Bean Harvest

We've started the bean harvest and its been a busy week. The kids have enjoyed riding along in the tractor or in the combine with grandpa and daddy. Shelby especially LOVES to be with daddy. She was ALL smiles after her first ride....I think she has a thing for steering wheels too:)

I snapped this picture one afternoon after we brought daddy lunch in the field.

And this one when the whole family brought out supper.

Painting

We gave each of the kids' rooms a new look by adding some color! After 4 years of white walls in Germany - I'm so excited to have some color. And thanks to aunt Rachel we had a bunch of fun colors to choose from. Each of the kids helped a little in their rooms (see photos) but in actuality aunt Rachel and mommy did most of the work.

Shane just getting started....and the finished product!

In Silas and Shelby's room we went with John Deere colors. Silas ready for bed - this photo was taken before we got our furniture, luckily he at least had a matress on the floor.


In Sydney and Shaylee's room we went with pink, white and yellow. Fun and Bright! Shaylee is giving the room a big thumbs up! We have some additional decorating to do on their white wall - but wanted to get all their furniture and toys in place before we did so. Now that we have all our stuff I don't know when I'll get to adding finishing touches to their walls - mostly because their room is SOO messy....I don't know if I'll ever be able to get them to keep it picked up....at least it looks good in these pictures...not sure if I even dare take a picture of what it looks like right now (sigh).

We also did some painting in the kitchen and master bedroom. We have yet to do the bathroom and living room - but I do hope to get those accomplished sometime in the near future. Thanks again to aunt Rachel for all her help and painting expertise!

Evenings at the Lake

We've been able to enjoy several GORGEOUS evenings at the lake

Shelby loves to help daddy drive the boat...and she's figured out where the horn is too:)

Summer Snapshots

What's this....a blog post....can it be????

I know that posts have been FEW and FAR between the past few months. I could give you a long list of excuses...but I'll just be honest and say I haven't made the time to blog lately.

I have taken pictures all summer and now now its FALL already...and I've definately fallen behind. Even though I don't think I'll get all the posts I intended to post posted...I do hope to get a few out here and let you know that we are still alive and kicking!

Kids are growing and changing....right there are 5 reasons for me to keep up with the blog...to preserve these precious memories.

First Day Photos

So here are those first day of school photos.

Shane - grade 5

Sydney - grade 3

Shaylee - grade 1

Back to School

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 was the first day of school for Shane, Sydney, and Shaylee. For them it wasn't just "Back to School" but also their first day starting at a new school. They were actually very much looking forward to school starting and getting a chance to meet some other kids and make new friends. Shane's alarm went off at 6am (since he needed to get up a do a few chores before school). Apparently its loud enough to wake up his sisters too. I wasn't planning to get them up until a bit before 7 but here they were dressed and ready to go at a little after six! I wasn't even out of bed yet. I think that shows how excited the girls were. We ate breakfast together as a family and I drove the kids into school for their first day. They are riding the bus home (another first) and will ride it each day from here on out (I'm just a bit excited about that- after all the driving back and forth I did the past 4 years).

okay so after trying to upload pictures all morning im just posting this without....sorry...I guess it has been so long since I've last posted that I got to work all the bugs out.

Hello Out There.....

Hello out there.....

Sorry to all my faithful readers who may just have been wondering where on earth I am these days. I am still here (somewhere) but have been a lot of places lately and never seem to find a moment (or a good internet connection) in order to upload pictures and post to the blog.

Needless to say life has been just a bit crazy the past 2 months....and we are no where near being settled back in the US....but we have been enjoying summer at the lake (now that the heat has finally arrived). I'm very thankful for air-conditioning (wasn't it just a few blog posts ago I was complaining about the cool temps and rain, rain, rain???) as now it is hot and humid (like a sauna) outside. Anyway - summer is here and slipping by WAY too fast. Can it really be that we are already heading towards the end of July....can this be, YIKES?? What exactly (you must be asking) have we all been up to....

