We are still HERE!!

Phew....well I have gotten way off the blog bandwagon. So sorry for those Kies Family followers who have been checking to continually see the 'Tinkerbell' post.   It just seems other things have been more important than the blog lately. I've also been on a bit of a photo hiatus!!  So as you glance through all the wooded family pictures I think you'll find some cute ones of the kids. We had our neighbor take these family photos last week.  I think most of them turned out great.  They are taken at the quarry just down the road from our house....I had no idea this great photo space existed.  I love how she was able to capture the reflection of the trees in the water.  The kids did a fairly good job of cooperating with Kim and she showered them with candy when they fulfilled her directions!!  Hey, it works!  My favorites are of both Kennon and Maddox together and solo. Great expressions on Kennon's face!!

Flowers from my garden...they are loving this cool fall weather!!  So pretty!! 

The next set of pictures are just sort of random ones. Eric and I were lucky enough to catch a Hawkeye game at Kinnick the end of September.  Thanks to Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim for coming over to watch the kiddos!! They were even brave enough to take both the kids to the Family Museum for a special Dance Day AND they even made at stop at McD's for lunch before coming home for naps!! What a totally cool special treat. So glad they got to enjoy the day with them. Eric and I made a quick stop at Scheels as the game was a total blow out. I picked up these cute hair bands and have already gotten a fair amount of use out of mine. Maddox isn't so keen on hers..but I have started French braiding her hair quite a bit which she doesn't seem to mind.  It is just the right length to get two small ones in.   She is looking soooo old and is growing up. 

I think Kennon is thinking 'what is that silly thing on your head?'

But, to give him a little credit...he is fresh up from a nap here...!!  That kid loves his afternoon nap...sometimes 3 hours!

My favorite Quad City Art Fair, Riverssaince was the same weekend as the Hawkeye game as well as the same weekend that Eric and I decided to throw the Quad City Half Marathon into our schedule. After the 1/2, Maddox and I loaded up and headed for the fair while Kennon and Eric hit Lowe's for a guys trip. Maddox was exquisitely well behaved, enjoyed the sun, art and playground, danced with me to the live Jazz music, and painted in the kid's art tent. Kennon was apparently blessed with the same great attitude. Eric said he thought they were going to hire him as 'store manager' before they left. He just smiled and waved and greeted everyone that came near their shopping cart. I think it is really important to bank in 'solo' time with the kids. They really need to know they are each individually special.  

Maddox and I soaking up the 70 degree sun while she played her little heart out at the playground nearby the festival. I just sat and enjoyed the Jazz music and watcher her little smile as she found new friends to play with each time a new family come over. 

Random fun time in the tree house after nap!!

Not sure how many of you know but Great Grandma Berg was transferred from her assisted living facility to a nursing home back in mid September.   She is now on hospice but has been doing sort of ok  but seems is on the downhill slide the last couple of days per reports from Papa Dick.  The kids, Eric and I drove up to see her new abode ie ROOM a couple of weeks ago. Luckily it was a beautiful fall day AND there is a playground right behind the nursing home.  The kids had a ball but more importantly Great Grandma's face lit up when she saw the kids!!  She was so happy to see them.  We stayed till we had ridden every wheelchair and made a 100 laps up and down the hallway!!  The kids were good but the four walls of the building closed in rather quickly post the 1.5 hour mark or so.  The extremely friendly staff LOVED the energy of the kids and we even got to see the therapy dog!! We topped off the visit with a nice dinner with Papa Dick at California Pizza Kitchen. We are planning another trip up to visit Grandma this weekend!! She is going to be 94 the end of the month!! PHEW!

We met our friends the Wentlands at the Quad City Balloon festival the last weekend in September. It was too windy for the balloons to actually launch but they still blew several of them up for the balloon glow as it got dark.  The kids really got a kick out of them and enjoyed playing with the Wentlands and some of their neighbors.  Little Kennon was a crazy fool kicking their football around...yes kicking.... he kinda had the wrong ball but he didn't seem to mind. The kid is SOOO much more sports inclined than Maddox. Speaking of Maddox and sports.... she has her last soccer game this weekend.  I"m sure she isn't too sad ;)  But she has actually improved.  Her last game she threw the ball in a couple of times ( you know you have to throw it in when it goes out of bounds....or at least I think that is one of the rules...) and she did actually kick it once or twice as well.  Eric has remained a sort of assistant coach and is out on the field with Coach Ken the entire game. This has inevitably helped Maddox to be less fearful.  We are really proud of her and praise her for stickin' it out!!  Way to go Maddox. .......but look out next year....Kennon is gonna run the ball all over the field!! 

