Six Flags 2008

Monday we loaded up the van and headed to Illinois. Grandma Shirley watched Hudson for us overnight, then Stephanie spent the day with him on Tuesday.

We spent the night in Waukeegan, IL on Monday. We were at the park at 9:45 am and got and excellent parking place.


It was a bit overcast, but the temperature was bearable, and it didn't rain. We spent the first few hours riding roller coasters and seeing what there was to see. The big boys took off on their own, and Shannon and I escorted the littles. They are fearless around the rides, but Naomi and Colton wanted nothing to do with Batman and Robin.
The food inside the park is incredibly expensive. When we first entered, we purchased a refillable cup for $14.00. This made it possible for us to have FREE REFILLS of diet Coke all day long. We packed a cooler with sandwich fixings to eat for lunch. We had enough bread and cold cuts for a snack on the way home, too.

Because we saved so much money packing our own lunch, we were able to purchase a bottomless bucket of cotton candy. I found it rather ironic that we had to reschedule our dentist appointment in order to go on vacation, and then ended up eating 8 or 9 buckets of cotton candy. Somehow I think our dentist will get the last laugh.


We spent about 4 hours at the water park. The girls loved Skull Island, and the big boys enjoyed the water slides. Again, Katie knew no fear when going down the slides, until we went through one that was completely black inside save for a tiny string of lights. She came out laughing and smiling, but chose not to go on it again! Alex, Jack and Chase lost miserably to me on the water slide race...at least that's my version of the story, and I'm sticking to it!

Colton and Bryce kept right up with the big kids and went on as many 'big" roller coasters as they possibly could. Chase claims he went on the most, because he rode some of the 'little" roller coasters with Katie and Naomi.

We stayed and played at the park until about 9:20pm, then loaded up again and headed home. Shannon broke down and deigned to take some toll roads home, something I've not known him to do in 20 years. Although we only shaved about 20 minutes off of our total trip time, the roads were a lot easier to travel on, and the tolls only cost about $3.20. That's chump change after paying $25.00 to park and $6.99 for an order of french fries! Gas prices topped out at $4.35/gallon in Illinois. We arrived home at about 3:00am and caught a few hours sleep before Shannon had to get up and go to work.

Here are a few more pictures from our day away.






"The fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil." Proverbs 19:23

Hud Bud's Eye

Last week the boys and I all worked hard in the morning to get the house cleaned up and all of our chores done, with the intent that we would take the afternoon off and relax. The boys had just settled down in the family room to watch some TV, but were arguing over what to watch. One boy,(who will remain nameless), smacked the remote control out of another boy's (who also will remain nameless) hand, and it bonked Hudson in the corner of his eye.

It swelled up right away and bled a fair amount. The cut was right in the crease of his eyelid. I called the family doctor and he said we needed to take Hudson to the ER to have it checked out because they generally will stitch a wound in this area. So much for my relaxing afternoon. Alex, Chase and I loaded Hudson up and drove to the ER in Marshalltown. Hudson had his first opportunity, after and 1 hour and 45 minute wait, to have his picture taken with the octopus in the examining room. You can revisit one of Chase's experiences here.


The doctor spent all of 3 minutes with us, and decided that it really wasn't bad enough to put a stitch in, and would probably scar worse if he did. So, we loaded back up and went home.

We're thankful that Hudson didn't have to have stitches. It's no fun at all at that age. He ended up with a pretty good shiner, although it wasn't his first. Alex and Bryce were especially relieved that he came out okay.

"My son, let them not depart from your eyes--Keep sound wisdom and discretion;" Proverbs 3:21

Flying Rocks

Last week as Alex finished up mowing the lawn, the tractor kicked up a rock and it hit the van window. Ugh. I just wanted to kick myself, because it had occurred to me earlier to pull the car and van into the garage, but I had to run into town later that afternoon so I didn't do it.

We had the front window replaced as well, since it had had a rock chip that had continued to crack across the entire windshield. There are so many other things I'd rather spend money on than replacing van windows.

