Goodbye September

I can't believe it is already the end of September.  Even though it means it is going to start getting colder, I'm ready to say goodbye to September.  It has been a stressful month on every front.  Here's hoping October is easy and calm!

We have been busy every weekend with football.  Drew's team is doing very well.  They are 3-0 and so far no team has been competitive with them (I hope I didn't just jinx them).  Most be that awesome coaching they are are getting!

Here are some videos from Drew's game two weeks ago.  The first one is of him at running back.  They have 22 players on their team so they mainly play offense or defense.  Drew is an outside line backer on defense so he doesn't play much offense, but when he is in I try to get a little video.

Here is one of him on defense.  This is not his best play, but he does end up getting the tackle.  He is #22.  The quality isn't very good when you upload to blogger so it is hard to know which one he is.  He starts on the outside, runs to the inside, slips, runs back out toward the sideline and gets the tackle.

I think when September is over, Kayley will have been to the pediatrician, ENT, eye doctor, surgery center for a blood draw and the dentist.  Busy month for this girl!  Kayley has been having a lot of bloody noses.  And often when she is doing nothing - like sleeping or reading a book.  Her ENT doctor (he removed her tonsils and adenoids when she was 3) looked at her nose and said she has 2 blood vessels in each nostril that are very close to the surface.  Kayley is having a procedure on Monday, October 5 to hopefully help.  He will cauterize her blood vessels  My understanding is that this is a very simple procedure.  However, because of her age, they have to put her under general anesthesia for it.  Ugh.

While she is under, the ENT is going to look at adenoids and if they have started to grow back (yuck, right?), he will remove them again.  Kayley has had roughly 6 bouts of strep throat this year, which is incredibly odd given the fact that she has no tonsils and adenoids.  Poor girl!  I'm hoping they don't have to do anything with the adenoids, but I certainly don't want her to keep getting strep throat either.  

Ice cream after a traumatic blood draw
(just a few nurses required to hold her down)

Kayley also had to go to the eye doctor because she failed the eye screening at the pediatrician earlier this summer.  However, she did fine at the eye doctor and doesn't need glasses yet.  He wants her back in two years to check them again though.

Okoboji

We took our annual trip to Lake Okoboji last weekend.  As always, it was a great weekend!  We drove over on Friday and arrived around 4:30pm.  It took a little longer than it should because we had to stop in Cedar Falls to have lunch at Pepper's and pick up some UNI gear at Scheels.  :-)

Matt and Dad arrived a couple of hours after us.  Butch, Mitch and Sox arrived Saturday morning.  The kids (especially Ryan) have been in HEAVEN since they have been reunited with Sox.  I think Andy is pretty happy too!

The weekend was spent between swimming and Arnold's Park.  Matt and Dad went fishing and we also went up to the Emporium a few times.  Very relaxing and much needed weekend for all of us.

We still don't have grass or our yard even graded yet so we spend a lot of time riding bikes and scooters during the week when Drew and Andy are at football.  Ryan got this Y bike (balance bike) for his birthday and hasn't done much on it until his week.  He literally went from barely moving on it to do this in one day.  I guess he just got the hang of it.  Kayley wanted to show off her skills too.  ;-)

This weekend was all about football.  The JFL players were announced at the high school game on Friday night.

Andy,  Drew and the other players
 getting ready to be announced

Drew's first football game was Saturday afternoon.  His team played great and they had no problem beating the other team.  Drew played outside linebacker most of the game and did really well.  He is our most timid child so I haven't been too sure how he would do with the physical contact of tackle football, but he has no problem doing the tackling.  They move the kids around a lot so here is a clip of him at running back.  He is #22.  I didn't get the video started until after he had the ball so it is a short video.

Tackle Football has Begun

After three years of flag football, Drew started tackle football this year.  Yikes!  He seems way too young for tackle football in my opinion!  He seems to really enjoy it, but he does tell me baseball is still his favorite sport.  Andy is one of his coaches so I haven't been to a practice to see the kids in their pads.  They had a scrimmage on Saturday so Kayley, Ryan and I finally got to see him in action.  

I could lie and tell you which one Drew is in the pictures below, but I actually have no idea other to say he was in a maroon jersey.  I was able to pick him out a few times because of the way he walked back to the line or I heard a coach yell his name to tell him good job (or maybe one time when they yelled his name because he messed up...just one of those though!).  I can tell you for sure that Andy is the coach on the left in the first picture.  :-)  

To be honest, it was kind of nice to watch them in their practice jerseys without their numbers because I never had to see my kid get tackled.  Well, I never had to know it was my kid getting tackled.  I will be a nervous wreck when I see #22 running around out there in a few weeks and knowing that is my kid!  I think I like baseball better too...

After the scrimmage, we took the kids to Dunlap Days (think small town carnival), which was located conveniently right next to the football field.  Ryan was in heaven.  Kayley loved it too and went on all the rides with Ryan.  Drew appears to be stuck between being a big kid that is too cool for the rides and still being little enough that he actually likes the rides.  He didn't ride much, but I think he secretly wanted to!  

