Our Patchwork.

Today Ryker and I decided to go check out the pumpkin/watermelon patch that we have on the west side of our house on a little hill.

This is what we saw...

Lots of bright yellow flowers and some are still not quite there...

Around the corner my zinnias are starting to finally bloom!

check out these three flowers...all so different, standing side by side.

And last but not least, I just have to share this captured moment of the many faces of Ry! (the hairstylist did some crazy chopping on his bangs, but its alright-he's still just so darn cute!!)

First Day of Kindergarten

The day after Ryker turned four, we sent Brecken off for his first day of Kindergarten! He has been so excited to get to school - big kid school, and not preschool. We started a little countdown at least a month prior and started making bedtime earlier and earlier until we got to about two weeks before the big day and an 8:00 bedtime was working out wonderfully. A few weeks before school started i asked him if he was excited to go to school..and of course he was-what kid isnt excited for such a big milestone in their life?! I asked if he was nervous at all and he said yeah. He said he was nervous for music class. I dont blame him! I hated music class as well! How do i try to convince my five year old that music class is fun when i was the one getting sent to the hallway for not singing or pulled in front of the group to sing my scales in jr. high and i was so embarrased that i just acted out and wouldn't do it right because i knew i couldn't carry a tune- nor did i care to let the rest of my classmates hear my horrendous singing voice either... so i get stuck singing Alto with the guys for an entire year, and i'm pretty sure my parents got a phone call about my disrespect for music class as well.

Well, just as i thought, he told me that he was nervous because he cant sing very well and that makes him not like it. I tried to emphasize the cool xylophones, drums, tamborines and other fun aspects of music that he will be learning about. I told him it doesn't matter what he sounds like when he sings...i asked him if i was a good singer and he chuckled and said 'no'. and i said, 'well, i sing all the time and dont even care that i suck, right? as long as you enjoy the music and have fun trying, it doesn't matter what you sound like'. He just sat there..still not convinced that music class would be enjoyable. So I said..'you know what? now that i think about it..you rarely even sing in music class in kindergarten..just play instruments. (shhhhhhhhh! ). That worked..he was now ready for kindergarten! :)

Our countdown grew closer to the end and before we knew it, August 18th was here! We got up at 7:00 a.m.. (that is not a time of day that i enjoy being awake! working overnights puts 7am about right in the middle of my REM state of sleep. thank goodness i am not the one bringing him to school on a daily basis-but of course i had to be there for the first day). He sat up in bed and hopped in the shower before he could even open his eyes..anxiously got ready, ate breakfast, grabbed his lunch bag and backpack and stopped for a few pictures outside the front door as we headed up the street toward school. (It just wouldn't be like Brecken to smile normally for a picture either). Ryker was excited for Brecken to go to school too and grabbed his hand as we walked up the street. We live so close to the school..its going to be so nice not having to drive there and fight the traffic, mini vans, SUV's and lack of parking just to get my child the 2 blocks to and from school.

We found his teacher and his class 'line' with the rest of the nervous little kindergartners and their parents outside their door of the building, lined up to go inside and found his classroom. He's in one of the two brand new kindergarten classrooms which is really neat..it just got finished a few days ago actually! So we found his locker/cubby (not sure what they refer to it as) and his chair and i went over the other kids names with him that he'll be sharing a table with. We gave our hugs and kisses and i didn't even cry! I knew he was so excited for school and that made me ok with it. I've been so lucky to be able to stay home with both the boys ever since they were born..we've never had to use daycare except for the 8 weeks i was in training for work, so I was ready for school too-just unsure how i'd handle having him gone all day long!

Ben left for work and Ryker and I kept busy all day. We had his 4 year checkup, went to lunch and then stopped by Anita's house and sat on her deck overlooking the pond for a good hour, just enjoying the beautiful day. The first day of school was great! I was definitely enjoying it!! :) Ryker continuously asked if Brecken was coming home yet, but absolutely loved the 'mommy and me' time! We threw some bags out front, played with some his new birthday presents, read some books, and went on a big wheel ride...before we knew it, it was 2:40. time to get Brecken! School is over already?! no!!!!!!! the day flew by, but i was soooo excited to hear all about his first day! We walked up to get him and he greeted me and Ryker outside the school with a big running hug and a 'moooommmmmmmm!'. he gave me a huge hug and i told him how much i missed him and asked how the first day was. he said, 'THAT...was SO fun. it was AWESOME! ...how long WAS that mom? WOW!!!' i laughed and hugged him again and said, 'you were gone from 8 until 2:45!!' he said another 'WOW' and was pumped that he had 3 recesses in that long day! he was so happy and proud of himself..he said he wasn't nervous the whole day. i did it..i choked up and cried for just a second, out of pure happiness as i grabbed his hand and walked home. He talked about his day and showed me his burn blister on his hand from sliding down the pole on the playground too fast..told me how he got lost in that' big ole school' with another kid from his class and had to ask a teacher for directions how to get outside, and explained to me how the lunchroom is filled with way too many loud kids! hahaha! They had library and music class on the first day of school..and guess what? music class was FUN! ;)

Brecken's First day of Kindergarten

5 1/2 yrs old --- August 18, 2008

Happy Birthday Ryker!

On Sunday, the little ry-guy turned four! I was woken up around 7:55 a.m. by a kid standing next to my bed saying, 'mommy, it's morning time now. i am four.' Four must be a really cool age because he all of a sudden has 'four year old muscles', he 'eats everything now', he's 'super tall' and 'will never be three. ever again'.

