It's begining to look a lot like Christmas!

I was hoping to get pictures posted sooner but it was a crazy week.

Tuesday Valynn and Mason had their school Christmas program. Kyra and Kyleigh got to stay home with the babysitter. They did great and the program was wonderful. Mason got to sit with us during the program, while Valynn sat in the stands.

Wednesday was Kyra's Christmas program. We've been going to the preschool for five years now and it's been almost the same every year. Kyra did a wonderful job and only showed the audience her underwear once. Mason came with me to Kyra's program while Mark took Valynn to CCD and had Kyleigh.

Thursday was crazy as I dealt with a work related problem most of the day and then ended up spending an extra hour at the school dealing with the issue. My dryer also quit drying so I hauled three loads of laundry across the street to dry. I broke my ricer when trying to make the lefse as well (that is a picture of Kyra helping me mix the lefse). We took the kids to the Festival of Lights and once again it was wonderful. Kyleigh screeched the whole time in delight. After was walked along the light at the riverfront we went to Steak and Shake for shakes and french fries.

Friday I took Kyra back to the doctor because I didn't think her UTI was cleared up, the infection was mostly cleared up but there were some other issues with her sample so I have to call later today to get the results and decided what our next step will be. I was home for 15 minutes before the sitter came and I headed to work. After working for an hour I stopped by the school to finish discussing the issue which was finally cleared up and then headed over to Valynn's classroom for her Christmas party. Mark took half a day off of work and helped in Mason's classroom. When we got home from the parties I started rolling and frying lefse. Valynn helped me fry while Mark and Mason worked on the dryer. After the lefse was done I did flatbrod.

Saturday after a breakfast of buttermilk pancakes I made krumkake (the previous batch was already gone), and buttermilk donuts. I then cleaned house while Mark fixed the dishwasher. I got my rice pilaf done for supper and started Christmas cards until our company arrived. Brad and Chantel came over for supper and we watched the Johnson kids, that makes four adults and 11 kids. We had a great visit, the kids played nicely, and we watched the Christmas Story.

Sunday we went to church, did some grocery shopping, and then I went with Tonya to a local winery to pick up a bottle of wine for her parents. This week Mason has a follow up with the GI so I will keep you posted.

Sunday School Christmas Program

We are definitely getting into the Christmas spirit in the Rinkel household. We enjoyed having the neighbor girl with us all week. We didn't get the snow that was expected here so no snow days for the kids but we did get the house decorated and on Friday and Saturday Mark finished putting up the lights outside. The kids helped me make Rosettes and Krumkake and managed not to eat it all. Saturday night Mark had his work Christmas party at a local dinner theater. This morning the kids had their Sunday School Christmas program. Valynn was an angel, Mason a shepherd, and Kyra a sheep, they did a great job. Kyra fell asleep Saturday afternoon around 4:00 on our way home from Christmas program practice, she slept until 4:00 Sunday morning and then took a nap at 9:00 Sunday morning. I think she was a little tired. This afternoon we had the babysitter come back so Mark and I could finish our Christmas shopping for the kids and each other. Our wallets are now lighter but we are done with our shopping.

This week the kids have Christmas programs on Tuesday and Wednesday and their classroom parties. I'm supposed to work everyday. Tomorrow I'm meeting someone from back home that now lives down here. The kids are done with school for Christmas break on Friday. Have a great week all!

Brady and Jodi's wedding

We left Thursday afternoon for Minnesota. We hit icy roads in Iowa which prompted a call as to who has a wedding in Minnesota in December. We left the farm Friday morning and headed towards Fargo. The rehearsal went well, it was nice visiting with everyone. The wedding was beautiful and we have a wonderful new sister in law. Kyra did a good job as flower girl. She made it down the aisle, almost hit the bride once with her flower ball while standing up front and then went to sit with Grandma and Grandpa. Kyra went 110% from the time she got her hair done until 30 minutes into the reception and then she crashed hard. Our smartest move was bringing our niece Cindy with us to babysit. Valynn and Mason danced the night away. Kyleigh spent most of the night dancing as well. On Sunday we stayed for the gift opening and then met our friend Donn for lunch. We then went back to the farm for the night to watch the Vikings loss. On Monday we made it back to Illinois.

