I promised the girls!

I promised Valynn and Kyra that I would take some pictures of their room when it got done. Kyra will be moving to a big girl bed and Valynn will get to sleep on the top bunk.

The kids have had a busy week in ND and Grandma hasn't sent any pictures lately so I don't have any to post. Valynn and Mason have been going to Vacation Bible School this week. They have been having a great time and are making new friends. Yesterday they sang at the Senior Citizens and tonight they have a program. We miss not being there to watch their program but I'm sure Grandma and Grandpa will fill us in and of course we'll get our own private showing.

Our two weeks along is wrapping up. We made a big dent on our to do lists and will be ready for the new adventures starting with school in two weeks and a new baby that can arrive anytime. Tuesday night I went out for supper with a friend. Today I cleaned peaches, made pickles, and finished as much of Kyra's baby scrapbook as I could (now I just need to find her ultrasound pictures and I can finish it). Mark thinks I'm nesting because I washed and ironed curtains the last two days, I say I'm just getting some deep cleaning done. Either way, we're going to relax and spent our last night alone before we head to SD tomorrow afternoon to pick up the kids.

Mom and dad's weekend getaway.

We took a trip to Galena, IL for the weekend. Galena is located in the corner of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin. It's a historic town. We visited the Apple River Fort where they had reenactments taking place. We toured General Grant's house (he wasn't president at the time). We walked along the historic Main St. and did some shopping. We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast. It was a very nice and relaxing trip.

Sunday night I went out with the 3 neighbor ladies. We went out to eat at a new Mexican restaurant and shared a pitcher of virgin Strawberry daquari and then to the movie Mamma Mia. It was a very enjoyable evening and the movie was funny. The four of us made quite a sight since three of us are pregnant and two of us are due in 2-3 weeks. When I got home Mark was across the street watching a movie and drinking beer with Brad so I guess I don't feel too bad about leaving him home alone.

It's our last week without the kids and a few more projects to get finished up before they get home. Mark was done with class last week and he got an A. With school done he should be able to help me with a couple of my projects before the kids get back.

They were on TV!

Here's the link to watch the kids. They made the news for watching the Dog Show at the state fair.

Ultrasound

Everything looked good with the ultrasound. The baby is measuring about 6 days behind my due date with is within normal range and follows the pattern of my first three. They estimate the weight to be around 5 pounds. We still don't know the sex. This is also your last chance to play or change your guess on the guessing game.
www.expectnet.com
Game name rinkelbaby2008


The kids are doing good in ND. They went to the State Fair yesterday and had a blast. We're doing good here without them. I've been tackling my to do list and have everything ready for the baby. We had the Bowdoin's over for supper last night to help Chantel celebrate her birthday. Today I ran errands in town and got most of Valynn's school supplies. Tonight it Mark's last night of summer school.

Kids' first day in ND

The kids ran threw the sprinkler, went up to quilting. Kyra is helping our neighbor Doc sew. They rode in the gator. Just to name a few. The kids went up with a to do list and Grandma and Grandpa are doing their best to accomplish everything on the list.

Where are my zucchini pickers?

I think you forgot to pick a few zucchini! All three of the zucchini are over 12 inches long. Of course my pickers are up north having fun with Grandma and Grandpa. Mark and I are missing the kids, the house is too quiet. I'm busy working on my to do list, today's agenda is getting all the baby things ready. I've already gone through clothes and pulled out all the baby items (car seat, bouncer, swing, etc). I've got laundry going with baby gear. I'm now taking a break getting pictures done from the party before I move on to another project.

What are we? Chopped liver?

The kids had a great time with their cousins in Minnesota. Valynn and Mason enjoy going to the barn and helping with the milking and feeding the calves. Kyra even threw tantrums wanting to go to the barn to pet the cows. The 45th Anniversary party was very nice. On Sunday the kids and I drove to Glyndon, MN to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa Larson. The kids were excited to be going with Grandma and Grandpa and didn't seem to care that we weren't going with. They did say they would miss us, but they were too excited to be going to miss us too much. They arrived safely in ND and had an action packed first day. Kyra is doing well, although she is acting her age and wants what she wants now. Grandpa did say Kyra is keeping them busy but what else would you expect from an almost 2 year old. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

And rounding first!

We were finally successful in attending a Chiefs game that didn't get rained out. We attended with members of the Lutheran Church for their annual game. The kids had a great time as usual. We did learn a few things this time, never attend on a night where there is free hot dogs and peanuts. You will miss a whole inning standing in line and we were there 40 minutes before the game started. The kids got to go to the play ground for the first time. This is where we learned lesson two, never attend on a night where the anthem singers are from an inner city group (this is probably true of any kids group) because that means they will be unsupervised at the playground. After the game the kids were able to run the bases. I apologize for the fuzzy pictures, I was busy visiting and forgot to get the camera settings adjusted. Mason is in the orange shirt and Valynn is in the light green shirt behind him. Kyra is in pink running with dad.

