wants to help…even when she’s in the middle of being a princess. Us princesses sat on the porch and husked corn for dinner.

Leech Lake vacation

We just came home from a 6 day-6 night excursion to Northern Minnesota where we stayed VanWerden's cabin on Leech Lake. It has become one of our favorite places!
July 3- Journey to the Lake


Packed up and ready to go! The cabin is 8 hours from Adel, so on the way there we stayed overnight in Osage and continued on from there. On the trip, I parked myself in between the car seats and basically tuned into my inner “entertainer” to make the ride go by quickly. In-flight movies included “G-Force” and “Little Mermaid II.”

Arrival! We arrived just in time to grill some hotdogs/brats for dinner and headed straight down to the lake.

After a long day in the car it was great to just play around in the water and relax. Went to bed early the first night:)
 

July 4- Celebration in Walker
Started the day off with a trip to the grocery store in Longville for Adam and kids while I took my only run of the vacation. Adam also went for a run while the kids and I took a dip in the lake.


The rule was that we had to use the hose to get the sand off before entering the cabin! As always, the kids needed no further encouragement to play with the hose.

Then we headed into Walker for the 4th of July festivities. There were inflatables in the park and a parade…perfect! There weren’t any lines for the inflatables which made it even better. We headed home mid-afternoon to get a nap in so everyone would be cheerful for the fireworks in Longville that night.
And everyone WAS cheerful; until while waiting for the fireworks to begin, a glow-necklace broke in my hands and squirted right into Brevin’s eye!  He screamed bloody-murder while I tackled him to the ground and started pouring my bottle of water on his face. Just in time to curb my panic, Adam grabbed the package and read that the material was non-toxic and that the pain would pass. Whew!

Fireworks were great! And it was the first year that both kids sat and watched the whole show.

July 5 - Boat Day

Enjoying some breakfast on the deck

A mamma duck and her three ducklings didn’t want to get real close us; even when we got them some bread.

Adam was the captain of the fishing boat we rented for the day for $55. The kids loved it; but wondered why others were able to ride a tube and go fast on their boat. Sorry kids; ski boats are going for $275, so the fishing boat will have to do. The water was so calm.

Lunch on the boat at the sandbar on Bear Island. His favorite is “mustard sandwiches.” (Any kind of meat with only mustard.) I think this was the first time he had white bread in his whole life.

Jaeley decided to take this opportunity to teach herself how to swim. She swam around the boat with her face in the water, pausing only long enough to say “Nobody help me!” Unfortunately she must have ingested a little too much lake water because she spent the rest of the evening with diarrhea and a temperature. At one point in the night her fever got to 104 degrees, and I found out the nearest hospital was an hour away. Luckily her fever broke shortly and she was fine by the next day. 
July 7- Itasca State Park

We started the day at the park with the “Pack a Snack Story Hike.” A naturalist took us on a hike into the forest and then read “My Little Pine River” while we relaxed on a blanket.



After the hike, we took off on the the very hilly trails around Itasca. Brevin rode the tandem behind Adam while Jae was in the baby seat. This is what I heard behind me from Jaeley the whole day…”I want to ride the tandem, I want to ride the tandem, Why can’t I ride the tandem?, I’m too big for this baby seat, I want to ride the tandem.” Who knew that we should have come up with TWO tandems for the trip? She did manage to have a little fun in the baby seat by lifting up the back of my shirt and giving me “zerberts” and laughing hysterically.


Is this the BEST photo opp or what? At Preacher’s Grove I had the idea to set the timer and take a pic with all the trees. There was one member of the family who wouldn’t cooperate.

Stopped specially to take the standard vacation pic


The Mississippi Headwaters were AWESOME. The water so so clean and it was refreshing to swim around in it. It was hard to believe that we were swimming in the place where the mighty Mississippi was just a creek.

July 8- Turtle Races
Longville, pop. 100, has the cutest tradition of Turtle Races every Wednesday afternoon at 2:00. You rent a turtle for $3, and then cheer him on as he races the other turtle to the outside of a circle painted on their main street. This year it was HUGE! There must have been over 30 heats of races. The camera battery was left charging at the cabin, so here are some pics from last year…


Then it was time for a campfire on the beach…

Jaeley carried her Aerial doll around the whole trip. Here she was holding her and singing (from The Little Mermaid) “Up where dey walk, up where dey run, up where they stay all-day-long in the sun…wish I could be paaaart of their woooorld.”
 
Mmmmm, smores.


July 9- Relaxation
Kids took long naps so we sat on the deck and read to our hearts’ content. Me=Twilight  Adam=a football book.

Favorite toys to play with while inside the cabin were the new police badges picked up at the dollar store. Officers Brevin and Jaeley are ready to put us in jail.



We ate at “Fireside” because they had a sign that advertised their “fresh walleye.” This meal was below average, and super expensive….bummer:( But the kids did get to play on the play set in the background while we waited for our food, so that was a bonus.


Kids meals at the Fireside were $9!! But they came with a “free” ice cream bar, so that was worth it…right Jae?
July 10- Packin’ up
Woke up feeling relaxed and ready to head home. Daddy took kids out for a donut and park-playing while I stayed back to clean the cabin. Ahnya met us in Clear Lake to take the kids so they could extend their vacation in Osage:)