Fishing with Grandpa Jim and a Trip to Indianapolis

It seems Maddox is getting ready for school in her own little way these last couple of weeks. She has been repeatedly asking to 'work on her letters' unprompted by Eric and I.   She can successfully write the entire alphabet upper and lower case letters and her technique and penmanship has been getting better and more 'correct' each time.  I love the above picture. All summer she's been working on writing her name and making 'it fit'.  You can see the first two times on the bottom it wouldn't 'fit'…but third time is the charm. She got it to fit.  

The construction workers are still working tirelessly in the field behind us.  Although Maddox and Kennon have lost a little interest in the big machines, every now and then we walk down to their staging area.  The kids were standing on a big tractor tire here and Kennon needed a little balance help from Maddox. Today, at the staging area, they threw huge rocks into the gigantic puddle that had formed from the rain. They could have stayed there all day throwing those rocks. 

The kids and I visited my favorite garden center a couple of weeks ago. Of course they wanted to sit in ALL the cute 'little' chairs.  

 Grandpa Jim made a special trip over to take the kids and I fishing a couple of weeks ago.  We all had a ball….and were 'profitable'.  Maddox and I caught the above 'biggest catch of the day' together  We ( well maybe me) were so excited to catch a big one.  I honestly thought Maddox's little Dora pole was going to snap right in two!! There is a great pond right in the center of Bettendorf just a few minutes from the house that the city stocks each year. You practically wave your hook with a worm ABOVE the water and the fish almost jump out!!  Which was just perfect to keep the kids' attention.  We got tons of bites and caught about 5 fish. It was a beautiful day!  

 I love this one…Maddox looking up to Grandpa Jim for direction!

 Look at Maddox's pole…tipped down.  She's got one!!! Her first one…a little sun fish. All by herself!!!  Grandpa Jim had her trolling on the bottom when she caught this one…. Trolling on the bottom??  Advanced I'd say!! Leave it to Grandpa Jim to teach em the high skills stuff :) Kennon will be the first to tell you he 'did not' catch a fish that day but 'Maddox did'. And he really doesn't seem to be bothered at all by that.  It's almost like he knows he's the little guy and will get one next time. I'd honestly like to think he's letting her have the 'light' for a bit…but that's probably a little above his thinking. 

 Although it appears that she is going to hold her catch I don't think she actually went through with it.  She did touch a couple but we left the remove/release part and the worm application part to Grandpa Jim. ( I'm not really into that either) Bot kids are getting more proficient at their casting and have continued to practice in the driveway almost daily.  Such a fun special time to have with Grandpa Jim. 

Last weekend we trekked over to Indianapolis to visit with Uncle Jay, Aunt Carolyn and my cousins Lynn and Amy and their children.  We had such a fabulous time. Carolyn and Jay have a wonderful home right in the heart of Indianapolis.  Maddox and Kennon were intrigued by  Uncle Jay's Mustang.  I love this one…and as Aunt Brooke pointed out….she even has her seat belt on. 

 Friday we spent the morning at the Indianapolis zoo. It was great to see some different animals and the weather was just perfect, nice and cool, to see the sights.  We got to pet some sharks and even got to see a totally cool dolphin show….something the kids hadn't seen before!! So fun.  The zoo has a brand new orangutan enclosure and has elephants too.  Lot of different animals we don't get to see very often at our little Niabi Zoo. 

 Friday night Jay and Carolyn had a BBQ and all the family came over.  Maddox got to help Aunt Carolyn bake mini cupcakes for the event.  They were pink and she even got to do the pink frosting all by herself…Aunt Carolyn was very brave!!   I love this picture.  Reminds me of Maddox baking with Grammy…standing on a chair.  My cousins Lynn and Amy and their husbands and children joined us for the BBQ. Maddox and Kennon literally had a BALL playing with all the kids!!  I don't think I heard ONE of them cry or whine or have any arguments at all.  The house and yard is perfect for playing hide and seek…and of course then there's the Mustang…!! I love the below pictures. 

Ella ( Amy's daughter),  Kennon, Maddox,  Zach ( Lynn's son) and you can't see her but Rachael ( Lynn's littlest) is in the back seat.  Does it look like they are having fun or what….???   There is a better picture of this below…. I can never figure out how to move them once they are uploaded.  

 This is Carolyn and Jay's backyard….!!  Such a fun place for kids to play. Their entire yard is wooded and they have no grass…it is all landscaped and/or covered with trees. The kids had fun on the hammock and running about in the shaded area ( something we don't have in our newer neighborhood). 