The moral of this story: Always put the vehicles in the garage prior to mowing, and don't use a bungee cord to hold the flap thingy on the mower deck up (sorry Papa Joe). I'm thankful the rock hit the van and not a little child running around the yard.

"I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me." Proverbs 8:17

All I Want for Christmas...

is my two front teeth. Actually, I really hope they come in before then! Colton lost both front top teeth within a week of each other. The first had been loose for the LONGEST time. I can recall him wiggling it during a soccer game. It was dangling by a thread for so long, and it was shifted off to the side. He looked like a hillbilly. He finally jiggled it enough that it fell out.

A couple days later we had some friends over for lunch. He was showing Charlie how loose his tooth was as I was serving the spaghetti. Half way through the meal, we looked at him and the tooth was gone. Apparently he ate it along with the spaghetti. Ick.

"As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy man to those who send him." Proverbs 10:26

Visitors, Games, Parades and Movies

That pretty much sums up the past few days.

Thursday, Charlie and Maddie, the Baldwin's grandkids, came and visited for a few hours. Although it was a rainy afternoon, we had fun playing Wii and Xbox. Nothing like some good old electronic entertainment.

Friday Tate came to stay with us. He'll be here for a couple days while his dad recuperates from back surgery.

Friday night was the annual Corn Carnival Parade in Gladbrook. The kids came home with bags upon bags of candy. I have already banned them from it, not because I fear mouthfuls of cavities, but because I'm fed up with finding candy wrappers all over the house. Enough is enough!

This morning we went to the children's games at the Corn Carnival. Jackson won first prize in the Basketball Shoot, Tate won third place in his age division in the Basketball Shoot, and Naomi won fourth place in the Corn Cob Throw. Chase participated in the Basketball Shoot, but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn :) Katie was the returning champion in the Corn Cob Throw, but alas, she had to move up a division and participate against 6 year olds this year, so she didn't place. Colton participated in the Corn Cob Throw, and made his debut in the Greasy Pig Contest. He was one of three boys that had a grip on the pig, but he was nice, polite little boy, not a pushy, shovey boy, so he didn't come away with the win.

Alex, Jack, Chase, Bryce and Tate went to the matinee of the Indiana Jones movie. They were a bit disappointed in it. They are heading out in a few minutes to go see Prince Caspian. Gotta love those $.99 movie theaters!

"The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it." Proverbs 10:22

64 Days Left

Last year I committed to reading through the bible in a year. I found a website cleverly called bibleinayear.org and signed up. They have several different translations to choose from. I'm doing the NKJV in chronological order. It's been very cool reading in this order. Every day an email appears in my inbox with the allotted reading assignment, usually 2 to 3 chapters. I had gotten WAY behind in reading--over 30 days worth--but as of about 5:30 this morning I'm officially caught up. My inbox is empty again. I REALLY like that.

"When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you." Proverbs 2:10-11

Jr. Boys' Camp

Last evening Pastor Garry Moore from Dysart left a message on our answering machine asking for prayer as he speaks this week at IRBC. Monday evening 5 boys were saved, and many others made decisions for Christ. How exciting is that!?! He asked specifically that we pray Philemon 6 over the camp and workers. This verse states "...that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus."

It's such a blessing to have a resource like our camp close by that we can send our children to each year. I don't know how many times a year I answer the question from one of the kids, "How many more days until camp?" I can't wait to hear how God has worked in Chase and Bryce's lives this week!

"He also taught me, and said to me: Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live." Proverbs 4:4

Removed and Saturated

Alex and Jackson left on Saturday to spend the week with Pastor James and some teens from Nevada Baptist Church on a hiking trip to Colorado. We last spoke to them Sunday morning when they called to wish Shannon Happy Father's Day. They were at a Village Inn somewhere in Colorado--their last "real" meal for a week. They will be hiking several miles each day, carrying their backpacks and provisions everywhere they go.

Chase and Bryce are in Clear Lake at Jr. Boys' Camp at Iowa Regular Baptist Camp. They will be back on Saturday.