I was hoping to get pictures posted yesterday but it was crazy here. Kyra had gymnastics, I got home and had a friend call asking if I could pick her son up from the neighbor's in home daycare, so I had him for 2 hours. Then Chantel called and asked if I could take Allie a night early so I had to get things ready for her arrival. Allie is staying with us until Friday while her parents are in Texas house hunting. The brunt of the storm missed us, it's cold and windy but we didn't get the snow they predicted.

Mason had his gastroentonologist appointment today. He is on Prevacid for two weeks to see if acid reflux is causing the stomach discomfort if it doesn't improve the next step is an endoscopy to see if the problem can be determined.

Kyra fell off the top bunk last night and might have broken her nose. We talked to the neighbor who is a PA and he said to just have her nose checked at her next appointment. It's looking better today but it was swollen and bleeding last night.

Kyleigh is at a really cute age when she's not throwing a tantrum. She is using a couple of words on a consistent basis now, I wish one of them wasn't uh-oh but I'll talk what we get. She know to wash and dry her hands after I go to the bathroom. Now if I could only get her to use the bathroom I'd be set.

Valynn is getting impatient with me and not decorating for Christmas. She wants to set up her Christmas town.

I had best move on to another task before the three kids get home from school and Kyleigh wakes up from her nap. Have a good week and keep warm.

We are home but soon will be gone

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a great time in Indiana. We left Wednesday morning. Thursday Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rick cooked a wonderful meal. On Friday they took the older three kids to the circus. The kids thought it was great and got to ride an elephant, except for Kyra, she didn't want to. They saw horses, bears, tigers, lions, acrobats, clowns, etc. While the kids were at the circus, Mark, Brandon, Grandma, Kyleigh, and I met Tyler for lunch. Saturday we checked out the Evansville zoo, very nice zoo and we got to see the handy work of Sprinklers Plus (aka Uncle Rick and cousin Derrick).

We got home on Sunday in time to watch the Vikings beat the Bears! Today I took Kyra and Kyleigh to the doctor. Kyra has a UTI. Kyleigh has what might be the beginning of an ear infection. She tipped the scales at 19# 15 oz (10%) (she would have weighed 20 lbs. had she not pooped right before we weighed her). She is also 30 1/4 in. long (45%). We will be keeping a close eye on her since she isn't saying very many words but as the doctor explained he tends to see extremes in 3rd and 4th kids. They either talk ALOT (Kyra) or the don't need to talk because everyone knows what they want (Kyleigh). She gets her point across by grunting so why should she learn to talk.

Tomorrow Mason has Pajama day at school. I will be helping out. Thursday afternoon we are leaving for Minnesota. We will be staying at the farm Thursday night, picking up a niece and heading to Hawley for Brady and Jodi's wedding. We will head back to the farm on Sunday and back to Illinois on Monday.

Have a great week. Sorry no pictures but I forgot to take my camera to Indiana. I'm waiting for Aunt Cindy to send some but we won't have any of the circus.

This is getting old

I don't have much to post except we're still dealing with someone being sick in the household. Mason was sick all weekend, sent him to school on Monday and he was home Tuesday and Wednesday. Valynn is home sick today with something completely different than what Mason had.

It's been a busy week of not doing much, I haven't worked all week because the girl I tutor is sick. Hopefully next week we'll get started back up. Today I'm babysitting the three neighbor boys. Tomorrow we're hoping to get together with some friends we haven't seen for a few months. We had to cancel last week so depending on how Valynn feels tomorrow we hope to have them over.

I'm off to consider if isolating the family from the outside world for the winter is a feasible option. 7 weeks of someone being sick is too many. We also found out that Mark might not be going back to school in January, there was some kind of mixed communication between corporate headquarters and each business unit, he'll find out in a few weeks.

Happy November

Here's a picture of our Jack-o-lanterns. Valynn carved hers herself this year. Mason had a challenging face that Mark wasn't about to pass up the challenge, triangle in square eyes. Kyra knocked her pumpkin off the island after we carved it which explains the fissure.

