Kyra's stats

I forgot to include Kyra's 15 month stats.
Weight 20 pounds 2 ounces (11%) (yes cousin Ty had caught up to her in weight)
Height 31 1/2 (82%)

Merry Chrsitmas

I finally have pictures from the Christmas program. Valynn had a part of the reading and Mason held up posters. The kids did a great job. Mason had his Christmas party today (even Kyra got in on the treats) and has his Christmas program tonight. We then plan on going to the Festival of Lights. We've had a busy week. Mark and I finally got a chance to do some Christmas shopping while some friends watched the kids. I worked yesterday since we didn't get the weather that was predicted. Tomorrow Valynn has dance and hopefully we can get the packing done before we leave on Saturday. We hope everyone has a safe and Happy Christmas and New Year.

Storms and celebrations

Friday night we decorated for Christmas. Of course the decorations wouldn't be complete without the train. We stayed home Saturday during the ice storm, which meant we finally got some things done around the house. On Sunday we were busy, busy, busy. We had Sunday School and church where the kids practiced for their Christmas program. After church we headed directly to the Civic Center for the Caterpillar Holiday Laser Light show. The kids thought the lasers were neat. We then went out to eat and afterwards headed home for 45 minutes of rest time. At 4:00 Valynn sang at the Princeville Fire Department with the Girl Scouts as part of their Holiday Homecoming. We then went to all the businesses in town to get our card stamped and enter the drawings, we also took a wagon ride behind a tractor. At 6:00 we headed back to the Firehouse for the drawings. We didn't win any of the giveaways but we did bid on a Snowman and won, I'll take a picture of it in the future. We are busy trying to get everything done before we head up north. Mason this weekend started telling us that he wants a roommate. He started crying when we told him dad could be his roommate, Mason wants a baby brother but he'll take a baby sister just so he can have a roommate. Valynn's reading was tested a couple of weeks ago but we still haven't heard the results of it. It sounds like Kyra is trying to put a couple of words together and form sentences. Have a good week.

What a weekend

We had our longest trip up north yet. We had to stop at the ER about 4 hours into our trip, Mason was in pain and showing all the symptoms of a UTI, it turns out he had amorphous phosphates (crystals in his urine) which irritated his bladder. Then about 5 miles from the farm at 3:30 am our vehicle quit on us. We had to call Mark's brother to come get us. The rest of the trip went very well. The fuel pump went out on the suburban (imagine after 172,000 miles). Valynn got to put milkers on the cows. Kyra thought it was fun to have the calves lick her hand. The kids played with their cousins. Mark got lumber cut and planed. We had a uneventful return trip. Now we have to gear up for the hectic month ahead of us. Our spare cat is being picked up by the owners today. Valynn is home sick again. We have a busy weekend ahead of us and I will have pictures I promise, I just didn't get the camera out this trip.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I was hoping we were on the mend, but it looks like we have another round of illness. Monday Valynn had her recheck and I had the doctor take a look at Kyra. Valynn is cleared up but Kyra had the start of an ear infection. Yesterday Mason threw up, but today he seems to be doing better, unfortunately Kyra is acting like she's not feeling good today, she was up most of last night, we well see. I got my cast off and my stitches out and I don't need physical therapy so I am on the mend.

Valynn lost her first tooth Monday night and it's only a matter of time before she loses another. She finally got her reading tests but we haven't heard the results yet. She impressed us with her thinking Saturday night, she was working on her catechism and they had to cross off the one thing that that didn't belong regarding their senses. For sight they had to draw their own pictures in. She drew a sun with stars, a flower, and a cat, she then crossed off the sun and the starts. Confused because you can see the sun and stars I asked her about it and her answer was "When the sun is out you can't see the stars but I know they are still there". Valynn had her Daisy scouts investiture last week.

Mason is working on reading sight words, I can't believe how he wants to learn to read now that he's started school.

Kyra is learning more words everyday, even the babysitter can pick them out. Her cutest is when she says moo and quack.

We had fun getting together with our friends in Bloomington two weeks ago. The kids always enjoying getting together. Last Saturday we watched the neighbor boys for a few hours, they had a great time playing football with Valynn and Mason.

The kids are singing at church on December 9th. Valynn is singing at the Holiday homecoming in Princeville on December 2nd.

Today we are headed north for Thanksgiving. I have to go, my youngest is eating one of the pumpkin pies. Good thing I baked two.

Hunting Excursions

Here is a picture of Al with his 2007 buck. Assisting in the weekend of hunting were Kat, Jodi, and Brady.

Here is a picture taken in late October after a morning of pheasant hunting.

