The Kite Festival

It was such a fun day! The next post gives some of the details. All the day was missing was you!



Not a dirt bike, Michael, but we thought of you!

The bear wins the prize for cutest kite. The boys would have loved it!

What a day!

We started our day with Grandma having breakfast at Perkins - delicious! Grandma and I split a veggie omlette while Dad enjoyed the usual bacon, eggs and toast. We had a great time, with the added bonus of no dishes to do after the meal!

Then we headed off for a ride in the country. It was a spectacularly beautiful day. The pictures don't do justice to the beauty God treated us to. The ground was covered in a fresh layer of snow almost too bright to look at without sunglasses. There was a moment during our ride when I felt like I was in Antarctica! We saw nothing but white snow- and ice-covered earth set against a blue horizon. I stepped out of the car to take a picture for you and I FELT like I was in Antarctica! Wind-chill factor in the open countryside is crazy!

After enjoying the country setting for a while we headed back to town for the Kite Festival. Wow! I took a panoramic video of the happenings on the lake to give you an idea of what it looked like - it's trying to upload. Hope it works! I'll attach a couple of pics as well. The community came out on this beautiful, clear, but cold winter day. They're troopers here. Grandma was out for an hour - out on the lake! She amazes me.

We wish you all could have seen the kites and experienced the atmosphere. It was just beautiful. We missed you all. But we can share the day through these pics. You can enjoy the festival and the drive from the warmth of your homes! (Don, I hear it's pretty warm even outside where you are! In the 80's? We're supposed to have a blizzard tomorrow morning!)

So when will we be seeing your gorgeous faces on this blogspot? We love you!

I don't think the video is going to work. Bummer.

Happy Valentine's Day to our kids - all 8 of you!!!!!

We sure love you all!

Andrew, you wanted a picture of Pappa, Maggie and I, so here we are wishing you all a wonderful day as you celebrate how very much you're are loved and what a blessing it is to give love away!!

Kids, Dad and I are so blessed to have you all. We know that one of the ways God loves us is through the people He puts in our lives. We couldn't have asked for more than He's given us in you. We're so proud of the people you've become - and are still becoming - as you let Him mold your character. Loving you fills us so much we feel like we're going to pop! And being loved by you is one of His sweetest gifts. We wonder... as we're made in the image of God... is this how He feels? He loves us just because we are. Is His heart so blessed as we love Him back? What a good and gracious God.

We love you. We miss being able to hug you, but we're sending love and hugs through this blogesphere!

We're looking forward to seeing you soon.




It's a gorgeous day in Clear Lake. : )

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!

Miss you, too.

And congratulations, Tyler, on the accomplishment! Way to move!

Blog question

Hey Michael,

I'm finding the background makes it difficult to read the blog. Do you want to change that to a different color? I suppose I could knock on your door and ask you rather than post, but hey, maybe this will get the traffic going :)

Growing up!

We got a fun picture of Tyler, Daniel and Nathan today...they are all getting big so fast! Just thought I would share! Love you all!

Need a luagh??? :-)

One of the most hilarious rehashings of a pop song and pop event I have ever seen!!!
Poor girl! PS... this guy is from SB! I knew I loved that place for a reason :)

In case you missed it... here is THE miss south carolina.



And without further ado... the one who mocks her well...

So much fun!

Last night Gma and Gpa came over to dinner. What fun we had! Gpa was on the floor playing with the boys while Gma helped with the finishing touches for the meal. After dinner Andrew challenged us all to a game of dominos. Gpa doesn't play games!! But he joined in and had a ball. After several intense moments Gma emerged the victor! Still engaged in the battled Gpa and Andrew duked it out for second. It appeared for a a moment theat Gpa was going to take down his great grandson, but Andrew came through! What you see toward the end is the victory salute shared by Gma and Drew with a dejected Gpa in the background. It was a fun evening.

Looking forward to a rousing family game this summer!

Just had to add a pic of Ty and his mommy. What cuties!!!!! It's wonderful to have them all here. : )

Love you all so much!

Oh the fun we had sledding! Mom and Mammo even got in on the action (and note the stylish snowboarding gear we are toting!) Andrew is crazy and brave on the sled. He went from the tippy top (as he called it) of the hill (the one by the ice cream shop) all by himself and made it almost all the way down to the swings by the lake...crazy man! Jer had fun too...we raced Andrew and then he took a snack break! It was the perfect place to sled...no trees to freak out mommy but nice fast snow (it would also be a fun place to put a little one on a snowboard for the first time!) Mom got some great pics of me and my boys too...thanks mom! Wish you all were here! PS... check out the pic of Drew leaning against the car...4 1/2 going on 15...he is just so cool! :)

Here are some fun pics from the past 2 days in Iowa! The first is of me and the boys enjoying the warmth of hot chocolate at Cabin Coffee (a favorite Iowa hang out of the boys). Then as you can see, the boys went to sleep, tired from a long day and miss Maggie decided she was tired too and found a bed right on top of Jeremy! As much as he tortures her...she loves him. :) Then we got fed up with taking care of children and locked them in the pack and play...no just kidding! The big boys wanted to play with Ty! They love their little brother! We are really enjoying our visit...stay tuned for some fun sledding pics! Love you guys!