Yeah! Another Field Trip

Joshua had another field trip today. He went to Safety Village. He got to learn all about the rules of driving and being a great pedestrian. His class got to drive "cars" on a miniature street course, with stop signs, stop lights, rail road crossing, and cross walks. All I can say is watch out in six years! It was pretty scary. They also got to play on a cool playground. He had a great time.

FYI: Just so you don't think Nathan is left out on all the Field Trips... He has had two in the past month. One to the Herbert Hoover Museum and one to the Raptor Park. However, he is too cool to let mom take pictures ("how embarrassing"), so no blog time for him!!!!

Family Vacation

We decided to take the boys over the long weekend to Nauvoo and Carthage for our last big visit. We spent Friday night and Saturday in Nauvoo. Jared and I both did sessions at the temple. Then we went around Nauvoo and visited the sights. We took the horse and carriage ride around Nauvoo and saw some beautiful scenery. Saturday night we went to the performance of Sunset on the Mississippi. It was great fun. The kids participated in a children's parade and Jared even went on stage when the gave tribute to all the branches of military. The weather couldn't have been better, we even needed light jackets. Sunday we went to church in Nauvoo and then to Carthage Jail. It was a nice weekend. We really feel blessed to have lived so close to this wonderful church sight and we will miss it.

Field Trip Time

I love the end of the school year, as do the kids, because it means FIELD TRIP TIME! Joshua's kindergarten class took a field trip to Farmer Miller's Dairy Farm. He had a great time. We got to see how the cows are milked and fed. We also got to see how a dairy farm and cows smell....hence all the plugged noses! The kids were VERY excited to see the new babies. They were SO cute! What a great morning!

"Don't jump off the slide!"

So I was being the BEST mom today.... I let Nathan bring a friend, Ethan, home from school. We packed the car with snacks and Gatorade and headed to Kent Park. First stop was the play equipment. The boys were having a great time, running around, climbing, and playing with sticks! Mom was busy saying, "Don't run with sticks, you're going to get hurt" and "Don't jump off the slide you're going to get hurt." We had been there for all of 30 minutes, when I see Nate jump off the slide. He stands up and I see a gush of blood coming from his mouth. (I forgot how much the mouth bleeds.) He comes running toward me and all I could think, is please let all his teeth be in tact. His top teeth had gone through his lip and somehow hit his knee. Minutes later we were all piled in the car headed to Jared's office. Dad took care of him. He took x-rays (teeth are all okay), cleaned him up, pulled wood chips out of his lip, and stitched up the holes. His knee has a nice tooth mark, but didn't need stitches. After it was all said and done, I think Nathan, Joshua and Ethan all learned a great lesson. I don't think I will ever have to say "Don't jump off the slide" again!

Fun, Fun, Fun

Our friends, the Haywards, had us out on Monday night for Family Home Evening. They live out in the country. Basically their house is HEAVEN for my boys. They spent the evening exploring, climbing trees, running, jumping and having a great time. Dave built a big fire and we ate hot dogs and roasted marshmallows. It was a lot of fun!

Chicago!

My friends and I took a QUICK trip to Chicago last weekend. We left early Saturday morning and came home late Saturday night. My friend Geraldine and her daughter Jordon moved to Iowa last year from Washington state. They came from a small town and had never been to a BIG city before, or seen a sky scrapper. We were talking one day and I told them I would take them to Chicago. They were SO EXCITED! We visited Navy Pier, went shopping on the Magnificent Mile, and then hit the malls on the way home. Geraldine is a BIG Oprah fan, so we stopped by her studio for a picture. We walked a ton and were really tired, but it was so worth it. They were in heaven and I loved seeing their excitement.

Pine Wood Derby

Pine Wood Derby time again....

Nathan was SO excited to make his car this year. He spent hours on the computer looking for just the right car. He finally decided on a RED Shelby Mustang. He and Jared worked on it (mostly two days before...next year they promised not to procrastinate) and got it looking just perfect. Both Jared and Nathan are BIG TIME perfectionist, so this was a huge undertaking, one which I could have done a lot quicker, but it was great father-son bonding time. The race was a great success and Nathan's car did well. He was very proud!

Nathan also earned his BEAR badge tonight. He also earned two red beads, two silver arrows, and one gold arrow. (For those of you with small boys, just wait, you'll figure all of this out soon enough!) He worked really hard and was very excited to get these awards. We are very proud of him and the great kid he is!

Cat Eyes!

We have a new cat in our house..... his name is Joshua!

Actually he went to the eye doctor today. They had to dilate his eyes for some tests. He thought he was SO cool! Now he thinks he will need sunglasses at school tomorrow.