Iowa

Zach Flender and Trace

Lunch with playgroup

My mom's movie attire

Jamie and I

Karey, Emily, Amy and Keri

Father's Day

Mommy and Trace running together

Sally and I

Makenna, Brooke, Kaylee and Trace

Kianna and Krista

One of my favorite things to do in the summer, is to take the kids back to Iowa for a week. The summer schedule is so much more laid back than other times we visit. We stayed with my dad and Sue in their new condo. We saw them a lot in the mornings and as we were coming and going. Some of our highlights from the week were:

• Day with my mom, John, Rylan and Aliyah- The kids were really excited to play with their cousins. Aliyah had purchased some canvases and paints for the girls to get crafty. Kaylee enjoyed it so much that she bought her own paints and canvases when we returned to Michigan.  Kaylee and I took on Aliyah in a game of "Horse". I am proud to announce that I won, but Aliyah gave me a good run for my money. She is a great ball handler and has a mean three point shot from the top of the key. It was fun seeing her in action. I enjoyed catching up with my mom while the kids played. We also took a walk to the Dairy Queen for ice cream cones and then to Apache park to play. The kids and I finished up the day with dinner at Stacie and Patrick's house. We were able to see their new house for the first time. It is beautiful. It was a good day. 
• Visit with Grandma Russell- She had recently gotten out of the hospital following a bought with pneumonia. It was really nice being able to visit with her. It had been awhile.
• Visit with Grandma Carie- Grandma spent the day with the kids and I. We finished up the day by having dinner at the Amana Colonies with the rest of the family. As usual the food was yummy and the kids enjoyed the family style meal. 
• Day with Becki and Bryker- Trace was super excited to spend time with Bryker. We took the kids to the Thomas park and then ended up back at Becki's house for games and playtime. We finished up the day with dinner at The Langfald's house. Sam and Mike even modeled their Garage Prom outfits for us, which was definitely a highlight!!!
• Morning walks/runs- I love my dad's new location close to the Cedar River. There is a great path along the river. I enjoyed running or walking along it pretty much on a daily basis. Sue joined me a couple times and we had some nice chats. Trace even joined me for a jog one morning.
• Playdate with friends- We met up with our old playgroup at the Twin Pines Splash Pad. At first, Trace and Kianna were shy, not really remembering their old friends. However, it didn't take them long to connect with the group. The kids all had a great time playing together. Kaylee especially enjoyed visiting with her friends, Maddie, Chloe and Leah. I too had a great time catching up with my friends. It had been a couple of years, since we had last gotten together. 
• Girls Night Out- I reconnected with my friends again by spending an evening with them eating pizza, dessert and chatting the night away. While I was having my fun, Kaylee and Kianna were having a girls night of their own with Grandma Becki. They went out to dinner and to the new "Cinderella" movie.
• Boys Night- Trace and Bryker had their boy time while the girls and I were having our own fun. They played video games, watched movies, rode bikes and played legos. 
• Tubing- Unfortunately the past two years, we have planned on going tubing down the Maquoketa river and the weather and other circumstances have prevented us from going. This year, the forecast predicted thunderstorms beginning at 5:00 pm. We estimated that we would be off the river by 4:00 pm, so we decided to still go tubing. My mom, Bree, Aliyah, Kaylee, Kianna, Me and Shelli were all packed in my minivan and ready to head out of town when I decided to check the forecast one last time. To our dismay, the forecast had changed suddenly and now thunderstorms were expected for several hours in the morning. Reluctantly, we decided we should cancel our tubing trip yet again. After lots of driving aimlessly around town, we ended up at the movie theater and watched "Inside Out". I had to laugh when I saw my mom walk into the movie theater in her swim dress. Too funny! Another funny thing that happened that morning was when Shelli got into my van. She immediately turned around to greet everyone and I shut my car door. She very calmly said "my hand is in your door". I said, "what did you say?". Again, very calmly she said, "my hand is in your door can you open it?". Once I realized what she had said, I immediately opened my door. I got her ice and her fingers ended up being fine. We had some good laughs about how calmly she told me her hand was in the car door. I told her I would have been screaming...
• 20th High School Reunion- I went with my friend, Jamie Ross, and her husband to our reunion. It was good catching up with her, since we don't get to see each other too often. I really enjoyed visiting with Emily Stein, whom I hadn't seen or really talked to since our trip to Europe in 2000. We had a lot to catch up on. It was great seeing her. Other than those two, there were a few other people I enjoyed talking to. Not sure if I will be attending any future reunions, but I'm glad I went to this one. 
• Father's Day- My dad's one request was Zio Johno's lasagne, so of course we had to make that happen.  Otherwise, we spent the day relaxing. We played games, watched TV, took a walk to Ellis Park and made some silly gymnastics/dance videos. The latter brought on some good laughs. 
• Time with Sally- I hadn't seen Sally since before she moved to Florida last June. She decided to time her trip to Illinois to coincide with my trip back to Iowa. On our way back to Michigan, we stopped in Illinois to spend the night at Sally's mom's house. It was so great seeing my precious friend. We talked the night away while our kids enjoyed each other's company. Brooke and Kaylee get along quite well, as do, Krista and Kianna. Trace is a little out of his element with all the girls, but he handled it well.

