More Pictures

Dad is still not too old to play in the sand!

Jester Park

Alea, Mom and Benton at Saylorville's Butterfly Garden.

Dad and Benton feeding the Koi fish at the zoo.

Eating at HuHot! Mmmm . . .

Visitors

It had been 15 months since anyone has been up here to visit! Finally-we had visitors!!! Dad, Mom and Nannie came all the way up for an "almost fall" trip. We had a great time. We did a lot of local activities: apple orchard, raspberry pickin', softball game, Ledges State Park, Raccoon River, Jester Park and local eateries. We enjoyed too much food, lots of laughs and perfect weather. We love it when people come to visit and are finally catching up on some sleep since they have been gone.

Alea and Benton pickin' apples.

Mom and Dad at the apple orchard. How corny!

We found this mask at Walgreens and had many a laugh with it.

NANNIE!

Yes, that is Greg pulling Nannie-she's 87 years old!

Mom showing Alea the "ripe" raspberries.

Determination at it's finest!

It wasn't raining when I decided to grill!!!

Enough said . . .

Yes, those get into the house too!

Way too cute not to picture and post! The other morning I went to open up the windows and screeched as I almost stepped on a small roach of some kind. Of course, if mama is screeching about something it's gotta be worth leaving breakfast for a formal investigation. Both of my children race from their breakfast to see what the fuss was about. They were so interested in watching the little bug squirm and try to hide. It made us laugh because they aren't that interested in spiders in the house anymore, but THIS, this was great. You would have thought that it was the most interesting thing-a time altering experience-to see a bug in the house. Alea was asking all kinds of questions and I really wanted to say, "Yes, those get into the house too!"

I've often thought about how many things we wouldn't miss in life if we approached it like children. They find mystery and fascination in everything. They make the ordinary extraordinary and turn the rain into a dance. We can learn so much from them! "Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:4

And so . . . school begins . . .

What a look!?! Can you say, "We're having so much fun!"

Her "first day of school" outfit-PINK!

Looks like kindergarten!

The lesson plans are all made, I've stacked the papers, I've gone over the day's activities one too many times-WE ARE STARTING. I've decided to home school Alea this year-no surprise really-and begin her in kindergarten. Yes, I know it's a little early-according to her age-but I feel like she's ready. We've done preschool for the past two years and I feel like another year would be a waste of time. The beauty of homeschooling is going at your child's pace and I feel she is ready to delve into kindergarten.

I remember doing the "home visits" for preschool preparation. A little nervous going up to the front door plastered with a super sweet smile for the impressionable first impression. I loved meeting the kids for the first time and meeting their parents. I got a peek into their world. By visiting their homes, I already had a feel for where they were coming from. First day of preschool (2-3 year olds) was a bit weepy-mostly moms-and then after about two weeks, routines began and children became compliant. The year began with all it's stories, songs, snacks and sleep!

The day begins with a terrible yell and "Mommy, I need a band-aid!" Upon investigation, Alea has contracted a splinter. It's a perfect one though. The kind that is big enough to see and had one splintery finger still sticking out from her thumb. She sat like she was about to get shots waiting as I got the tweezers to extract to splinter. I don't know how many times she asked if it was going to hurt, but - with her distracted by the TV - when I finally did pull the pest out she didn't even flinch! Perfect, and now we can start our day. The first day of kindergarten!!

I remember the "open house" for second grade school preparation. I felt like teaching second grade was like getting a new job every August. You have a new class and new parents every year. The first day of class was basically an interview for the upcoming school year. You're nervous, you sweat, you try to get organized, the children look at you like you're some sort of real leader and are more than eager to follow. Routines begin and before you blink we're out for Christmas!

We couldn't have asked for a more smooth transition into our home school routine! Alea, being Alea, picked out her "first day of school clothes". She decided to wear a ballerina shirt (pajamas-sorry mom!), matching tutu, pink panty hose and her ballet slippers. We began the day with a song, did language arts, computer technology, art, literature, math and ended with a reading circle. I have blocked off an hour and a half and we went over that today. I hope this is a sign of things to come, a love for learning and teaching. I am using My Father's World curriculum with supplemental materials. This is suggested, tested and loved by my wonderful older sister of whom also home schools her FOUR children. Benton did great also, he did everything right along with us. I'm looking forward to watching my children grow and learn while I grow and learn right along with them!

On the side. . . Alea proceeded to call me "Teacher" or "Erin" while school was in session. It was too cute.

Our Tenth Year of Marriage!

Today marks a great achievement in today's marriage standards-or lack thereof. Greg and I happily celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary. I can't say that we did anything of grandeur or expense but we did the most important thing for both of us, we spent time together. We both talked about how significant TEN years really is and how different we thought life would be after TEN years of marriage. Sooo, this year we wrote down where we think we'll be in another TEN years, put our predictions in an envelope, sealed it, not to be opened until August 7, 2019. It'll be fun to see where we are compared to where we think/hope we are after TWENTY years of marriage.

Greg is my best friend. He is always encouraging, supportive, faithful and so full of life. We have lived in two states together: Texas and Iowa. Been out of the country twice. Lived in a total of eleven residence-eight of which were our "permanent" address. Achieved four and six year college degrees. Birthed and are raising two beautiful children. Since marriage, Greg has had eight different jobs and I've had four. We've survived a tropical storm on Galveston Island and three winters in Iowa! Greg has played in bowling leagues, multiple softball leagues, a flag football league and golf tournaments he also coached basketball. We have been through seven cars. We've owned only ONE refrigerator, microwave, washer, dryer, wok, toaster and kitchen table. We've buried four grandparents, welcomed seven new nieces and nephews, been in three weddings and thrown multiple wedding, baby and lingerie showers. We've watched movies until we've laughed ourselves to tears, stayed up all night to see the sunrise, gone to bed before the sun, exhausted ourselves watching TV shows, saved a puppy and gotten locked IN our apartment. We've kissed each other good night (excluding nights we're apart of course and those nights we talk on the phone until one or both of us fall asleep) every night and never gone to bed mad at each other-honest. I'm convinced that we are a perfect match-though I had my doubts-and we just couldn't be happier. . . TEN years later.

Balloon Festival

This past weekend, we attended our first annual

balloon festival, along with our friend Kevin. It was in

a little town south of Des Moines and we were really wowed

at what we saw! For a small town, it was quite impressive. It's

always fun to have your expectations exceeded and not the other

way around. We arrived, through miles worth of a single line of

traffic, about an hour before the great launch. It was great

timing, the kids were just getting restless when they gave

the "green light". The balloons began to fill and we

watched around one hundred hot air balloons

launch in about thirty minutes.

We were so close! The kids

enjoyed seeing the fire

and all the different

colors and designs of

balloons.

Alea is convinced that she is going to have her own balloon festival "with only pink balloons".

We had a great time. . .