Hiking trips and church camp are great times to be removed. Removed from:
TV
Xbox
Wii
Music
Email
Instant Messaging
Sports schedules


We also pray that they will be saturated.
Saturated in:
Prayer
God's word
Bible Study
Worship
Discussion about God

Please pray that they will have safety while gone.

"My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings." Proverbs 4:20

Jackson/Shannon

Jackson decided last week that it was time to cut his hair. I didn't hesitate long enough to give him time to reconsider!

I attempted, while cutting of piles and piles of hair, to recreate the look Shannon had when we first met. It was close, but not quite right.

This is the final product. He's just not Jackson unless he's spiking his hair.

"Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, and give attention to know understanding;" Proverbs 4:1

Bathroom Remodel

The Thursday before Memorial Day I got the whim to redo our upstairs bathroom. The idea had been rattling around in my brain for quite some time, but I had never acted on it. Shannon, being the good sport that he is, went along with my plans.

The boys and I started demo on Friday morning. Jackson started out taking off cupboard doors. Alex worked on demoing the baseboard and wallboard surrounding the shower. I removed the old wallpaper boarder. We were ready to start painting within 45 minutes of starting. It's such a blessing to have big, strong guys around that can do a lot of the hard work.



Painting the walls went fairly quickly. The cabinet doors took more time than I would have liked. Remind me next time to use primer.

Friday evening when Shannon got home from work he installed the wallboard. Why he decided to use the circular saw in Chase's room across the hall still eludes me. Needless to say, cleaning carpets is now on my to-do list.


Alex and I installed the flooring on Sunday afternoon, as tornadoes ripped apart the town of Parkersburg about 25 miles north of us. We were oblivious to the whole thing. There are no windows in the bathroom. The kids played contentedly outside in the sunshine for most of the afternoon. We didn't even get any rain until later on in the evening when we had more tornado warnings and our youth group kids over at our house. There were about 23 of us in Alex's bedroom in the basement for quite a while, but that's another story...

We were pleased when the bathroom was finally completed, although we didn't get it done in the allotted three days. We've finally replaced all of the fixtures, towel bars, hooks, etc.


Remind me next year just to take it easy and enjoy those three day weekends!


"My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not associate with those given to change." Proverbs 24:21

Cedar Valley Cup 2008

Chase, Bryce and Colton wrapped up the soccer season with a three-day tournament in Cedar Falls. We had beautiful weather this year, and it was a pleasure to spend so much time in the sun. Colton's team won 6th place in their age division, Bryce's team won 5th place, and Chase's team won 3rd place. They all did a great job this season and improved their skills.




"Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble." Proverbs 3:23

Colton's 7th Birthday

On May 28th Colton celebrated his 7th birthday. He woke everyone up early to watch him open his presents, then had to wait ALL DAY for his very first "kid" birthday party. We invited his friends from Sunday School to meet us at the church for a party during church time on Wednesday evening. He had a pirate theme, with a Treasure Chest cake and a Pirate's Lair ice cream fort. The kids were able to play some games after eating their cake and ice cream. Colton had a great time and loved being able to share his day with his friends.



"So you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness." Proverbs 2:20

Photography

This is a picture Jackson snapped from the backseat of the car on our way to Alex's game on Saturday. I thought it turned out pretty good for shooting through a dirty window in a moving vehicle.


"The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, before His works of old." Proverbs 8:22

Outdoor Pictures

Friday night we had nowhere to go and nothing to do. I can't remember the last time that happened. When Shannon got home from work, we grilled burgers and hotdogs and ate out on the deck. The dogs and cats thought they had died and gone to heaven.

After eating, the boys played basketball and the little ones wandered around the yard enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. The farmers were planting corn across the road. Remind me again why we are trying to sell our home?

Naomi and Checkers


Colton and the tractor


Hudson watching the tractor


Did Shannon dunk it or did Jackson block it?


