Lordy, Lordy.......

Look who's forty! On Wednesday I began my forth decade on this earth. I got up and all my body parts still worked. Nothing appeared to have moved any farther south than the day before. Those small crows feet remained unchanged and nothing new had cropped up on my forehead or around my mouth. I guess turning 40 isn't so bad. I have accomplished a lot so for in this life and am praying that, Lord willing, I will have lots of time left to finish the things that are still on my to do list. It was a day like any other....daycare kids arrived, Dana went to work, and the kids went to school. I did eat like a queen that evening as the dinner honoring Dana and the other recipients of the Kum & Go awards was at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. He and I then finished off the evening with league bowling. Between the wine, champagne, and the beer my scores weren't all that great. :-)

Dana also celebrated a birthday this week. His was on Friday and it was a typical day for him as well. We were lazy and ordered The Radish carry out and watched The Longest Yard. I know....livin' on the edge!

I really don't have a lot to report this week and even less to show. No photo montage but have included a few pictures of the kids that I took at the meet on Monday. The kids ran in Adel and that happens to be Jordan's favorite course. It was a little windy but other than that a pretty great day to run.

Abbey started out like usual..in the back. Only this time she didn't move up like she normally does. She really seemed to struggle and walked a bunch. We couldn't understand it. When we asked her later what her time was she said "I don't know 20 something." She said everyone ran slower and she wasn't worried about it. Neither did we. She woke the next morning with the flu and we are chalking up her difficult run to that. She spent Tuesday in bed and the rest of the week seemed to go ok.

Jordan really surprised us! He ran 3rd for his team this week and looked great. The whole team seemed to run a bit more aggressive. He came home with some hardware and the team came home with a 3rd place finish. Jordan ran a 18:38 which is a little slower than last week but still very consistent. The whole team also had slower times. Makes us wonder if the course was marked a little long but the coach was very pleased anyway. Jordan put in 3 shifts at Kum & Go this week and did lots of socializing this weekend.

Carson managed to fill his sticker chart by being good at school so he was able to pick from the treasure box this week. Emma took an interest in her bike. Normally she is a trike kind of a girl but is moving on. An uneventful week for the two little ones.


Abbey at the 1 mile mark.



Abbey coming to the finish line.


Emma resting in between races.


"I am really getting tired of being at this meet!"


Jordan running in the 5th spot for DC-G.


Giving me a little smirk when I expressed my excitement at his aggressive running. He is now in 2nd place for DC-G.


Coach Gilroy congratulating Jordan's efforts and his 3rd place finish for DC-G!

Well, tomorrow begins Homecoming Week. We have 3 meets, Dana and I are in charge of a game at the "Homecoming Games" on Tuesday, bowling, and Abbey marches in the band at the game on Friday. There will be lots to share next week!!

The last week of summer!

I had a hard time sitting down to write this tonight. The weather has been so great and I had a very nice weekend that writing this felt a bit like work this week. However, if I don't keep going I'll let my 2 fans down. : )

The weather has just been amazing and we have been trying to be out as much as we can. I love having the windows open but that lead to some major allergy issues for me this week. My head was so full and the sneezing was nonstop. I did have a few minutes where I was begging for a nice hard freeze. Then I spent a lazy afternoon on the boat (sneezing the whole time) and thought that a few more really nice weekends would be great. At least get us through the last home football game.

Jordan and Abbey had a dual XC meet at Ballard on Monday. This is one of the states largest meets of the season. Some 40+ teams, boys and girls. Abbey ran very well this week. We were really proud of her effort. She looked more confident and seemed a bit more competitive always trying to get to that next group of runners. She finished 123rd out of 141 with a time of 18:19. Jordan looked good again this week. There were 22 schools in his race which is approximately 154 runners on the course. Yikes. You had better hope you don't fall or get pushed when the gun goes off. He finished 31st with a time of 18:34. 1 second faster than last week and 5th for DCG. There is a very close battle for the 5th, 6th, and 7th spots on the varsity team. Those 3 boys finished right next to each other. Makes the race to the chute very exciting. The rest of the week for the older two was dedicated to homework and jobs. Abbey had a couple of babysitting jobs and Jordan put in three shifts at Kum & Go. He is definitely liking that paycheck and so are we.

