Saturday, May 30, 2009

Izaac LOVES boating!

Our first boating excursion of the season took place late yesterday afternoon. Samantha and a co-worker (Alecia sp?) drove up from Ankeny and met us at Little Wall Lake (near Jewell, IA) when their workday was done.

As you can see from the picture, Izaac thoroughly enjoyed the outing, and was less than thrilled when we didn't let him ride in the boat from our house to the Lake (about 13 miles away).

Friday, May 29, 2009

Izaac helping the birds.

Yesterday when we were outside, Patrick (several orphans climbed it at some point) climbed the tree right behind the house and made the birds really nervous so they squawked at him loudly.

Izaac tried to help by offering to "I get it" (Patrick) out of the tree, and saying 'climb' and trying to climb the bark. (I didn't let him.) This video is 24 seconds long.

Memorial Day Weekend in Lake View, IA

It was quiet on the 'Lake' last Saturday, but it's still a nice 'View'. (Lake View, get it?) You can click on the pictures to see the houses across the lake better.

On the left is John's sister's (Ann) cabin and on the right is his Aunt Mary's. (Yes, that's our 'big red truck' in the double driveway.) John mowed Mary's, and I helped mow Ann's while he and Mary worked on cleaning up her back yard so she can hang her clothesline.

The world's largest popcorn ball!

It resides in Sac City, Iowa, and was created on 2/28/09 (if you click on the picture you can read the sign on the building). The building is on the Sac County Historical Society's land with many other buildings. File it under "just-so-you-know" topics and impress your friends with the trivia.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

I'm Hopping!

This is a 9-second video of Izaac finally getting to go outside to play this morning after days of rain and cold. His Aunt Michelle has been trying to teach him to 'hop', but his jumping is coming along pretty well.

It's hard to get Izaac to stand 'still' for the camera when he's outside having fun, but I managed to get one while he was walking instead of hopping.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Report: Great!

My blood counts are so great (really-not kidding!) that I don't have to go back to the doctor for 6 months!!! I will be celebrating my 3-year Cancer survivorship day on June 13th!

This is the view out our west windows. It's corn in the field this year and I love to watch it come up in neat rows. Last year that field had soybeans. Around here, fields are usually planted with one year of beans followed by two years of corn.

(That brown spot near the right of the picture is the 'prairie' planted around us. It's only about an acre there between our house and the corn field, but there are 79 other acres surrounding us that are planted as prairie.)

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Instructions for 'chillaxing'

Instructions courtesy of Patrick (Hughes) and Ron (Santo).

1. Make sure your mom has put clean blankies where you need them. 2. Find your warm brother. 3. Curl up together and drift off to sleep dreaming of the birds and mousies you chased today.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Izaac's family birthday party in Des Moines 5/10/09

Izaac on his new 'bike' with training wheels. It's a Radio Flyer and can adjust as he gets bigger. He loved it. He loved EVERY present. (Yes, that's the big red truck behind him, with Samantha's friend, Sara, helping Izaac.)

Izaac blowing out candles on his funfetti cake. (Cousin Joe holding him maybe a little too close, as he singed some eyelashes on one eye.)

Izaac got a new 'Harley Davidson' set of wheels that goes with 'foot power'.


This is the bedspread I made Izaac with his favorite book material, Eric Carle's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear". On the back I put the Jungle Babies fabric that matches the curtains I made him for his bedroom in Des Moines.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Izaac's week at Camp Stanhope

Thursday we had some bananas that were getting too ripe, so John made some Jello and put them in it. It's one of Izaac's favorite desserts.

Friday was sunnier (before it rained off and on in the afternoon) so we headed to Jewell to the Toddler Story Time at the Library, but he wasn't interested in staying to hear it. He just wants to ride in the Big Red Truck all the time!

So we went to the fabric store and bought a piece of jungle fabric for the back of the bedspread I'm making him for his birthday (yes, it's late, but I've been busy!!).

After the store we discovered a really nice park with two sets of play equipment (one smaller than the other). Izaac isn't fearless, but he did end up going down the slide, and discovered he REALLY liked it. There were some other kids that came, and that made it more fun.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Happy 2nd Birthday, Izaac!

One my way home from Ames today I saw one of my favorite spring sites in Iowa: baby animals! This one was getting a 'bath' from mom it looked like.

Cows and their calves. These happen to be one of Izaac's favorite animals at the moment.

The bonus in this picture is the tractor which is planting right beside the field.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

"A Slice of the Good Pie!"

I joined the Relay for Life "Team Hope" from Stanhope this spring and we had a pie social as a fundraiser at our church this afternoon. Even though the weather was BEAUTIFUL, we had a good turnout.

I'm sure the success was mostly due to the Team Leader (Miriam, pictured in her Relay for Life t-shirt) and the great pie makers we have in this town. (Except my mom and Uncle Charlie both made pies and brought them clear up from Des Moines, too, and they were fabulous--as usual!)

This is Ron, who's getting to be a BIG mancat these days (the biggest of the orphans). They probably have a birthday soon-although we don't know EXACTLY what day they were born. I had to walk out in the yard with the kitties because it was really nice.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Spring has Sprung?

So it was a nice evening on "May Day", so we went to look at Little Wall Lake. It was pretty cool still, but there was a boat sitting with fishing poles hanging in the water.

This goldfinch was on our patio earlier in the day. That seed he's trying to chew looks bigger than his little beak!

We haven't seen one since before we had 8 cats! They weren't all inside, but none of them bothered him (fortunately).

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