The Other Woman...

...she's lightweight, durable, supposedly loves the water and has taken up a lot of my husband's time recently. I can't help but be a little jealous of her, but spending time with her makes Corey happy, so I have been letting her exist in our garage. Corey already has two canoe trips in the works for this fall once Little Miss Kevlar is completely finished. Hmmm. I wonder what he's going to build next?

My Nine-Year-Old

1. He is 52 1/2". (That is going by the measuring stick at the beginning of the Space Shot line at Adventureland. He was very excited to be tall enough to go on that ride.

2. He likes to be goofy. He reminds me of his dad in a lot of ways. Quiet around people he's not really familiar with, but goofy with those he knows well.

3. He loves to push his brothers' buttons; especially Lewis. Believe it or not, he fights with Lewis more than he fights with Owen.

4. He loves to play knock-out and kickball and pretty much any other game with the neighbor boys.

5. He's excited to watch Vikings football with his dad.

6. He is a quick-learner, and I don't know if he'd admit it, but I think he likes school.

7. He loves to swim.

8. He loves sugar. Oh my does he have a sweet tooth!

9. He can kick a soccer ball really far.

10. He's a picky-eater (aside from the sugar thing.)

11. He's timid about trying new things, but he is naturally very coordinated and is very good at almost everything he tries.

12. He is growing way too fast for my liking, but when he is asleep in his bed, he still looks like my baby.

Carter's 9th Birthday Party

Carter had a great birthday party. He has such a good group of friends. I think everyone had a lot of fun. How can you go wrong with a swimming pool and a Wii?

Lewis got in on the ring toss game.

The forecast had me a little nervous, but God granted us a non-stormy afternoon for swimming.

Fairly Random First Day of School Thoughts

Well, my boys are gone again. I don't understand why summer has to fly by every year, but it does. Seems like one day they are diving off the diving board, and the next, we are digging out snowpants. If I could just get time to slow down a bit!

Carter and Owen have both become very comfortable in their school surroundings. Carter has gone from an extremely apprehensive kindergartener to a confident third-grader. I love seeing that change in him, but it also reminds me that he needs me less than he used to. In that way, it's a bit sad. Owen didn't have quite the shell to come out of that Carter did, but he has definitely become more confident, and I really think they are both going to enjoy this year. Owen said his favorite thing about his first day of school was his teacher. That makes me very happy. It is always my prayer that my boys like their teachers, and God has been so good to us in that regard.

Speaking of teachers, Carter's teacher had a baby just before school started, so he began the year with a long-term sub. That sub happens to be a woman I have known for years. She is wonderful, she loves the Lord, and she is an answer to prayer. (I've been told his "real" teacher is also wonderful, so I look forward to getting to know her too.)

I have decided not to do first day of school pics. Last day of school photos are much better, because the boys give me a genuine smile on that day!

It has not yet hit Lewis that his brothers (and all the neighborhood boys) are gone for the year, but he will be sad when he realizes that summer is over. I'm just going to have to keep him busy!

Hobo Day 2010

The day started with the Hobo Run, which I ran alone because my husband wouldn't join me this year. Afterwards, the whole family watched the parade. Corey has a one parade per year limit, which is why my Huxley friends never see him at the Prairiefest Parade. He may be smiling on the outside, but on the inside he's thinking "When is this thing going to be over?" Love these boys. My brother's little guy, Lucas, is super duper cute!

We swam at the new "aquatic center" in Britt. Everyone had fun; especially Lucas, who apparently has no fear of water whatsoever. Corey dared me to do a flip off the diving board. I took him up on the dare, and now he owes me a backrub which I will be cashing in on soon.

A zonked out Owen on the ride back home

Water Water Everywhere

When Corey left home to work out in Ames at 5:30 yesterday morning, he had no idea that he would be beating the flood of the century out of town by minutes after he was done. He did have to take a slightly different route out of town as things were just starting to flood, but had he left Ames a little later, he would have had some major trouble getting out.
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I snagged these photos from weather.com. The first 2 pictures are of University Village which is where Corey and I lived when we were first married. The third photo is of the Target store where I bought my school supplies last week.
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Praise God that we are dry. Our backyard is pretty soggy, but the water is making it down into the swollen creek at the end of the cul-de-sac instead of into our basement. We have friends who have had water, and even sewage in their basements.
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Corey was commenting last night how we had thought we had such a rough winter, but the heat and rain of the summer are definitely competing with the snow and the cold of the winter. There have been several nights where the neighborhood has livened up after the sun has started making its way down and it is tolerable to be outside. So, though I usually try to get my kids inside earlier this time of year in preparation for the impending school year, I have found myself letting them play out in the evening when the hot sun isn't beating down on them.
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It's definitely been a crazy weather year around here.

Fun On a Rainy Day

Seems like it rains every other day around here. The boys and their neighbor friends found a way to have fun in it.