My classes - Fall 2013

Well the boys have been back to school for a week now and my classes officially started yesterday.  This semester I will be taking two classes online through Iowa and another online through EICC.  At Iowa I am taking Interpersonal Effectiveness and Ethics in Human Relations & Counseling and EICC is Elementary Spanish II.  I am very much looking forward to my Iowa classes and less so my Spanish but I am trying to keep a positive attitude since it is required and this is only my second of four required foreign language classes.  The good news is that after this semester I will take my two final courses at Iowa in the spring and then only have the two Spanish classes left to complete my degree!!  My plan is to take the 3rd Spanish class in the spring with my Iowa classes, as long as this semester doesn't get to overwhelming, and then take my final undergraduate class either in the summer semester or next fall!!  That means I should be able to graduate December 2014!!  This degree has been a long time coming and I am so excited that is seems to be mapping out well and I should be done before Aubrey goes to school full time!  With the exception of a few classes I have really enjoyed my online learning journey and am not sure what I will be doing when I am done.  To actually work much in the psychology field you need a grad degree but I am not sure if that is feasible for us or not.  I am just happy to have been given this time home with my family and be able to finish my degree at the same time.  I have no idea what kind of work I will look for when we decide it is time for me to return to the workforce but I do know that God will provide just what he wants me to do!!

Blue Moon

 

Tonight (8/20/13) is a blue moon, or the second full moon in one month.  The news said the next one isn't until 2013.  This is my best pic with my little point and shoot camera.  I super zoomed in and had to rest my arms on the deck rail so it wasn't blurry - several I took were.  It is so amazing to be able to see the detail like this!  Our God is an awesome God!!  Marveling in His creation tonight!

First day of school 2013

Today is the day!  The boys are in school and Aubrey and I are hanging out home.  I have one more week before my fall classes start.  Hayden is starting 3rd grade and is a little nervous about learning cursive writing.  Nile is starting 1st grade and I am hoping the transition from Kindergarten to 1st grade goes well.  I was very excited to learn that the bus stop pick up time is later this year so I think they will be riding the bus a lot more in the morning this year!  Everyone went to bed really well last night and woke up well to get ready.  We actually had extra time so that was nice!  Jeremy will be picking them up after school and I am excited to how their days went.

Meet the teacher 2013

Yesterday afternoon the boys and I headed to Madison to meet their teachers and find their classrooms.  This is the last year they will be in the same school for a few years.  Nile has Mrs. Fessler and Hayden has Mrs. Jones.  I am very excited for them to get back to school and see their friends more often.  School also means more learning time and less video games/TV!  After supper and the boys were done with their practices we headed out for some ice cream to celebrate our fun summer together.  Then home for showers and bed!

Fall sports

This fall we will be busy!  Hayden is playing flag football and Nile is playing soccer.  After labor day weekend Aubrey will be starting dance class as well!  This will be crazy here folks!  But it is a good crazy.  Aubrey is so excited to start dance, I am sure that will be a post of its own when she starts.  Nile really wanted to play soccer so he is doing that for the first time this fall.  This is the first year Hayden is old enough for flag football and he is really looking forward to it.  Hayden and Nile both had their first practice last night.

Nile ready for his first soccer practice

Miss Aubrey

too cute!

Hayden ready for his first flag football practice

Busy last weekend before school starts

Saturday morning both the boys we able to participate in the Pella High football camp.  They get to run a some drills with the senior players and coaching staff.  This was Hayden's third year and Nile's first.  They both had fun and got a new Pella Dutch t-shirt.  Jeremy took them and I sent the camera along but he only came back with one picture.  Oh well!

Nile

Saturday night we went to a friends house for a back to school party.  They had a "redneck" water slide and the boys loved it!  Aubrey wasn't too sure about it.  Lots of good food and friends!

Sunday we got up and headed to the Iowa State fair for the day.  My mom came along with us since my dad had to leave that morning for OK.  We enjoyed Little Hands on the Farm, a red velvet funnel cake, corn dogs, ice cream, lemonade, strawberry smoothie, and cotton candy! 

my little "farmers"

helping Sis since they are too tall for the tractor

foot long corn dog!

made out of Lego's - a favorite at our house!

Daddy with his boys

my mom with my family

Last day at the pool

I believe today is actually the last day the Pella pool is open but I don't think we will make it so yesterday was our last day for this summer.  Nile did a great job with his lessons this summer and is much more confident in the water.  Aubrey decided not to do lessons anymore after a few time but we will try again next summer and see how it goes.  It is so nice to be able to just walk over to the pool for a few hours in the afternoon.  The boys enjoyed riding bikes and scooters this year rather than walking.  Hopefully by next year we wont need to bring the stroller and Aubrey can walk with us.  We had to take a few pictures for the last day at the pool too!

Spencer car show weekend

Last weekend we loaded up the 38 and the camper and headed north west for about 4 hours to Spencer, IA.  They have a really nice little car show that we have been going to for a while and I have memories of from when I was little.  Friday night the kids played some games and we camped.  The boys slept in the tent for the first time and made it the whole night just the two of them!  Saturday we headed over to Arnolds Park for the car show and the amusement park.  It is a small park but we had a good time riding some rides and not having to wait in long lines.  Aubrey was mad that she wasn't big enough for the bumper cars but she loved jumping on the trampoline and still talks about it a lot.  Saturday night they have a dinner and band so Aubrey of course loved getting her groove on.  It rained all night so the boys slept in the camper and I didn't get much sleep.  Sunday morning after donuts and juice we headed down to Pocahontas to visit my college roommate and her family.  We had a fun visit and hope to see them again soon! 

Uncle Daron

A few weeks ago my brother moved back to the Midwest after living in NYC for 5 years.  He decided to go back to school and get his masters in accounting.  He will be attending Truman State this fall.  The kids don't get to see him much so it was nice for him to be here in Pella for a week and now he will be able to come home for holidays and such much easier.  Aubrey isn't a big fan of people she doesn't know so she didn't want him to mess with her too much but hopefully with him closer for a few years they can have a closer relationship!