I snapped this picture at the park after I picked the kids up from Kindercare a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful day and the sun was just right. I just love his little toothy/tongued smile!!

So I have jumped on the Frozen Yogurt bandwagon....and the kids have benefited from my love as well. We have our favorite spot called Peachwave!! It is really close to the house and always has some of our favorite flavors. Kennon really has no idea of all the choices of candies behind that wall!! For now he is happy to just have whatever Maddox gets which is sprinkles gummy bears and usually a gummy worm...depending on her mood.  Although really Kennon is happy with spinkles. He doesn't seem to be all that interested in those frozen hard  gummy things ( I'm with you Kennon!!).  Kennon always asks for chocolate and Maddox vanilla. Speaking of worms...my daughter who doesn't like to get dirty came to the slider on Monday with a dirty hand FULL of worms asking to bring them inside!!! WHAT.... what happened to my Maddox? She loves worms! and doesn't seem to mind to get her hands dirty to explore them.  I happily gave her a napkin to put them on and shoooed her outside. She was as happy as a lark....worms and all!

Eric and Uncle Brian

Last weekend we added an annual St. Louis trip to our race calendar. Sunday Eric, Brian and I ran the inaugural Go! St. Louis Halloween Half Marathon. It was a fun race and definitely a 'MUST' for next year.  We love to go to St. Louis and are already planning our Spring trip for the Go! St. Louis Family weekend half.  Maddox and Kennon love to visit with Aunt Diane, Uncle Brian, and Cousin Hannah. This year we took a trip to the 'Lehigh Lane' corn patch ( ie Ed and Kathy's garden...Ed and Kathy are Brian and Diane's fabulous neighbors).  They let Diane hide a couple of pumpkins for the kids to find as well as we got to pick apples and pears right off their trees!  The kids had a blast! We only chuckled when Maddox asked why there was a price tag on her pumpkin she had just picked from the pumpkin patch??  Don't get much past her anymore. Anyhow we had a great weekend!! Thanks to the Gillaspies for hosting us as usual and congrats to Eric on his blazing time and to Uncle Brian for taking more than 15 minutes off of his last 1/2 marathon time.  I however blew out my hamstring during my last 11 mile training run a couple of weeks ago so I brought up the rear but was still really happy with my time! 

On our way home from St. Louis we stopped in Keokuk to see Grandma Doris. The kids are always happy to see Grandma Doris and ride her red tricycle and play with her old metal type John Deere tractors. Kennon must have crawled more than a mile around her circle type home.  We got to see Aunt Lora, Aunt Lori, Uncle Jim, Uncle Brian and most importantly cousin Kelby!!!  Kelby is almost the same age as cousin Hannah and Maddox worships the 'older girls'!!  So glad we were able to see everyone!! I didn't get any pictures of the kids with Grandma Doris but the above and below grasses are from a park nearby Doris' house.  I LOVE the color and am already thinking where I can put them in our landscaping. Doris has a HUGE flower bed up a Rand Park ( the main park in town near her house) that she is sort of in charge of. She showed me all her work and we talked about how to prepare all the plants for the winter.  I could have stayed there chatting all morning about all the different and familiar plants but the scream of Kennon from the playground area lured me away :) 

Kennon finding his pumpkin in the pumpkin ( IE corn stalk) patch!!

Uncle Brian and Maddox and her find.

So let's see what else is happening!!  We have made it through a couple of colds/fevers both of which impacted our weekend plans  ( had to skip our planned Hawkeye game with the Knowles family and had to delay our St. Louis trip by one day). But, we are doing well now. I just expect that between like October and March at any moments notice we'll be sick in some fashion.... the beauty of a daycare center.   Kennon is really developing a little personality.  He is very mischievous and gives us these little devilish grins every now and then. He definitely knows how to push his big sis's buttons.  They play totally well some times and other times not so well. We had a new TV installed today in the basement so I"m looking forward to pulling out all the toys they haven't seen in a while and hanging out in the basement for shows and football games!! Work for me is still crazy busy and really a drag lately. In fact we are moving towards me not working at VNA hopefully in the very near future.  It has gotten really pretty bad.  Kennon and Maddox are really loving Church School.  Maddox got to make homemade applesauce today. Her teacher told me as I waited to pick her up today that she was the best operator of the apple, peeler, corer slicer thingy. She said the other kids had a hard time turning the handle but she jumped in and went to town!!  She has been doing a special cooking class at Kindercare too.  Last week they made pumpkin soup!! It is just like 5 kids and a teacher and pull out special deal on Friday mornings. She loves to cook.  Kennon....well.....all's I'll say is we are still in the thick of potty training......and still doing a lot of laundry!! Enough said.  You'll get it soon buddy!!