JUNE 2013!!!

June 2013. Well, it was a big, big month for us. We had lots of company, lots of fun and lots of love! We had four sets of company and while we love having our family visit, there were few days in between to recoup and reorganize, which is why I didn't post to the blog the entire month. So this is a BIG catch up! Let's go back to the beginning of the month...

FarFar and FarMor came to visit first. We saw them a few months ago at their new home in Tennessee but they hadn't been up to visit us in Iowa since last October. We enjoyed some beautiful weather and Cassidy and Travis couldn't wait to show them their new outdoor playhouse! This playhouse was a gift from Grandpa and Grandma Faust as early birthday and Christmas presents for the kids and they LOVE it! There's so much to do in the playhouse - sand and water tables, a grill, basketball hoop, door and doorbell, front porch and more. Here, Travis is talking on the phone. :) 

We live in a great neighborhood with lots of other young families with kids. Here's Cassidy and her girlfriends pretending to shop up and down the sidewalk.

Travis got a hold of FarFar's hat and stuck it on backwards, which made for some pretty cute photos!

One of our favorite things to do is take a stroll down to  our town's antique carousel. The kids love it and never want to leave! So of course we had to show FarFar and FarMor.

 There's always fresh popcorn to buy at our carousel, Cassidy's favorite part.

 FarFar and FarMor were visiting during Story City's annual Scandinavian Days Festival! We enjoyed the outdoor rides and petting zoo and Cassidy got to ride a pony for the first time!

There were lots of inflatable toys to play on and the kids LOVED the big slide. Travis was a little scared at first but once he got the hang of it he kept running back to get in line for more!

FarFar bought balloon animals (a flower for Cassidy and a monkey for Trav).

The kids also had a blast at their first parade! It went right down our street so we just sat on our curb. Here they are sitting in a friend's fun off-road vehicle. 

Waiting for the parade, Trav wandered back to the sandbox and playhouse. FarFar was a good companion.

Waiting for candy to be thrown during the parade..

 Trav was an expert at picking up candy! Both kids got quite a haul - look at those FULL baskets!

Also this month, Cassidy attended her first live play, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" with Daddy, which was put on by our local theater group at our 100+ year-old playhouse. She loved it!

Someone had their first blue lollipop recently...

Uncle Peder and his friend Carrie visited too, but we were too busy chatting them up to get a photo! They were here, though! And we had so much fun getting to know Carrie. :)

At the end of the month, we enjoyed the visit we wait all year for! KAYLA! Okay, it's really Uncle Aaron, Aunt Sheri, Kayla and Khloe. And they're ALL fun and wonderful and we love them all equally and can't wait to see all of them. But for Cassidy, it's allllllllllll about KAYLA!!! 

We were so honored to celebrate Kayla's actual birthday while they were here! She turned six! Such fun. It was a hot, humid week so we spent a lot of time in the sun, the kiddie pool and the air conditioning! We relaxed and spent a lot of time eating, lounging and laughing, and also had an outing to Ames. Sheri and I took the older girls to a movie one afternoon, and we had a part at the carousel and park for Kayla's birthday. Lots and lots of fun and as usual, the time flew by! 

It's been a great summer for us so far!

Time to Party!

Monday was the last day of preschool but today was the end of school party! We started out at the lodge, then trekked to the park, over to the carousel, played games in the grass, and finally ended up again at the lodge for a "picnic" lunch. It was a special day for Cassidy and all her preschool friends and I was so happy to be there with her. Here she is with her teachers, Mrs. Kalvik and Mrs. Kirkpatrick. When we left the party, Cassidy waved and yelled, "Goodbye! We'll be back again soon!" I'm still trying to get her to understand that she won't be going back to Mrs. Kalvik's. We will miss her, that's for sure.

Holding hands with Maylee.

 Riding on the carousel right next to Maylee!

Playing games in the grass - this big parachute was a hit! (I remember playing with one of those in elementary school too! Fun!)

Last Day of Preschool

Today is Cassidy's last day of preschool at Mrs. Kalvik's! Next fall she'll be in the public school preschool at Roland-Story. She's already so excited about going to "the big kid school"! We're so thankful for the love and encouragement Mrs. Kalvik gave Cassidy all year. What a blessing it has been to have this experience - for Cassidy and us too! It's been a great year of getting our toes wet with school and we've had nothing but good come out of it. I can hardly believe it's over...that means summer starts NOW!

 

Yep, I'm one of those moms

The school year is drawing to a close and the festivities are in full swing. Yesterday was Cassidy's preschool program at school and tonight was her concert, which happened to take place at our church. She was so excited about her "performance"! 

So here's the thing: for years I've been hearing about preschool concerts, kindergarten graduations, etc. And when I'd hear moms talking about these occasions with any amount of seriousness, inside I'd kind of snicker. Really? This is a big deal? They're not really graduating from anything here. What's the big whoop? 

Well, I am here to tell you that it IS a big deal. Every single little accomplishment, every public performance, every chance to dress up and take a picture, ALL of it is a big deal. This sweet little girl has worked hard, learned so much, and changed a great deal since last Fall. We're very proud of the little lady she's becoming. And you know what? We get to share in all of it with her, beaming, clapping and yes, even tearing up in the front row. I didn't even care who saw me overreacting with joy. I'm just one of those moms.

A few rain drops started to fall as we were getting ready to leave and Cassidy here is saying, "Why is it raining on my concert?!" Luckily it didn't last long.

