Iowa 2014

The kid and I went to Winterset last week to see my folks.  On the way there, a deer attempted to commit suicide, I missed a turn and went the wrong way for 6 miles, we drove by Simpson College and added a lot of little Iowa towns to the list of places we've been.  Shortly after arriving, the kids discovered that climbing trees is a lot of fun (Don't judge, we've never had a good climbing tree in our yard!).

Becca loved climbing the trees and spent a good deal of the weekend in one or other.

George wasn't sure about being in the tree but had fun no the less.

Grandma was loving all the little hands asking for help down.

We made our way to City Park and went up the see Clark's Tower.  Patrick managed to whack his head as we was sitting down.  Everyone made it to the second floor but only Pat and Becca were allowed to go up top.  Becca made it up the steep, scary stairs and quickly came back down.  Pat was followed shortly.

Now for the playground.

Day Two: We went to chiropractor, hit another park, had lunch buffet at Pizza Hut and went to the Madison County Fair.  The kids loved the animals and the one ride I let them go on.

Next day we stayed at the homestead where fun was had with the little wagon.  Yes they fought over whose turn it was to ride but they did very well at pulling each other.

Someone feels left out.

So she helped Grandma water the garden.

What's a trip to Winterset without going to the Aquatic Center? 

All of these pictures were taking on my new smart phone, can you believe I got so many good ones?  We had a great time, thank you to my parents for allow us to overrun your house.  As much fun as we had, everyone was very happy to get home to Dad.  Come back soon for more pictures.

Videos

Here are a couple of videos of George riding his bike.  He's pretty new to it and I think he does a great job.

Base/Softball Season

Becca and Pat are well into their base/softball seasons.  This last Wednesday they both had a game so I made sure I had the camera. Lia enjoyed the sunshine and the bright yellow ball.

Becca and Lia chillin' with Mikaela.

George loves his dad.

 Now for Pat playing the outfield.

At bat!

 Off to a different park to watch Becca play and enjoy the playground.

Becca in the field.

 And at bat.

The kids are working hard and having a great time with their teams.  Patrick has learned the secret to hitting and has had some good ones this week.  Becca is working hard and lead the team in cheers.  We only had a few games left (thank you!) before the tournament.  Then we can focus on swimming lessons and relax just a bit.

Camping

Way back at the beginning of the month, we went camping with some friends.  Today, I finally am putting them up for you to see.  We will start with a lovely early morning shot of me with some of the kids.

George in all his cheesiness.

They had a historical farm in this park.  The kids really liked the chicken coop.

Patrick and Cooper decided to chase a chicken...

...then Cooper thought better of it.

The big old Belgium got some love from the kids in the barn and in the pasture.

The horse quickly learned that the kids wanted to feed them.

 On our hike that day, we saw this awesome site.  The rainbow was all wispy, as if someone had painted it into the cloud.

  

All of the above pictures happened before 3PM on Saturday.  We then enjoyed the in park pool, made and eat dinner and put almost everything away because it looked like rain.  At about 3AM Sunday, Mike was holding up our tent as I snuggled down with two small children.  After awhile, Mike said we need to bail for the car.  I grabbed the two tired and very unhappy kids, ran them to the car, and proceed to make my way to the other tent.  In it I found two other children fast asleep with a good inch of water under them.  It took awhile, but I woke them up, packed up their stuff, some wet some not, and got them to the car.  By 4:30, we were all in the car with the heat running.  The kids were pretty dry but Mike and I were soaked to the skin.  When there was enough light to see, Mike packed up the tents, headed to the bath house to get dressed., and went to IHOP for breakfast.   I even got to drive part of the way home, with some assistance from Mr. Milky Way and Ms. Pepsi.  It was fun.