Kyleigh has a new word Uh Oh. She also has two new teeth for a total of 8. As you can see she is my little helper. Who knew it took two girls to stir lettuce?

The kids had fun at the birthday party and hit the jack pot with trick or treating. We finally made it to church on Sunday. We have been missed. I also have another job to add to my resume, Sunday School Superintendent.

Otherwise nothing much going on. I'm still not back to 100%, Mark stayed home most of the day Monday so I could sleep. I'm on day 6 of a headache. At least the kids are feeling good. Have a good week.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! Last Saturday we went to the Blue Ridge Church Halloween party. As always we came home with more cakes than we can eat. We went with the Bowdoin's. The kids had a great time. This week has been busy with Halloween Parties. Kyra had her's on Wednesday. She had fun and come home with lots of treats and prizes. Today Valynn and Mason had their parties. I helped with Valynn's party so I was unable to attend Mason's but he said he had a great time. Tomorrow night we are going the the Bowdoin Boys' birthday party and then all the kids are going trick or treating around the neighbor hood.

Yesterday I watched Annika for a couple of hours. She had fun exploring a new house and as you can see her and Kyleigh play together (if that's what you can call it when one takes another's pacifier away and then gives it back). We're still dealing with sickness here, Mark was out of work on Monday and finally went back to work on Tuesday. On Tuesday night I came down with chills and a headache but never did get a fever. I'm still not 100% but I'm hoping I'm over with it by Monday. Work is going well, I got my first paycheck today and was pleasantly surprised to find I got a raise. Today I was the Mystery Reader for Valynn's class. I read the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh the places you'll go". Kyleigh has finally figured out how to wave bye bye and she's trying more sounds, I get the feeling that one day that girl is just going to start talking in sentences since she doesn't seem interested in saying too many words right now. I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Happy 8th Birthday Valynn!!!

It's Valynn's 8th birthday today. Happy Birthday! It's hard to believe how grown up she is getting. She is constantly surprising us with what she knows and her maturity. Saturday night she had a sleepover for her birthday. She had five friends stay over. They had a great time playing the Wii, watching Hannah Montana the Movie, and just hanging out. Mark and I have decided that finishing the basement is now a priority because they are LOUD and our house echoes so bad. The girls were very well behaved, stayed up late and woke up early.

Friday after school I got a little surprise. Valynn and Mason came home from school with an extra kid. There was a mix up at school, a dad called to say K had a paper to go home with Mason and the teacher interpreted it as K has a paper saying he can go home with Mason. Mason goes "I don't know why he came home with me". K said "Mrs. S. told me to go home with Mason". I knew there was a mix up somewhere. So I called his mom who then called the dad to see what happened and then his mom came and picked him up. Definitely reaffirms why we live in a small town, we just laughed at the incident and were thankful we were acquaintances so that we had some idea of who our child goes home with.

Saturday was Mason's last two football games. It was COLD outside, no snow but if there was any precipitation it would have been snow. Mason carried the ball twice, once for 25 yards and another for 5 yards. Sunday we stayed home and watched the Vikings beat the Rams. The kids are home from school today, we're going to get a few things done around the house and just take it easy.

Kyleigh has gone through a mental growth spurt in the last couple of weeks. She is really starting to comprehend what is being said to her. If you say time to brush your teeth she is in the bathroom on the stool waiting for her toothbrush. If you tell her nap time she heads to the bedroom. When you tell her to go find dad, she takes off looking for him. She still isn't saying much for words but I know that will come soon enough. She even learned how to climb up the stool to see what's on the counter.


Have a great week!

Disney Day 5: The Magic Kingdom Part 2

We went back to the Magic Kingdom. Valynn's hair held up through the night that she got to be a princess for a second day. This day we toured the Swiss Family treehouse, rode the Magic Carpets, went on the Jungle Cruise and rode the Pirates of the Caribbean. We did the Astro Orbiter, Tom Sawyer Island, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (twice), Stitch's Great Escape, Monster's Inc., again and Splash Mountain (3 times), and Thunder Mountain Railroad (3 times). Can you tell what the favorite rides were?

We're back...

