An Iowa Summer....Words I Never Thought I'd Say Again

Our summer was fantastic.

We didn't go anywhere fancy,

or do anything particularly spectacular.

But we had a lot of fun,

and we got to spend A LOT

of time with Nana and Pop-Pop,

because they are only 

TWO HOURS AWAY.

One day, in the midst of unpacking,

and having many things strewn about the place,

Ellory tripped and banged her eyebrow

on the edge of a chair.

It was bleeding a lot just about instantly.

And this girl generally doesn't

really cry unless it truly hurts.

And she was screaming.

I've often wondered what I would be

like in a situation where my kids are hurt

and it's going to take more than a band-aid

to fix them up.

And don't let me mislead you,

it wasn't like a huge gash,

but it was the worst I had seen

on my kids to date.

And I was surprisingly calm.

I put some pressure on it with a 

towel and did the first thing that popped into my head,

call Tyler.

To be honest,

I called him partly because of his

medical expertise,

and partly because we hadn't gotten our 

insurance cards yet,

so I wasn't 100 percent sure on where to take her.

After talking with him,

we decided that we would just stay put

until he got home to have a look at it.

Once he got home,

the bleeding had slowed way down,

and he was able to 

put some strips on it and 

a big band-aid over top of those

and we called it good.

Oh, and I should mention that Ellory was a champ.

She calmed down very quickly,

with the help of some ice cream,

and never started crying again.

She's got a tiny scar now,

but otherwise she's fine.

In this picture you can kind of see

her bandage:

These are the next day

when I changed her bandages:

I'm so so glad it wasn't worse!

One day, the kids were missing 

Oregon:

 There is a park about a half mile

from our apartment,

so we went there a lot this summer,

Ellory in the stroller

and Kale riding his bike

And now, for a visit to 

the Grandparents' house!

Ellory's favorite thing to do there?

Watch movies.

Kale's favorite thing to do there?

Play the Nintendo 64

These kids are obsessed

with all things electronic...

Ames has an awesome pool,

and we got ourselves passes to it.

Worth. Ever. Penny.

We went every single day.

Weather permitting.

I learned quickly that I had to 

bring Ellory a sandwich or

we wouldn't last longer than an hour.

Girl gets so hangry.

Ellory usually fell asleep on our way home

from the pool.

It was nice to have some alone time with Kale.

Sometimes we would color together

and listen to our favorite songs.

Sometimes we played card games

or board games.

Sometimes we'd do crafts.

Whatever he was in the mood for.

And now, it wouldn't be a real Iowa summer,

if we didn't have ourselves some real

Iowa corn.

One night, Kale was frustrated that he

didn't have any pajamas to wear.

So I gave him this shirt:

He loves it.

When Ellory would fall asleep

on the way home from the pool,

we'd just plop her on the couch,

and she barely flinched.

Our first living room campout

in Iowa:

There are these statues of Cy

all over Ames.

This is the only one I've taken a picture of.

I should get on that...

Because we're cool:

And because Iowa:

Look! Her hair can go into a real

ponytail!!!!

And this face.

It's everything.

 One day we walked to a park,

and then it started to POUR.

I thought it was hilarious and fun.

Kale was mad at first,

but then he warmed up to it.

We found the movie

Once Upon A Forest

at the library.

I had forgotten it even existed.

So we watched it, of course.

 

Back to Nana and Pop-Pop's!

Nothing like a good old game of

Hi-Ho Cheerie- O's

And Super Smash Bros

Ellory loves herself a good puzzle.

And a ride on a lawnmower. 

This was the best,

when Kale came down from the playroom

with this on.

We laughed pretty hard.

He didn't understand why.

So he got upset.

But he let me take a picture anyway.

We bonfired down in the Shady Glen.

Can't remember the last time

I did that.

Pop-Pop let Kale help him build the fire.

And S'mores were made.

And enjoyed.

There's a place in Ames

where I go to get my hippy-dippy

groceries

(thanks Oregon)

And they give kids a free piece of fruit.

Thank goodness my kids 

like at least one fruit...

Sometimes Ellory gets so hangry

that she can't even handle

feeding herself.

Little drama queen....

Once, she ate a breakfast

that wasn't a poptart.

The kids and I found a park

with beach volleyball.

No one was playing on it,

so we used it to play in the sand

like we did on the Oregon coast.

