Kindergarten Doll

Today was Macy's first day of Kindergarten. She was a doll getting on the bus at 7:10AM! I was super glad to have Caden at her side. She had a great day. She cried a few tears after school when she hugged me, but after a cookie and my lap she got her momma fix. I really enjoyed my time at home with Julia and Noelle today. I got several things accomplished and had peace and quiet while they napped. WOW! I have to say that I LOVE school!!!!!!! It will be a good change for all of us!


Yesterday I went with Macy to meet her new teacher. This is Mrs. Ray. She is a very sweet person and has an awesome classroom. I think she will be good with Macy this year.

2nd Grade!

The day Caden got on the bus as a Kindergartener I cried. Today I said, "Have fun, Buddy!" at 7:10 AM as he hopped on the bus and the puppy tried to follow. Oh boy does time fly! He had a great day today in 2nd grade. He's already saying he has lots of buddies---I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing :)



This picture was taken at a school open house last week. I did not go to his classroom on the first day to take his picture in front of the door.

Camping at Coralville Lake

We took one last summer camping outing this weekend with our friends, the Steele family from Dubuque. We had a fantastic time of hanging out, eating campfire food, keeping track of 6 kids and a puppy, listening to a loud motorboat on the water, fishing....and much, much more! See some highlights below!

Bananas For Breakfast

These two are almost always up at 6:00 AM, and they fight for a counter spot in order to have a place by Mommy to eat their morning banana.
Notice Julia's haircut! :)

Adventureland

Josh and I spent the afternoon on Sunday with our two bigger kids at Adventureland. We wanted one more fun day with them before they go back to school. It was sooo much fun! I can not believe how much Macy can spin! Her favorite was the tilt-a-whirl. She could go on that ride over and over! Caden liked the water slides best and the bumper cars were fun for all of us. Macy even got on the Tornado with us. Caden opted out of the tornado...I felt sorry for Macy--she was hysterical the whole time. When it was over she said to Caden, "You made the right decision by not going on that!" We had a fantastic time together and are thankful for Grandpa and Grandma Hill for keeping the two little girls so we could do this!!

Meet Dan!

This was the reaction we got when we told the kids we were on our way to pick up a puppy! Can you tell they are excited?!

This is Dan. He is a Beagle puppy. The kids picked him out together. He will be a smaller sized hunting. He'll be chasing rabbits very soon!


Dan meets Chief! This actually went really well! Dan ended up being the one to chase and tease the big dog!

Happy little girls! They are puppy lovers!

Zoo Fun!

Grandma Karla (Josh's mom) treated us to a day at Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines this week. Josh's sister and her three kids also took part in the day. Everyone had a great time! The favorite animals were the monkeys and tigers. The kids had so much fun with their cousins. Thanks, Grandma!