The pasture


Hud Bud

"The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; By understanding He established the heavens." Proverbs 3:19

Coming Up For Air

The past two months have been crazy-busy. Alex made the varsity soccer team, Jackson went out for middle school track, Chase is playing Cedar Valley soccer, Bryce is playing CV soccer, and Colton made his soccer debut as well. We've been running around getting everyone to practices, going to soccer games and track meets, and attempting to put our house on the market at the same time. We've had NO time for blogging, but hope to get some pictures and info coming soon. Track is over, CV soccer will be over at the end of the month, and Alex's team is in the sub-state tournament. They play Hudson on Saturday in Waverly. They have beaten this team twice so far this season. Let's hope they continue to play well and advance in the tournament.

"The glory of young men is their strength..." Proverbs 20:29a

My Babies

We recently recovered these pictures from some old cds. Unfortunately, we lost a ton of pictures as well, that never actually "saved" to the cd. Print some of those digital pictures!

"The glory of young men is their strength..." Proverbs 20:29a

Ants in Their Pants

It's 11:38pm. I admit we are a bit unusual in our sleeping habits, but some things just go too far. Because Shannon works until 7:00pm a couple evenings a week, and because we spend a good deal of time at sporting events in the evening, we generally don't get to bed much before midnight. The kids are sent to bed at 10:00pm. Some nights a couple of them have zonked out prior to this, other nights they're wound for sound. Tonight was one such night.

They were wild when they got home from AWANA tonight. Shannon and I left for the fitness center around 9:00pm. The big boys were in the process of getting Hudson to bed. We were back home by 9:50, and they (all but Hudson) were still going strong. We shuttled them all off to bed (at least to their rooms), and settled down at the kitchen table in front of our laptops. Alex had called while we were gone, stating he had a weird message on his laptop about some type of a security breach. Shannon was working on fixing all of his problems. I was just checking blogs.

All of a sudden Shannon jumped up and hollered for Alex, Jackson and Chase to quickly come to the kitchen. He had just seen the gerbil run through. You see, on New Year's Eve when we had a bunch of company spend the night, we moved the gerbil cage down to the basement so it wouldn't disturb anyone. Unfortunately, out of sight means out of mind around here. About two months ago we realized that the gerbil had chewed its way out of the (empty) plastic self-feeder, and was nowhere to be found. NO BIG LOSS! When Alex and Jackson cleaned their rooms (even under their beds) last week, they found evidence that some type of rodent had been residing in each of their rooms.

When I got home from driving Jackson to track practice today, Katie came running to meet me at the door exclaiming that there was a mouse in the family room. All of the furniture was pulled to the middle of the room, and Chase was standing on the ottoman armed with a broom. Alas, they were unable to catch the gerbil (the "mouse"). We moved the furniture back, I considered bringing in a cat or two to see if they could solve my problem, but decided that it might be a bit traumatic for Colton to see his birthday present be stalked and eaten.

Alex ended up catching the gerbil (can't remember it's name) with a plastic shoe box. We cleaned it's cage, gave it some fresh food and water, and it now lives up in the girls' room. I'm still voting we give him permanent residence in the basement.


We got everyone settled down again--we thought--and went back to our laptops. I was catching up on a blog I had posted a link to several months ago. It belongs to a couple who had a tiny micro-preemie baby. The mom has CF. Today she got the news that she has been matched to receive a double lung transplant. Surgery is taking place right now. Here is the link again.
http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/ I'm sure they would covet your prayers.

Anyway, Naomi comes bopping down the stairs and she looks like this.

Colton wasn't far behind her.

They apparently got this grand idea to stuff their pajamas with stuffed animals. Where do they come up with these ideas, and why aren't they asleep?

Never dull moment...I'm heading up to bed.

"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child..." Proverbs 22:15

Tagged

I was tagged by Becky several weeks ago, and am finally getting around to playing.