Enjoying time at the farm, riding 4 wheeler, helping with chores, making forts and what-not with cousins, weeding a garden, cleaning, swimming, sprinklers, softball games in the backyard, root-beer floats, popsicles, riding around in the golf cart, Dutch Festival parade, eatting WAY too much candy, hosting 71 family members at the cabin, swimming, jetski rides, boating, tubing, water skiing, playing in the sand, tracking in sand, and more sand, and more sand into the cabin, cleaning, laundry, installing a dishwasher and drinking water system, late nights, camp fires, s'mores, movies, hanging with family, good conversation, cousins wedding, family pictures, fireworks, mosquito bites, good food, great steak, long hours driving, house hunting, invading a friends home, crabby kids, happy kids, sunburnt kids, tan kids, good swimmers to great swimmers, scared of water to full dunk dare-devil, hair cuts, hair frizz, more hair cuts, canoe rides, paddle boat, sitting in the sun, sunsets, storms, windy days, hot and muggy days, lazy days, reading books, and the list goes on and on....

Maybe you'll get lucky and I'll actually get around to posting some pictures....maybe...but for now, just know that we are here (and there and everywhere) and even if I'm not consistently posting lately...I do hope to continue the blog (when I finally find time)....so stay tuned for more adventures!

Shelby

So I really need to write down a few things about Shelby. She is already 13 months old! She is still our pipsqueak - and has actually been nicknamed "Scooter" since she has mastered her but scooting. Our wood floor at the cabin is perfect for sliding on....and she can get where she wants to go fast! I actually got down on the floor and attempted the "but-scoot" - let me tell you, it is NOT EASY. How she does it all day is really amazing. The first week we were here we really tried to get her to crawl. My brother worked with her and we saw some major progress in her strength and ability to pull herself up on all fours....but the little stinker that she is, still doesn't crawl. She instead has used her new found strength to push herself up (from her tummy) on to her but into a sitting position. This in itself, is great - but she now goes straight into sitting from her tummy and off she goes scooting on her but again! Did I say she is a stinker!!! And stinking cute too with her silly little grin....she knows mommy wants her to crawl and she just prefers to but-scoot! She has really progressed in the past weeks and also will pull herself up to standing when she is in the pack 'n' play, and I even found her standing by the toilet (not sure if I should encourage that one). If we stand her up by furniture - she will stand for quite some time (holding on for dear life) and still on her tip-toes, but we are getting there. She knows what "NO, NO" means - and when she is reaching for something she is not suppose to have she will look at you, smile that cheeky smile of hers and then turn and reach again...typical one year old! She is eating more table food (she really likes oatmeal and chicken nuggets) but I'm still giving her baby food (out of jars etc...since its just so easy). She mostly likes grean beans, and her new favorite is squash. We are still working on getting her to take a sippy cup - she mostly just plays with them yet. As for sleeping - she is finally getting better again - but the first weeks after getting to the US she was awake WAY too much in the night. I think of course her time schedule was obviously off - and I was spoiling her by getting up with her (in the middle of the night) basically any time she made a peep. I would just pull her into bed with me and nurse her and she'd go right back to sleep...and so would I - but not a very restful sleep. Now that I have been at the cabin this week (the previous weeks we've been here, there and everywher it seems) I've moved her out of my room and have been trying to let her cry it out....I say trying, because I'm not very good at this at all, I'm such a softy! She is doing better. If I put her to bed at 8:30 she is usually up again between 11:30 and 12:30. I'll nurse her again - put her back in the pack n' play and then I don't hear her until 4:30 or 5....I'm trying to really hold her off until 5...so we are getting there...someday she will sleep through the night again...someday! Okay - I'm sure I could write more about little Shelby - but I can't remember anything more off the top of my head right now. And I honestly don't even have a recent photo to post...I'll have to try and capture her standing soon.

Another Beautiful Sunset

No matter how much rain we get, no matter what the temp is, no matter how windy it may be....not much can top a beautiful sunset at the lake to end the day. Thank you God for reminding me how awesome you are, and for your awesome creation!

