Halloween 2014

Our Cuties

Halloween Play

All the loot

Halloween for our family is usually a week long celebration and this year was no different. Kaylee was the fairy from Malificent, Kianna was an indian girl and Trace was Wolverine. I have to mention that at one point, Kianna was set on being Cleopatra, because she loves the Egyptian culture. However, after some discussion about Cleopatra not having the the best reputation Kianna decided to be an Egyptian princess instead, but with the same costume. Details I know. In fact, she had it all planned that she was going to be Pharoah's daughter who found Baby Moses in the Nile River. I thought that was a super fun and unique costume. I have never heard of another Pharoah's daughter costume and it went perfect with the girls studying Exodus in Bible Quizzing this year. We had it all planned, that is, until she saw the indian costume. Then she had to be that so she could match her American Girl Doll, Kaya. Oh well, it was a fun idea.

The Halloween festivities began with the Fall Fest at The Centre. The kids got all dressed up, played games, made crafts, and played at The Corner Park one last time.

The fun continued when the kids carved pumpkins. This year we had super hero symbols on our pumpkins. Kaylee's was Wonder Woman, Kianna's was Batgirl, and Trace's was Flash. Kaylee carved hers all by herself and Daddy helped the other two. Mommy was busy in the kitchen roasting pumpkin seeds, which has become a fun tradition. The kids like them roasted with cinnamon and sugar.

The Halloween festivities ended with trick-or-treating around our neighborhood and then going over to The Johnson's house for pizza and more trick-or-treating. Unfortunately, Mommy missed out on the fun as she was in Chicago at her physical therapy conference. Daddy did an excellent job of holding up the fort while Mommy was gone. He even had chili on the stove when she arrived home. What a guy!

Trip to Iowa

Mom and Grandma

Burst Cycle Studio

Bree and Aliyah

Stacie and Shelli

Burst Cycle Fan Club

My mom had been having some health issues for the past few months and tests revealed a fluid filled cyst measuring 7 inches x 5 inches. Yep, you read that right. It was that big and it was attached to her right ovary. Her doctor decided to remove it by doing a total hysterectomy. As a result, I ended up making a last minute trip to Iowa this weekend to help take care of my mom.

My mom came through her surgery quite well on Thursday and was discharged by noon the following day. She was exhausted following the surgery, but her pain was manageable. It ended up being a good weekend to come back to Iowa, as there was lots going on. Shelli and Stacie were having the Grand Opening of their new business, Burst Cycle on Friday evening. My mom was a trooper. She made it to the Grand Opening and stayed for nearly the entire three hours. We made sure she sat down, so she didn't push herself too much.

It ended up being a nice time to catch up with my family. My grandma, Mom, John, Bree, Aliyah, Shelli, Stacie, Patrick, my dad and Sue were all there. Ironically, I even bumped into my athletic trainer from high school, Jason Lewis. I hadn't seen him in about 19 years. I worked with him my junior year of high school following a really bad ankle sprain. It was fun telling him that he had inspired me to become a physical therapist. He is now one of the cycling instructors that my sisters hired. It's a small world!

On Saturday, I again spent the day with my mom. She didn't need much taking care of but we enjoyed each other's company. We went out for lunch together at Panera. Unfortunately, I locked my keys and phone in the car while we were there. Ugh! Thankfully we have roadside assistance and they were there within 20 minutes to set us on our way again. I got inspired to help my mom clean out her kitchen drawers and cabinets. We made some excellent progress. I love organizing things! Maybe I can tackle the rest at Christmas?

I also managed to throw together a birthday party in honor of Bree's 29th birthday. Grandma made chimichangas and I made the dessert. It was a fun weekend of catching up with my family. I'm so thankful my mom is doing well. All the results came back and it wasn't malignant. Praise God!

Bible Quizzing

This year the girls are studying the book of Exodus in Bible Quizzing. They are really enjoying it.  As their mom, it has been amazing to see what a difference a year has made. Kianna is so much more independent in getting her homework done each week. We even got new quiz boxes, which were handmade by my patient's husband. They are a BIG improvement over last years duck-taped cardboard boxes.

