Andrew's Birthday Party

Siblings

We celebrated Andrew's 21st birthday with dinner at the new Black Sheep restaurant. The meal was ehhh, but the company was good...

Spring/Summer Sports

Kianna's soccer team 

Trace's soccer team

Trace's team got 2nd place in one of the tournaments.

We had a very busy Spring with all three of the kids in soccer and Trace also in baseball. Between the three of them, one usually had practice every night of the week except for Wednesdays, when they had church, with games on Saturday. Kaylee was placed on a team that played together in the Fall. She had a pretty good experience, although the level of play was much lower than her club team in Adrian. Her offensive skills improved and her defensive skills remained strong. Kianna and Trace were placed on new teams with kids that did not play in the Fall. Unfortunately, their experience was a bit rough. They both ended up being one of the top players on their team, which would be fine, but the rest of the kids had no clue...Trevor was hoping not to coach this season, but ended up coaching both Kianna and Trace's teams. It was a frustrating season.  We are hoping for a better experience this Fall...

Trace loved baseball. He played coach pitch. His skills and game knowledge improved greatly throughout the season. He began the season playing in the dirt and hitting off the t. He ended the season making outs and hitting off the coach the majority of the time. It was fun watching his team improve!

Marsh's Visit

Downtown Marion in front of Great-Grandpa Schmitz's Old Barber Shop

Our friends, Darrin and Dawn Marsh, and their son, Jackson, traveled all the way from Adrian to spend the weekend with us. We had a great time showing them around town, as they had never been to Iowa before. We took them downtown to the Newbo market for lunch and then did some light antique shopping in Downtown Marion. We introduced them to tenderloins for dinner at Daisy's Garage. In between all the food, we had some great conversations, some good walks, and played a lot of cards. It was a fun weekend with our friends.

End of School Programs

Talent Show- Kianna and Zoey

Kianna's Fan Club

Kianna won 1st prize with this picture.

Trace showed off his reading skills in the Reader's Theater his class put on. The Reader's Theater consisted of about eight different fairy tales. Trace participated in three different acts. He had the lead role in the one about a donkey whose master no longer wanted him because he was getting too old. The donkey left and along his journey met some friends. Trace did a great job playing Dunn Donkey.

Kianna participated in the school talent show along with her friend, Zoey Morris. They wrote a song titled, "I Can Do All Things" based Philippians 4:13. They sang the song a cappella and did a great job. Kianna has a beautiful voice. They were fun to watch.

The kids also had an art show, where some of their pieces from art class were displayed. Each class had an art contest and Kianna won first prize on her drawing. She was super excited to win an Orange Leaf gift card. We have some talented little artists...

San Francisco

Trevor went to San Francisco for a three-day work conference. He spent his days busy in the conference, while his evenings were spent exploring the city. He put a lot of miles on his shoes, as he walked from place to place, braving the many hills. He enjoyed seeing the sites, but was saddened by the depravity. He saw drugs, homeless people, and alternative lifestyles on nearly every corner. He was happy to return home...

Mother's Day 2016

This year for Mother's Day the kids made be breakfast in bed featuring "heart shaped eggs in the basket". It was quite tasty. They lavished me with homemade cards, Kaylee bought me some flowers and Kianna made me a new "Best Mom" t-shirt. Their thoughtful gifts were very special. We went on a family bike ride in the afternoon and had my family over to grill out for dinner. My mom had been begging for some of my chocolate fondue, so we put out the whole spread. It was a very nice day. I am blessed!

Bloomsbury Farm

Trace and Zach Flender

Trace's 1st grade class had a field trip to Bloomsbury Farm, so I decided to tag along. It was fun getting to know some of the kids and parents in his class. Trace really enjoyed feeding the farm animals. It was a good day.