Hard at Work

We should end up with a solidly built home with these two handsome professionals in charge!

Carter's Birthday Party

Carter had a football and basketball cake for his 10th bday. We took a few of his friends to the pool at Corey's office. It is so wonderful to be able to use that pool and have his party in the clubhouse. The boys were a bit crazy, but they had a lot of fun.

Some Things About My 10-year-old

1. He loves football and basketball.

2. He loves the Minnesota Vikings.

3. He is a fast reader, and if he has a good book, he will read and read. (BTW I'm always taking good "boy" book suggestions)

4. He likes math, but his favorite subjects in school are pe and recess.

5. He is an ace button pusher. He knows exactly what to do to set his brothers off.

6. He is reserved, but once he gets to know you he can be very goofy (just like his dad).

7. His feet are the same size as mine.

8. He went from picking at his food at meals to eating more than I do.

9. He was blessed with not one, but a whole mouthful of "sweet tooths." I foresee putting a fair amount of money into the dentist's pocket in the future.

10. He loves video games and watching movies.

11. He loves roller-coasters and waterslides.

12. He loves staying up and talking to Owen in their bedroom at night.

13. His favorite meal is veinerschnitzel.

14. He has not once complained about living in an apartment.

15. He has terrible handwriting because he writes too fast, but he has a creative mind for story-telling/humor.

16. He is LOVED, and he is a BLESSING!

Moving Box Sled

One of the upsides of moving - big boxes for sliding down the stairs. This was taken the day we moved.

Then and Now - The Hole

I can honestly say I have never been so happy to see a big pile of dirt. Our foundation was dug yesterday, so I guess that means I'm really not going to live in this apartment forever :)
This is our second go 'round of building a house, so I thought it'd be fun to dig up some pictures of the boys the last time we had a hole in the ground and a big pile of dirt. It was the summer of 06. Our boys have grown a bit since then, but they are still very interested in dirt. I don't think that ever goes away. Enjoy the following pictures from my walk down memory lane.

Hobo Days

Hobo Parade in Britt - Grandma with the four grandsons.

My cute little guy!

Cotton Candy on a stick. YUM!!!!

My dad rescuing a boomerang out of a tree.

Student Driver

Fun at the Waterpark

When we had to cancel our Colorado vacation due to the timing of the sale of our house, we decided to go to one of our favorite family fun spots for a few days. This was our 7th trip to Wisconsin Dells, and our 4th trip to Chula Vista Resort. We usually go in the off-season, so it was fun to go in the summer and do some of the outdoor stuff. We spent 7 hours one day at the waterpark! This year we also did a Wisconson Ducks Tour which was really fun, and we spent some time at the Tommy Bartlett Exploratory.

Lewis was not afraid to ride the slides. Here he is trying one on his tummy (which I'm pretty sure is against the rules).

Carter and Owen did this rope thing over and over and over.

The outdoor wavepool is pretty small compared to the pool they are used to at the Wilderness Resort, but the setting was awesome with the Wisconsin River right behind it.

Fun at the Tommy Bartlett Exporatory

Corey and Owen Watersliding

Kazzoinks!

Check out this patent-pending product designed by my brother. For more info on Kazzoinks Letter Chairs and to help kick start the company (and receive great discounts) go to www.kickstarter.com and search for Kazzoinks.

Adventureland 2011

We love Adventureland. It has become an annual summer outing with my parents and Keith, Tomi and Lucas.

If you squint really hard, you can see Carter, me, my brother and Owen on The Outlaw. We're just behind the people in front.

Riding the train with Lucas

Our photo with Grandpa and Grandma didn't go so well this year.

The Space Shot is everybody's favorite ride. It took Owen until 7 p.m. to finally decide to ride it, but when he finally did it, he loved it!

Lewis on the Frog Hopper

Where I'm From

I joined an online writer's group this summer to learn and to help me stay motivated to write. Selling our house kind of squashed my desire and ability to write for a while, but I am slowly getting back into a groove. They recently had us read the poem Where I'm From by George Ella Lyons and use it as inspiration to write something of our own. You can read Lyons poem here http://www.georgeellalyon.com/where.html. The following is what I came up with.

Where I'm From

Kim Harms

I am from a woodburning stove and a sprawling yard on the outskirts of town where one flashing red light hangs over middle mainstreet and corn fields grow as far as the eye can see.

I am from hardworking calloused hands, a father who wanted a good life for his kids. I am from soft gentle hands, a seamstress mother who with quiet strength passed her faith to her children.

I am from Saturday tea with Grandma and potroast after Sunday worship. I am from rasberry bushes, rhubarb crisp, sweet corn and green beans. From cousins aplenty, hand sewn dresses, slumber parties and Friday night football games. I am from hot summer days and cold winter nights. A place where dreams were born and grown but sent elsewhere to be realized.

Our Welcome Mat Has Moved

We have been living in a little apartment for almost two weeks now. I have been trying to focus on all the benefits of being here instead of the luxuries I am living without. Our family has been truly blessed beyond our imaginations. We just spent 5 years in an incredible house on an incredible street with incredible neighbors. Going from much to "not so much" in terms of housing, even though it is temporary, has been an adjustment for all of us.

There are things about apartment life that we will surely laugh about in the future. Like the strange B.O. in our closet (It is not my B.O. or Corey's B.O. It is a previous tenant's stink, and it is a tad disturbing.) Or the slightly creepy guy who kind of hit on me in the laundry room the other night (Gonna stick to my early morning laundry routine from now on.) Or the noises we hear from neighboring apartments that we don't necessarily want to hear...

There are also a lot of things to be thankful for. The following is an incomplete list.

1. We live right next to the laundry room, so I don't have to walk too far to wash my clothes.

2. We live on the first floor, so we didn't have to move all of our stuff up a flight of stairs.

3. I can almost unload my dishwasher with my feet planted in one spot.

4. I can vaccuum all of the carpet in the apartment without unplugging the vaccuum and changing outlets.

5. There are a lot of little kids around. Lewis is in friend heaven.

6. No pulling weeds.

7. No lawn mowing.

8. The boys have awesome lofts in their room.

9. We have two bathrooms.

10. I am getting to know people I otherwise probably would not have met.

11. We have a big grassy area behind the building for the boys to play in.

Apartment living has been good for all of us, and it has made me appreciate a lot of things that I have taken for granted. I am really looking forward to moving into our new house in a few months, but I have a feeling I will look back on this time in our lives with some fond memories.