Bever park

Have I mentioned how much I love our neighborhood? This spring we considered moving. We painted, we de-cluttered, we cleaned, we searched. Our "next house" sold out from under us before we got our house on the market and we were pretty bummed. We told ourselves it just wasn't meant to be and continued the search, but to no avail. We love our house. We love our neighborhood. We hate our commute. 40 minutes in the morning, 40 minutes in the afternoon. Just think of all that could be accomplished with an extra hour each day!

When we found out we were having Will, we decided the reason we couldn't find a house we liked was because we needed to stay put until he was a bit older and we had a better handle on how to navigate life with 4 littles. Now, it seems like a blessing that it didn't all work out. I'm not sure any of us could handle one more "transition" at this point. 

Our neighborhood is a constant for our family. It is filled with friends we can count on, parents we trust, and kids that are awesome. We have spent a good portion of our summer playing in the neighborhood and I love that I really can let my kids loose on the block and tell them to be home for dinner. I love that when a kid in my front drive scrapes his knee playing ball, I can stick a band-aid on him, comfort him, and not worry that his parent is going to be upset that I wasn't "supervising" him close enough. Kids can be kids. I think that is getting harder for them to do these days without the worry and panic of helicopter parenting. I know when the school year rolls around and we are commuting again, I will feel the urge to relocate. However, right now, I am so thankful to be surrounded by great families and lots of opportunities for my kids to be surrounded by friends. 

Neighborhood outing to Bever Park.

Bever Park has had a great facelift, with people on staff caring for the animals more frequently and a much more hands-on feel, inviting kids in with the animals.

Loved picnicking and playing in the park with this great bunch!

Tubing the Maquoketa

It had been a while since we ventured to Manchester to visit, so we planned a weekend to get away for a bit and relax. Of course, no trip is complete without a run down the "whitewater rapids" so we spent an afternoon on the Maquoketa, enjoying the water. Once the girls were sufficiently worn out from walking the path to the top of the whitewater park, we enjoyed a nice float down the river, just the 5 of us. It was extremely peaceful, the weather was perfect, and Mark's parents were gracious enough to meet us at the end of our float and pick us up. The girls swam around for a bit, skipped some rocks and then we headed back home for some showers before a fun, family night at the movies! Now showing; Secret Life of Pets. Grace had already seen it with a friend, but the little girls really wanted to check it out, so we indulged them with a night out. 

Grace was pretty brave taking on the rapids by herself.

Emma getting ready for our float down the river.

Em did the rapids with a buddy as her tube always seemed to get off course!

Norah tripled up with the adults, so she was almost always one of the fastest to finish since her tube caught so much water. She liked watching the other girls come down the rapids behind her.

Field of dreams

Sunday we decided to head to Dyersville to check out the Field of Dreams and experience a "Ghost Sunday." Though we have visited the field before, the girls had never seen it and we hadn't been since before the re-acquired the outfield so it was fun to see the whole field and watch the Ghost Players come out of the corn to play a game. Choosing kids from the stands, these players have never had a strike out, so many of these lucky kiddos got the chance to score a run on these famous players. It was a great afternoon filled with comedy, interaction, and fun.

After the game the girls got to run the bases, but having never yet seen the movie, they couldn't understand why they should go walk into the corn. They thought I was crazy! :)

When we got home we, of course, watched the movie so they could better appreciate what they just saw. They loved the idea that Iowa could be confused for Heaven. 

Wash Co Fair

We love fair week!! My nieces both show animals, (and Mo through Clover Kids) so we look forward to a trip to the fair each year to see all their hard work pay off and spend some time catching up with friends and family that we sometimes only get to see once a year during fair time. 

Hanging with the pigs...

The girls loved checking out all of the barns and visiting the animals.

After a fun day at the fair, we still had lots of love to give to the animals at gma and gpas farm.

Up bright and early for the hog show to support their cousins!

Congrats to Jillian for taking hope Champion Production Barrow!

Checking out all of their favorite bales.

A little face painting for kids day at the fair.

Pony rides are always a hit!

Checking out 'little hands on the farm' to learn about all of the animals.

The beach

A good portion of our summer has been spent swimming, but the pool just doesn't quite compare to a trip to the beach. We took our annual trip to Kent State Park for a fun morning building sand castles, splashing, and an obligatory stop off at Jons Ice Cream in Tiffin. 

Neighborhood fun at the beach!

Ready for some castle building.

The kids played awesome all morning, but the weather had a different plan. We were lucky enough to play for a few hours before the raindrops started falling and pushed us out of the water.

A stop off at Jon's is a must for their yummy food and ice cream after a swim.

Dueling Pianos

Saturday night Lowe Park hosted Dueling Pianos at the amphitheater. We love the music and fun of this show, so with it being outside and advertised as family fun, we thought we would forego the babysitter and bring the girls along. We met up with our friends Scott and Carly and Dave and Carla for a relaxing night out. 

Norah couldn't get enough of baby Emersyn. 

A little Kona Ice with her show.

Emma has missed her friend Norah, who switched schools, so it was a fun time for them to be able to spend the night together.

At the end of the night, they called everyone up on stage to sing together. It was an awesome ending to the evening.

The late night got the best of Norah, but Emma was having such a great time, she did her best to try to help Norah stick it out so she could enjoy the end of the show. 

Blank Park Zoo

We love Des Moines, so since we knew we wanted to try out the State Fair, we thought we'd make an overnight out of it. We hit up the fair on Thursday, stayed at the pirate waterpark that night and headed to Blank Park Zoo on Friday. It was a great, short trip to Des Moines. 

Petting zoos are always a favorite of the girls'. 

But, feeding the giraffes was definitely the highlight.

Norah's new friend got nice and close!

Grace just wanted to see their really long tongues. 

Fun family day at the zoo!

The sea lion show was incredible.

It took a little while to feed the coi fish as Norah insisted on feeding them one.piece.at.a.time.

State Fair Shenanigans

Last week we headed to the State Fair for the first time! We shared our deep-fat-fried fun with almost 92,000 other fans, so it was a great opening day. We got a few pointers from other fair-goers, so we definitely hit up a lot of the highlights. We started the fair off right though...in the first 10 minutes we were already eating. Nothing like hard-boiled eggs on a stick for breakfast! With the obligatory photo in front of the butter cow, we were off to discover the fair. 

In love with dollhouses...

Contributing to a real artists work of art...

Biggest bull...and that's no bull...

Juggling, Magic, and Pirate Comedy shows...

Little Hands on the Farm...

Pedal tractors...

Milking...

Popsicles...

Best.ice.cream.ever...

Deep-fat-fried oreos...(the deliciousness was off the charts).

Making friends with Zebus...

Who knew there were so many fun things to do at the fair!!

Adventureland

As an extension to our family reunion, my family and 2 of my cousins families headed to Adventureland! It was such a beautiful day and attendance was nearly half of what it was the previous day, so the lines were short (with the exception of the Log Ride which is in its last season). 

Ready for a fun filled day!

Lucky for us, Bernie awaited us as we walked in.

The brave thrill-seekers awaiting their turn on the Tornado.

Riding with grandma on her favorite ride...the teacups.

Grandpa won Norah a hammer!

When Aunt Nisa is along, no one wants to ride with mom and dad on rides!