VBS 2010- HERO Headquarters

I was in charge of our church's Vacation Bible School (VBS) this year! My first year of actually being in charge! It was very hard work planning a whole week's worth of fun for kids! But SO rewarding! My journey began in January when I ordered the curriculum of HERO Headquarters, and we had a few long weeks of working on decorations and props and planning in June-July, and finally it all came to an end the week of July 18th! Doug was Maintenance Mac - an everyday super HERO - in our beginning skit every night! Alden liked to tag along with him while he said his lines, so we nicknamed him "mini mac" or "bread stick boy" (one of the other super HERO s in the skit was "Pizza Polly"). The kids seemed to think he was really cute! I had a HUGE support cast this year and it all turned out so well! We averaged about 45 to 50 kids each night and did crafts (that I planned out ahead of time - but did not actually teach the crafts this year) such as super HERO capes, masks, reusable bags (to be a hero for the environment), bracelets, and picture frames to hold a picture of their VBS group. Doug's mom made almost all of the snacks this year ahead of time and they were really cute! One night we had cupcakes that looked like sheep and another night the kids got 2 sugar cookies shaped like a men - one had sprinkles and the other did not - they were to represent Naaman and one of them had leprosy and other did not.

Samantha gets a BIG hair cut!!

Samantha has been complaining alot about her hair getting too tangled and so we decided to cut quite a bit off! We went to Brandy and she cut about 7 inches of hair!! I didn't take an "after picture" so you'll just have watch the next blog posts for her "new do"! She loves it and it literally takes 1 minute to do her hair in the morning as opposed to 10 minutes! She is always running her fingers through her hair and it's so cute! :)

Kris Allen & Bare Naked Ladies Concert

On July 8th, Doug & I got a baby sitter for the kids (well - Alden was sick, so Sandy agreed to take him) and went to the Bare Naked Ladies Concert @ Stir Cove where Kris Allen was one of the openers! No one really cared about Kris Allen (winner of American Idol 2 seasons ago) - except me! He was really good live, but most of the people were 10-20 years older than Doug & I and refused to stand up for him. It was an over 21 show, so I think that had a lot to do with it. The Bare Naked Ladies were AWESOME in concert! They are hilarious and put on a great show! Can't wait until they are in this area again! Doug & I celebrated our 10 year dating anniversary on July 6th, so we called this our anniversary celebration. :)

July 5th Zoo Trip

We took the kids to the zoo on July 5th for some late afternoon fun. Doug had the day off and always looks forward to going to the zoo with the kids. Samantha & Alden each got to pick one thing to see that day. Samantha picked the Desert Dome and Alden picked the Jungle. They both walked across the bridge in the Jungle while Clair and I waited for them on the other side. Clair was awake for the whole trip, which was a first! :) After the zoo, we went to Jim & Sandy's house for supper because Doug's cousin Curtis and his wife Holly were in town.

July 4th

We started our rainy July 4th by watching the Tour de France on TV while we ate our breakfast. The kids enjoyed the race while eating pop tarts on the living room floor. We headed out to Doug's parents house after naps and met our friends Nathan & Lynn Kleinmeyer and their kids Jack & Ava out there. We had a great supper and the kids had a lot of fun playing. We had lots of family there, including Aunt Jodi, Great-Grandma & Grandpa McKnight, Cousin Jamie, Cousin Eric, Auntie Debra and more! Uncle Chris came after supper and played with the kids and then Omaha Grandma came after she got off work. The kids enjoyed seeing all the family that was there! It even cleared off for fireworks and the kids loved watching them!

Water Hopscotch!

Samantha loves to play hopscotch, and I found this water hopscotch thing that you hook the hose up to and it sprays water on them as you jump on it. The kids thought it was SO much fun!

Spray Park Summer 2010 - Take 1, 2, & 3

We went to the Spray Park in Papillion for the 1st time this year on July 2nd. Since then, we have been there 2 more times, so I'm just grouping all of the photos into one post. Samantha & Alden continue to LOVE the water and the sand. They have had fun with lots of their friends! Clair has yet to really like the water spraying her, so she just hangs out with the moms! It is the perfect place for a hot summer afternoon! It's FREE and provides HOURS of entertainment with NO fighting between siblings this year! :)

Clair's New Carseat!

We took Clair out of her carseat carrier on June 30th! Now, we're a 3 Britax Carseat family! Only the best for our little ones! :) Clair seems to like the fact that she has more room and the girly pattern of her new seat. I'm sure when she's a year old she'll absolutely LOVE facing forward like her siblings so that she can see the movie in the van too! :)

We're Back.....

After a little time off from the blog, we are back (I think)! We have been working on the house every waking moment of the day lately and we have finally begun to go downhill!! Most of the work we need to do to the house is done and we can relax a little bit. Now that Summer is almost over! Samantha will start her 2nd year of preschool in 2 weeks (hard to believe this time next year she will be in Kindergarden)! Doug & I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary on Tuesday! I am now working on this year's Sunday School Kick Off Party on August 29th and the next year of MOPS kicks off on September 13th! We are headed to Seattle for the Huskers v. Washington football game and lots more fun coming up! We will try to post some pictures of past events as we try to get caught back up! Thanks for checking back often! :)

Our House Is On the Market!!

Hi Everyone! The reason you haven't seen any posts from us lately is because we have been working on putting our house on the market! We have found a 5 bedroom house in town that we love and put an offer in on it, and therefore put our house on the market. We are not moving, however, unless we can sell our current house. If you know anyone who is searching a wonderful 4 bedroom / 2 bathroom home in the Omaha metro, please pass this information along to them. I have created a link for you to click on below to see our house and pictures and our asking price!

http://www.cbshome.com/NE/Plattsmouth/68048/homes-for-sale/307-11-Avenue-52411994/popup