September 2016

The boys have really gotten into riding their bikes--especially
Jack, after he got a bigger bike, which is a much better fit!

Cardinals game with the whole Helmkamp family...what a treat!

"Uncle Doe-Doe" and couple of his boys

Jack & Grammi :)

 Jack's first Dove Hunt

Lucky guy to get to go with Dad & Papa!

 Billy and I picked some apples on the farm when we were up for Grandpa Phil's 90th Birthday Party, so the boys and I made apple sauce.  Stuff always tastes better when you make it yourself!

Jesse's job...washing the apples

They played SO well for a LONG time with the kinetic sand.
Then the quiet turned to hooping and hollering as they started
throwing at the window.  These two are trouble/know how to have fun!

Lane completed his 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten!
Way to go Buddy!

Digging a trench with Dad

Jana and I and all the kids met at the Scenic Valley Railroad in Boone to ride the trolley and see Thomas the Tank Engine.  Afterward we picked up pizza, and had a picnic and creek walk at Ledges.  It was beautiful and super fun day with cousins!

August 2016

Just another typical day!

Helpin' a brother out

Weekend Get-Away to Chatfield

Karen and Tom graciously hosted a couple friends and I for a short girls weekend.

The high light of my weekend was getting on a river again to paddle!

PAINTING!!!

The boys had a pizza party with some friends.

They played, did a pizza craft, made their own pizzas for lunch

...and had popsicles for dessert.

THRESHERMAN'S

with Grandpa Gus and Grandma Nan

Watching the tractor and covered wagon parade

Grandpa explaining that this way of shelling corn is not THAT old.

 The boys got to help make a wooden peg used for timber framing.

Next thing you know they'll be working for Uncle Billy!

Enjoying some homemade ice cream

 After watching some Olympics the boys got into running races.  I taught them how to start out of the blocks using the fireplace.  So the other day Ryan helped me whip up some starting blocks and we met Alisa at a track in Ankeny to do the "real" thing.  They LOVE it!

...get set...

Racing mom

Out of the blocks...not realizing they'e racing a state champ!

Jack's first day of Kindergarten

July 2016

For some reason I love the 4th of July!  We celebrated this year with fireworks in Slater on the 3rd, a parade on the 4th, and meals with friends.

This guy got the candy thing figured
out pretty quick...no surprise!

Slater 4th of July parade with Alisa and the Warricks

Alisa teaching Jesse about skunks :)

...waiting for the vulture to come back so they can watch it eat
the dead opossum on the road. Great morning entertainment! (*gag*)

Cow Appreciation Day

Dress like a cow and get free supper...why not?

...especially when Dad's getting home late!
(Note: if Jesse ends up with a mascot phobia, it all
started with the Chick-fil-A cow!)

The boys really got into their outfits after I explained the plan.
The two best parts in my mind were their cute little tails,
and their mud boots, which was a late-entry idea from Jack.

Cleaning beets from the garden

Jack needed some concrete poured, so he recruited some help.

 Grandma & Grandpa's 65th Wedding Anniversary
What an awesome weekend!  I told someone it was like a great wedding
of family or a close friend that you spend the next few days reliving. :)

Carousel at Union Park
This was one of the stops on the tour of Grandma's old stomping grounds
in East Des Moines.  It was awesome to get to see bits of her growing up years!

We got to host Karen & Tom and Jamie's family.
It was so fun to have these kids together.  They
warmed up quickly and had a great time playing together!

Lame show of pictures for such a great weekend...I was too busy "being there"! :)

COUSIN WEEKEND!

Darren and Melissa and the kids came up for the weekend--we were thankful they came Thursday so we got more time!  The kids had fun just playing at home, but we also got up to Ledges State Park and enjoyed some of Polk City's Four Seasons Festival with the parade and festivities on the square.

I can't remember, but I assume Ryan
was probably trying to calm things down before bed!

Creek walk at Ledges followed by Hickory Park...of course!

Cousins and Buddies

We spent a weekend in the Omaha area visiting two different family friends,
followed by a trip to the Zoo.

College buddies with the next generation of boys

COUSIN DAY!

Jana's came for the day.  We spent the morning at the Natural Playscape, Bird Blind and playground at Jester Park.  The afternoon was spent back at our house with some napping, but mostly playing. 

Picnic lunch at Jester.

Turtle program with Silas
at the Saylorville Visitor Center

Record of Urgent Care Visits (#1)

Unfortunately I'm sure this is only the beginning, and we'll probably loose track after awhile, so I figured I'd keep record.  ...hoping it doesn't get to the point where I stop even keeping track!

Jack: 5 stitches
Fell on a kids' table he was using as a fork lift.  He was pushing it around upside down, with two legs lifted as the forks.  It was actually a great idea...until he hit the transition joint between the wood and carpet.  I took Jack in and had to lay down 3/4 of the way through bc I started to feel sick.  Ryan was home when Lane needed to go in, so he took care of that one thankfully.  I'm gonna have to get a tougher stomach!

Lane: 2 staples (photo after removal)
Fell out of bed during a weekend at the farm.

Until next time...

June 2016

We've had a great summer so far.  Two high lights have been visiting Jensen cousins.  Unfortunately I failed to take any pictures at either place. :/  (I'm stealing a few from Missy from our time on their farm.)  It was fun for me to see my kids having so much fun with my cousins' kids.  We're looking forward to seeing them all again soon at the big reunion!

Anabel was a hit...can't imagine why! ;)

My cousins picked great wives! :)

Taking a break after making themselves
sick on the merry-go-round!

Community Appreciation Day...some of the cutest face paint I've seen!

Another highlight of course was VBS week.  As usual, Lakeside went all out and Jack LOVED it.  Ryan taught at Lakeside's VBS and I went to the Burmese VBS that the youth puts on and worked on English with some of the moms.  Jack and Beth came to help with the boys to help make all of this possible.  A fun AND exhausting week! :)

Chillin' with Grammi & Papa

Puppet show :)

We also got to host some more visitors through the Iowa International Center at the end of VBS week.  This time it was two women from Venezuela.  They are english teachers, so we were able to talk without the help of Google Translate this time. :)  It was fun to have them and I certainly learned a lot!

Milagros & Maribel

Picking black raspberries...another summer highlight.

(These are my new favorite pictures!)

Someone's been watching his brothers play airport!

Scooping, pouring, mixing...focused! 

The boys wanted sprayers...no problem...Dad's got it covered.