Celebrating the end of Summer

What a great holiday weekend! The Wessels came to visit this weekend (and cheer for the Hawkeyes) so we spent the weekend having fun and soaking up the last bits of summer. Although the weather wasn't as cooperative as we would have hoped, we still managed to have a great time.

Wheaton's 4th of July celebration was cancelled due to a terrible storm the week prior (which knocked out our power for 14 hours and many others were out nearly a whole week) so Wheaton rescheduled the fireworks and parade for this weekend.

They had a little carnival to coincide with the fireworks. Of course, the kids can never pass up a few carnival rides. Luke enjoyed the train.



Lauren climbed her way up the climbing wall with no problem.










There was a great coloring wall everyone could color. Art in the park. Lauren colored this flower.




Luke was a little unsure about the fireworks. He said they were fun but hid his face in my neck during most of the fireworks and kept telling me they were too loud.









We met the Zorns at the parade this morning. It was a nice parade but just can't compare to the Grandview 4th of July parade. Nothing really compares to it...there is just something about a small town celebration. The kids enjoyed it and of course were excited for the candy being thrown.













Aunt Melissa waiting for the parade to begin.

Luke loved the bands in the parade. He loves to march!!

We managed to get in a few hours at the pool this afternoon one last time before it closed for the season. Sigh...fall is on the way. We had a great summer and Lauren learned to swim and Luke finally became comfortable in the water. Yeah!! Hopefully I'll get a summer recap blog posted one of these days.

Until next time--


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

1st Day of Kindergarten

Lauren started kindergarten yesterday. I can hardly believe it. I feel like she has literally grown up overnight.



She is attending Emerson Elementary school in the mornings and her bus from Bright Horizons picks her up and takes her to Bright Horizons for afternoon kindergarten.

Lauren did great on her first day. She had been pretty nervous all week but when Thursday arrived she woke up ready to go. It was so cute to see how excited she was. I took this little video of her right before we left for school. I adore it (and her)!

Her teachers are great (and sooo young!! Does that make me sound old?) and it's going to be such a fun year. I love watching her learn and grow. I just can't believe that Lauren is in school!!


Love this picture of Lauren and Daddy.


In line waiting for the bell to ring.

After school we celebrated by hitting a few golf balls at the driving range and dinner at the golf course. Such a great day to celebrate!



Thanks for checking in on us.

Until next time--


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Lauren Turns 5!

 Once again this post is long overdue! As summer is winding down, I figured I should try to get caught up on what we've been doing this summer. But first, did I mention Lauren is 5??? Where did time go?

Lauren is all girl! She loves Barbies, American Girl dolls, picking out her clothes and singing and dancing. She was 45.5 inches tall in June (but I'm sure she's grown over the summer) which put her in the 90th percentile for her height and weighed 42 lbs. She loves gymnastics and has been taking gymnastics classes for about a year now, progressing to Beginner Girls 2 class. She loves nothing more than to watch gymnastic videos on YouTube. She is a sweet girl and absolutely adores her brother...sometimes more than he can handle. She amazes me with the things she learns and knows and she has a great memory. In fact, she reminds her Daddy not to forget things because as she told her dance teacher, "He's a forgetter!". She came into this world early and I couldn't imagine our lives without her. Although I can't believe she is about to start kindergarten, I can't wait to watch her grow and develop this year.

We had a fun McKenna Girl of the Year birthday party for her at her gymnastics studio with her friends from school, cousins and friends. It was a great time. Enjoy the pictures.

Jumping into the pit...one of her favorite things!

Lauren's cake!



Lauren and Ashley on the trampoline.

Ashley and Caroline-- sisterly love!

Jessie and Trulie in the pit!

Luke got in on the action.

Lauren swinging on the rope over the pit.

Happy 5th Birthday Lauren!

Excited about her new Merida doll.

This face cracks me up!  Apparently she was excited.

Thanks for checking in on us.  I hope to get some more summer pictures uploaded soon!

Until next time--

Birthdays Birthdays Birthdays!

We are in the midst of birthday season in our family...aunts, uncles, cousins, grandpas, and of course Luke, Lauren and Justin. We now officially have a 2 year old and 5 year old! Whew!!

Luke turned 2 on May 9 (and yes, I'm just now getting to this post). His favorite thing in the world is golf so we had a golf themed party. It was so fun and Luke had a great time!



Luke ready for golf.



A birthday chocolate donut. Mmmmmm.

Birthday present from Mommy and Daddy.

Lauren was so excited to give Luke her gift.


Party time! Luke and his buddy Noah cruisin in the Barbie jeep.


Luke hitting the piñata.


All the kids cleaning up the candy!


Time for presents.

A few party details.


Golf cupcakes.



Masters pimento and cheese sandwiches...with tees.








Personalized tee favors for the adults.


Fun craft for the kids.
Luke is becoming so funny and is so sweet, though independent. He is turning into a big kid. And he's talking like crazy. I love hearing all of his words and sentences. His favorite things are golf, baseball, golf, trains, golf, olives, steak, shrimp and golf. He loves his sister (and she loves him). He is very cautious about trying new things like riding in the boat or carnival rides and he does not like elevators. We love so much more everyday and couldn't imagine our lives without him.

Check out Lauren's birthday in the next post.

Until next time-



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone