Dancing Anna

As I mentioned, after the Jail and Bail for Doug, we had to hurry to get to the Talent Show on time. Anna has graduated to dance class without us and is doing just great! And, she LOVES it! I think it may be the fact that she gets to wear ballet shoes and pretty dresses, but she loves it just the same.

This was her first appearance and she did just fine. It didn't seem to faze her that there was an audience. Like I said she did great, with a little help from the bigger girls. She was in the back row so she could watch the bigger girls. That made it extremely hard to take pictures, but I managed to get one salvageable shot. All the other ones were just a bit too late and she was behind someone. I did get a cute before and after shot though. Oh well, she will have other performances this year for me to photograph.

Doug in Jail!!

As part of the Murray County Fair, Doug went to "Jail" for a group in town. He was raising money for the Early Childhood Initiative. Unfortunately, at about the same time he was to "turn himself in" we got severe weather. So, they moved everything inside. He still got the orange shirt, but didn't have to be behind bars. And I barely remembered the camera to at least get a picture of that. As you can see, I didn't get one from the side. It was just crazy that afternoon. After we got back home from him being released from jail, it was time to eat something quick and get Anna ready for dancing in the talent show. More pictures to come of our little dancer....

Off to Sioux City, IA

We started home from NE Wednesday Aug 6 in the morning. We stopped in Sioux Falls SD for some shopping on our way. So, we didn't get home until that evening. (I didn't have my babysitting kids this week since the Mom was on vacation.) Thursday mid morning we rented a cleaner for the carpets. So, I started that huge task. And I just did the living room/dining room, but it took forever and was hard work. The carpet really needed it though and it looks great now!! During this process my brother returns Doug's call for the day before. (Doug had called to ask if it was a sin to have Christmas trees and decorations out by Aug 6...hahah) Anyway, Lyle casually mentions they are going out of town that weekend...to Sioux City IA. Doug informs him that they will only be 2 1/2 hrs from us. So, long story short, Friday afternoon we get in the car again and head to IA.

We met them for supper when they got into town and then visited at the cabin they had rented for the weekend. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground and then down at the swimming lake. Needless to say, the kids were drenched, but had a blast. They had to wait until we got back to the hotel to get jammies on. Saturday we visited them again and got to do a little hiking. We saw the herd of elk they have at the park. It was such a nice weekend...not too hot. After lunch, we said our good byes and headed back home. They had to get to their party, which was the reason they were there anyway....we were only secondary. hahah

On the way home that afternoon we stopped in LeMars IA. It is the "Ice Cream Capital of the World." It is the home of Blue Bunny. It was a neat little museum and interesting. Then we had to get back in the car and finish our journey.

It was nice to visit with everyone, but it was GREAT to get back home! We were all sick of riding in the car.

Visit to NE

The beginning of Aug, we headed to Columbus, NE to visit some friends - Sarah and Kurt. Kurt is a Pastor there and we hadn't been to visit yet. Sarah is pregnant with twins so we wanted to see them before their world got extremely crazy! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of Sarah and Kurt or Sarah's baby belly. She is very cute as a pregnant lady, but she is getting uncomfortable already...the blessings of having 2 in there.

We were able to take a trip to Omaha to the Zoo even though it was really hot. We were not prepared for the upper 90's temp. It was 102 while we were driving the day before, so at least it cooled down a little. The zoo was so neat and had a lot of inside stuff. Thank goodness or none of us would have lasted!

We got to visit and the kids enjoyed the park near their home. We also took in some mini golf, but didn't even attempt to score it. Gabe and Anna have decided they like their way of playing -- hit the ball, then pick it up and put it right next to the hole, then hit it in. Works like a charm every time!!

We were so happy to get to visit them and see their new home and all the fun baby things. I think Gabe and Anna traumatized the cat while we were there, but they were just breaking him in for the fun yet to come with the twins.

Swimming in Lake Sarah

After our visitors from TN were on their 2 day journey back home, we headed back out to Earl's. I forgot to mention Dad and Debbie stayed there, so we needed to take the clean laundry back out. Anyway, we thought it would be fun for Gabe and Anna to experience lake swimming.

What a hoot that was!! Needless to say Anna is like me and prefers the nice clean water and smooth concrete of the pool. She was not a fan of the rocks, but could have gotten used to them had there not been lots of grass and yuck floating in the water and touching her legs. Doug even tried to show her it was just grassy stuff and that it wouldn't hurt her, just feel funny. She wasn't buying it. She did a lot of jumping and screaming until she got herself back out of the water.

Gabriel was just as funny. He wasn't a fan of the floating stuff either, but after he freaked out and jumped and then FELL into the stuff, he was fine. I guess he realized it just felt funny and it wasn't going to hurt him. Then he was out to explore and watch the boats and jet skis.

I'm not sure if we will do that again or not. We'll have to see what next summer brings!

Visitors from TN

It was really great to be able to have Doug's Dad, Debbie and Patrick here for a little visit. After driving for 1 1/2 days to get here, they were glad to get out of the car! It was a long trip from Memphis, but hopefully they had a good time. We were glad to have them and show them a little of our new area.

While they were here we took them to End O Line Railroad park and learned about the RR in Murray County and got to play on some trains. We also got a ride on a manual turntable. The kids really got a kick out of that!

Later that day we fit in a trip to the farm for Patrick to see the cows. He liked watching them in the milking parlor. Then Patrick decided that he wanted to work, so he set out picking up the hay bail that had broke earlier in the day. He quickly delivered it to the pen with the cow who had just had a calf earlier that day.

We also went to Pipestone National Monument and learned about the Pipestone rock that is still quarried today, but they have strict requirements as to who can quarry it. They also got the tour of town and the church. Since then, many members have commented on how good it was to have Pastor's family in church. None of them were envious of the drive though!

We also just took time to visit and let the kids play. Thankfully we did not have any major issues and everyone had a good time. Patrick stayed here with Gabe and Anna and they had fun sleeping in sleeping bags and having a "slumber party."

Anna's Swim Lessons

Well, just like her big brother, Anna took swim lessons. She was able to take them later in July and in the evening. It was typically warmer for her lessons....in the pool and for us parents sitting in the sun. She really did a great job during swim lessons and I think she was a little old for the class. It was the beginner "Whales" class and it was mainly to get the kids used to water and used to other kids. She did have fun though and was excited to get to go swim with her teachers.

She learned how to kick, walk like an alligator, walk like a crab and float on her back. She is great with putting her face in the water and diving for the rings and pennies. Her favorite game was alligator tag when she got to use the swim noodles. We usually try to go swimming on Thursday evening for Splash Nights when both kids can use noodles.

She did pass and will continue to Level 1 next summer. She just loves going to the pool and always wants to go to the big pool. She can't touch there yet, but she loves to jump off the side. She has been watching the bigs kids on the diving board and even tries to do funny twists like them. She does a great job of kicking her feet and getting back to the surface of the water.