Field Trip Volunteer

I knew Henry's preschool class was taking a trip to the apple orchard this fall, so the second I saw the sign go up that volunteers were welcome, I jumped on it.  Working full time I miss out on some of the stuff they get to do, but I am so fortunate to have a flexible job that if special occasions come up at school I can block off my calendar, get away from work and attend.  I wouldn't work full time if I wasn't able to do that, and I make it very clear at work that my family is and always will be my first priority.  Plus, I've been around for quite a while now, so most people know that about me.  So today I finished up my meetings at 10am and drove up to Center Grove to meet 40 other 3/4/5 year olds at the apple orchard. 

Henry's favorite - the tractor ride!

We walked around and saw and learned about different animals.  Our tour guides name was Kaye and she did a great job keeping the kids entertained.  And aren't those matching green shirts just hilarious??!!  Henry's was a dress on him!  They had Kids Company on them with their phone number - very smart. 

The huge jumping pillow.  This one made me a little nervous with 24 kids jumping on it!!  Only one kid got a minor bump to the chin, which is pretty good considering how close they had to jump next to each other!

The kids loved the corn pool the most.  They had so much fun running and swimming around in it.  It is so much fun watching these kids grow up together - Henry has been with the same kids for almost 2 years!!

The Turtle room.  Audrey, Nathan, Henry, Aiden, Dylan, Charlie, Kaitlyn and Kota.

I even jumped in for a short while. 

Corn pile.

All in all it was a great time.  The weather was super hot, and some of the kids had long sleeves and pants on and were just dying of heat.  The other thing was they were all so thirsty.  So note to self for next year - pack Henry a water bottle not just a juice box that he drinks and lunch and throws away.  Another lesson learned was talking to Henry about what my plan was for the day instead of just surprising him and showing up.  Andy and I talked to him last night about how I was just meeting them up there and not riding the bus, so that way when I went to leave, he knew I wasn't riding on the bus back with him.  It worked well, and though he came close to a crying breakdown, he held it together and was so strong!  So proud of my big boy.

Potty Update

Big update on Hannah.  She went to school in panties today, and came home in the same panties and pants, which means - no accidents!!  She goes on the potty each time we have her go, but is not telling us when she needs to go yet, so still working on that.  She is also holding it for longer periods of time, around 2 - 3 hours.  We are getting so close!!!

Iowa's Superbowl

The week of the Iowa vs Iowa State game is one of my favorite weeks of the year.  It is fun to look back over the past years to see how much these kids have grown.  Here the kids are just a year ago HERE.  And check out two years ago HERE when Hannah and Georgia were just a few months old! 

The rivalry between the two schools is so serious, yet so much fun!  I wear black and gold all week long, and also dress the kids in Hawkeye gear all week long.  On game day, we hosted and had some of our favorite friends over.  Even though one of our, not to be named in this post -Kelly Eagle - is a fan of the Cardinal and Gold team, we still allow her to come over on game day:) 

With game time at 2:30pm, we knew we were going to have to be very creative about tackling nap time.  Andy and I took our kids up and got them both sleeping, then Erin got Peyton asleep in Henry's bed (Henry was not in his bed, he was in our bed), and then Kelly got Georgia asleep in our guest bedroom.  All four kids slept through the first half!!  It was awesome and couldn't have worked out better.  The kids woke up ready to play through the second half and into the evening. 

How cute are these friends??!!

Henry refused to get in the picture with the girls - he wanted to be in a picture "All By Myself"!

Young love??!!

Family pic.  Still somewhat happy after the Hawkeye loss.  Love football season!!

Girls Trip to Denver

Back in August I was lucky enough to travel to Denver to visit my best friends from college.  Anne, Amy and Megan flew from Chicago and me from Des Moines to meet up with our friends Jane and Emily who live in Denver.  We had such a great trip catching up, enjoying the awesome Denver scenery, drinking wine and a little hike in the mountains which ended with a hail storm! 

Amy, Jane, Anne, Emily, Megan and me.  Emily is 30 weeks pregnant with twins! 

The beginning of the hike.

It is amazing how much cooler the weather is up in the mountains. 

I took this picture for Henry.  He was very excited I was going on a trip to the mountains.  We promised him we would take him there some day. 

During the hail storm.  I am at fault for this one - we saw the cloudy skies but me and Anne decided to keep on climbing up.  Great idea until we got hailed on!!

My roommate from college Betsy lives in Denver and saw a post on FB that I was in Denver.  She called me and we were able to meet up!  She ended up living just a few minutes from Jane.  Such a small world!

Jane's awesome husband Steve cooked for all of us girl's on Saturday night.  We hung out on Jane's back patio all night drinking wine, laughing hysterically, cooking smores, and playing a little King's Cup!  Whens the last time you played that game??   I didn't fly out until 7pm on Sunday night so had all day to just hang out.  We went to a beautiful park by DU and layed around reading gossip magazines enjoying the 80 degree sunny weather.  Absolutely perfect!

A big thank you to my awesome husband who watched our kids all weekend long.  It was a much needed girls weekend for this momma and I had so much fun.  XO4L:)

My Little Sister Gets Married

My littlest sister got married the first Saturday in August.  The last of three girls to get married off.  My dad's wallet is now much heavier - but it was bittersweet since all of his girls are now married!  It was such a perfect day - with one minor hiccup - the power at the church went out due to a big storm that moved through the area an hour before the ceremony.  I was so proud of how calm Brianna handled it.  She did much better than I would have.  She kept her cool, and decided to just move forward in the dark, which ended up being very romantic with the candles.  The biggest concern was the pictures - but as you can see below - you can even tell!

I LOVED my dress!!  The color was just beautiful, and the yellow shoes were the perfect touch.  Absolutely loved the colors together.  And the shoes were comfortable, which is even better.  And I have already wore them since the wedding - a big plus!

Shoe line up.  Brianna let all the bridesmaids choose their own shoes, as long as they were yellow. 

Salwey family pic turned out great!

Four maids and the beautiful bride.  All Brianna's sisters now. 

Stenberg family picture. Isn't my grandma just beautiful??!!

Sisters:)

Sisters and their plus one's.  All 6'3" and taller. 

Our kids did such a great job!!  They were honestly on the verge of breakdown two seconds before they went down the aisle, but somehow pulled it together and did better than anyone expected!

My little stud.  Adorable sign that Brianna made herself.  Another great idea from Pinterest.

The weather forecast predicted 100% chance of rain the entire day, but somehow the rain stopped right after the ceremony and allowed us to take all the pictures outside that Brianna had planned. 

Cute pose!

The only family pic we got that day....

We made it to the reception, which was the same room Andy had our wedding reception in!  The kids were the life of the dance party. 

I don't think I ever left the dance floor...

Me and my buddy. 

Such a perfect day for Brianna and Brian.  They are perfect for each other and I'm so happy for them!!  Love you guys!!