Sorry Everyone

When I started this blog, I had high hopes of keeping it updated daily. I have failed miserably the past few months. Well, here is a brief recap of events since I last posted.

• The weekend away in Schaumburg was great. It was fun reconnecting with Michigan friends and buying lots of stuff for the new house at Ikea.
• My parent visited us the end of October. The kids had fun trick-or-treating with Grandma and papa.

• Jett shared some news with his sisters. They were wondering why Mommy's tummy didn't feel good and why she needed to lie on the couch.
  

• We had Thanksgiving dinner with David's sister's family who live 5 minutes from us. This was our first Thanksgiving not at one of our parent's houses. I even prepared 2 dishes - squash and a green bean casserole - and brought bread and a pie.
  
• The end of November, David and other generous helpers moved all our stuff from the rental house to our new house (2 miles away). The kids and I were sick that weekend, so we were useless.
• The girls highlight of the new house...

• As of today we are still unpacking boxes and putting stuff away. David is working on the mudroom lockers. I am itching to get pictures on the walls and make the place more homey. I promise to post pictures once the place is more in order!
  

A Weekend Away

A long time ago, my MOPS friends and I planned a girls weekend getaway. We decided on Schaumburg, Illinois. This about halfway between them and me. David decided to come along with the kids, so they would have something fun to do instead of being home. I am glad that I don't have to make the trip alone.

We are leaving this afternoon. The girls are very excited to stay in a hotel with a pool. I am very excited to have Lou Malnati's pizza and go shopping at IKEA. My friends will be arriving tomorrow and we will meet up to do some shopping and girly things. I will spend Saturday night with them in another hotel.

The Latest

Two summers ago this story happened. I desperately needed to go grocery shopping and the girls were winning about now wanting to go to Meijer. I told them they could pick out a fish if they did not complain or fight while we were in the store. I know I shouldn't use bribery, but sometimes it keeps me sane. The girls were thrilled about a new pet and were as good as can be while I shopped. We stopped by the fish section and they picked out a blue and red beta fish. We already had a fish bowl at home so all we needed were some rocks and food. While I finished shopping, they took turns holding the bag with the fish and they picked out the name 'beauty' for it. I had heard that these fish only last about a few months, so I figured every few months I could use this trick again. Well, to my surprise beauty was a strong fish and just died this week.

Say goodbye to beauty. Wow, my toilet needs to be cleaned! The girls were not sad that she died. Actually, they lost interest in her a loooong time ago.

Here is a picture I took last night of the house. The painters were there putting on the first coat of paint.

a HUGE update

I cannot believe that the last time I posted something was September 2. In August, I had nothing scheduled on our dry erase calendar. In September - October, there was something scheduled for almost every day - we actually have a life here. I have had numerous people call or email asking what's going on in Iowa? It is nice to know that people care about us and are interested in our lives! Every day I plan out in my head what I am going to write about, then it never happens. Here is a brief recap of the last month and a half:

• We visited the Maquoketa Caves State Park (about an hour south of Dubuque). The highlight was watching David almost get stuck in the opening to a cave.
• The girls go to a Wednesday night kids program at the church we are attending.
• We went to a 'Family Fun Night' carnival at Morgan's school. I like supporting the school, but hate all the junky toys the kids come home with.
  
• I attended a preschool meeting and learned more about what a Montessori school is. Carmen loves her class and her teachers are awesome!
• Morgan and Carmen both have gone on a field trip with their school class. Morgan went to a butterfly sanctuary. Carmen went to a farm.
• Jett and I were sick for about 2 weeks with bad head colds that turned into sinus infections.
• We tried out a small group and we plan on continuing.
  
• David's mom visited us for a weekend.
• Jett turned 18 months. He doesn't talk, but makes sounds for a lot of things (tssss = airplane). Mainly he just grunts and points at what he wants.
• I joined a MOPS group at the church we attend.
• David had an audition for the church praise team. He plays for the first time tonight (Sat pm service) and tomorrow (2 Sun am services).
• Our new house is coming along. The siding and stone has been put up on the exterior. The yard is graded and I think they are laying the sod next week. The drywall is all up and I am not sure what is done next. I have been having a great time picking out everything for the house. I spend most of my nights searching the internet for deals on things. We get packages from the UPS guy almost daily.

Preschool

Carmen's first day of 4's preschool at Grand View Preschool.

