Killing time... quite the adventure

Yesterday was a wonderful day because there was NO rain!! YEAH!!! Mommy and the kids were so happy. After running a few errands in the morning I promised the kids we would go to the park to play. The kids stood up to their end of the bargain and were EXCELLENT at both the grocery store and the post office, so we headed to the park with smiles on our faces. It was hot and humid and after playing at full speed awhile the kids needed to replenish fluids.

We also finally pulled the big pop up house out of the garage and played in yard. The girls were making me cookies in the stove and trying to coax the dogs through the doggy door. They weren't successful in getting the dogs to use the door, but X loved it!! heehee Then today we woke up bright and early to bring the new van into the shop in Des Moines to get a few things done to it that should have been done before we got the van. I knew the detailing and scotch guarding would take at least 5 hours, so me and the kids were ready to kill an entire day goofing off in the big city. After dropping the van off and transferring all three carseats into a loaner vehicle, we were off to the Blank Park Zoo. The kids were giddy when we got to the zoo. All of them had a particular animal they wanted to see and I think we saw all the ones they wanted to see and more. The two older kids even rode a Camel!! It was pretty fascinating to watch!!

Here they are feeding the goats.... much hand cleaning was done after this activity. I had to scour my purse for all the quarters to feed almost each and every animal.

All the kids loved getting some energy out at the playground. They crawled through dinosaur bones and slid down the slide and got lost in a maze of a playground.

I think the highlight of today for X was the train! He loved it when the train went into a tunnel and tooted its horn... X just giggled and said "Mom, the train said Choo Choo!" The kids had a great time exploring and R was in heaven being the tour guide showing her brother and sister what she did the last time she was at the zoo.

Moments like this are priceless!

By 12:00 the kid's stomachs were growling and everyone including mommy was sweaty and hot. So we hopped into the loaner vehicle and headed to the mall. I checked the movie theater times for kids movies and Shrek Forever After and we needed to wait at least an hour. So to kill more time, we ate at Champps outside on their patio and little did mommy know that with every kids lunch came a free sundae. Thank goodness the waiter asked if he should bring them out, and instead of each one of the kids getting one I asked for one sundae and 3 spoons. The kids indulged on a Hot Fudge Sundae and X got the special treat of eating the cherry on top! The highlight of lunch was when the song "ride sally ride" was on the radio and all the kids start dancing in their seats to the music. Luckily we were the only ones on the patio so the kids just had a ball!! We then went to the movie 30 minutes early... the kids were exhausted by this point and really just wanted to nap and go to bed. But all three of them stayed up for the entire movie. We got out of the movie close to 4 pm (keep in mind this had been 5 1/2 hours of killing time already) and then I checked my voicemail to see if the VW dealer called and said the car was ready. AND boy was I disappointed. The dealership had called at 2 (15 minutes after the movie started) and said they ran into problems installing the remote start and we would have to pick it up the next day. Talk about frustrating!! I was at my breaking point at that time and pretty much balled to Nate on the phone saying "I wish I would have known about this hours ago it would have saved us lots of money and time!!" UGH!!! So by the time I got off the phone with Nate and then the guy at the dealership all three kids were sleeping so onward to home we went in the new van with only 100 miles on it. It was a lovely day with the kids but it came with obstacles as well. R already does not look forward to making the same drive tomorrow. Her exact words were "do we have to??" .... my feelings exactly. So right now the kids are upstairs hurting imaginary bad guys and mommy is laying on the couch with her feet up. What an exciting life!

And on to Day 2 of 30 days of me...

Day 2: Your Favorite Movie

Wow, this is going to be hard. I have my favorite comedy [the christmas story] , my favorite romantic movie [gone with the wind], my favorite disney movie [beauty and the beast --but "up"is now a close second], my favorite musical made to movie[the phantom of the opera - the newest version], my favorite inspiring movie [the blind side], BUT I guess if I really had to narrow it down to one all-time favorite movie that i never ever get tired of watching it would be "White Chiristmas."

