The Lieslands

Susan and the kids hit the apple orchards today and brought home a lot of apples. I am not sure what the plan is, but it should be tasty!

We took a day trip with Rebecca and Bianca to Ledges State park last Friday and had a great time. We spent the afternoon hiking and playing in the flood-ravaged park and then cooked dinner and s’mores over a campfire.

The Hula Ninja, deftly avoiding the mosquitoes.

We got a call from the school nurse today and she said that Andrew was eating hot lunch, but they didn’t have any gluten free options so he was eating salad and pears. We were rather confused by this because we pack his lunch every day. When he got home he said that he could not find his lunch. He claims to have put it in his locker this morning, but Nate says that when he got there, after Andrew, that Andrew’s locker was empty. Hmmmmmmm. . . . .

Today we participated in Meals from the Heartland, a local event to package ready-to-cook meals for starving people around the world. It was a great experience. All three kids came and participated, along with our friend Bianca. By coincidence we were at the same table as a family whose mother grew up on the same street as Susan and knew her entire family. There were 3 adults and 7 kids at our table and we prepared over 1300 meals for people all over the world without enough to eat. We were present as this year’s event passed the 4 million meal mark, and there was still a lot of packing to go. We will definitely be heading back next year!

*Once again, I must apologize for not bringing our camera. I promise I will work on that.

The kids and I got out for our first official fishing trip this past weekend. They have been fishing several times (thanks, Johns!), but this time we were on our own. Mari and Elliot enjoyed reeling in their practice lines and Andrew tried his hand at the real deal – casting his own line with the full setup. He actually caught a fish on his first cast!

Tragically, that was the only fish we caught all day. It was still a great time. It reminded me of fishing at my grandparent’s lake. Most of the fishing poles I own are thanks to my mom’s parents and it was great using them and I look forward to many more years of sitting by the lake with my kids.

*Next time I need to remember to bring my camera, so I don’t have to use my phone.

We hit Adventureland yesterday for the second installment of what will hopefully become an annual tradition. This year we went with the Reagens (Susan’s sister’s family, for those who don’t know). The kids had a great time. We were there from 10a to 8p and had the kids in bed by 8:36.

It was a hot day yesterday, so we were also able to spend some time at Adventure Bay, the waterpark at Adventureland. A fun time was had by all.

Today was Andrew and Mari’s first day of school. It went a lot better than last year, but was still a little dicey. Andrew went straight to his classroom all by himself, but Mari was a little more hesitant. Eventually I was able to coax her into her room and I think that she was enjoying herself, or at least I hope she was.

While I am here adding Andrew and Mari’s picture I thought I might also give you a quick update on what we have been up to. We have basically been busy getting things ready for school to start this fall. This means getting our house ready – finishing up some flooring, cleaning up the back yard, building a gate, cleaning out the basement and garage – and it also means that we have had a lot of administrative stuff to get organized since we are now small business owners.

Susan and I also signed up as Norwex consultants, which has been taking up some of my time as we get set up for that.

The kids have been doing well. They have been riding their bikes/scooters/skateboards a lot lately. No major falls, yet.

I know you never thought this day would come, but I finally got around to posting some new photos from 2010. Enjoy!

You wouldn’t know it from this blog, but we just got back from a week in Cincinnati. Before we left Des Moines we worked hard to finish our floors and paint the kitchen, so the time in Cincinnati was some well-deserved rest. We had a good time, spent a lot of time with family and friends, and I was even able to put in a lot of time at work. Overall it was a great trip.

Now that we are back we have a lot more to do to start getting ready for the coming school year.

Last weekend we put in some new laminate flooring, and this week we are working on getting the kitchen cleaned up. Hopefully we will finish it up today.