Carmen was so excited when she woke up this morning that she was starting preschool. She kept asking all morning when was it time for her to go? With Morgan and last year with Carmen, I did morning preschool. This year I did not have many options, so Carmen is going in the afternoon - from 1 - 4 pm on Tuesday - Friday. This would not have been my first choice, but I think it will work out well. Last week while Morgan was in school, Carmen was bored in the afternoon while Jett napped. The schedule is also working out - I can take Carmen to preschool, put Jett down for a 2 hour nap, pick up Morgan and then pick up Carmen.

Now that we are getting back into a routine, I accomplished so much more today.

Second Grade

Morgan's first day of second grade at John F. Kennedy Elementary School.

I was very anxious this morning for Morgan. I never liked the first day of school. I also felt bad that she had to start a new school. There was so much unknown for her, but she seemed less nervous than me. I prayed for her throughout the day that she would feel confident and make a friend. I could hardly wait to pick her up from school to see how her day was.

I had to pry information out of her about her day. These are the few things I gathered:
*her class room is very small
*her teacher is nice
*the lunch room was confusing
*the playground was super small
*she made a friend

Cable Car

A while back we were exploring downtown Dubuque. We found this.

It is a cable car that takes you up and down a steep bluff. There are two cars on a pulley system, one goes up while the other comes down. You can kind of see the car at the top and the other one is in the shack. The girls begged to ride on it, so we promised them that some time this summer we would take them on it. We surprised them Friday night with a trip on the cable car.

I debated whether or not to get on - I HATE heights. Once inside the car, you pull a cord to signal to the operator at the top that you are all loaded. The seats were like steps, because if it was a bench you all slide to one end. The doors close and slowly up you go. The girls loved the ride, Jett wasn't to sure of it and clung to David, and I have to admit that it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

At the top you get out at what looks to be an old house. The operator works inside and collects money from the riders. There is an observation deck that allows you to look out over downtown Dubuque. The views are amazing. You can also see way down the Mississippi River. In this picture you can see across the Mississippi River to Illinois and to the North a little ways is Wisconsin.

A plaque on the wall said that J.K Graves built 'The Fourth Street Elevator' in 1882 for his own convenience; it was rebuilt after a fire in 1884 and used as public transport. At one time it was operated by steam, but now by electricity.

It gave me a funny feeling being up at the top and I didn't want to ride back down. I told David that he could just drive up and get me. After watching two other groups of people ride down unharmed, I decided to get back in the cable car. It didn't help things that on the ride down David started talking about what if the cable broke, what would stop us at the bottom?

It is fun being tourists in our new town!

Long Time No Post

I have to apologize for the lack of posts. I have been busy with house stuff and getting ready for the girls to go back to school.

We went and checked on the house today and it is pretty much all framed in. I have ordered all the lights and some have already arrived. This is what we picked for the interior lights. These are the exterior lights. This week we also picked out siding colors and cultured stone. We will be using the siding colors just like in the picture - siding in desert tan and shake in natural clay. The cultured stone will be in the aspen color. We will use this on the the garage and one part of the front of the house.

It has been crazy trying to get everything in order to get the girls registered for school. Where we are renting Morgan would go to one school, but where we are building Morgan would go to another school. I fill our extra paperwork to get Morgan in the school where we will eventually be living. I have to take her to and from school until we move. Preschool is filled all over. Dubuque received a grant in which all 4 year olds will receive 10 hours of preschool paid for a week. Carmen is 4th on the waiting list at one preschool and has a spot at another preschool. We toured the preschool that has an opening and I am going to send her there. It is held at a methodist church and has a montessori program. Carmen will go 4 days a week in the afternoon.

This week the girls had a doctor's appointment so that Iowa schools would let them attend. I went there telling them that they would just have to be checked out by the doctor. I was so wrong.... they needed chicken pox boosters and blood drawn for lead testing (an Iowa requirement). We decided to use a family practice instead of a pediatrician. I like the idea of everyone in the family going to one location and seeing one doctor.

Gotta go... David just came home with Panchero's (Iowa's equivalent of Moe's or Qdoba).

This is what the house looked like last Sunday when we got back from Michigan.


This is what the house looked like today.

Fun in the Sun

After a 9 hour drive, we arrived at my parent's cottage 'up north'. My Mom and Dad stayed with us over the weekend and left on Sunday night. Our family had the cottage all to ourselves Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. My parent's came back up on Wednesday night.

Enjoying the fire.

The kids having a snack on the beach in Elk Rapids (about 15 minutes from the cottage). The girls favorite spot to swim was where the Elk River emptied into Lake Michigan.