 Sitting in the front pew, waiting to perform, full of glee. 

Cassidy and her best pal from preschool, Maylee. They've been good friends all year and they were even selected to be in the same class at Roland-Story next year! So they'll be together again. 

 

Sweet Guy, Sick Guy

There are lots of hard moments, being a parent. But the worst days are when your sweet baby is sick. We've been passing around sniffles, sneezes and coughs in our family for a good  month now but no one really got taken out by that cold...that is, until Tuesday morning. Right about 5:00, Travis woke up sobbing, drenched in sweat, shaking, even breathing quick. He was undeniably sick. A visit to the doctor later that morning confirmed what I already knew: a bad ear infection. I'm so grateful for the right doctor at the right time prescribing the right antibiotic. Literally within 24 hours we had our boy back, nearly like normal. But the one day of overwhelming sickness reminded me again how much I completely love this little guy. In our sickness, we're so helpless, so needy. I'm honored to be his mommy, the one he calls out for in the night, the one he clings to when he's sick. He took a long nap that day but I checked on him a lot (high fevers worry me). I had to snap a shot of my resting baby. :)

Tennessee or bust!

Since the beginning of this year, we've been excited for our trip to Tennessee. FarFar and FarMor (Kurt's parents) have been busily building their new home in Fairfield Glade and we've been so anxious to see it and get to know their new town. It's great that when we visit TN, we get to see not just Kurt's folks, but his brother Peder and boys Owen and Grant, too!

Cassidy had been on an airplane once before but was too young to remember it. She was super excited to ride on the plane! It was really fun watching her experience it for the first time. On all four flights (two there and two back), she sat right by the window, most of the time with her face plastered to the window, narrating the whole time. 

Travis enjoyed it but I don't think he really "got it" that we were on an actual airplane. This is the picture I snapped of him when I asked him if he was having fun. He's saying, "YEAH!" On two of the flights, when wee were boarding, Travis walked down the aisle saying, "Good morning!" to each person and shaking each of their hands! It was hilarious and the laughter just rippled down the aisle as he made his way. Such a happy, friendly little guy!

Punky, looking out the window.

Explaining something to me. She must have thought I had lots of questions about the plane, pilot, people in front of us, etc. because she sure had a lot of answers!

 The night we arrived in Nashville we got to have dinner with Uncle Peder and cousins Owen and Grant. Cassidy was SO excited to see her "big boy cousins." 

I wish these pictures turned out better and not so blurry. Owen gave Cassidy her first set of "bunny ears!" OWEN!!! 

We spent most of our vacation time there at Kurt's folks' beautiful new home in Fairfield Glade. It's a lovely community that actually reminded me a lot of northern Michigan with the wonderful woods and water. Cassidy's most favorite parts of visiting were swimming in the big swimming pool at the community center and playing piano duets wth FarMor.

Like always when we get to see our families, the time went by much too quickly and before we knew it we were headed home. We were so blessed to have four on-time flights with no issues or delays. The kids are impressive travellers! No complaints, lots of smiles. Here we are in the airport waiting to board our plane to leave Nashville. 

Silly made-up games

It's so funny to see what our kids think is "fun". Almost every day they're playing some crazy made-up game of make-believe or silliness. On this day, Travis decided to pretend to sleep all curled up with his blanket on a dining room chair. He actually laid there for about 20 minutes! Cassidy would go and tuck him in and give him a good night kiss and then he would "sleep". 

 How could this be comfortable enough to keep up for very long??!!

Finally Cassidy decided she needed a nap too. :)

 

Circus!

Last year we thought they were too little and would be overwhelmed but this year we broke down and took 'em to the circus in Des Moines. I hadn't been to a circus since I was very little so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. But boy, was Cassidy excited. She said, "I want to see elephants and clowns and acrobats!" So apparently she had a good idea of what went on at a circus even beforehand. They loved it (though we only stayed for the first half - it was LOUD and LONG and we felt we'd gotten all we needed to out of it by then) and we'll probably take them again next year. But we'll be more prepared for the prices. The tickets aren't bad but the cotton candy was $8! A ride on the elephant? $10! Luckily they didn't even notice those things, there was so much else to look at. And besides, they had reasonably priced popcorn, so Cassidy was verrrrrrry happy. :)

 

 

Happy Kiddos

Just a couple pictures of some very happy kids. :)

First Love

We've been noticing for a loooooooong time (about a year now) that Travis has an innate love for letters and numbers. His adoration and excitement for them has grown and grown and it's been very entertaining to watch him explore his first love. :) There aren't many moments through the day (or night, for that matter!) that he isn't playing with, talking or singing about, looking for or pointing out letters and numbers. People everywhere notice this and comment and laugh at this tiny little boy with such overflowing joy! When we put the kids to bed at night and pray with them, we leave open spaces for them to thank God for whatever is on their heart that day. Among lots of names of family and friends and other things, Travis will often say, "Thank you, God, for abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz" or "Thank you, God, for ALL the letters". A few minutes ago he walked over to me clutching a handful of foam letters and said, "Mommy, each letter has a sound. *sigh* I love all the letters." At the grocery store and other places he sees words, spells them aloud and then announces (loudly) what they say. He knows upper and lower case and can read them upside down. His favorite show by far is Word World, which he asks for many times a day. Don't get me wrong, he loves other toys too (especially tractors and various farm and construction equipment, planes/trains, building things and destroying them, etc. - all the usual boy stuff). But for Travis, there is none so sweet as a letter...or the whole alphabet!