I have decided to break down our trip by the days and what we did. Part of the reason is because it might be a few years before I get the scrapbooks done and want to remember what we all did. First off I have to start with a brag.

Kyra and Kyleigh were wonderful for Grandma and Grandpa (at least that's what I was told). They ate out every day, went shopping, and spent time together. One day while shopping an older lady gave the girls books and puzzles for being so well behaved. Way to go girls!

Valynn and Mason were quite the troopers on the trip. They were up early and went to bed late every night. There were a few complaints about being tired and they caught a ride on dad's shoulders whenever they could but they did very well. They waited patiently in line, were very well behaved.

We want to thank Grandma and Grandpa for taking the time to come down here and babysitting for us. It was nice to spend time with Valynn and Mason and so nice to not have to deal with nap times, diapers, tantrums, and the juggling act of dealing with different age groups. Playing man to man defense was easier than playing zone defense especially with a crowd of people.

Here is the link to all of the pictures.

It's the final countdown!!

Two days and counting until we leave for Disney World. Grandma and Grandpa should be here in T- minus 10 hours, give or take since I don't know when they left Paige's. All presents that were ordered ahead of time have been delivered, and we will finish packing the bags after I get the laundry done. This was homecoming week so today is the parade. Valynn and Mason are both walking in it (Valynn- girl scouts; Mason JFL). Kyra will be collecting candy (I bet Grandma and Grandpa will be thanking us for that later). Mason has a football game tomorrow.

Quick updates on the kids:
Valynn started swim lessons last night. She is our fish, she was sad when it the lesson over. School is still going great for her.

Mason came home from school yesterday and said guess what I can do? He can now tie his shoes. He is liking school and having fun.

Kyra is doing good at school. Her teacher is the best, she said she'll make next week special for Kyra since she will be at home. Her teacher also said she is very talkative, really Kyra, lol? I don't think she ever stops talking.

Kyleigh- my prayer
Dear God,
Please let my one year old tornado keep her destruction to a minimum so that Grandma and Grandpa know that I at least attempted to have a clean house for their arrival.

Have a great weekend!

That's a wrap

for birthday parties until October at least. Mason had a football game on Friday. He had fun, he didn't carry the ball this week he played receiver and lineman instead. He almost got a couple of flags on defense. Mason had his birthday party on Sunday. He had a Power Rangers party. There were six boys here, I think they had fun. They played pin the tail on the horse, clothespin drop, and a pinata.

Kyra had another good day at school, and she stayed on the sidewalk. I was told today that her picture will be in the Chillicothe paper this week. I'll scan it when I get a copy. She was ready for school early today. Both her and Valynn were up at 6:00. Kyra was dressed and had her shoes and backpack on by 7:00. It was a long 1 1/2 hours of "is it time to go to school yet?".

Yesterday morning Kyleigh was sleeping in bed with us. I got up and was taking a shower when Kyleigh waddles into the bathroom. I start talking to her when I hear Mark ask where Kyleigh was. I seems she climbed off the bed herself. She is now climbing off the couch since we know she can do it, she tried hard to climb up but just isn't tall enough yet.

Valynn invited Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Jerald to her Grandparent's Day program on Friday. They all had a wonderful time. We are grateful to Bonnie and Jerald for taking the time to come down.

Chaos

It's been a whirlwind couple of days here. Yesterday was spent freezing peaches and blueberries. I also baked a blueberry peach pie and did laundry. Today I'm tackling 6 dozen ears of corn, broccoli, and other produce that's in the garden.

The big news from here is....we're short a couple of teeth. Valynn and Mason both lost a tooth yesterday. It was Mason's first and Valynn's 7th. My camera's not working otherwise I would post pictures. Mason had his first flag football practice. Mark said he did great, you couldn't even tell that he missed the first two practices because he was gone.

It seems that the sickies have already found us for the year. Kyra got sick last night. I knew that something wasn't right yesterday when she was laying around all morning and then took her nap around 12:30. She seemed fine last night before bed. She's been a bear so far this morning but I'll let it slide since she didn't sleep well last night, she also gets a free pass to watch TV most of the day if she would like.

I should go, I hear corn calling my name.