Celebrating my 32nd birthday! The girls went shopping with David and picked out some gifts for me. They got me candy and a hand painted turtle watering can.

A picture of Torch Lake. This lake is 18 miles long and the water looks like the Carribean - it is super clear and has a turquoise hue.

While we rode on the pontoon boat, the girls loved to watch the water go by.

Papa even let the kids drive the boat.

Toes in the water as we went up the Grass River.

Jett playing on the shore of the Grass River.

We had a great time and excellent weather while we were at the cottage. On Saturday we drove to my parent's house in Grand Rapids. We visited our old neighbors who had a baby after we left. It was strange (not sad) passing our old house and seeing others people's stuff there. On Sunday we attended Ada Bible Church. It was great seeing many of our friends again.

This was our first trip back to Michigan since we moved. We didn't know what feelings to expect. As much as we enjoyed seeing family and friends, we were ready to get back to our life in Iowa. This is where we are meant to be and have no regrets moving!

Last Minute Trip

John Deere has what they call "shut down" this past week and next week. I think it is a time where they clean and repair things in the shop. They encourage employees to take a vacation during this time. David thought he would not take vacation, but use this 'quiet' time to get more work done. Well, David decided yesterday that he would like to take vacation time next week.

This has left me scrambling to get a trip to Michigan planned. I called my Mom and she said we were welcome to come up to their cottage on Torch Lake. We thought about taking the ferry across Lake Michigan, but the convenient times were not available - go figure. I am currently doing laundry, so I can pack clean clothes for the kids. At least the cottage has everything else and all I need to worry about bringing is clothes!

We will be leaving after lunch and are not sure how far we will drive. We may spend the night at my parent's house in Cascade and then drive the rest of the way on Saturday morning. Thank goodness for dvd players in the car!

The Fair

Today I met my sister-in-law (& kids) at the Dubuque county fair for a few hours. The girls have been itching to go ever since dinner on Monday night when Morgan said, "I see a ferris wheel." Yes, we can see and hear (mainly the races and nightly music) the fair from our back deck.

It was a typical fair... farm animals, 4-H exhibits, food stands, rides, games and fair folk. I love going to the fair to watch all the interesting people that attend it. The girls were entertained by a magician for about 30 minutes. I had to pull them away so we could go see/touch the animals. Jett was facinated by the cows and kept making his "et" sound which means he sees an animal. We watched a show by Dave The Horn Guy which I really enjoyed. We walked around all the rides so the girls could decide what they wanted to go on later. At some point Jett lost his pacifier and was not going to settle down without it, so we went home.

After David came home from work, we went back to the fair. Morgan and Carmen went on several kid rides together and had a blast. Morgan was tall enough for the swinging ship ride, so David went on that with her. They sat in the end row and he had to hold Morgan down when they went up in the air because she was lifting off the seat. Once we ran out of tickets, we went and watched the tractor pulls. This was our first time observing such an 'interesting' event. It was very loud! On our way out, we caught the end of the tiger show. It was amazing to see these large cats so close up.

Another day making memories with the kids.

Construction Begins

Last week we signed the contract with the builder and closed on the lot. Our future home will be on Amber Ridge Drive in Asbury, Iowa. Here is a picture of the front of the lot:

Here is a picture of the back of the lot:

We are standing where our front porch will be:

Yesterday a hole was dug and the footings were poured:

This neighborhood is much different than the one we moved from in Michigan. There are around 300 homes in the subdivision. Most of the lots are 1/3 acre with some larger than this. We are building in one of the final phases and I think our lot is 1/3 acre. It will be so much easier to maintain this yard! There are bike trails that go around/through the subdivision. We picked our lot because it allowed for a walkout and it has a bike trail going along the back of it. This trail will be great for the kids to play on and will lead to a park that is currently being constructed.

A Tea Party

Remember last Friday I had to quit typing and check on Jett crying downstairs? By the time I got down there he had stopped crying and this is what I found.

How cute...a tea party. The girls were all dressed up. They had water in the tea pot and gold fish on the plates. The table was also filled with assorted plastic food. This brought back memories from my childhood in which me and my sister would subject our younger brother to stuff like this. At least Jett was not dressed up in 'fancy' girl clothes. He was loving the tea party and took it as an opportunity to drink from a 'real' cup and have a snack with his sisters.

Here is something else that I found this week.

I guess Jett thought the cats needed more water and would share his with them. This is very logical because they share their food with him...yuck!

Morgan is 7 Years Old

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MORGAN!

just born

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Morgan, it is hard to believe that God blessed us with you seven years ago. We are so proud to have you as a daughter!