Carson had his first field trip this week. They spent most of the day at an apple orchard. He loved riding the hayrack and picking apples. His favorite thing was getting to ride a bus to the apple orchard. The morning of the trip I said something about the bus and he immediately did the fist pump with a jubilant "yes"! He told me he needed to call Dad right away and tell him that he was going to ride a bus. So...we called Dad right away and told him that Carson was riding a bus.

Emma had a pretty good week if you cut out Friday afternoon when she threw up all over the backseat of the suburban just as we were backing out to get Carson from school. YUCK!! She laid on my lap all night and had a good nights sleep. Never puked again. Whew! She woke up Saturday morning saying she felt much better and was the only taker when we asked who wanted to go for a boat ride.

Dana and I have had a very good week. He was home every night this week. We had a fun night bowling which we followed with some Buck Hunter (video game) for Dana and karaoke for me. No one would sing with me so Krista asked a really nice gentleman if he would sing and he graciously said yes. I haven't sang in public for a very long time so that was definitely stepping out of the box.

We really enjoyed our Saturday out on the boat. With just Emma with us we were able to just relax and float the day away. We don't have many more of those left this season. It is fun to watch the birds follow behind the boat and try to catch the little fish that jump up behind us. Dana then surprised me later in the evening by taking me out for sushi. It was so great! Beer, sushi, and time alone with Dana. Then we went to a friend's house to hang out with two of the guys Dana graduated from high school with. Rick lives in Des Moines and Mike lives in Davenport. He was back in the area for some work related activity and we spent the evening catching up.

We have a busy couple of weeks coming up but after a weekend like this I think I am ready.

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Can't keep up!!

We are into my favorite time of the year. Crisp days, football and cross country. I can feel myself losing a little control as our evenings get a bit busier. The laundry is piling up a bit, general household chores are being done very late at night, and Carson and Emma's bedtime routines are getting rushed. (Which no one likes!)

Abbey had her first cross country meet this week. She did really well for not having any idea what she was getting into. She ran her 2 mile in 18:09. We gave that an A+ for effort seeing as neither Dana or I could pull off such a feat. We were really proud of her and now her goal is just to run a little faster at the next meet. All about the personal best.

Jordan looked really good this week. He followed our instructions (this time) for the inhaler and ran a 18:35 and came in 5th for our team and 11th overall at the meet. He also medaled for his 6th place finish as a Junior. They didn't give team scores at this meet but we would have finished well. We also found out that our boys are ranked 15th in the state. May not seem much to the average Joe but we have never been ranked and they are very excited. Jordan will be running at the varsity level on Monday's meet.

Dana and I had another fun night of bowling on Wednesday. Kum & Go's league wasn't very big so our 4 teams are joining the Wells Fargo league. We had a kick off night with their league which meant another week of free bowling. Stacey decided to pump it up a bit by ordering shots for the team and the camera came out. A few funny pictures and a couple of headaches the next morning! Thanks, Stacey!

Carson and Emma had a typical week of school and running to keep up with us at the meets. They had fun playing with friends at the Iowa/Iowa State party that out neighbor threw. Emma and McKenna played dress up and Emma didn't care that everyone could see her underwear through the dress she had on. She wore it loud and proud. Gave the adults a great laugh. No she DOES NOT take after her mother!

Jordan and I had a very quick bout flu on Saturday night. He got sent home from work and I was up most of the night. Not fun. Thank god for Abbey, she was such a great help. Dana played poker with the neighbor guys until the wee hours of the morning. He had been asked many times and has never gone so I didn't have the heart to ask him to stay home and help with the little ones. Abbey did a fine job and will be rewarded with her favorite....clothes and shoes. Dana came home lighter in the wallet but had a really fun time.