We had a great time in Iowa, but as always is was great to get back home to Michigan and to our guy!

Double Date Night

Kaylee got invited to a sleepover, so Trevor and I took the opportunity to have some one-on-one time with the other two. Kianna had been anxious to use her Christmas gift certificate to go rock climbing up in Ann Arbor with me. We went out for dinner at a yummy middle eastern restaurant. Kianna loves hummus and I love ethnic food, so it was a win win. After dinner, I introduced her to bubble tea, which did not end up being her favorite, but was still an experience. We then went rock climbing and had a great time together! She is a climbing machine.

While we were having our fun, the boys were having some fun of their own. Trevor took Trace down to Toledo. They ate dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and went to jump at the Sky Zone. They had a fun time together, so I'd say the night was a success!

Annual Tea Party

The girls and I had our annual Mother's Day Tea Party with our friends, Karen, Katie and Lola Mattson. As usual it was a success and better late than never.

Saying Goodbye

My good friend, Teresa Mudrow, and her family decided to move to Houston, TX. Teresa and I have enjoyed many good times together over the past two years. We have enjoyed running together, trying new restaurants in town, exploring Shipshewana together and even competed in a mud run/obstacle course 5K together. Today we had to say goodbye. I wish them the best as they begin their new adventure.

Spring Sports

Kaylee's last soccer tournament was played in 40 degree weather in pouring down rain. The girls were proud of how muddy they were!

Kianna's Soccer Team

Kaylee's Volleyball Team

Trace's Team

The kids all played soccer this Spring. Trace and Kianna played Impact Soccer and Kaylee played FCA Club Soccer. Trace's team dominated. He is a great athlete and can often be seen chest bumping his teammates after a goal. Trace gives every sport he plays 100%. He is super fun to watch.

Kianna's team struggled, but she showed some good effort and skills. She decided that soccer is her favorite sport and wants to try out for the club team. Kianna likes playing offense and especially likes to score goals. 

Kaylee's team improved a ton since their Fall season. They ended the Spring season with one win, one tie and a lot of losses; which believe it or not is a HUGE improvement over their zero win season last Fall. Kaylee showed tremendous improvement. She went from being a sub in the Fall to being a starter in the Spring and rarely coming out. She played L side Defender. She threw some elbows which made this mom proud! She also made her dad proud by being the go to girl for goal kicks. 

In addition to soccer, Kaylee also played Impact Volleyball. She was the most aggressive player on her team. She worked her way back to the actual service line for her underhand serve and is working on her overhand serve. Kaylee says that basketball and volleyball are her favorite sports currently. 

Last Day of School

Kaylee with Mrs. Johnson

Kianna with Mrs. Hartwig

The girls both had their last day of school today. They both had a great school year. Both girls are excellent readers and do well in math. Math is Kianna's favorite subject. History is Kaylee's favorite subject. Both girls received their trophy for memorizing bible verses every week. They worked hard this year and are excited for some summer chillaxing!!!

Kindergarten Graduation

Trace had his Kindergarten graduation tonight. It is so hard to believe that our baby boy is going to be in 1st grade next year. He is growing up too fast. Trace earned his first trophy for memorizing a bible verse every month this school year. Trace did a great job singing the songs tonight for his program. He has learned so much this school year. He can count by 1's to 100. He can also count by 2's and 5's. Trace's reading has really improved over the school year. He can now read some smaller books by himself. He is getting really good at sounding out words and gets excited when he sees his site words in a story he is reading. Trace is super competitive and doesn't like to lose. Unfortunately, he still sucks his thumb, day and night. Somehow he manages to make it look cool.  Trace is a sweet little boy. We are very proud of him. Way to go buddy!