Yeah For Friday

This was a good and bad week. First the good. The house plans are done and look great. I have met with the builder so many times to get things just perfect. We learned a lot from our first building experience in Michigan and it has helped in better planning with this house. It has been a bonus that the builders office is just behind where we are living. He is kid tolerant and lets me bring the kids to meetings and drops things off at the house. This week we picked out flooring and cabinets to see if what we want would fit in the budget - yeah they did!

The builder went over a building proposal (list of everything included in price) and the price was just under what we were comfortable spending. We put money down on the lot and David is working on getting a construction loan. The builder is eager to start and thinks the house can be completed in 4 months. That would put us in the new house the end of November which is when our lease is up in our current house. It is amazing how everything is working out - praise God for that!!!

Now for the bad. Jett was sick this week and crankier and clingier than normal. He had a fever for 3 days and would not let me put him down. If I had to do something, he occasionally settled for one of the girls holding him. He was very cozy, but I didn't get anything done...including making dinner. We have scrounged for food that is simple to make or had take out every night, but I kind of liked not having to cook! Yesterday Jett threw up on his favorite blanket and lost it because I wouldn't give it to him until it was washed.

I am not sure what was wrong with him, but this morning he woke up without a fever and in a better mood. He ate some breakfast and is playing on his own. Well, I hear him crying downstairs...I better go.

Independence Day

Today was beautiful...upper 70's...sunny...no humidity. We spent the morning outside. We all explored what the girls call "the field". It is actually empty lots were the subdivision will eventually expand. The wind has blown all sorts of building materials out there, which they believe are treasures and not trash. I enjoyed watching the girls gather wild flowers in a bucket. Even though we didn't know what kind of flowers they were, the girls made up creative names for them...snow bells were the white ones.

Later in the morning David put together a big wheel that was given to us. Jett was so excited to ride on it and the girls had fun on it too. David and I were talking about the memories we had on them as kids. I went into the garage to find the Morgan and Carmen with it upside down using the pedals to spin the 'big' wheel. They were pretending to buff their finger nails and make yarn. I used to do the same thing!

We went to the Rowan's in the evening to hang out and have a cookout. After dinner we headed off to watch the fireworks. They launch the fireworks from a golf course and the people all sit on the fairway. David's mom brought glow sticks for all the kids and they had a great time playing with these while we waited. The fireworks were awesome...some of the best I have seen. I think because we were so close it made them more impressive. New baby David slept through them and Jett only whimpered when they first started.

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

July Already?

It is July, so that means that we have been in Iowa for a month. It is still so crazy to me that we actually live here. I look around and think whose house are we in? When will we be done visiting and go 'home'? The girls were sad the other night when they asked if we could go home and I said someone else was living in our Michigan house. They looked confused and I think it sunk in that we will never live in that house again. They saw a picture on the camera of our old house just before we moved and they wanted to just stare at it. I have to remind myself that it is only natural to miss what we had. We are in an adjustment time and who knows how long it will take for this to feel like home. Every time I talk to family or friends from Michigan, I wonder when I will see them again. I am confident that this is what we were meant to do, but I can still miss our old life.

The building process is moving along. We are so excited to build a house again and make all the design decisions. Today I meet with the architect and went over some plan changes. Once the plan is finalized, then the builder is ready to dig. He said we caught him at a good time because a few other projects are on hold because of weather. What do you think of black cabinets?

Jett is 15 Months Old

Little Jett Jett, off and (almost) running. You are getting so big - taller than your 2 year old neighbor! This month started with you just beginning to walk. Grandma Linda was so excited that she saw your first steps in Michigan. Now all you want to do is practice your new skill, which leads to lots of falling down. You have many bruises on your head and have bit through your upper and lower lip. Your older sisters are so proud of you and very protective of you. They are always helping you and making sure you are safe.

This past month we have referred to you as stinker poo fussy pants. I think all the changes in your life have made you very insecure or you are just at that separation anxiety phase. Sometimes when I am busy, you will just scream at my feet until you almost throw up. Other times you go into a fit where you throw something (usually your pacifier), bang your head with your fist, pull your hair and then bang your head on the floor. Is this a boy thing?

Your favorite "toy" is my cell phone. You will dig through the diaper bag to find it and once you do you push buttons until a call is made. Sorry to all those who are programed in my phone and have received a strange call. You have even taken a cute picture of yourself. To keep you from using my phone, I have purchase you two different toy ones. Even though they make neat noises, you prefer mine. You look so cute holding it and trying to say, "Hi Daddy."