Now, if you know me you know that my birthday is only 2 days before christmas. And christmas is my favorite time of the year! I go soooo overboard for christmas, the decorations, the holiday treats, the christmas songs starting in August.... you name it I do it! White Christmas has so many great songs to sing to. I think I have probley watched this movie 100 times at least. It is awesome and everyone needs to listen to "count your blessings instead of sheep!"

.... you know this blog now gets me in the mood for christmas songs. Maybe I should add the christmas playlist back on my ipod..... nahhhh, it's not july yet! ;-)

City On Our Knees

I have been getting back into scrapbooking lately and it has been such a creative outlet and has made me HAPPY! I love going back and reading my journal from last august of the very first days with our kids. It brings back SO many memories. I have not had any time lately to sit down and write in my journal... i look back and the last time i wrote in it is in January for Rosetta's first day of school... UGH! I do have my blog though were i write down my thoughts and unfortunately you get to read the rambling thoughts in my head. I ran across this cute challenge on www.1luckymonkey.blogspot.com I thought it would be fun to do, so here it goes.
** Don't worry I will still be posting fun things of kids all summer this won't replace it! This also may get me to be a more consistent blogger.

30 Days of ME
Day 1: Your favorite song
Day 2: Your favorite movie
Day 3: Your favorite television program
Day 4: Your favorite book
Day 5: Your favorite quote
Day 6: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 7: A photo that makes you happy
Day 8: A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9: A photo you took
Day 10: A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11: A photo of you taken recently
Day 12: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13: A fictional book
Day 14: A non-fictional book
Day 15: A moment in time that you won't forget
Day 16: A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17: An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19: A talent of yours
Day 20: A hobby of yours
Day 21: A recipe
Day 22: A website
Day 23: A YouTube video
Day 24: Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25: Your day, in great detail
Day 26: Your week, in great detail
Day 27: This month, in great detail
Day 28: This year, in great detail
Day 29: Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30: Whatever tickles your fancy


Day 1: Your Favorite Song
This is really hard. I love music and love so many different kinds of music. Lately Nate has been getting some more upbeat christian music on his ipod and we have been playing that in the house for the kids. Our favorite lately has been TobyMac. My favorite song is "City on Our Knees". I love the lyrics and the music. It is not the kids favorite to jam to since it isn't really upbeat, but I love it!

I hope you enjoy!!

NO WORDS NEEDED...

For those of you who asked to see pictures of the incident that happened on thursday night... you asked for it. Here is the unmistakable holes in G's beautiful hair.

Summertime To Do List

WOW! I cannot believe it is already June 13th! So before the whole summer gets away from us and me and the kids waste our summer away just doing the same thing everyday, (which as I write it isn't such a horrible idea if that includes laying out by the shark pool all summer) I thought I would put together a "wish" list of sorts of things I would love to do this summer. I know alot of the things I would love to have Nate there with us, but that just isn't going to happen with him at work 5 days a week. So many of these "to-do" activities will have to be done with just me alone with the kids. Which I think will help me not be afraid of trying to tackle new things with them where their are unknowns and possible situations that could be tough.

:::

Here are just a few things I have thought of:

1. Visit the Covered Bridge Park in Keokuk county (not sure what is there but I thought it would be an AWESOME picture opportunity perhaps)

2. Go to a Waterpark and splash in the water

3. Pick wildflowers

4. Catch Lightning Bugs

5. Camp in a tent in our backyard

6. Go exploring in the woods

7. Collect bugs and insects ..... and try to get the kids over their ENORMOUS fear of any thing that moves

8. Play in the rain... well this sounds fun in theory, can I be one of those moms that don't get mad that they are getting filthy dirty playing in puddles? To be determined :-)

9. Have picnics outside where we have story time and sit quietly (might be asking to much)

10. Go to a baseball game

11. Visit the Hot Air Balloon festival in town and see the wonderfully beautiful balloons high up in the sky

12. See fireworks in the sky and the reflection in the kids eyes of the wonder of it all

13. Eat Popsicles

14. Go to the zoo and see all the animals

15. Visit a beach and build a sand castle

There are lots of other things I would LOVE to do with Nate and the kids, but this list seems the most practical. Based on our budget and mommy being very pregnant we are a little restricted to what things we can do this summer. We had planned on going to Florida in August this summer and visiting my brother Kurt and his family and going to Walt Disney World.. but that just doesn't seem to work out anymore. I also would have loved to go to the coast somewhere but traveling that far and budgeting for a vacation like that just isn't going to work anymore. I will have to put those things on my bucket list to do in the future. Someday we can wish in the future to do those things but in the mean time we have to settle for enjoying days like this....

