Wednesday Fun Day

We enjoyed having Emelia for the day. Steve came home and had lunch with us. Then after a three hour nap we played with the Smith kids. Chloe and Cooper were so kind in showing and sharing their toys with her. 

Indoor playground

With the rain coming down on and off all day we decided to hit up the indoor playground again. Everlee was prepared just in case. 

It's fun to watch her know exactly what to do when we enter. First she sticks her leg out for a band, then she takes her shoes off and puts them in a cubby, and last sits down so I can put her socks on. 

She goes to her usual favorites but always does something new when we're there. Today it was to climb up this ladder backwards. 

Then we go into the party room and see the animals. I give her hints about an animal and she points to the one it is. This animal is green, walks slow, and has a hard shell? Afterwards we tell the animals "Bye. See ya next time."  

Bike Trip

Friday morning we started out on our bike trip. After a three hour rain delay in Marshalltown and a lot of laughs later we got on our way. We stopped in Anamosa at Scooters and us women made an executive decision to skip the motorcycle museum;) We finally made it to our first nights destination: Poopys free campground! We set up camp at Poopys next to another timeout camper from Mason City and enjoyed the rest of the night. 

 

My new headband from a small shop in Savanna. 

The Iron Horse

I would totally renew our vows in the Iron Horse Chapel!

Taking the barge across the river in Cassville. 

After a delicious supper in Prairie Du Chein, Wisconsin, we stopped and Gambled on the boat in McGregor. I was the big winner;)

Saturday night we camped at Pikes Peak State Park. We had a rain delay Sunday morning so we all crammed in our tent and made the most of it. 

Finally the rain stopped and we were on the rode. We had such a great weekend riding, seeing the sights, and spending it with mom n dad. 

Fun Day

Today the Smiths came over for a cousins play date. Chloe played school and house with the two little ones. Above she dressed Ev up for preschool. I enjoy getting together and seeing what the kids imaginations come up with. It's always quite entertaining;)

After nap we continued the fun and got a surprise of seeing gramma and poppa K. 

A visit to the park

It was a gorgeous afternoon so we headed to the park. We had the whole place to ourselves so I joined Everlee on the slide and in the tree. It's so funny to hear her say to me "hang on" and "be careful" with every step I make. That must be what she hears everytime she takes a step;)

Prairie Meadows

Sunday we joined the Smith's for an afternoon of animal racing at Prairie Meadows. We've never been to a race track and it was quite the experience. First off, the amount of people that make gambling a part of their Sunday afternoons is crazy. Second, watching grown men yell and throw their hands in the air over a favorite horse winning or losing is super funny. Third, we got to see zebras race. Which made me have deep belly laughs in itself. We didn't stay long enough to watch the camels but I'm sure they would've provoked the same response. Lastly, the car ride to and from the track. All seven of us piled in the Smith vehicle. Watching Steve trying to get in the third row and Tyler falling asleep while Cooper chats to him are the highlights. All in all it was a fun day and one more thing I can cross off my bucket list:) 

Four seasons festival

Our realtor, Tyler, seeing the house "after". He was impressed with the transformation. He refers to our story often. At the time it was stressful but now it's such a distant memory. 

Enjoying the parade. All of us definitely got plenty of candy and other goodies. They gave out grilled hotdogs, bomb pops, and mr freeze. 

We had a great day hosting our first festival as PC residents. We had a house full over for bloody Mary's and chatting  pre parade. After the parade we ate some smoked beer can chickens and smoked Mac n cheese(might be our new favorite side.) plus the extra sides from the Kneifls and Smiths. Thank you. We also checked out the uptown festivities but it didn't last long. The heat was exhausting. After dark we walked back down and listened to a great band: Becker. They sang all our old high school favorites. We had such a good time we stayed til the end and didn't get home til after midnight! We plan to make this an annual event:)

Four!!!

Tyler has taken up a new pastime. Golf! His friend, Micheal, is a member and works at Hyperion Field Club. Tyler readily admits he isn't a natural but still enjoys the game:) When they aren't selling Deadeye this is what the boys like to do to relax and unwind. 

Smile if you brushed today!

To keep Everlee brushing for two minutes I make up brushing your teeth songs. She seems to enjoy it cuz if I don't do it she says "more singing please."  I love our quirky routines:)

I got tomatoes!

One of the many things I loved about living in Lemars was reaping the goodies of Marv's garden. Every Tuesday I would head over and pick the fresh produce. Even more than the produce I enjoyed chatting with Marv and Geneva and catching up on the news. I miss doing that but as I take care of my own plants now, I know Marv is watching over us and not letting the deer get all my hard work;)

Runnin' off steam

Being another hot day outside we went indoors to the playground. She enjoys being in the ball room as long as the big kids aren't there. 

She wanted to stand up and lick the caterpillar after she saw some other kids do it but fortunately she followed my directions when I told her "no."

Then she spent quite a bit of time walking around the caterpillar on his feet. Which is super funny because she does this to me too. 

Weekend fun with two gingers

Friday night we had the Smiths over for the evening. Everlee called it a "party! Be fun!"  It sure was. We played at the park, watched the construction, and played outdoor games. After bath time chloe and Cooper helped put Everlee to bed by helping sing to her. They were so soft and gentle with her. It was absolutely adorable:)

Saturday morning sillies with Steve while Brigett got things ready. 

We made the 3.5 hour trip to Lemars for the Harms family reunion. One red head slept for 3 hours of the trip and this little red slept for 30 minutes! 

The minute we arrived to the Jelkens home it was off with the clothes and on with the swimsuit. There were all girls under the age 5 to play with. Lots of water time, swinging, sliding and this crazy cow riding. She also didn't let Steve or Tyler get to far away as she watched them win both games of bags!

Then we spent the night with gramma K. After the fun filled day Ev went right to bed but the next morning enjoyed spending time with gramma. They walked to the mailbox, played with blocks, and did lots of exploring. Thanks for all the hospitality. 

We had a wonderful weekend filled with many laughs and enjoyed sharing it with Everlee:)

Playing school

Chloe and Marissa had a great time playing house and school with Cooper and Everlee at cousins play date today. 

There's so many funny things Everlee says on a daily basis. Today after nap we were reading books and one was "good night iowa."  One of the pages talked about RAGBRAI. I asked Everlee who rides there bicycles across iowa? With the most serious look on her face she says, "daddy and grampa Greg". That I would like to see;)

I'm Stuck!

After lunch today we made our way down to the park. I haven't seen Ev get up here by herself before but she did it today. After sitting there for a while and trying all sorts of ways to get down she tells me "I'm stuck, help please". 

4th of July festivities

Friday morning we packed up and headed to Storm Lake for the weekend. Our journey took us six hours!

After set up and grilling we met up with the Kneifls and Smiths to play with the kids while the adults enjoyed Rich and Jason's reunion. The men clearly had babysitting under control;)

Saturday morning we made our way to Lake Shetek for Marvs memorial boat ride on the Whynot. 

Geneva was very happy we made the ride up and so were we. 

This is the way you have a drink. Skip the glass and drink straight from the bucket. 

This "souped up" golf cart is Steves cousins, Jeff's. He owns the campground there and this is his get around vehicle. What a sweet ride!

After the boat ride we spent a little bit of time at the cabin seeing more family. Oakleys first 4th of July. 

At Jeff's campground. We had a beautiful  4th of July and were so happy that mom and dad made the trip with us, bumpy roads and all;)

With rain in the forecast for Monday we decided to head home a day early. Before leaving town we had to visit Villager and get my favorite ice cream: raspberry pineapple swirl. Yummy!