HERE'S HOW YOU PLAY. ONCE YOU'VE BEEN TAGGED YOU HAVE TO WRITE A BLOG OF TEN WEIRD, RANDOM THINGS, FACTS OR HABITS ABOUT YOURSELF. AT THE END, YOU CHOOSE FIVE PEOPLE TO BE TAGGED, LISTING THEIR NAMES AND WHY YOU CHOSE THEM TO BE TAGGED. DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE THEM A COMMENT "YOU'RE IT" AND TO READ YOUR BLOG. YOU CAN'T TAG THE PERSON WHO TAGGED YOU. SINCE YOU CAN'T TAG THAT PERSON BACK, LET HIM OR HER KNOW WHEN YOU'VE POSTED YOUR BLOG SO HE OR SHE CAN READ YOUR ANSWERS.

1. I was awarded "Strongest Woman in Nevada" in 1997. As far as I know, I still hold the title. (That's Nevada, Iowa, not the state of Nevada--although I could probably take 'em!)

2. I love building things and using power tools. I generally get tools for Mother's Day. Last year Shannon's aunt and uncle gave me a table saw.

3. I'm left handed.

4. I taught myself to type when I was in 3rd grade by reading at "how-to" article in my mom's Woman's Day magazine. That was back in the olden days when I had to use a real (albeit electric) typewriter and correction tape.

5. I can say the alphabet backwards in less than 4 seconds.

6. I attended prom in 1985 (East Waterloo), 1986 (Marshalltown), 1987 (Marshalltown and Reinbeck), and 1988 (Reinbeck).

7. My basketball team made it to the Regional finals in 1987. Unfortunately, we didn't make it PAST the regional finals.

8. The only time I've needed to go to the emergency room for myself was when I was in Mexico in 1985.

9. I really like things to be symmetrical. If I see a crooked picture, I NEED to straighten it, even in public places or private homes.

10. Five years ago when I was skinny, I wanted to get my belly-button pierced. I told Mary about it, and she told me I couldn't hang out with her girls if I did. Alas, no navel piercings took place. Maybe if I lose all of that weight again...


The only person I can think of to tag is Mary. I'm not sure who else, besides Becky and Melanie, reads my blog! If you're out there, feel free to participate an let me know when you do!

Exercise Challenge

You may have noticed the badge on the sidebar of this blog boldly stating "I'm taking the Moms of Many Exercise Challenge". I committed in a weak moment. It took me about a month to actually begin exercising.

Shannon and I joined the new fitness club at the middle school. It is quite nice, and will serve our purposes very well. We have been very good about going 5 nights a week for the past two weeks. We are doing primarily strength training with a bit of cardio thrown in.

We are lifting 60% of our max at this time. It's a lot harder than it sounds! I was not very pleasantly surprised that first night when we had planned to do 2 sets of 15 reps. I much prefer 3 sets of 10 reps. It's all the same in the end, right?

Although I'm not seeing the instant results I would like to see, we will continue to persevere.

"...but a just weight is His delight." Proverbs 11:1

Easter

Every year before church on Easter morning we attempt to take a family picture. Last year it was sunny and breezy, so we took our picture on the front deck. This year there was fresh snow on the ground, so we stayed indoors.

It was the usual chaos. There were lots of goofy faces and children looking all over the place. It reminds us of the Brady Bunch. Here are couple of our better pictures.




I'm going to have to get Shannon to cut and paste faces so we can get one good picture of everyone. It wouldn't be the first time we have had to do that!

I had gotten up early to bake homemade croissants and a Princess Ring for our church brunch. We were all ready in time to get to church EARLY because the teens serve the brunch. We loaded up in the van, headed out, made it the four or so miles to the blacktop, and realized we had flat tire. It was the third one in a week. We already had the spare on the van from the flat on the previous Friday (we were planning to get it repaired after the holiday weekend, on Monday). We called the church to let them know we would be late, and thankfully Esther said she would come rescue us and give us a lift back to church. The croissants were no longer warm from the oven, but at least we were there!

Here is our Easter picture from last year so you can see how everyone has changed
I can't figure out how to make it bigger now, but I believe if you double click on it, it will enlarge it. Nope, that doesn't work. I'll have to get Shannon to figure it out for me. He solves all of my problems.

"So you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness." Proverbs 2:20