Veteran's Day

I know I said I wouldn't write a blog for awhile but I was so awestruck by today's Veteran's Day program hosted by the Princeville Grade School that I had to write about it. Every year they host a Veteran's Day program and I had the inside scope that Valynn's class was singing at it so we decided to attend. We were greeted at the door by kids who asked if we were veterans. They took down Mark's name, military branch, and service during which war. He was then given a purple heart necklace made by a second grader and a picture made by a third grader. The program started with the presentation of the flag by the Boy Scouts, followed by the pledge and Star Spangled Banner. Next there was a slide presentation of all the area Vet's that have passed away, pictures of their gravestones. We were then treated to every class singing a patriotic song, followed by the boy scouts folding the flag with the meaning of each fold and presented to the oldest vet. There was a poem by the 3rd and 4th graders. Each veteran was then recognized individually and thanked for their service. The spouses were also recognized for their support to the veteran's. After the closing of "God Bless America" all the veterans and their guests were treated to lunch, coffee, and cookies.
We were very impressed with the turnout and the thought put into the program. Also for the recognition. We didn't stay for lunch because Mark needed to get back to work, but we definitely plan on attending again next year.

Mark's brother Lloyd found out last week that he has been activated and will leave in January for a Navy carrier. We don't know much more at this time but we'll keep everyone posted.

Thank you to all of our Veteran's for your service.

What a nightmare!

I had my surgery yesterday, it went fine it was the before and after that was the problem. Valynn is still home sick today. I probably won't write a blog entry for awhile since I can only type with one hand.

Weekend recap

On Friday the kids and I went to Iowa to visit Bonnie and Jerald. We had a great time. On Saturday we bummed around the house working on a few projects. Sunday we went to church and watched the Vikings play. Today Valynn still wasn't feeling better so I took her to the doctor. She has pneumonia and an ear infection. The poor thing, she has to miss school tomorrow and we'll see about the rest of the week. I have minor surgery tomorrow on my wrist and then we'll hopefully be on the road to a healthy family.

P.S. If someone could explain to Kyra that the reason we set the clocks back an hour in the fall is so mom and dad can get an extra hour of sleep. This waking up at 5 :30 in the morning isn't working, mom can't get her workout in.

Almost 6 months

Ty is almost 6 months and was a Monkey for Halloween.

Three....Three sleeping kids...hahaha!!!

So where to begin. Saturday we attended a Halloween party at the Quinn's (Valynn's boyfriend). We had a great time, we went on a hayrack ride that took us into a field and past an old barn. A werewolf tried to scare the kids, but was unsuccessful. There was a bonfire and lots of treats. Sunday we had Sunday school and then on a whim went to Tanners. Valynn and Mason rode the ponies multiple times as well as the barrel ride. Of course I didn't have my camera with so no pictures, but everyone had a great time. Monday night we carved pumpkins, Valynn and Mason cleaned out the inside of the pumpkins themselves. As you can see, even Kyra cleaned her pumpkin. I worked yesterday, I taught kindergarten, I now know why I chose to do secondary education. Valynn was excited because I was next door to her. This morning Mason had his Halloween party. Because Valynn was home sick Mark attended the party with him. They did a parade around the school and then got a bunch of goodies. This afternoon I went into the school for Valynn's party since I'm Head room mom. The party went great, I know Valynn will be disappointed that she missed it. We did a craft, played a game, and had snacks. I came home and Carol (the babysitter) had all three kids sleeping. I can't remember the last time that happened. I guess that means they will be ready to go trick or treating tonight. We'll see how Valynn feels if she will go to tumbling or not. I know we're going to Lawn Ridge trick or treating (there's a house there that hands out beer to the adults and more candy than the kids know what to do with) and then we'll finish up by going around our subdivision. Either Mark or I will have to stay home since we know we'll at least have trick or treaters this year (compared to our old house where we only had one, there were no other kids). HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Busy week

Where to start. Valynn's conferences went well, nothing surprising. She will be tested next week on her reading level. I'll let you know how that goes. She behaves in class and gets along with her classmates.

Kyra fell and cut her eye on Thursday. Fell again on Friday and it's now black and blue. She then got a reaction from the bandage so her fact has a red rash. She was moved into Valynn's room last night. So far so good, they went to sleep at the same time last night. I think she has a molar coming in because she hasn't been napping.

Mason, nothing new there, he had school pictures this week. He is learning to read a couple of new words every week.

We had a birthday party this morning and are going to a Halloween party tonight.

Mark's Birthday

It was Mark's birthday on Monday. We celebrated with a birthday pie that Kyra won at the Halloween Party. I also forgot to mention that Kyra turned 14 months on Sunday.

Trick or Treat

We just finished a busy weekend. Friday night we had company over for supper of homemade egg rolls, stir fry, and fried rice. Finished off by a delicious dessert of Laurie's. Saturday Valynn got to ride on a combine and then we went to a Halloween party. The kids had a great time and we came home with three desserts from the cake walk. We had company for supper on Saturday night as well. On Sunday, we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese after church. Mark finished hauling dirt around the house while the kids enjoyed the weather outside. Everyone is doing great. Kyra's newest word is "mom". I'm no longer ma. We have Valynn's first parent teacher conferences on Thursday.