On the road again....

just can't wait to get on the road again. Wait, I hope to not have to travel for a LLLOOONNNGG time. We left Friday night for South Dakota, about 6 hours into the trip the muffle came apart from the engine. We stopped for the night and found someone to fix it the next morning. We arrived in South Dakota about 12 hours after we were supposed to arrive. When we showed up our kids were indifferent to us being there. Kyra asked me "What are you doing here". "I'm here to pick you up." I don't want to go home with you I want to go home with grandma". So after the cool reception we watched the kids play in the lake and visited with family. We left for Illinois on Sunday morning. About three hours in to the trip our transmission went out. We were able to get a tow back to town and a room at a hotel. There was too much damage to the suburban to fix it so we rented two cars (because you can't rent a minivan for a one way trip), and got home late last night. Mark's brother is going to pick up the suburban and do whatever he wants with it. We didn't qualify for the cash for clunkers because you have to be able to drive the vehicle onto the lot.

Needless to say it was a very long trip. The kids did wonderful with all the distractions and chaos. They were very patient and kept themselves busy as Mark and I discussed options. The drive home was long because Kyleigh got tired of traveling but it could have been much worse. We haven't decided if we're going to start looking for another vehicle right away or wait awhile, we are in no hurry because we still have two vehicles to use.

Anyway, the kids had fun, I'll try to get some pictures posted when Grandma sends them, she's having a little technical difficulty, the camera got wet when she fell in the lake (I guess this is the kids' favorite part of the trip). Beside camping and fishing, the kids also golfed up in Canada, saw relatives, played at the park, and did some sewing just the name a few activities. We are gearing up for the start of school and birthday season so I'll be posting those events as they happen.

How long would you cook this?

30 years give or take a decade? I've been in the kitchen most of the morning getting things ready for the meal prep night with the neighbors so I gave Kyleigh a frying pan to play with. She wasn't happy with just the frying pan she needed a little Brandy to go with it.

Things are going good here, I've been busy cleaning and sorting. As you can also see, I've been getting more help than I need in that department as well. I had just folded all those clothes. This is the first day Kyleigh hasn't been clingy and wanting to be held most of the time. She's finally learning to entertain herself. Each day she's taking more steps but still finds it quicker to scoot around.

Saturday night we had Brad and Chantel over for Chantel's birthday. Their three older kids were with Grandma so it was just the two little ones. It was so nice to be able to visit without kids interrupting us, etc. They were even able to stay later because Annika fell asleep in the pack n play. We played some games and relaxed.

Valynn, Mason, and Kyra are having fun in North Dakota. As of last night they still aren't ready to come home. They went camping this past weekend and were able to spend time with Dick and Linda, and Jerome, Monica, and kids. Brady and Jodi were home as well.

Last night I made my first attempt at canning pickles. I am happy to say all the jars sealed, next well have to see how they taste. After canning 11 quarts of dill pickles and a gallon of sweet pickles I still haven't made a dent in our cucumber crop and that's after giving away grocery bags full to the neighbors. I have broccoli I need to get frozen sometime this week as well.

Enjoy your week. I'm going to enjoy the quietness of the house.

Vacation!

Mark, Kyleigh, and I got back from vacation yesterday. We had a good time and put on A LOT of miles. The kids got to ride a go cart, mini motorcycle, and gator. The rode their bikes down the air strip, jumped/played on hay bales, and had a wiener roast. One day we went to the Minnesota Science museum. The kids had fun diagnosing illnesses, looking at the dinosaurs, and just taking all the exhibits in. We took the kids to the IMAX Omnitheatre show called Titantica. We met my college roommate Christy for supper after the museum.

Mark helped install a septic system, stain a deck, and lay foundation and a sidewalk on his vacation.

On Sunday we drove to Bismarck to see Brady and Jodi and meet my parents. On the way we stopped in Fargo and had lunch with our friend Donn. Monday Valynn, Mason, and Kyra went to the ND State Fair with Grandma and Grandpa Larson. They will be in ND for two weeks. Mark, Kyleigh, and I headed back to IL, we spent Monday night in Mankato with the Scheel's. We had a great visit with everyone. Kyleigh was glad to be back after three 8 hour days on the road. Mark and I are busy working on our to do lists, when Kyleigh lets us, I think she's missing her siblings.

