Memorial Day

 In celebration of Memorial Day, we went up to the cemetery where one of Darren's grandpas is buried.  We hadn't been there in a long time & it was good to go.

 Fr. S celebrated Mass & it was very nice despite the crazy wind.  I've never seen an acolyte have the main duty of holding the ciborium & chalice so they don't fly away!  My brother Fr. Jon joined us as well & concelebrated.  It was beautiful.

 There were at least 100 people there, which was really impressive.  The crowd grew afterwards as the military service began.

 Lots of flags, veterans, American Legion Band, roll calls of those buried there, patriotic singing, Taps, & even a 21 gun salute followed.  (I had neglected to give Rebecca a heads up on the shooting... oops!... slight freak out.)

 Darren's dad also took us to see the graves of Great Grandma & Grandpa.

After a simple but tasty lunch with other family members at Grandma's, we headed out to the pond for some fun. 

Teresa caught her first fish! It was the first of three little bluegill that she caught that afternoon.

 We enjoyed birds, fish, frogs, & turtles who kept popping up their heads out of the water.

Rebecca: "Ooh.  Shiny but slimy!"

 Everyone caught a few fish (except for poor Rebecca... ZERO) but Andrew was on some sort of crazy roll.  We lost official count, but it was definitely over 20!  Most were just little guys, but this big one was bending his little rod.  Such a thrill!

 After a couple hours of fishing, we hopped in the back of Grandpa's pick-up for a ride through "the forest".  We've had a small cruise through there before on the hayrack, but they went crazy & cleared out a huge path through the whole game reserve on their farm.  It was very pretty with some huge cottonwood trees.  The kids were simply giddy to ride in the back of the pick-up!

 This little archway was already there, but it looks like it was just aching for a path under it.  Such a beautiful, prayerful, & peaceful day!

Special Family

 I've been blest to be a part of a Bible Study since before Andrew was born.  Some of these women I was friends with in college, others I knew through my siblings, some married college friends, & some are newer blessings in my life.  All of them are AWESOME!  They provide such an inspiration for me to be a better wife/mother/woman/Catholic, are a source of encouragement, & bring tremendous joy into my heart.  We were able to get quite a few of us together with our families last week for a picnic at the park.  So fun!

I pray we get to enjoy another 10 years together!

Whatchamacallit

"Daddy?  You have a scuba diver in your drawer?"

Can you guess what she was trying to ask for? 

The Great Debate

Teresa (in her squeaky baby voice):  I made a purple card for baby Gus' birthday!
Andrew:  No, Teresa, we're making cards for our cousin Gus' birthday.  Baby Gus hasn't even had a birthday yet.
Rebecca:  Yeah, he's not even 7.
Teresa:  He's 2 like me!
Andrew:  No, he's not even 2 yet, he was just born.
Rebecca:  Yeah, he's not even 3.
Teresa:  Baby Gus is so cute!
Rebecca:  But he's not big.  He's just 1.
Andrew:  No, he's zero and a half.
Rebecca:  Yeah, zero and a half, Teresa.

Phew.  Glad that's settled!

We focus on Spanish here, obviously

Me:  What language do they speak in France?
Andrew:  Franciscan?

Welcome visitor

We enjoyed a special visit from Great Aunt Alyce & great cousin Peggy (Can you have those?  Well, she's great anyway.) on Saturday morning.  Chatted & hugged over huge donuts & juice at Hy-Vee.  The perfect start to any morning.  :)

It was so nice to see you both! 

Thanks for the visit & God bless you!

Hooray for rain!

 My dad is a farmer.  As a kid it felt like our lives really revolved around the cornfield... because they more or less did!  Just like then, I am grateful for rain, not only because it is good for the crops but because it also means Dad can't easily be out in the field. 

So, last Thursday when it rained an inch & a half, Mom & Dad took the chance to venture to town to help Fr. Jon celebrate the anniversary of his Ordination to the priesthood.  It was such a nice surprise!  We met up with Cara's family & all went out to dinner that night.

 The next day we celebrated the last day (two hours really) of school & set out for the park with the whole crowd.  We had a fabulous time looking at the animals, hiking the trails, picnic-ing & jungle-gyming.

 These girls aren't afraid to touch anything!  The boys (& the adults) were more hesitant.  ;)

Red Grandpa taught Andrew how to throw tiny pieces of stick (or spit... lovely) into the water & the fish will jump up to nibble it because they think it's a bug.  Somethings only grandpas can teach.  ;)

Thanks for a great time, Mom & Dad! 

Happy Anniversary, Fr. Jon!

Painting Party

 Andrew went to such a cool birthday party last week for his classmate Katrice.  It was at the same art studio that I visited with buddies from Mom's group last month.  Such a fun party!

 The artist took them step by step through an acrylic painting on canvas.  This time they did a super-cute birthday cupcake.

 After all of the painting, they put a special kind of plaster on top for the frosting & sprinkled on sequins.  They turned out awesome!  I totally want to go back & do this painting now. 

 Andrew & his buddy Noah decided that the cupcake was too girly, so they went the football route instead.  We're going to hang Andrew's in his room.

 The artists

Gotta have a crazy one.

Thanks for a fun time, Katrice!  Happy Birthday!

Adios, preschool

 She did it.

Rebecca is officially now a Kindergartner!

We enjoyed her last day with her class at the park.  She really loved her teacher.  Thank you Mrs. C!

 A rare blue duck

 Ride that worm!

 Yes, that's Rebecca walking the ridge with her buddy Anna.  She's still not a daredevil by any means, but I can't believe how much more adventurous she has become just in this year!

Their version of Duck, Duck, Goose involved the occasional modification of words... like Flower, Flower, Bee or Chicken, Chicken, Moose & 4 laps around the circle giggling like crazy.  So cute!

Who's a crazy lady?

ME!!!

Field Day

 At my grade school we always ended the year with an all school track meet.  It was really my first introduction to events like the long jump, shot put, pole vaulting... wait... well MANY track & field activities.  I loved it!  Our kids get to enjoy a field day at the end of the year which is pretty fun as well. 

 They rotate between stations which are each led by a couple of 7th graders.  They played everything from tug-o-war, Monster in the Swamp, & parachute to Knock-out & relay races.

 Our favorites to watch were the relay races.  You can't tell from this picture, but here they were racing with rubber chickens on cafeteria trays.  Last year they had to run with one between their knees... hilarious!

They also bounced on these crazy things & had to run with the "torch" which was a toilet plunger holding a whiffle ball!  Lots of laughs & lots of fun.

Collecting memories

 On Rebecca's last day in the preschool room, they had a pajama day!  She got a big kick out of it.  They watched a movie, ate popcorn, & played in the Kindergarten rooms, too.  Never-ending thrills!

She wanted me to take pictures of her with her friends doing her favorite things.  Here she is with Saya playing in the kitchen. 

 reading books

 playing puppies / vet with Saya, Abby, & Teresa

(who is wearing her backpack full of books as well... convinced that since Becca was done with preschool that she got to start... no dice)

playing house with Anna & Abby

The whole crazy crew!