The girls had their first quiz meet while I was back in Iowa. It was over six chapters worth of material. Both girls are on the blue team, meaning that Kianna was one of my top quizzers last year so I moved her up to the older group. She is now quizzing against 3rd through 5th graders and holding her own. Both girls earned gold medals. Kaylee scored 59/60 and Kianna scored 55/60. Way to go girls! 

Recent Projects

Getting my sewing machine out for the girls last month, motivated me to make some things of my own. First on my list was a new wreath for our front door. After some research, I decided on a Hawkeye colored rag wreath. It didn't require the sewing machine, just a lot of cutting fabric and tying knots. Second, I decided to make our Nana Bear a new LCS colored skirt. She LOVES skirts and wears one most days. Her red skirt was getting a little too short, so I decided to try my hand at making her one. It was probably one of the more difficult ones I could have chosen. It has a zipper on the side and bias binding for the tie. Because there isn't any elastic it ended up being too big for her, so she had to use a safety pin for now. Kind of a funny mistake after all the time I spent making it. Otherwise, it turned out pretty adorably, that is if you don't look too closely!

Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne's Visit

Which Way Do We Go?

We FINALLY Did it!

We were excited to have Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne come to visit us this past weekend. We introduced them to The Corner Park, where they courageously jumped on the jumping pillow and climbed on the obstacle course. I think they may hold the record for the oldest people on either. My dad even has an artificial knee. I am a proud daughter!

The kids didn't have school on Friday, so we headed to Carpenter Farms. We picked out pumpkins. Trace played in the corn box and we did the corn maze, which was SUPER hard. We began the corn maze together, but only Sue, Kaylee and I finished it and that was after an hour and fifteen minutes. Our mission was to find five boxes hidden throughout the maze without a map of any sort. Once we found a box, we were to write down the number on the box. Once all five boxes were found then we had to solve the word puzzle. Once that was solved, we were each able to pick out our own miniature pumpkins. It was a lot of work for a little pumpkin!

On Saturday, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne were able to watch Kaylee's volleyball game and Kianna and Trace's soccer games. Kianna had the best game of her little life. She scored five goals and was super aggressive. Way to go Nana Bear! Kaylee had some good serves in her game and Trace scored a goal in his game. After he scored his goal, he ran up to one of his teammates and did a chest bump in the air. It was hilarious. I had never seen him do that before!

The rest of the weekend was spent watching the Hawks win and relaxing. Unfortunately, Kaylee wasn't feeling well after church, so she had to miss her soccer game. She ended up missing school Monday, Tuesday and half a day on Wednesday after being diagnosed with strep and a double ear infection. Poor girl! She decided to share, so Trace and Kianna are home sick with me today. Hopefully, Grandma Sue and Grandpa Wayne stay healthy because I'm debating whether I am feeling the symptoms of strep or not...

Flavor Fruit Farms

Trace and Abram

Neveah, Natalie and Marlie

Mommy and Trace Selfie

Trace's Kindergarten Class

Trace's class went on a field trip to an apple orchard called Flavor Fruit Farms. The kids learned how apple cider is made and were able to sample some along with an apple and a freshly made donut. The kids also were able to pet some animals and go on a hayride. It was a fun morning. I was excited to be able to join them.

Homecoming 2014

Trace had a blast this year working on his football skills in the Future Playmakers program. I think he loved EVERY minute of it.

Kianna had fun learning some cheers and getting dolled up in the Little Cheer program.

Teddy Bear Parade

It was Trace's turn for the traditional LCS Kindergarten Teddy Bear Parade. He was given the task of creating a float for his teddy bear out of a shoe box. Our family had fun brainstorming ideas over dinner one night. The idea we came up with was a Captain America motorcycle for his bear to ride in. Daddy and Trace were in charge of the construction. I think the finished product was SUPER cute. Most importantly, Trace had fun parading it around the school while the other kids watched.

As a side note, Trace is really enjoying Kindergarten. He was pretty tired the first couple weeks, since he wasn't used to going to school everyday. He seems to have adjusted well now though. The other night I heard him clapping in bed. He told me he was working on his syllables. Next thing I heard was "door knob" followed by two claps. He then proudly told me that door knob has two syllables. It was really cute. He and I have been working on the "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons". We are on lesson 47/100. He is doing quite well. He is beginning to recognize words and is beginning to read multiple sentences. He also has really begun enjoying writing and coloring, which never interested him before. It is fun watching him learn and grow.