 This table traveled back with us from Indy and now has a fabulous new home in our entryway.  I just love it!!  It was Mom's Grandma's…Ninny…they called her and it sat right in Ninny's entryway in Kentucky.  It may have also been in Ninny's mom's house…Granny Mac as Mom, Jay and Bill called her.  We have some of Granny Mac's furniture too ( Maddox's new bedroom set).  You all know our love of antique furniture and more importantly the nostalgia, tradition, and connection to the family. Thanks to Jay and Carolyn for sharing it with us. 

 Zach, Maddox, Rachael, Ella and Kennon

 Ella and Kennon.  Ella, is Amy's  ( my cousin) youngest ( Nate is her oldest and the oldest grandchild but he was busy at a church function….)  Both Maddox and Kennon adored Ella. She is extremely funny, has a fabulous personality and really seemed to look out for the little ones. Maddox and Kennon were so happy to have ALL the kids to play with Friday night. 

One of my best friends from college, Angie,  lives in Zionsville, just north of Indy. We were lucky to get a quick visit in with her family.  Her maiden name is Knapp….so we met in freshman orientation as both of our names started with 'Kn'!! We ended up being roommates our sophomore year and have continued to stay in touch.  

 Angie and her husband Brent live in a neighborhood community in Zionsville.  It has a nice restaurant, pool, playground area, school, fountain, walking paths, soccer fields, post office and dentist. Pretty cool. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate for outdoor activities so we met a huge indoor playground at a local church. Maddox and Kennon and her two boys Max and Leo had a good time burning off their sillies. 

  

 Angie and I on her back patio which she has basically turned into a container garden. Check out the huge pumpkin growing on the fence. Angie has always had a green thumb.

 Kennon, Leo, and Max playing in the fountain in the neighborhood…yes those are rain drops…but that doesn't stop 3 little boys from still dabbling in the water. Luckily no one fell in :) 

 Kennon, Maddox, Leo, and Max walking the 'plank' 

 The huge indoor playground we played at Saturday morning with Angie, Max and Leo. 

 I forgot to post this from last May!!!  Our great neighbor Elisha took this. 

 Elisha took these two at the 4th of July parade!!  

We are anxiously awaiting the start of preschool!!! Do you see me doing the happy dance through the computer :)  The kids officially start on Wednesday…YIPPY! The public school started a couple of weeks ago so we have been 'patiently' waiting for our turn.  The kids went to church school last week and met their teachers and saw their classrooms. I think it is going to be a good year.  Both kids like their teachers and RAN into the school excited for the year to start. Kennon has been asking almost daily 'mom, are we going to church school today?' since we had the open house.  I'll be excited to say 'YES!' when he asks on Wednesday morning.   Kennon has been on a bit of a rough streak with his sleeping. He has become afraid of the dark/his room etc and has been up numerous times in the night  UGH!!  Last night was the first night in a couple of weeks that he made it all the way through.  We'll hope this phase passes soon.  Eric painted Maddox's room this weekend and we all love it. She seems really excited to have yellow 'happy, girly' walls as she calls them.  Most importantly she is happy to take ownership of the yellow color as she picked it ( over pink) from a list of 4 choices we gave her. We'll put the rest of the bedroom together next weekend but are planning to leave a little surprise to reveal the weekend of her party.  Her hair has become my project….what you say??  I have been visiting a cool website with all these neat hair do's for girls with long hair. She is getting fairly good at sitting for them too….especially if I tell her they are going to be like Elsa and Ana's hair.  She loves her braids although we have ventured over to the bun side as she will start ballet lessons next week!!!  She and I are both so excited.  She has all her clothes, shoes and now we've about got the bun down.

It seems Disney is around the corner and I've been finishing up last minute details.  We have all our dining reservations booked, ride reservations in place, I've been organizing coordinating clothes to wear ( I know….crazy….but this trip is kind of a big deal…and I'd like for the pictures to look a tad organized), picked up ponchos to bring for the wet rides and for the R word just in case.  Maddox and I've been trying to pick out which dresses she'd like to wear to meet which princesses.  I continue to remind myself ( although anyone wanting to remind me in person is welcome!!!) that I need to remain flexible and that we probably won't be able to 'do it all'…and most specifically …..do that 'one more thing' as I am notorious for trying to do ( just ask Eric!!!)  I am so excited to see their faces when they get to meet the characters and am hoping for good not freakishly hot weather and slightly more calming crowds as compared to the summertime visitors.  Our travel agent Angela as well my cousin Lynn have been fabulous in helping us to get everything planned.  I am so thankful we have had them to consult!!  I couldn't have made all the decisions myself.