popsicle cuties

Finally a normal Iowa summer day when you can be outside and have Popsicles!!

Family Reunion at Crooked Creek

Brian's extended family on his mom's side (the Yoder's) had a family reunion down at Crooked Creek Camp here in Iowa. (For those who know my last name was Yoder, and yes, we are very distantly related) Brian's mom planned the weekend and did a great job organizing everything. I had never been to the camp so it was fun to see where Brian went to church camp as a kid.

The camp is an hour away, we went down Saturday morning and had breakfast and talked with some of the family. Brian's Aunt and her family came from Louisiana and hadn't seen Molly before and last saw Nora when she was under two, so it was fun to spend some time with them.

In the afternoon Molly napped and Brian took Nora out fishing and tried to take her swimming. The day was pretty cold and rainy so Nora was an ice cube after ten minutes. She still had fun.

That evening after dinner Jeannie had a pinata that she brought for everyone. Nora thought it was the best thing ever and still talks about it. Jean had the kids do one and then the aunts and uncles do another..it was pretty funny to watch. Below are some pictures of the pinata event.

The reunion was on the fourth so when we got home we put the girls to bed and then watched the Coralville fireworks from our front yard.

Turning 30!

This weekend is a big Birthday weekend for both me and Molly. On Sunday I will turn 30! It really doesn't seem like I am 30, that seems so old. Brian said that he heard that now people will listen to me because I am more mature. I asked if that meant he would start listening to me. Then on Monday Molly turns one. It is amazing how fast the first year goes with your second child. I look back and think that the time has just gone too fast. So we are having a party on Sunday to celebrate...after it is over I will post some pictures. On top of all the birthday celebration we are also going to Crooked Creek to a Yoder family reunion. It is Brian's mom's side of the family that are mostly from Oregon and Indiana. Brian's aunt from Luisana is coming with her family and we haven't gotten to see them in a few years, I am sure we will have fun.
We have a busy 4th of July. I will keep everyone posted on how the birthday goes. Hopefully I won't be too depressed to blog.

Beating the heat

It has been so hot here the past few days that we only go out if we have our swimsuits on. The girls (Molly, Nora and Grace) had a great time out in the backyard playing in the water. We have gone swimming a lot this summer already. Nora is going to take some swim lessons soon and Molly just loves being in the water. Hopefully it won't be this hot all summer long!

Vacation

We drove all the way to Virgina and this is what we looked at in the backseat the entire trip...they both did great!



We went on vacation for a week out to Virginia. The purpose of the
trip was for Melanie's wedding (there will be some pictures coming soon) but we were there
the whole week before the wedding. We stayed with Josh and Sarah Shank for the first part of the week. Nora
and Micha loved playing together but by the end of week treated each other like brother/sister, constantly picking on
each other. It was so fun to see Lela, she has grown a lot. Sarah was the most wonderful hostess, I want to go back just to eat
all her good food!
Then we went to Nick and Courtney's for a few days. They have a wonderful house and it was fun to spend time with them. One
evening Liz and Jerry came out for dinner and I really miss having them around. Liz and Jerry were like our parent's the whole
time we lived in Virginia.
The top picture is of Nora and Brice (Melanie's daughter), can you believe how big she is!! It is weird that Nora doesn't remember
all the time that she spent with her while we lived there.
We had a great vacation and it was good to take the girls back to Virginia. I hope that we can go back often enough that they
can keep in touch with all the wonderful friends we had. Being there brought back some great memories!

My aunt and uncle (Steve and Pam) and thier granddaughter (Madison) came to stay with us for a night on thier way to Mt. Rushmore. We had a really good time visiting with them. We just hung out Friday night and went to the park. It is hard to believe how fast that Madison has grown, I remember when she was born and now she is 9!!
They left on Saturday morning, but it was fun to have family visit. We really enjoy being with family and are glad that people feel welcome to come stay with us!

More of Peter Island

Rosetta Stone sent us some photos from the trip that I thought turned out well. The top picture is when they passed out the Circle of Excellence Awards to the employees that went on the trip. We had a great time and I hope we get to go somewhere exciting again next year!