We had some of our family over to help celebrate his big day. He really wanted a frog cake (after i talked him out of a Ben 10 cake..how do you make a Ben 10 cake anyway?!) ..but i ended up procrastinating on the whole homemade cake thing altogether, and on Saturday night after coming home from a beautiful relaxing day at the Palisades, i decided (while in the store to get eggs and green food coloring so i could make the cake), that i was too tired to bake anything and ryker could just pick out a very overpriced cake from the bakery. Hence, the $21 non-personalized spiderman cake that he absolutely loved and had to carry home on his lap.


After everyone had left, the boys were playing upstairs checking out ryker's new toys, and we were out front throwing some bags and enjoying the late afternoon. I went in to check on the kids and couldn't find ryker...brecken had no clue where he was and said 'i haven't seen him in awhile' and continued to play. i called out to the backyard...no ryker. then checked both of their bedrooms...no ryker. basement tv area? ..no ryker. the tv down in my room was on so i thought maybe he just crawled up on my bed and fell asleep watching cartoons. on my way down to check, i found him asleep..but not in my bedroom.

I couldn't stop laughing,well after the first 2-3 seconds anyway, when i thought, what the eff..is he dead?! ...and i ran up the stairs to grab my camera..and brecken and ben. we stood there laughing at him and took pictures and a video before we woke him up. (yeah, mean..i know).


(by the way..he's still four. that's what he told someone when he was asked about having a birthday two days ago and turning four on the 17th.)

Happy Birthday Ryker - I love you!

oh eight, oh seven, oh eight.

We have had really nice weather the past few days...right in the mid 80's - perfect for exploring around the great outdoors! The boys and I packed our picnic lunch yesterday and drove over to a park by the river.

If you've seen the boys as of late, i'm sure you've noticed all their bug bites! Ryker wont wear a shirt very often, and obviously mom forgets to bring and apply bug spray quite often. Well, yesterday, we remembered..and we coated ourselves before walking along the river and the bike path - i dont even remember getting bit once, or watching the kids swat at themselves either! Nice work with the bugspray, Mandy!

The boys have always loved going to the river and the falls to throw rocks! So of course we spent a good portion of the afternoon throwing rocks of all sizes into the water and checking out the size of our splashes. We unsuccessfully skipped all the flat rocks, but had fun trying!

We slowly wandered down the river, checking the banks for frogs or turtles..we saw dragonflies, a slug, and jumping fish. No frogs or turtles this time..which is kinda odd. But that's ok because it's usally, 'mom, catch it!'. and mom doesn't like to just reach out and grab those things..no way!

They are really good with wanting to pick up trash and litter - sometimes to the point where i'm thinking 'stop looking for trash!' or i can't believe you just picked that up, it's disgusting!'. They just want to keep the earth clean, and i'm happy for that.

We walked for a little while until we found a spot off the bike path that the boys wanted to check out, so we headed down the little hill towards some rocks and an overflow, drainer thing..which the boys informed me was a waterfall that is our own special place because they discovered it and nobody else knows about it. I decided not to bring any unnecessary disappointment and simply said, 'oh wow, you guys found a cool little spot, I bet nobody knows we're down here!'

In case you didn't realize - It's very important that we look for 'treasures' while exploring the outdoors. The boys brought a plastic container to house any special treasures that they found along the way. I think we only ended up taking home two little fishing line weights...are they called sinkers? weights? one of them was even still tied to a broken line..i guess that made it extra cool. It's sometimes a difficult concept to understand that things in nature, stay in nature...but things that dont' belong can go. Right by the little weights was the remains of a little lobster, entangled in another portion of fishing line, and two other former lobsters in the water between some rocks. They all stayed, in fact they didn't even ask to take them home... thank goodness they are figuring it out. yuk..i wouldn't have been to keen on those 'treasures' hanging out in my house.

I sat on some rocks with my feet in the water as the kids entertained themselves by throwing rocks - a few times ryker's wild swing resulted in rocks almost nailing my camera, so... after completely soaking his shoes a few times and having to give three warnings to 'aim straight ahead and away from my camera!', we called it good and grabbed the container with the treasures and walked back toward the park to play for awhile before going home.

It was a nice relaxing day -- according to Brecken, it was 'a super fun long day'. As for today..I think we'll go explore the paths and play at Union Grove State Park when Ben gets home from work this evening. ..and I can't wait to see what kind of things we'll find!

Oh, i'm from Iowa - Iowa...that's where the tall corn grows!"
You can get anymore 'Iowa' than this. An open and quite often boring view, cornfields that go for days, a farmhouse that boasts its red barn and silo, and Farmer Joe heading up the road in his pickup truck.

A few miles further east lies Orange City..an interesting little dutch town. Population 6000 - give or take a wooden shoe. We spent a portion of the last weekend in July there - arriving on a Friday and leaving on a Saturday because nothing is alive and shakin' there on a Sunday anyway. ;)

The kids always love heading the way of the orange water tower, funny looking buildings, dutch boy and girl statues in peoples yards that are always standing with their hands behind their backs leaning in to kiss each other, all the windmills, tulips, and of course grandma and grandpa.

A few blocks past this big windmill, that was once a bank (very cool!)..but is now something like a Tourist Committee Building or something, is where you'll find my parents...living in the house that Mitch built! Nothing like a Danish family thrown into the ways of the Dutch!

It's always nice to go home and spend time with my family. One of the kids favorite places in Orange City is Kinder Speelland...the coolest little playground i've seen! Marnie's kids were with us too...they took time out of their chasing, arguing, and laughing, to pose for some pictures...

The backside of the playground

Serena, Brecken, Sawyer, and Ryker
(Brecken tattooed his legs one morning while i was still asleep)