Happy Birthday Grandpa Bob!!

Happy Birthday to Grandpa Bob!! We made a banana pudding pie in your honor today and will be eating it later thinking of you! (Sorry i don't think it would hold up very well shipped UPS! ;-) The kids helped me make it and we sang happy birthday to grandpa bob while cutting up the bananas and licking the spatula full of vanilla pudding. Sometimes the words came out grandma bob ... but we tried! We all hope you have a great day and hope the weather today was sunny enough to get outside.



The kids have created many memories with their grandpa, even with only being around for 10 1/2 months! I asked them today what their favorite thing to do with grandpa was and here were their answers:

R-- My favorite thing to do was get all those FISH.. and we saw frogs and those ugly things (crawfish) that snapped! Oh Oh and I also liked riding in the wagon by the pond.. and Oh Oh....... {she could have gone on and on if i didn't stop her!!}



X -- um.... I like playing pool with the balls and THE STICKS when there is a grown up there, right mom!! :-)



G-- I like feeding fish and throwing the food in the water and in the green wagon where i got blue all over my pretty shirt. { she got aquashade all over a white shirt.. and the stuff is NOT coming out, thank goodness for bleach}

I don't even have to ask what Nate's favorite thing to do with Bob is because he would hands down say playing cards... I don't know if he enjoys being on the same team or being on the opposite team and beating dad. That you would have to ask him!



And I, of my 29 years, have many favorites with my daddy. He has played many roles in my life.

As my Protector -- who could forget when I was bike riding with dad and stuck my foot in the wheel of his bike and sheered the skin off the back of my ankle and dad put me on his shoulders and rode fast all the way home to get something to make it feel better. (i do vividly remember that i couldn't go anywhere and was sitting on the couch having to endure through many reels of Africa trip slides!! :-)



As my moral compass -- I learned from example on how to behave and act like a caring compassionate person from my parents and learned what to do and what NOT to do. My parents were perfect... wait my parents ARE perfect and I only wish I could be 1/2 the parents they are.



As my guidance counselor -- Dad was the one who I called when I was debating whether or not to move back to Ohio after being in Philadelphia for the summer and to shorten my year internship. NOW don't get me wrong dad never told me to come home and I was really really home sick... but dad made me feel like I wouldn't be giving up or disappointing him if i did decide to move back early.



As the date police -- Okay I made this easy on my dad I do have to admit... since the only person I really ever dated was Nate. But dad was there to meet Nate the first couple of times and to watch out for his little girl. Nate must have passed with flying colors... I only think that is because he is so much like you!



As my Hero -- You have built such a secure foundation for me and shown me love and given me values to live by. The life lessons you have taught me have helped me become the woman I am today. You are my superhero!!


So Happy Birthday Dad! We are sorry we aren't there to see you blow out some candles but know we are thinking of you and wishing we were there with you!
Love,
Lynn

Growing Up.... is never easy

So this week is a testament to how quickly our three kids are growing up. We had alot of firsts this week and one LARGE milestone.

Yesterday we had an crazy morning full of excitement. We started our first day of summer (the first day with no school that we had to leave for and we could set our own schedule and eat lunch when we wanted and not at 10:30 in the morning!) very relaxed and the kids wanted to be outside so we decided to take a bike ride... and then after sweating during a small bike ride, we got our swimsuits on to run through the sprinkler. It didn't take long before x and r run into each other and there is blood coming out of R's mouth. Her tooth is gone!! Many of you who know me know that I handle these situation with ease.... NOT!!! I start freakin' out and looking in her mouth seeing a hole where her front tooth used to be. Luckily our neighbor and her kids were over playing in our sprinkler too, so i called the dentist and headed off with r and a paper towel wrapped ice cube in a panic. Now before this she has had 3 teeth pulled. So this is one more she would be missing. We get to the dentist and get rushed right in and the assistant looks at the tooth and then calls over the dentist for an exam. At this point I am sooo nervous.