Speaking of talking...you don't say much. The only words that I recognize are: Ma Ma, num num and Da Da. You use sounds to say Morgan, Carmen and cat (or any other animal). It is helpful that you know sign language to say eat, more and all done. You also have many of your own signs to communicate what you want.

This month you started taking baths just in the big tub, not in your little tub in the big tub. We have been gradually adding more water each time, so you are not so overwhelmed. You hate being washed up, but look so cute in your elephant towel afterwards.

Jett, you are such a cutie and a blessing to our family! We love you.

Not What We Expected

David and I honeymooned in St. Thomas. We were probably the youngest couple there and we were not even old enough to rent a car. We had a great time and always said for our 10 year anniversary we would go back. We have nothing planned yet, so hopefully it still happens. Ten years ago I remember stepping off the plane and was hit by the heat and humidity. It was uncomfortable to be outside during the day unless you were by the beach or the pool. Maybe we can go this winter - it wouldn't be as hot and much more enjoyable.

Instead of beautiful St. Thomas, we were in Dubuque. I took the kids to VBS for the last day of fun and David went to work. David had a beautiful vase of mixed flowers delivered and I had a card (with a nice love poem) for him. It is kind of sad that this is all we had for each other after reaching this milestone still happily in love. However, I did tell David not to get me anything because I just wanted a fancy refrigerator in the new house. In the evening, we went to the Rowan's to see new baby David.

David's mom and Richard are in town to help out the Rowan's. They came over to our house tonight to babysit so we could go on a date. We went to the restaurant Houlihans - very delicious. David had a house salad with ranch and fancy pot roast and I had a tuscan salad and a chefs special (crusted chicken, artichokes, mushrooms and creamy sauce over linguine).

Right next to the restaurant is a casino, so we decided it would be fun to check it out. We walked around for a while and realized what a depressing place it was. Smoking was allowed 'on the floor', so the place smelled horrible. All the slot machines were making noises, so there was this annoying constant high pitched hum. About 90% of the people in there belonged in a nursing home - a sign was even advertising wheel chairs available. It was sad to see people wasting their money - didn't they realize that they had little chance of winning. So we decided to join them to see what was drawing them in. We each had $10 and decided to try a slot machine. We watched as others would rub the screen for luck, alternate between pulling the lever and pushing the button, and switch machines when they were loosing. Well, our money went up and down and was completely gone in about 15 minutes.

10 Years of Marriage!

HAPPY HAPPY

HAPPY HAPPY
HAPPY HAPPY
HAPPY HAPPY
HAPPY HAPPY
ANNIVERSARY

The Community Pool

Last week I went to the Dubuque recreation department and purchased a swim pass for our family. It cost only $94 for all 5 of us for the summer season. I thought this was a great deal for the use of 2 different outdoor pools. The only strange thing is that you have to sew your ID tag on your swimsuit. It is made of hard plastic and is 1/2 x 2 inches. Well, what if you want to wear a different suit than the one the tag is on? They told me you can wear a different swimsuit, but you have to always show the suit with the ID tag on to get in.

David took the girls to the pool last Saturday and Sunday in the afternoon and they had a great time. The pool is open in the evenings until 9pm, so because it was hot tonight we all decided to go. I was very impressed! The pool is about 10 minutes away and has two water slides, a zero depth beach pool, diving boards, spray fountains/kid climb on area/wading pool, sunbathing areas, sand box/play area and concessions. I know where we will be spending our hot summer days!

An Eventful Day

Today the strangest thing happened. While driving to pick up the girls from VBS I had the air conditioning on in the minivan. When I parked, I put the windows down about a quarter of the way down so it wouldn't get so hot inside. I loaded the kiddos and pulled out of my parking spot. As I drove out of the parking lot I heard a strange noise and felt something hit my arm. I looked at my window and the glass was shattering and landing all over me. I stopped the minivan and looked around and there was nothing that could have hit the window. A splinter of glass even made a small cut on my arm. We have been having occasional problems with this window going down, so maybe something was wrong inside the door. Wierd....

David spent the day at a construction site watching dump trucks in action. They were gathering performance data on the trucks and had a chance to ride around in them. Here are some pictures of the kids toy dump truck.

Last Friday (6/20/08) David's Sister in Ohio had a baby boy - her 4th child. Tonight David's other Sister in Iowa had a baby boy - her 7th child. This gives me the itch to have another one.