The girls....
All in a row....
Watching the kiddie tractor pull.....
Madelyn and Tommy (and their daddies)
Jumping off the porch..
It has been a busy August so far! We celebrated Rob's 35th birthday on the 7th with cake and presents. The girls and I made him a carrot cake with yummy cream cheese icing! We also got him a nice watch and a shirt. We had terrific steaks and fresh vegetables for dinner too. The following day the Durant Fireman's Festival started. They had games, rides and food. They also hosted the Durant Dusk Hustle which consisted of a block run for the kids, a 1 mile run and a 5k. I ran the short race with the girls in the jogging stroller. It was me and about 40 kids under the age of 10.....at least I wasn't last. We didn't stay too long at the festival, they didn't have rides for the small kids, nor did they have games. Oh well, hopefully the Wilton (next town over) has a better festival next weekend.
The highlight of our weekend was having my friend Lisa and her family stop by for lunch on Saturday. (pics above) John's family lives in Wisconsin and they were on their way there for a visit before heading to the beach for a week long visit in NC. Lisa and I have been friends literally forever...our families grew up together in Marysville and I can honestly say that I don't have a childhood memory that doesn't include the Rardin's. :) Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed their visit and getting to know Anne Peyton and Tommy. (By the way Lis and John, Madelyn said that she is going to marry Tommy!! We'll definitely have to stage a mock wedding when we visit!) Maggie and Anne Peyton not only share the same middle name, but have an uncanny resemblance, must be the blond curly hair and blue eyes! The kids really enjoyed playing together and I enjoyed getting to talk to Lisa! (Forgot how much I really miss you!) Their visit was much too short and we look forward to a trip to Colorado soon.
The next week found us finishing the girl's room, school shopping and getting ready for our next visitors! We (read Rob) finished painting Maggie & Madelyn's room. They chose the colors Fussy Pink and Drama Violet and boy do those colors work in their room! Madelyn has two pink walls and Maggie has the violet walls. It looks great and they really like it!
School started on Monday so we were getting the obligatory new shoes and last minute supplies. (The amount of things that kids need for school is CRAZY! Gone are the days of just pens, paper and notebooks! We could have opened our own office supply store just with what we had to get for Amber!) Aunt Cetta, Cailey, Melody and Grandma came on Friday and we enjoyed a nice relaxing weekend with them. We went to the park and played in the backyard and just enjoyed their company. We celebrated Amber's and Madelyn's birthday on Sunday with great Iowa steaks, potatoes and of course, cake! Oh, and many presents. Amber got some very nice sketching pencils and books on how to draw and many other crafty things that will most definitely come in handy when the snow flies! Madelyn now loves anything Hannah Montana, though we've only seen the show once! She now has Hannah Montana barbie dolls, doodle pads and a dress up outfit! If I would have let her sleep in it Sunday she would have! All three of the girls got t-shirts with the Eiffel Tower. Cailey spent the month of July in France and saw many neat things. She went to Normandy, Versailles, Italy and a ton of other places. Whenever we would look at Cailey's pictures the girls would always say, "Look, it's the Eiffel Tower where Cailey is living!!" (Madelyn made her own, see below!)
Enjoying a book...
Madelyn's Eiffel Tower....
Madelyn at the park....
Melody going up the slide....
Amber's Paris t-shirt...
Our very own Hannah Montana....
Wet hugs for Grandma!!!!
Waiting for the bus....
Off to school......7th grade here she comes!!!
I cannot believe that is now the 19th of August. Happy 38th Birthday (yesterday) to my brother (Nerd), miss you tons. We are still enjoying Iowa, the beauty of this place never ceases to amaze me. I have never seen so many different shades of green! It truly is beautiful. The night sky is also something to see. We sat outside on Friday night just looking at the stars. We actually had a hard time seeing some of them because the moon was so big and so bright! What we enjoy even more is the quiet. Night time with the windows open is the best. No honking horns, sounds of tires on Route 2 or loud bass car stereos going up and down Vine Street. We now hear locusts, the occasional car, tractors during the day and the bleating of the sheep at Stan's farm. What a difference a year makes!
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