Race Time!

Last Saturday I ran the Living History Farms Off-Road Race with my dad and my sister, Katie. The race is North America's largest cross country race! There were 7,500 of us crazy people running through cornfields, through 9 creek crossings (the water was COLD), and up slopes so steep and muddy that we had to use ropes to climb them! We had a blast! Too bad we forgot to take pictures afterwards when we were muddy!

All of my family stayed in a hotel the night before the race. The kids all had fun swimming in the pool. Hannah was getting pretty brave and had no troubles swimming by herself with a swim noodle.

Here is a picture of my dad throwing Ellie up in the air in the pool. Ellie thought it was so much fun! She laughed so hard!

Here is a picture of my parents with all of the grandkids! What a good looking crew! It was pretty hard to get a picture of all of the kids looking at the camera! We had so much fun hanging out with all of our family this weekend!

Power Tools

Greg was gone on a hunting trip last weekend, so Amy and I decided to try to hang a little drywall in the basement by ourselves. We were so proud! Here's a picture of our wall...I thought it was pretty good for a couple of girls! Thanks for the help, Amy (and the laughs)!

A Weekend With Family

This weekend my grandparents and my aunt came from Oklahoma to visit, so we all went to my parents house to see them. We had such a good time! It is always so much fun to see them...we only wish they were closer so we could see them more often!

Aunt Sandi with Zach.
Hannah and Ellie loved giving everyone stickers. Here is Hannah sharing a sticker with Great Grandma.

Great Grandpa giving Zach a horsey ride. Zach laughed so hard!

Great Grandma, Aunt Sandi, Hannah, Great Grandpa, and Ellie.

We love you! Thanks for coming to visit!

Marching Band

Last week some friends invited us to watch the University of Iowa marching band practice with them. It was a lot of fun. The kids thought it was so neat! When we got home, they wanted to make their own marching band.

Ellie's favorite instruments were the drums, so we made a drum out of an oatmeal container. They wanted hats...I don't think Ellie could see a thing!

Hannah liked the tubas, but I didn't know how I would make one...she had a trumpet instead!

What a fun night!

So Sweet!

When I went in to check on Hannah and Ellie the other night, I found them holding hands in their sleep. I thought it was so sweet!

Three Little Lions

We had a great time dressing up for Halloween this year. All of the kids dressed up as lions...it was so cute! Hannah and Ellie had fun getting candy and roaring at all of the houses! They were definitely not shy!!! Here are some pictures of the kids.

Amy went trick-or-treating with us this year. It was so much fun to have her come with us!

Here are the kids with the Halloween bags that Grandma Jan made for them. Aren't they cute!?! Thanks, mom!

Carving Pumpkins

Last night we finally carved our pumpkins. Nothing like waiting until the last minute! It was a lot of fun, though. Hannah and Ellie had fun picking out the shapes thay wanted for their pumpkins.

Hannah and Ellie waiting to carve their pumpkins.
Ellie didn't really like the "sticky part", but she did try to get it out herself.
Hannah was very interested in what the inside of a pumpkin looked like.

You can tell that Hannah and Ellie were both VERY excited about what their pumpkins looked like in the end! Today I have heard them walk past their pumpkins several times and say "I love you, pumpkin!" It is so sweet...this is usually followed by a game of peek-a-boo with their pumpkins, too.