Rain, Rain, Rain

So yesterday (June 14, 2011) we had rain, rain, and more rain. Today the lake is way higher than it was yesterday and it appears to keep rising! I've had to use our sump pump to keep the basement dry! Let me just say that I'm very thankful for that sump pump....let's hope it keeps working!!! Water is standing everywhere - I'm not sure how much we actually got - but it was probably close to 4 inches or more. It just rained and rained - sometimes pouring, other times drizzling, but basically non-stop!

We had some nice sand on our beach - and now our beach is completely covered in water! I do hope that it will go back down again in the next week or so, and that some of our sand will actually still be there and not get washed back into the lake. Hopefully the beach will be nice again before family and friends come in July. But if anything the lawn is nice a green! I've even enjoyed mowing it...I had forgotten how fun it is to mow (on a riding lawn mower). Shane is old enough now that he can handle the riding mower -and so he did it the last time. But this week I was going to start it out, go around the edges and such...but I was having so much fun that I didn't let him finish. He was busy building/playing in the sand (this was before the rain yesterday) and he didn't mind (at least this time).

So where was I....oh all this rain - and chilly weather. I could really go for some nice warm weather. (Mid 80's would be perfect, and with no wind please - since I'm asking.) It has been so chilly here in MN since we arrived (almost a month ago now). We've had maybe 4 days that it has been over 80 - and 1 of those it was like 95 all of a sudden- talk about a drastic change in one day. Go figure that on that day I was NOT at the lake - but at the farm working in the heat! Ha, Ha, Ha....someone is laughing down on me! Anyway, I just wanted to write about this because someday I'll look back and want to remember these first weeks back in the US and all that we did etc....so bare with me as I journal a bit randomly!

The View From Here

Playing Dress Up

While at my folks yesterday - the girls and I went up into my old room and pulled out my wedding dress, and some other fancy dresses to try on. Shaylee was excited to try on my wedding dress - isn't she sweet! She did however tell me that she liked aunt Kerri's wedding dress better (it resembles Kate's dress a bit more than mine) and hoped that someday aunt Kerri would let her wear her dress. I'm not sure if in say 20 years Shaylee will still be excited to wear our old dresses...time will tell. Sydney also liked this red/black dress that my sister wore back in her Western Chamber Singers days. They look pretty cute together...I remember dresses up with my sister way back when too...fun times!

Sydney also tried on my old cheer leading uniform - now if that doesn't take me back....

I also put on my wedding dress - after 14 years - it still fits - and I'd marry Jer all over again! The girls were loving it that mommy was playing dress up with them too!

Who is that kid???

We also had a deal with Shane that he didn't have to get his hair cut until we moved back to the US. Well - his day finally arrived this week. Yesterday we again went down to see my sister - and it was Shane's turn to get his locks cut off. He didn't have 10 inches to donate - but close (ha!) I think he was a bit sick of all the comments on his long hair - he was finally ready to have it cut off. Just when his mom was starting to like it long!

Before.....

During....

And after!!!!!

He looks awesome with his new cut - I can hardly recognize him though....who is that kid???

My Turn

Now it was my turn. My sister Kerri thought it was time I got a little more than just a trim - and she was right! So what do you think of my new cut and color???

Perfect for the summer!!!

Locks of Love

Shaylee has been talking about cutting her hair for weeks. She had gorgeous long hair - but recently she had to wear it in braids so it wouldn't be a tangled mess. We decided that when we got back to America we would get it cut by aunt Kerri. We also decided that if her hair was long enough we would donate it to Locks of Love. Well the day finally arrived (Wednesday, May 25). Aunt Kerri measured Shaylee's hair and found out that she did have 10 inches to cut off- but Kerri would have to cut it level with her chin - that seemed VERY short! But Shaylee was all for it! So aunt Kerri put it in a pony tail - and snipped it off! Shaylee was so excited to be able to donate her hair - and more so excited to finally have short hair! The cut is absolutely ADORABLE on her - and Shaylee LOVES it. She is super cute now with her short hair- and best of all - no more tangles!!!!

Before - those long locks!!!

Shaylee proudly holding up her pony tail!

The new do - short and sweet! Thanks aunt Kerri!!!!!