Riding the Combine

After many failed attempts, we were finally able to get Mason a ride on the combine. I'll let you know how he liked it when he returns home. We are wrapping up a busy week. Valynn started Tumbling this week since her dance class was cancelled. She had fun. Valynn also officially started Daisy Scouts this week. I only worked half a day this week, I taught 3rd grade. We have a busy weekend ahead so I had best get back to work.

Valynn's Present

Valynn got to go horseback riding for her birthday. She had so much fun she can't wait to do it again. For those who don't know, Valynn loves horses. She's had a fascination for them for over 2 years now. She got to help get the horse ready to ride, rode Cricket, and then helped clean him up. She did very well learning to steer and he even got up to a trot for her. I also included a picture of our mornings activity. The neighbor across the road got hit by a deer last night, so he asked if we wanted the meat. The deer broke its neck and some ribs and the neighbors truck didn't receive any damage. We now have venison for the winter and Mark doesn't even have to go hunting.

Valynn is 6!!!

Valynn turned 6 yesterday (where does the time go?). She had a great day at school, she took treats, they sang happy birthday, and she got to be a car rider (she rode home with me). We had her party last night, around 20 people with adults and siblings. They had a great time playing with everyone. We had a Strawberry Shortcake cake and pizza for supper. Today is the day she gets her present from us. We'll post the pictures when we get back.

Working

I started working as a substitute teacher this week. I subbed for prek and high school science. I definitely like the high school better. I enjoyed getting back into the classroom and interacting with the students. I have a great sitter watching Mason and Kyra. She's a retired lady from across the lake, her husband built our old house and we lived next door to her daughter at the old house. She brought lunch over for the kids, folded my laundry, and washed the dishes yesterday. She won't let me pay her so if anyone has any ideas of what I can give her let me know.

A New View At Work

I moved back to the capitol tower after finishing up my software project. My new work area is located on the south side of the 16th floor. Several people have asked what the view is like from my desk so I took a few pictures. As you can probably tell, this view is a little bit better than my last worksite where I had a ground level view of a parking lot.

This picture is looking to the southwest towards the Missouri River. Fort Abraham Lincoln historical site with the George Custer house is in the distance across the river:

This picture is looking straight south over the capitol mall. Above the valley in the background is the University of Mary:

This picture is looking straight down from my window. Flowers are used to spell out North Dakota as well as create the shapes around the flagpoles. The distance down to the ground is around 220 ft.

Basement Update

Work on the basement has been moving forward. The bathroom and hallway are now painted and almost ready for flooring. Doors are also in the process of being installed.

Basement Hallway:

Door to Bedroom:

Bathroom Floor Getting Cleaned and Prepared for Tile:

Valynn's art

Here is a link to Valynn's art.

click on art gallery, kindergarten

Her fish is the 6th row down and the 4th one over. Blue body, green fins, yellow face.


Blobs 5th row down and 3rd one over.

So mom has yet to cook this weekend.....

and supper has been in the fridge since Friday. I pulled out a frozen meal to have on Friday since I was going to be gone all day. Well Friday night we were invited at the last minute to a birthday party for a girl in Valynn's class. She's also the granddaughter of the people we bought our house from. They ordered too much KFC and invited us over to supper. On Saturday we had a housewarming party for the couple across the street and a Alex's birthday, so we got meals at both parties. Tonight we're going over to Brad and Chantel's for supper, hopefully fish that the men are out catching as I'm typing this.
Here is the link to some pictures from last nights birthday party.
I took a picture of Kyra this morning wearing a dress that was one of my favorites on Valynn. I thought it would be fun to compare them. Valynn is the top two and Kyra the bottom two.

Field Trip

Valynn had her field trip to the Children's Museum yesterday. She had a great time. I was in charge of Valynn and another kid from her class. The boy was an identical twin, talk about confusing when trying to keep track of him. Valynn's favorite part was the cow milking parlor. She was telling all the kids how it was done. Mason and Kyra had a great time with the sitter, they played games and went outside.

Didn't get mother of the day yesterday.

Since this story is making it around the neighborhood I thought I would post it for all to get a laugh at. Yesterday afternoon in the midst of a melt down by my older two, I locked my youngest in a dark closet by herself. I went to my closet to get something, turned around, shut the light off, and closed the door. A few seconds later I heard Kyra crying so I started opening up doors looking for her (she likes to close doors), after opening Valynn's door, Mason's door, and the bathroom door I was at a loss of where she could be. I finally found her in my closet, she must have followed me in there and I didn't see her. I am now told she need counseling. I guess I'll just send her with Valynn, who I forgot to get at the bus stop a couple of weeks ago.

Autumn Adventure

We attended CAT's Autumn Adventure yesterday. The kids had a great time. We would have liked to have stayed longer to go on the hayride and check out some of the pioneer exhibits but we needed to get home. Today we watched Alex for a few hours. The kids found some leaves and raked them up to play in.