Tonight, we had 18 high school boys and the coach here for the pre-race meal. I made 4 lbs of pasta with alfredo sauce that had 3 sticks of butter, 6 cups of heavy whipping cream, and 3 cups of parmesan cheese. They ate it all...along with a pan of lasagna, 4 loaves of garlic bread, 1 watermelon, and 3 lbs of grapes, 2 gallons chocolate milk, and a full sheet of ice cream cake. WOW! It took us all day to prepare and 1 hour for them to feast.

The proudest moment of the week was when Dana came home with an award he was given at work. His peers voted and he received an award for his excellence in his commitment to Krause Gentle's core value of teamwork. He had no idea that he was receiving it and was humbled to have been chosen. He will be honored in a few weeks at a supper at Des Moines Golf and Country Club. I am so proud of him. He gives alot of himself to the company and was so happy to see that others notice it also. He sent me the picture they took the day he got it. It is of him and the CEO of Krause Gentle, Kyle Krause. Way to go Dana!

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Let the games begin!

Well, fall sports officially started in the Sump house this week. We had our first Cross Country meet on Thursday and Dana and I started bowling again on Wednesday. The pace has picked up a bit around here and so has the coordinating efforts.

Right now the little two are just along for the ride. Neither are participating in any activities this fall. They are the designated fan club. They love going to the big kids events. I think that it is mostly for the attention that they get from Jordan and Abbey's friends and also the parents that are watching them grow up right along with us. Carson may not look happy in a few of the photos I took but, it's usually because he isn't getting his way right that minute or he just wants to take off and be with the "big kids" and he's stuck with the "old folks" instead. : )

Jordan did really great for the first meet of the year. He did not run in this meet last year because we were in the middle of the cardiac evaluation, so the coach was pleased that he shaved almost 2 minutes off of his previous run on our course. He ran a 19:30 5K and came in 7th for our team. Good enough for a varsity position. We need to get the inhaler coordinated with his run and I think that he would feel a bit better. He looked rough while he was running. He wasn't sure if he should take it before warm ups or before the race so he did 1 puff before each. Will do what mom (the registered nurse) suggested in the first place at the next meet and see if that works better for him. He grades are looking great and he likes his job and the pay check coming with it. Not happy that he has to miss next weeks home football game to work but they really needed him. He really loves to go to the games. He shared a few pictures of him and his friends at the last home game.

Abbey has her first meet this next week. She was really excited to go out and watch Jordan's meet to see how things work. She is also glad that she only runs 2 miles at this level and not a 4K like the high school girls do. Didn't have the heart to tell her that where they run on Tuesday is the toughest course in the conference because it is really hilly. She will find that out soon enough. She had a babysitting gig this weekend so made a little money herself. She is struggling a little bit with Math but is working really hard and her grade is showing it. All of her other classes are going great.

Carson went to Pump It Up for a birthday party this weekend and had a great time with some if his classmates. It was nice for me to meet some of their parents too. Otherwise, Carson and Emma played and enjoyed the nice day today.

Dana and I are glad that bowling is underway again. It is a guaranteed date night once a week and we really have fun. Wednesday was the league kick off. Dana bowled a 224 which is the best game I have ever seen him bowl! Mine weren't that great. I am not known for my consistency.

Dana spent today sanding our cedar picnic table so we can re-varnish it and I took the big kids shopping for some new clothes. This next week finds us with a XC meet, booster club meeting, bowling, and an athletic scholarship meeting before we spend next weekend preparing to host about 23 high school boys for the pre-race meal next Sunday night. It is crazy and I know I will have some great photos and stories about the massive amount of food consumed by said boys.

Have a great week!

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Labor Day 2008

Well, another week comes to a close. Well, actually another week has just started. I guess it is Monday. I have been having a hard time getting that all day. Someone is going to have to remind me that I don't have to take Emma to school tomorrow or I will be sitting in front of the preschool wondering if they are going to open the doors. It was a relatively quiet week. Either that or I am more organized than I thought.