Then the dentist asks r "how old are you?" R replies "5". Then comes the embarrassing moment ... the dr. turns to me and says .. "you know she will lose these teeth right?" Well duh! she still has her baby teeth. But apparently the tooth came out root and all and was just loose and popped out. There was alot of blood though ... so I think I was just in thinking something was really wrong. The dr. informed me that the both teeth beside the one that fell out are loose too, so i am not to be startled when they come out. Well, thanks doc for making me feel sheepish. So our little has lost her first tooth by "natural" ways, if you can call running into your brother's head natural. :-) Today was X's first day of golf lessons. We decided to pick one thing for the kids to be in this summer so we are not tied down to so many activities that we aren't able to relax and just have fun. X was soooo excited to go to golf like daddy. Since finding out that Mommy signed him up, he has talked about golfing with daddy. I thought this would work better than basketball since it was not with as many kids (which i was shocked to see that there were 8 kids in the lesson) and more of a one on one atmosphere. Not so socially stimulating! A friend of ours was the teacher and X trotted off with the rest of the kids without even looking back at mommy to say "BYE" :-(

He had a blast. The girls and I stayed the 45 minutes to make sure he was okay and he was SO good. He sat and listened intently and I even saw him raise his hand to answer a few questions that Susan asked.

He came running to our picnic table after the lesson with a smile from ear to ear. He said he was so special for getting to do this and he was SUPER good for the teacher. He can't wait to go back next week and mommy is so glad.

This week was also R's last day of preschool. She had a Moving Up party/ presentation on Tuesday afternoon that the younger kids and I came to.

Her class sang two songs and then we watched a slide show. After the slide show, each teacher presented each student with a certificate. The best part (the three kids would say) was the cake and juice after the presentation. Daddy wasn't able to make the party, but he didn't come home empty handed. He brought his little girl home a balloon and a single rose for her huge achievement of graduating preschool.

What an awesome daddy!!
R was in heaven and couldn't stop smiling!!

The kids have been super energetic and full of spunk this week... must be summer in the air!!

Look at our kids growing like weeds!

Speaking of weeds.... our kids are not the only thing growing... so is my garden!

We have tomatoes started to grow on our tomato bushes, our sugar snap peas are at least 14" tall or higher, and our carrots our coming in great!

Our kohlrabi is almost ready to harvest.

And to top this week off with all the things going on, nate and I were initiated into parenthood earlier this evening when one of our kids made the ritual of cutting their own hair. (every kid does it right, UGH!) G didn't want her hair to look like a boy so she decided to cut her own hair in the bathroon while mommy was getting dinner ready. I don't think she thought this one through because the bald spot on the front of her head and the short cut she gave herself on the one side does not scream femininity! Even knowing that every child does it, does not curb the irritation in knowing your daughter messed with her beautiful hair!! Oh well, we are just going to have to do a little comb over for a while! ;-)

So that in a nutshell has been our week... oh wait... our last 3 days. I hope the weekend goes much more lowkey. Here's to hoping!!

Grandma Schulte

GRANDMA

God needed one more to fill the empty space,
he looked around the hospital and saw your sweet face,
when you stopped breathing,
we knew you were gone,
you went so peacefully,
so we knew you chose the right home,
we knew your skies weren't so blue,
and the roads were getting too tough for you,
but you fought that fight,
and you did the best you could do,
the best part was you didn't die alone,
the day God sent you home.
~anonymous

That picture at the top was taken at Nate and I's wedding in 2004. She looked so pretty that day, that blue dress she wore is a dress she wore to many of the cousins weddings.

This picture was taken this past Christmas 2009 with our kids.

Grandma Schulte lived a very full life

She had 11 children, 40 grandchildren, and 59 great grandchildren, and 5 great-great grandchildren. You can only imagine how packed church was with all the family there. All the grandchildren made it home for the funeral, Nate was actually (by a few seconds) the last grandchild to walk in to the funeral home Sunday night. And the grandkids are spread out from Texas, to Japan, to Us in Iowa.

We will forever remember Grandma Schulte.

Born March 7, 1913

Died may 27, 2010