Sandbox....

If you ever call, and we don't answer; odds are that we're out in the sand, or the swingset. The kids LOVE to play in the sand. Carolyn had her Hawiaan doll in the dozer, to which she tied a horse behind it. Her girl had roped a wild horse and was taking it to the corral (where Benji was waiting)

John loves to sit on his little bike. He rocks it trying to make it go. If that doesn't work, he will stand up on the seat!!

Boys, Boys, Boys

This blog is dedicated to our nephew, Wyatt. He will make grandson #4. The boys are excited to get another BOY.. that makes the odds better; 5 girls to 4 boys! We can't wait for the adoption to become final, so you can come home and meet everyone. We miss you Aunt Tanya, Uncle Charles & Larissa too.

R 4 Kids

Here are a few shots of the kids to pass along. The picture of Kathryn doesn't do justice. She's wearing Carolyn's underwear, but what you can't see is how she was walking around in her white cowboy boots. It was hilarious, and of course she knew she was being funny, so she hammed it up all the more.

Benji and John are quite the pals. Their new favorite thing to do is wrestle. John will start it by walking/crawling to Benji, then he'll stand up and "push" Benji over. Benji is such a big brother, looking out for John, but Katie too. Carolyn, being the oldest girl, is the mother... tending to the "motherly" things.

We feel lucky our 4 kids get along well. Yes, we have our share of fights, arguments, but overall they all play well together. Chalk up one benefit for having your kids close together!!

Grandpa's Farm

Suzy is Grandpa & Grandma's new pony. Naturally, the kids fell in love with her! Benji & Carolyn will ride her all day. We had Suzy up at our house for awhile (she makes a great lawn mower). Everyday Carolyn would go out for at least 15-30 mins and just talk to her, or play with her tail and mane.

Grandpa has a few other animals down in his barn; some calves, chickens (and baby chicks) and Aunt Tanya & Uncle Charlie's goat that had twins! So just about everyday we go down to the barn and the kids play with the baby goats. The goats soon figured out how to jump through the gate to the next pen, where the kids couldn't reach them.... until the kids climbed the gate!!

Walking...

This is just a quick update.... John took a few steps last week. 5 steps to be exact! He was soo proud. He'd take a few steps; stop; laugh; clap his hands; take some more steps. (Actually I'm not sure who was more excited, John or Benji!) He's been walking along furniture for quite awhile, and would walk for hours if you hold his hand. So far he hasn't done too much more, just a few steps at a time. He'll turn one on Sept 14, so he's taken his 1st steps the earliest of all 4 kids so far. Benji & Carolyn took their 1st steps exactly 2 weeks before their birthday, and Katie was 2 weeks after her birthday!

It will be exciting to have him walking, yet its another step away from the "baby stage" With conventions around the corner it will be very nice to have him walking around to burn off the extra energy.

I haven't been able to catch a picture of him walking, but hopefully we'll add some with his 1st birthday update!

Farewell Iowa

These pictures were taken the beginning of August, just before we left Iowa. (Meaning we now are back in WI) We were only in IA for a few months, yet we became very attached to the friends in our area. It was very hard to move back, but we definitely will be back to visit.

John Henry: 11 mos

Its been awhile since we've updated on John. He is ALMOST 11 mos old! He started crawling the normal way mid June, shortly after he figured out he could pull himself up along furniture and walk along it. Just recently he began to stand up in the middle of the floor. So far he has not taken any steps, but he will stand and balance himself for awhile. Walking isnt' too far off. He has plenty of teeth too, making eating more fun. He LOVES spaghetti (and most anything else). He tried icecream the other night (the funny face picture) The first bite was difficult, but after that he inhaled it!!

The 3 other kids love to play with him. Carolyn & Katie mother him, and Benji loves to wrestle with John or "teach him new things".

On the move again..

Early July we moved again... This time to the country! We moved about 12 miles southeast of Denison, a few miles northwest of Manilla. Our address is Manilla. It is an older farm house that's been redone (except the kitchen) It has 3 bedrooms on the main floor, 1 bedroom upstairs, and in the basement there is another room; 2 full baths. The kitchen had 2 walls of cupboards/pantry's, lots of storage space. The house had plenty of room to run, plus over half of the basement was finished off, giving the kids even more room to run. If that wasn't enough, there was PLENTY of yard outside!! The house is nearby the ranch Ben works at, so that makes it handy for him.

The last pictures are taken at the ranch. There are a few calves that need bottle fed, so occasionally we all go over in the evening. The kids love to help Daddy. One the picture of the 3 kids looking out, Katie is peeking through a crack in the wall, while Benji & Carolyn were able to look over the door!

Carolyn, Katie & John

During one of our weekends back to WI, Benji stayed behind with Ben's parents (who brought him back to IA in about 2 wks), so that is why we don't have any pictures of Benji. The 2 girls loved to pose for the pictures. John, who know is 10 mos wasn't too sure about the dry, picky grass, hammed for the camera too.

Backyard Fun

We have fallen waaay behind on our blog, so now we'll play catch up. The kids all love their big swimming pool. (John included, although he got stuck in his little pool more often) The kids loved to eat out on the deck. It was fun for them, but I think they just didn't want to waste "swim time". The picture of Benji and Carolyn, is them making chocolate frosting; Carolyn would pour water and Benji faithfully stirrred it until he tho't it was good.

These pictures were taken at our house in Denison. Also during the summer Ben's parents came twice, one time they brought our nephew Jacob too. My parents also made a trip out to see us.