Jordan is excited that the inhaler that he was given in working. He isn't having the issues that he had been. He is having to concentrate on his breathing when he trains hard to keep from hyperventilating but otherwise he is happy to be back training at full speed. He spent his weekend working and hanging out with his friends. We didn't see much of him. You won't see any of him in the montage. He is looking forward to the first XC meet of the season this week which is at home. Will have lots of pictures of that next week.

Abbey "hibernated" according to Carson. ("I learned that word on Curious George", he told me.) She relaxed and watched TV, caught up on her Wii skills, cleaned her room, watched the little 2 so we could go out on Saturday night, and attended the home football game Friday night. She helped with the Character Counts celebration they had in coordination with the game and kept me posted with score updates.

Carson is loving school. He tells me so much of what he does during the day. He is pretty darn exhausted each night. One night during supper he laid his head down on the table and said, "I'm just going to take a little rest for a second." He is definitely ready for bed at 8:00. I even had to wake him a few mornings which is a little different. He spent the weekend playing with friends and having fun at Cole's birthday party. He and Emma both went and Cole had the same amazing balloon artist that Emma did for her party. He made Emma another crown and Carson a Goofy hat. Carson loved the Silly String fight they had at the end.

Emma spent much of her weekend doing stuff with Carson and the neighborhood kids. She is having a great time in preschool and has adjusted well to 3 days a week. She has been napping a bit more than she did this summer and I have been having to wake her up each morning. She doesn't bounce out of bed like my other 3 do. She always wants "five more minutes". Got that from me. Her favorite part of the weekend was the large "yellypop" that she got at Cole's party. She has been licking on it off and on all weekend and hasn't made a dent in it.

Dana was only gone one night and that was really nice. He made it home in time to be in charge of the Booster Club membership drive and the athletes brought back $13,000 worth of memberships. Way to go guys. The largest year so far. Dana was please and thought it seemed really organized. He spent Friday night in the concession stand at the football game helping the Booster Club. He also went golfing Saturday morning with some guys from the neighborhood. They golfed at The Harvester which is ranked the best course in Iowa by Golf Digest. He said the coarse was brutal, he lost nine balls, and no one talked about their scores later that evening when we went out but they did laugh alot. He just had a great time. :)

My allergies kicked into full gear this week making life not so fun. Brady started on Monday and he is really sweet. A pretty quiet little guy but did pretty well for his first week. I attended the After Prom Committee meeting and got signed up to help with some fundraising things. I stayed home from the first football game. Carson, Emma, and I curled up on the couch together and watched movies. They both were battling stuffy noses and full heads also, so it was a great way to end the week.

Dana and I enjoyed lots of time with out neighbors this weekend. We went to Prairie Meadows on Saturday with 6 other couples for the horse races. Dana and I have lived hear since 1995 and have never been in the place and we had a great time betting on a few races. We did come away with some money. Not alot but it paid for our meal that evening. I know we will definitely go back. Last night we had a little get together at Mark and Kelly's house. The kids had a great time playing together and we just relaxed and had great conversation with friends. Today was really lazy. We worked on a few projects this morning and spent the rest of it on the couch watching the Top 100 Songs of the 80"s on VH1. The big kids had homework they needed to get done and Jordan had XC practice today so we didn't take the boat out. I am sure that it was pretty busy out there and we didn't miss much.

We really love this neighborhood. When we hand picked the lot we built this house on we did it strictly for the price. We had no idea that it would turn out to be the perfect place to plant our family. The kids never have to go far to find a friend and neither do we. It is so great to know that in a second people will jump into action to form a search party to look for a lost child. (I know because it happened this week and no it wasn't one of ours but it might have well been!) Also, to know that if you are ever in need of a little extra man power 7 or more strapping men show up and the project is done in hours not days! Or if you just want some fun people to gather with and throw a few back that can happen too. It is a large extended family and we are so blessed to be a part of it!

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