Andy went golfing this morning so the kids and I decided to go to the school playground for awhile.  Drew and Kayley rode their bike and I took Ryan in the jogging stroller.  It is about 1.5 miles to the school.  The kids now want to ride their bikes to school tomorrow...

We moved!!!

After 7+ long months, we moved into our new house on August 3rd.  We broke ground on December 20th.  It has been a long process.  Parts of it have been really fun, parts of it have not been fun at all, but we are done!  And so happy to be in our house.  Once I get it organized, I'll post a few pictures.

Ryan has been my little helper with all of the cleaning.  He wants to use the mop and the dust buster ALL THE TIME.  It is cute, but not all that helpful!  I'll enjoy this phase while it lasts because my experience with Drew and Kayley is that it doesn't last long!

It feels like we have been going nonstop since we moved in, but we took a break from all of the unpacking to go camping.  Kind of.  Backyard camping.  Last Friday, Ryan, Kayley and I went to my friend Jamie's house while Drew and Andy were at football practice.  We set up two tents in about 10 minutes (way easier than we thought it was going to be!).  Andy brought Drew over once football was done and took Ryan home.  We grilled.  The kids watched a movie outside using a projector against Jamie's shed.  We did s'mores too.  The kids loved it!  I remember camping all the time as a little kids so I am glad I was able to give my kids a little bit of a camping experience.  However, I will never camp with just a sleeping bag again.  Definitely need an air mattress or some major padding!

A little indoor play while we got the movie ready

The kids' daycare was closed Thursday and Friday so the teachers could get ready for the new classes.  Mom and Dad offered to come watch the kids those days.  The kids have enjoyed some spoiling by Grandma and Grandpa.  And I've enjoyed Mom's help around the house!

Ryan thoroughly entertained at the restaurant.
Don't judge - you do whatever it takes sometimes.

Andy and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary this weekend too.  We've been together for 16 years too.  Crazy how fast time flies!  This may have been our most hectic year yet and we wouldn't have it any other way!

Busy July

First things first - potty training success!!  It was a rough first day, but Ryan really turned it around the second day and has been doing great.  Back in April when I attempted to potty train him, he picked out an ambulance that he would get once he pooped in the potty.  It has been sitting in the laundry room on the shelf just waiting for him to be a big boy.  It had been a long wait!  ;-)

Drew's baseball season ended in the middle of July.  It was a long season, but we had so much fun with the other families that I am actually sad the season is over.  I can't believe I am saying that after 40+ games!

Because we had a free weekend once baseball ended, we made a last minute decision to go up to Chicago for a White Sox game a couple of weekends ago.   Actually, Andy and Drew went to the game and Kayley, Ryan and I went to Barrington to meet Mel's baby Eli.  SUPER CUTE baby!  And he is such a GOOD baby.  Never a whimper and totally content in my arms!  And he sleeps through the night already.  I thought I had good sleepers!

After the game, we met back up with Andy and Drew at our hotel.  We walked to dinner, rode the train (highlight of Ryan's trip) to get ice cream, and then walked along the river back to the hotel.  I love Chicago in the summer.  I am not a big fan in the winter, but the summer is great there!

The kids had a couple of fun field trips last week so I snuck out of work for a little bit to see them at a couple of them.  We actually have more fun things for kids to do in this town than I give it credit for!

I took the kids to Iowa last Saturday to meet Mom and Matt.  They drove the kids back to the farm for a week.  Ryan was so excited to go.  It was his first visit to the farm without us and he could not have cared less that Andy and I weren't going to be there.  They have been having a great time from what I can tell.  Grandma and Grandpa are likely a little tired, but I am sure they are loving it too!

4th of July

We took the kids to the Peoria Chiefs baseball game on the 4th.  The plan was to go to the game and then stay and watch the downtown fireworks from the stadium.  Everyone else in Peoria seemed to have the same idea because the stadium was packed.  It is a great way to keep the kids entertained while waiting for the fireworks.  The kids had a great time.

Kayley was especially happy the entire time.

It was a great plan to watch the fireworks from the stadium except for the fact that the game went into extra innings so the fireworks started while the game was still going.  We watched the first 1/3 of the fireworks with the stadium lights in our eyes.  Bummer.  Oh well, the game eventually ended and we enjoyed the fireworks!  Ryan was a little scared though.  He had Andy hold him and at one point Andy took him into the restroom and Ryan said, "That's better."  Haha!  

Andy's dad came this past weekend for Drew's last baseball tournament.  The boys won Friday night, but the games were rained out on Saturday so for Sunday they had to switch to single elimination.  Unfortunately, the boys lost their first game on Sunday.  Drew's final games of the season are on Thursday.  He has a double header at home.  I'm sad to see the season come to an end.  With 40+ games, we have gotten to know some of the other parents pretty well and have had a lot of fun!

The only good thing about losing the first game on Sunday was that the kids got plenty of pool time Sunday afternoon.  Ryan went without a nap, but you wouldn't know it.  Well, until after he got out of the pool and came in.  Then we really noticed!

Kayley has had a big week with the tooth fairy.  She has lost 3 teeth over the course of a week! 

Ryan is having a big week too.  He FINALLY decided to try and be a big boy and wear underwear.  So far, he is doing ok.  Miss Pam will be busy tomorrow with him...