We are busy packing for our trip north. The kids have been packing since Monday, I think they are a little excited to be going somewhere without mom and dad. I have to go through their suitcases and backpacks because they want to take everything with them.

The week in review

It's been a busy and exhausting week around here, I hope next week is slower as we get packed up for our excursion. It was the last week of swimming lessons, on Friday was fun day so even Kyra got to go in the pool. She gave me a little scare as she slipped in the baby pool and couldn't right herself so I even got to take a little swim. On Wednesday we met some friends at a local pool and the kids had a blast and want to go swimming everyday. We'll have to see, it's not easy watching three kids in the water by yourself, but the pool had a very fun kid area so I wasn't too worried about Valynn and Mason.

Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment. I'm not gaining weight like they would like and the baby (my tummy) isn't growing like they would like so I have an ultrasound at my next appointment to check everything. On Thursday I spent four hours in the hospital being monitored. I was having some abdominal tenderness and there was concern it might be an infection. Everything came back looking good so there are no worries there.

Yesterday Kyra's friends Matthew (the neighbor boy) turned two so we were over there for a little bit to see him. He's about six weeks older than Kyra and his mom is due a week before me in August. Today the kids have a birthday party at Allie's (another neighbor). Tomorrow night we're having some friends over for supper.

The advantages to having a garden. Last night Mason came up to me when we were outside and told me he was hungry so I told him he could have a carrot. He said from the garden? The three of them proceeded to eat peas and carrots from the garden until they were full. All three have been very good about helping pick produce from the garden and even helping clean it. Their favorite to pick are the raspberries and blueberries, but that means not many make it into the house. Oh well, it's good for them. They still aren't fans of green peppers but they are still excited to pick them. On Monday they loved the zucchini casserole I made which shocked us parents.

Here comes the bride!

Congratulation Chance and Alyssa and I do have to say you had the cutest flower girl and ring bearer (but I'm a little biased). Valynn had her hair done just like the bride's and loves having a chance to wear makeup. Valynn and Mason did great walking down the aisle. Valynn threw the petals and Mason had a smile while he carried the pillow. The kids did great for the pictures. Walked into the reception when the wedding party was announced and of course had a great time dancing. Kyra was disappointed she wasn't a flower girl (who would have thought a 22 month old would even notice or care) but Kyra stole the show anyway making friends with whoever she saw. Here are some more photos from the wedding.

4th of July

On Thursday night the kids and I drove up to Wyoming for fireworks. We parked out in the country and sat on lawn chairs in the back of the pickup eating popcorn, drinking pop, and watching the fireworks. The kids thought it was great and I didn't have to deal with any crowds. On the 4th we went to the rehearsal supper and then over to our old stomping grounds (Lawn Ridge) for a 4th of July party. The kids had a great time and we enjoyed visiting with everyone. One of the neighbors had brought the fireworks from Montana when there were there earlier this summer since most fireworks are illegal in Illinois. Valynn and Mason had fun with the sparklers and we let Kyra hold one with my help and she thought it was great. We also got to watch the fireworks from three different towns, Peoria, Chillicothe, and Henry.

Swimming

I haven't posted any swimming pictures yet so here are a few. It's been a little cold for swimming which is why we normally do the July session but because of summer plans we did the June session this year. Valynn is doing great and is so close to being able to swim on her own. I know one of these days it'll come to her. Her favorite part is diving under the water to get rings on the bottom of the pool. Mason is doing good, he doesn't like the cold water so once he gets cold it's hard to coax him back into the water. He is willing to try everything which is good, now if only the water and weather would warm up for him. Mason tried on his tux yesterday for the wedding he looked so cute. We have the rehearsal supper tomorrow night and the wedding on Saturday. I'm sure the kids will do great.

My Kyra, I don't know what we're going to do with her. Mark was up early this morning to travel for work today. Right before he left around 6:00 Kyra woke up screaming, I'm assuming from a nightmare. I tried to get her back to sleep and she wouldn't so we got up and had breakfast. At 7:00 after being up for an hour she decided she was still tired and laid down on the futon and is sleeping. I would like to go back to bed since the other two are still sleeping but I'm watching the neighbor kids this morning and they'll be here in about a half hour.

I hope everyone had a great 4th!

Is it that time already?

We received the registration information for school for Valynn today. School starts in 7 weeks. Wow, where does the time go. That also means it's about 8 weeks until my due date and 9 weeks until Mason starts school.