Only it was a lot warmer.

Sometimes, they just want me to take there picture.

No complaints here.

I had a very minor surgery at the beginning of August.

Thankfully my parents were willing

to let the kids come stay with them

so I could recover.

They were there for 4 whole days.

I'd never been away from Ellory that long.

So I made her cuddle me 

before they left:

On one of the last days before 

summer ended and school started,

we went and got Blizzards

and played at a park.

Family is the greatest thing

in the Universe.

And so are Blizzard mustaches

And that was our summer.

I think I may be forgetting things

we did,

but I guess if there weren't any pictures taken,

then it never happened.

Ellory Turns 3!

So on our move to Iowa,

we made a stop for a few days

in Utah to spend some much needed time

with Tyler's family.

Shane and Realyn were nice 

enough to let us stay at their house.

And we celebrated Ellory's birthday 

with everyone while we were there.

Addy and Rubie planned 

a super fun party for Ellory!

We had the party at 

the Richards' house.

Thanks everyone!

It was a hot day, but that didn't

stop the party.

This is Ellory's cousin, Sadie.

They were so cute when they played together.

 

I feel like whenever we get together

with Tyler's family

I do a TERRIBLE job of taking 

pictures.

So, this time, I was determined to be better.

So here's a very candid shot of 

Tyler and Laura and Realyn,

with "too cool for school"

Josh in the background.

And that's Allie with the adorable pigtails.

I wasn't the only one taking pictures.

Janie's camera puts mine to shame 

Oh, and I totally forgot until now,

Uncle Dain came down

from Ogden and spent the afternoon with us! 

Brittany Crumback came too,

but I don't think I snagged a 

picture with her.

Dangget.

The girls set up a fun

"photobooth"

for us.

It was the best idea!

And then there was pin the 

tail on the donkey.

Classic.

And then it was present time!!

Remember when Kale was little,

and when he would open a present

he would take off just a little bit at a time,

and he wouldn't get excited about the present

until every piece of paper and tape

was off of it?

Well, Ellory does that now, too.

Playin some hoops

with the uncles.

 

Look at those rosy cheeks.

Addy and Gracie were playing

hard out there!

Addy made cupcakes for

the birthday girl!

If i remember correctly,

she just licked the frosting off.

They shot off some of those

popper streamer thingys.

And then we just chilled for a bit.

And Josh and Addy were probably

complaining about something.

Or being snarky about something.

I love those kids!

Yup. Josh definitely just said 

something super snarky.

The next day we headed to

Payson to spend more time

with the family at the Raff's house.

It was another hot day,

so the cousins went out to play

in the water.

Ellory took a break from 

the sun for a minute

to catch up on her emails.

I'm so glad we were able to 

stop in Utah for a few days

and spend time with everyone.

We love them all so much.

I think I've said this before,

but I hit the jackpot

as far as in-laws go.

But then,

it was time for us to keep going.

Our move went very smoothly.

We stopped in Nebraska

for the night and then kept on going

until we made it to Ames.

The University paid to move our stuff,

which was kinda nice but

also kinda not because they were

late in getting our stuff

to Ames.

Luckily, we know some people who

live nearby and had some

room for us....

Nana and Pop-Pop!!

When we got there,

my dad was still in the beginning stages

of building his shed.

Kale wanted to help, of course:

 

And then Tyler got involved:

They worked really hard for a long time.

I want to say 3 or 4 hours but 

I don't remember for sure.

My parents finally finished the room

above the garage,

and they turned it into

a Grandkid room.

It's so fun.

Full of toys that me and the boys 

played with when we were little.

Kale and Ellory love it.

Oh look,

Dad and Tyler are still working...

Since our moving truck was late,

we got a little creative 

with furniture substitutes around the house:

We were able to spend Father's Day

with my dad for the second year 

in a row.

 

And we celebrated Ellory's birthday!

Again!

Tyler and I gave her

a Cinderella dress up.

And I made her THE chocolate cake.

And this is just Ellory being cute:

Overall, the move went really well.

Our cars functioned as they were supposed to.

Actually, the Journey ended up needing 

replacements not long after we got

here.

So, phew!

And the kids were champion travelers.

It helped being able to watch

movies the whole time.

We had help from so many people,

in Oregon and Utah and Iowa.

Thank you everyone!