Kyleigh turned 11 months on Monday. Last Saturday she pushed herself up to standing and took five steps. She didn't do much the following days which is probably due to being in the car most of the day, but today she is back to pushing herself to standing and taking 3-7 steps before falling down. She is getting braver with letting go and trying to keep her balance. I'm sure one of these days she is really going to take off.

Summer Days

I can't believe how fast the summer has flown by. Thursday the kids and I went to the Lakeview museum. The kids had fun, we even went to a Planetarium show which they LOVED! The exhibit was on memory and we learned some pretty neat facts. After the museum we took Kyleigh to the doctor and she has another ear infection.

On Saturday we loaded up the bikes and we biking on the Rock Island trail, we stopped at a camp ground/ picnic area and had our picnic supper. The kids were excited to make use of my new picnic backpack. During supper a train went by, less than 100 feet through some trees from where we were sitting. Valynn and Mason did a great job biking on their own, Kyra liked the trailer and Kyleigh sat in the infant seat playing peek a boo with Mark's back.

Sunday after church we worked in the garden and then met the Endres' at the pool in Chillicothe. The kids had a great time and played for almost 3 hours. I got to go down the waterslide a few times and Mark lounged by the pool and read. We then took the kids to McDonald's for supper.

Today and tomorrow Valynn has a horseriding camp through Girl Scouts. She was a little nervous to go because she didn't know anyone. I'll let you know in a few days how the liked it, but I have a feeling that as long as she's on a horse she's in heaven. The other three kids were excited because they got a babysitter this morning while I took Valynn. The sitter is coming back tomorrow.

Hail to the Chiefs!!

We went to the Peoria Chiefs game last night on the annual outing with St. Timothy Lutheran Church. It was a good game and the Chiefs snapped a three game home losing streak. Of course lots of visiting was done and maybe not as much watching the game as we should have. The best part for the kids of course was the food, hot dogs, cracker jacks, and pop. Kyra made a new friends last night, Wes and Christine, his parents are the ones Kyra always sits with in church, Wes' sister was the wedding the kids were in last summer. While Kyra was on his lap she got hit with a ball. It his the side of the suites, bounced and hit the back of the seat in front of her, and then hit her knee. She cried but wasn't hurt. Mason was given the ball that hit her and the Chiefs then gave Kyra a baseball. Wes then took Kyra to get her ball signed by Homer the Chiefs mascot that she kept watching all night (a dog). Wes also gave Valynn a ball so that all the kids had one. After the game the kids were able to run the bases. Valynn and Mason flew around then, Kyra was in no hurry. Valynn is on the right and Mason is in the blue in front of her. Mark is in the tan and Kyra is next to him (first picture).

10 months, last games, and party, party, party......

Kyleigh is 10 months old today. Wow, in two months we will no longer have a baby in the house. She got her second tooth yesterday and has been trying it out on me. I have little bite marks on my arms and legs.

Valynn has her last softball game tonight. Here are some pictures that our friend Chris took of her game. He got some great action shots. I did pitch 1 1/2 innings, lets just say I was relieved. Mason had his last game this morning. He got a treat, Mark was his coach. Mason's regular coach was gone today so Mark stepped in to coach. Mark is also going to help coach Valynn's game tonight because one of our coaches will be gone.

On Wednesday we finally made it to the pool. The kids had fun swimming, Valynn went down the slide and Kyra and Kyleigh had fun in the baby pool. They weren't ready to go home after 2 1/2 hours of swimming but mom was. They keep asking when we'll go back.

Thursday we met the Drake's at the Farm Park in East Peoria. The kids had fun feeding the animals. The kids were given an ice cream cone with food in it to give to the animals. We now know that animals will eat ice cream cones. Valynn and Mason got another stamp in their passports though. We had a picnic lunch and then met the Bane's at a Sprinkler Park. After cooling off in the water we went to Dairy Queen and then headed home with four exhausted kids.

This is a busy weekend for Valynn, she has three birthday parties to attend, all neighbor kids. I had best get a snack for the kids and ready for the game.