The Old 97's

For hubs birthday I got us tickets to see the Old 97's in concert downtown. It was suppose to be at the Simon Estes Amphitheater but due to flooding it was moved over to the Walnut Street bridge.We had a good time. It was nice to spend a couple hours together with no children. That is extremely rare for us. I wish we had more time to do things as a couple but with 4 children, soon to be 5 I can understand why we don't get sitters very often! I am thankful for the small amounts of time here and there.The weather was hot but since it was overcast it was bearable. By evening the breeze was coming off the river pretty good and it almost felt comfortable.

Here is be showing off my "child" wrist band. I noticed that my wrist band was different than everyone else around me. Everyone had blue and I had white with colored diamonds on it. I thought it was strange until I spotted 2 little girls with the same bands as me. Then I saw 2 teenage boys with my wrist band on. Hmmmm. Then I figured it out. With my full figured belly they decided for me that I would not be served alcohol that night. They really didn't need to worry!

With all the rain we have had, we have seen a record number of frogs around our place. The kids have been keeping track of their new "pets". We have 7 frogs and 1 toad living in our window well outside. The kids have fun checking on them each day...multiple times each day!

Happy 30th Birthday

Monday was my hubs 30th birthday. He is finally 30. All the grief he gave me about turning 30 and now he is here to join me. We had a very busy and fun weekend celebrating. Saturday evening I threw him a party and invited some of his co-workers and friends. It turned out to be a beautiful night. Here are some of the decorations we made. It is kinda hard to see but we made signs to stick in the yard that said "30".Will smoked pork butt and brisket on his smoker the night before and it was wonderful! We also had smoked baked beans, chips and watermelon. Most people headed out early but a few stayed and we ended up playing cards till almost 2am.Sunday I had a family birthday party. Again the weather was perfect and we grilled hotdogs and brats. We played bags and even the chickens wanted to participate (giggle)! We even got a game of pinochle in before Will's parents and cousin had to leave.Here is Will opening one of his gifts. A Darth Vador voice changer. What every 30-year old needs. The kids have had fun with this one. Monday was his official birthday and the kids and I wrapped his gifts and the boys thought we should make Will find them. So we hid the presents throughout the living room and watched him do a scavenger hunt. We had a quiet night after such a busy weekend. We ordered pizza and brought out all our pillows and blankets to the living room and watched movies. I hope you had a wonderful birthday hun. You are loved more than you know. Welcome to the 30's club.

This is what goes on when Drew is suppose to be going to bed.
Apparently he is ready to go bike riding when he wakes up.

Saylorville Spillway

Will took the kids fishing the other night to give mommy some "alone time". While they were out they went to the Saylorville spillway. It had been closed for a little while due to all the rain and flooding. Here are some of the amazing pictures he took. Water is still running through there so fast and furiously. It's amazing.

Weekend

WOW. We had an extremely busy weekend. Friday we had people out to take a look around and give us some measurements on finishing off our basement. I look forward to getting started on this project.

Saturday we woke up and headed up to Colo where I canned corn all day with my mother-in-law. We bought 14 dozen, ate 1 dozen, apparently left 2 dozen in the van (that we found when we left Sunday) and canned the remaining 11 dozen. From that 11 dozen we got 42 pints of corn. Not too bad! I used my new canner and am really pleased with how it works. I am so happy to have made that purchase. Today Will, Grandpa Joel and Drew bottled beer. Grandpa makes his own beer and the Will and Drew were happy to help with that process.Tonight we celebrated Will's birthday with my mother and siblings. We grilled hamburgers and hung out. It was a very long but pleasant weekend.

Chicken Tractor

If you asked my husband he would say I love my chickens more than him. Now I do like my chickens alot but he still ranks higher on my list! This weekend he was busy in the garage building me a chicken tractor so that I can get them out and move them about the yard. This will provide them with fresh grass. They have pretty much pecked away at the grass in their run.I did let them out of the house the other day to have free roam of the yard. They stayed relatively close the whole evening. I just get nervous because our yard isn't fenced in and we have alot of wild animals around. Having this movable run makes me feel a lot safer. I know the birds will be protected at all times.

He finished the tractor tonight and tomorrow (crossing fingers it won't rain) I am going to paint it. Then all we need to do is add a roost and the fencing around the outside. See it is even complete with a nesting box just in case one of the girls feels the need to lay while they are in there. One end has wheels so that all you have to do is lift the other end up and move it about the yard. The lid pops up so I have easy access to the nesting box. It is a little on the heavy side but it is definitely sturdy.I'll post more pictures once it is painted and has the fence on!

Playground Fun

Take a look at this park. I don't think I have ever seen a park this big before. My sister-in-law was the one who recommended this park to me. It was definitely a hit with all the boys. It is huge and full of slides, climbing walls and anything else you could want.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch while we were there. We will be heading back soon I'm sure.

Fourth of July

We had a nice long fourth of July weekend. Saturday morning we headed outwith the 2 youngest kids to the Des Moines Farmer's Market. From there we went to the Urbandale parade. The boys loaded up on candy. At one point one of the people in the parade walked right up to Brodie and Drew and dumped his entire bucket of candy on the ground for them. They were so excited! Instead of jumping up and down yelling for candy like everyone around us they just sat there and waved. I guess they sorta stuck out. Either way they scored more than their share of candy.The evening was spent with my dad and step mom, grandparents, and my step brothers and sister. We grilled, celebrated my grandmother's birthday and watched the kids play in the kiddie pool. That night we headed to Prairie Meadows and watched an amazing fireworks show. The weather was perfect and we sat before and after the show and let off sparklers.
It was a long day but it was good times.

Sunday, July 4 we got up early and headed to Farragut Iowa to visit Will's Aunt and Uncle. It rained the entire day. We had a great time visiting his cousins, some we had never met before and playing cards. Will's aunt provided us with amazing food and we left that night feeling happy and full!

Monday we had a somewhat relaxing morning before we headed to Colo so Will could help his step dad with his deck. They made huge progress and the end is now in sight for the deck! Woo Hoo.

Will and I have been having fun attending different local farmer's markets. Last week we went to Polk City. We got there a little early so the kids had fun playing at the park on the town square.We love the variety of the Des Moines Farmer's market but it is just so crazy there! We go about every couple weeks to stock up on cheese. We buy our cheese from Milton Creamery. Their Prairie Breeze cheese is the best! This past week we also bought some homemade peanut butter. Then of course we just had to compare the different vendors selling crab rangoons. One of my favorites!

I have been trying to grow most of my own veggies but with all this rain the garden isn't doing so hot. I did pick 1 cucumber tonight, 5 onions and 3 raspberries.

I am hoping to purchase a large batch of locally grown sweet corn to cut and freeze to have for the winter. I would also like to find some peaches and/or pears that I could can as well. I love having fresh fruit and veggies from my garden, or locally grown gardens in the winter time. It also saves me from having to buy it at the stores.