Fun In the Sun

Last weekend was a pretty hot one, so we were finally able to break out Sam's pool! He had so much fun putting ALL of his balls and water toys in the pool, then taking them all out -- one by one -- then putting them back in, etc., etc. If I would've known this would keep him busy for so long, I would've set it up a long time ago! :-)

We also went to the local berry patch to pick strawberries. It was funny watching him pick berries and "sample" a few along the way. He'd take a big bite out of one, then throw it back in the pail to take home with us. As I was cleaning them later, I came across five or six with teeth marks in them. It made me smile each time I found one.

Sam also realized that he likes to wear his "shades" when it's sunny outside.

Happy Father's Day AND Happy Birthday!

Brian celebrated his 35th birthday and his 3rd Father's Day on June 15. He got to sleep in, eat doughnuts and play with Sam! But -- bless his heart -- he actually worked most of the day to try to meet our deadline of getting projects finished by July 1. There are still a few things around the house (linen cabinets for both upstairs bathrooms) that have been unfinished for nearly three years, so we're trying to get them done before this baby!

Sam and I (and the baby) are so very lucky to have such a hard-working, loving and supportive husband and father. Thanks for everything. We love you!

Camping Fun

Here are a few pictures from our quick camping getaway last night. Sam can't stop talking about his cousins: Ava, Jack and "Mac" (Max)! He had a blast running around with them and throwing rocks in the water. We all had a great time relaxing and eating too much! :-) Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa Knoll!

Mother Nature

We went camping with Brian's family last night. As we returned home around 11:30 a.m., we could tell it had rained overnight. (This makes about a million days of rain in a row.) The golf course, south park and baseball field were all underwater -- which is a fairly normal occurance -- but it was higher than usual. We didn't think much about it; came home, ate lunch, did laundry, caught up on the newspaper, etc., etc.

Later, I heard a helicopter flying overhead for quite awhile and told Brian, "WHO or KCCI must be taking footage of the water." Then we both proceeded to fall asleep while Sam napped. A siren woke us briefly but we ignored it -- it drove past our house quickly like they normally do -- and went back to sleep.

Fast forward to this evening around 7 p.m. After putting Sam to bed for the night, I noticed some barricades at our intersection signaling that our road was closed. I went to check it out, and lo and behold, our little town is flooded! We were so oblivious this was happening -- just down the block! I guess we should pay a bit more attention when there are helicopters overhead and police sirens blaring.

I grabbed my camera to quickly find most of our neighbors walking around and surveying the town. It was quite interesting. I overheard someone say they "never thought they could go fishing at the football field".

But I would definitely call us lucky. We don't have much water in our basement, and even if we did, we would still feel extremely blessed. After all that has happened this spring, weather-wise, at least we have a basement and a roof over our heads.

P.S. The helicopter was Chopper 13, as there is a picture of Story City sandbagging on the Channel 13 web site: http://www.whotv.com/global/story.asp?s=8448640

Random Pics

Sam helped Brian put together his very own table last weekend. And he also got to have a picnic inside when it was raining. What fun!

Thank You

After Sam's birthday, Brian's mom stayed with us from Wednesday night until Sunday. It was so nice having her here to help out. She makes life so much easier for us. She did laundry, cleaned the bathrooms, played with/watched Sam, came with me to Sam's two-year check-up, planted the remainder of our plants and helped put down mulch. It was great. Thanks so much, Kathy. You are wonderful!

Birthday Celebration(s!)

I'm a bit late in posting Sam's birthday pictures from last week. On Wednesday (his b-day) we took him to an indoor playland in Ankeny called "Recess". There he was joined by his cousins Franki, Jack & Max, Aunt Traci, Uncle Will, Uncle Todd, Grandma Knoll, Grandma Edmondson, Great-Grandma Yori, Great-Grandpa Yori and Brian's cousin Julie. He had a blast playing and running around, and I think he rode the train at least 10 times. He also enjoyed shooting hoops.

After that, Grandma Knoll came to stay with us until Sunday morning. She was very nice and helped with a million things around the house (see 'thank you' post). Sam loved having her around and was very sad when she went home.

Then, on Sunday, Grandma & Grandpa Edmondson and Great-Grandma & Grandpa Yori came to visit again since Grandpa E. couldn't attend Wednesday night's festivities. And we had the birthday cake that Grandma E. made since they wouldn't allow us to bring it in to the playland.

He was so excited for our company to come over that he didn't nap on Sunday. By the end of the weekend, he was all partied out! But it was a good time had by all. Thanks, everyone, for helping to celebrate the little man's birthday. I'm afraid his world is about to turn upside down in a couple months once his little brother arrives.

Happy 2nd Birthday!