Well!

I overheard this conversation between Leah and her Nana at preschool.
Leah: I had to put my dad's cream on my knee.
Nana: That was nice of your dad to share with you.
Leah: He's not at home right now.
Nana: Well, neither are you.
Leah: No kidding.

First Day of School

Since the children have been in school for an entire week now, I feel like it's time to post their first day picture:)

Leah once again decided she better get right in there. And made a comment about her dress.

The middles have enjoyed getting into the swing of school and like their teachers.

A new development for Walcott School this year is air conditioning in the building--everywhere but in the cafeteria and the gym. Dave jokingly made the comment that the people in acedemia wanted it that way so that the kids wouldn't say their favorite subjects are lunch and gym anymore.

Alexis stays after school to practice volleyball while Dave coaches. Next year she will be able to play on a team so this is a good way to expose her to it. Dave says she shows some promise so we shall see.

First Day of School

It's hard to believe but this guy is a sophomore this year. Where has the time gone? I swear just yesterday I was sending him to Kindergarten.

It has been nicer this year because he drives himself to school so he doesn't leave until almost 7 and we have been able to see him more in the mornings. Wait...did I just say he is driving himself to school? I did. Yikes. He has his school permit so he can drive to school if he has sports or other school related activities. This is a huge deal for us to not have to get him to cross country every day. It's awesome.

And he still let me take his picture. I'm loving it:)

Cross country has been kind of a bummer for us this year. He was cleared to start running on his knee that had surgery. He is supposed to take it easy for a few weeks to see how it does. But he has been having pain in both of his knees and now he rides his bike while the others run. We will be returning to IC on mon. to make a decision on what to do about it.

Kitty

I finally got some pictures of the kitty. Yes we named him Ducky. But it's hard to remember.

Zach said, "Can we just call it Kitty? I doesn't respond to Duck."

I still like it though. Duck, duck, duck, ducky!

Exotic Food

Last night we had tacos for dinner. If you know anything about Leah, it's that she's a picky eater. We've struggled from day 1 of solid food with her. But she likes tacos.
Leah: Mom, will you help me roll up my towel?
Me: Towel?
Leah: Oh, I mean my kangaroo thingy!
Me: ???? (everyone laughs)
Leah: I mean my taco!

Dangerous Dreams

Dave had a guys night last night and I guess he told a funny story about us.
It got me thinking I should put it here.
Several years ago, shortly after we got the Hunting Channel on T.V., I woke up to a noise and wondered what it was. I was facing away from Dave so in my groggy, half-asleep state I slowly turned my head to look at him. He was up on all fours on the bed and as I turned my head, he went Whap! and slapped me upside the head. I yelped, of course, in pain. He immediately grabbed me and said, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I thought you were a bear!"

Yesterday we had a significant event happen in our little town.

RAGBRAI came through Walcott! (The Des Moines) Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa. It was awesome to see all the riders and get to talk to them, hear their stories and where they are from. The kids and I volunteered in the pop tent at Victory Park. It started off really slow, for the first two hours we didn't see anyone but then it got super busy and we had a ton of fun. We even got cool green shirts to show we were volunteers.

On Friday night, Alexis and I took a photo trip around town to see the sights. Not sure why we had a giant horse and giraffe in our town, but we did.
Tracy and Mark came through with their Tall Dog pack and sat in front of Mom and Dad's house for awhile. It was great to see them and hear stories about this 7 day ride. They did an awesome job and I'm so proud of them:)