Stuffed Fish

Well, this summer when Maison was in Canada he caught a 36in Northern. It had been a while since I had seen one and now I get to see it everyday! Papa Dan had Maison's fish stuffed! Man that thing is nasty! Nasty in the sense it could rip your arm off and beat you with the wet end! YIKES!

I informed Jason and Maison both that it had to go in Maison's room and that it would be the only dead thing brought into this house! Meanwhile this fish is sitting on the kitchen counter and the dog is going completely nuts. Gracie wants this Northern in a really bad way! Jason let her give it a sniff and when she licked it, it was decided then and there that it had to go high on the wall.

The First Day of School

Hard to believe the kids are going back to school. Part of me is looking forward to a little quiet and some alone time with Sqiuz, but the other part of me is going to miss my daytime companions! Who is going to talk my ear off all day? Squiz better learn to talk in a hurry!

Maison is going to be in 2nd and a half grade this year. It was a tough decision, but he truly lost a year with his rough start in kindergarten. He is the only boy and the girls in 3rd grade could technically be in 4th or 5th. We would rather see him be confident and enjoy school than to struggle and wonder why he can't do the work the girls are doing. It will be good for him to be able to work in a boys group with the 2nd graders. He is really excited about being able to work with the boys!

Libby is in the senior class at preschool. She is super excited about being with her"school friends" again! I've already heard who she wants to invite to her birthday party! To think I have to have this discussion daily for another 11 1/2 months. WOO HOO! Hard to believe they are as old as they are. Does that mean we are getting older too?

Happy 5th Birthday

Hard to believe Libby is 5! Seems like yesterday when we brought her home and Maison tried to feed her Doritos! Since Libby is rather girlie, I decided to take her and a couple of her friends to the Beauty Shop to have their hair and nails done!

I was sure they would be so giggly and chatty, but I was completely wrong! I've never seen a group of girls so quiet in my entire life! There was NO talking or giggling! Just silence! It was the craziest thing I have ever witnessed!

After the girls were all dolled up, we went back home for some pizza, cake, ice cream, presents, and bouncy house fun! Everyone had a great time. We even continued the party the next morning with some card opening and cake and ice cream for breakfast!

Libby lovea all of her gifts and cards! She loves the Pet Shops, her Hello Kitty bike, and all of the sparkly cards. However, I think her favorite gift is her number 5 birthday girl from her Godmother Becky! She knows it's coming every year, but she is so excited to see it! Goofy girl. She combined some of her birthday money to buy the Hannah Montana movie which has been running nonstop in the van since the purchase!

Thanks again for all of the cards and gifts!

10 Months Old

This month will be quite busy for little Miss Squizzy! We will celebrate Libby's 5th birthday, the kids will both start school, and she will see her first ISU game!

She isn't walking yet but Jason thinks it will be soon! She will stand up on her own from a squat. She is very stable but only because her toes are digging into the carpet and hanging on for dear life! She likes to walk behind her little walker and play in the Tupperware cupboard.

She is definitely the most stubborn out of all the kids! She already "lets them have it" when she doesn't get her way! Temper Temper! She has a great GGGRRR face!

Looks like she could get 4 upper teeth any day now! I think I'm kidding myself when I say her temper will subside when her teeth come in. Thinking she's crabby because her teeth are coming in. One can only hope!

Swimming Lessons

This year swimming lessons seemed to be more difficult for some reason. Maison has taken level 3, three times before he passed and Libby has taken level 2, twice before she passed. They had a great time in swimming lessons this year, but there were a few days that the temp was so low, they had to take the kids in-doors! We definately DID NOT get our money's worth this year with our pool passes!

Fun in the Sun

Our neighbors Nichole and Jason invited us and the kids for a day at the beach. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and tubing! Iz loved being on the boat! Libby went tubing, but she wasn't too sure about the whole thing! Maison on the other hand would have tubed the entire day! He is quite the fish.

Of course it wouldn't be a trip with the Allen's without some sort of drama! My Jason sliced his toe on a broken prop. Nichole's Jason fixed him up pretty well, but I really thought it could have used a couple of stitches! Then when we went to leave, the boat wouldn't started so we had to have someone tow is in. To top it all off, our Jason got the remote to the van wet and we couldn't get in! GRRRR! I wonder if they will ever invite us out again?!

Click Play For Some Fun in The Sun!

(Bring your own first aid kit!)

Paddling For Hope: Dragonscapers

Click Play to See the Dragonscapers in Action

WARNING

Some of the Music in the video might not be appropriate for children (Clarence Carter: Strokin')

This year Daddy's company, Country Landscapes, Inc, participated in Paddling For Hope which is sponsored by My Angel Foundation. Country Landscapes was invited to participate in the Dragon Boat Races at Gray's Lake because of their work on the Chinese Cultural Center of America in Des Moines, IA.

The Dragonscapers made a strong showing in the time trials, but fizzled out in the actual race. One of the other teams challenged the Dragonscapers which proved to be successful for Country Landscapes. Everyone had a great time! It was quite an experience. We are already looking forward to next year!