Doug Visit #4

Doug came to visit again! This time it was kind of last minute, but Julie and I were able to get off work anyways, so we could hang out with him. There was quite afew things going on in the area, so we had a lot of fun! Get Smart came out in Theatres, so we went to that Friday night after he got here and got SO many laughs out of that! Very funny movie! Haha! It was also Race and Crash day over in Milroy, so we went to that. We didn't get there in time for the compact car and grain truck races, but we did make it in time for the combine demolition derby! It was very entertaining! It's pretty amazing how they can whip those big things around! And how much they can put up with and just keep right on going! Very Hick - very entertaining! :)Jules and I watching the derbyJules and Doug watching the Derby :)All the combines getting ready before it started.Lining upSome of the people were so creative in the way that they decorated their combine. The Vikings one even had horns! But...it didn't win...typical ;) Haha!It was kinda funny looking when they would crash and then back up, their back wheels would go way up in the air!This one was my favorite - the cookie monster! He was so cute! he had big white barrels and hanging black pendulums for eyes! and then cookie wheels! But, he was really slow, so his looks were about all he had going for him. The MFD (Milroy Fire Department) Combine in the very left of the above picture got smashed so short by the end of the derby - he looked so funny! But he stuck through for a long time anyhow. (all the proceeds of this event went to the Fire Deparment by the way - kinda made you feel like you were watching for a cause) ;)

These were the last two in the final heat. The big John Deer McCormick combine ended up winning it all. He deserved it, too. By the end he was dragging so much junk around in his corn head and all the stuff hanging off the back made it so he could hardly drive forward or backward but he kept at it! Then they had a consolation round and Tony the Tiger won! (sorry, i don't have any pictures of him!) After the Derby we went out to eat at the Ground Round. A first for all of us, and we all really liked it! We even saved room for dessert! Julie and I each had a piece of cake that was like chocolate heaven! Doug got some wierd fruity cake thing so no one would snitch off of his ;) Haha! J/k! Sunday we went to church - and everyone at church really likes Doug, too! Yay! :) Then he had to go :(

Father's Day Weekend!

Happy Father's Day, Jason!
Kaden always gives such good smiles for Grandma!
Mom & Jenny watching the bean bag toss game (not long before Jenny chopped her hair off!! and it looks SO cute!) Check out her blog for before and after pictures: www.thehoraks.blogspot.com

Jules and I after we showed our bean bag tossing skills ;)
This is one of my most favorite pictures snapped by Aunt Julie of Kaden after Grandma and Aunt Jenny took him on a little stroll.
Always happy in Daddy's arms!
I'm so glad Julie is home with me for the summer!
Jamie came up to visit and see Kaden for the first time!
Aunt Jessie (that's me!) with Kaden!
Aunt Julie and Kaden!

The cutest little family ever! :)
The half Father's Day cake for Jason and half B-day cake for Jamie :)
Jordan and his apple crisp
Kaden is SO cute when he's in his bouncy chair! He's getting so strong and active and makes the best facial expressions ever! I love playing with him!
Like Father, like son - don't they look alike!?

My Cute Kaden is 6 Months Old!

Isn't he just SO cute!? Heehee! On June 22nd Kaden turned 6 months old! I can't believe how fast he's growing up!

Cedar Rapids Flooding

This year was Jason's first Father's Day as a father, so they were planning to come to our house for the weekend until they found out Julia's sister, Jamie was coming up from Texas to surprise them! So we tweeked our plans and went to Iowa for the weekend! We were a little worried for awhile, though, that we wouldn't make it there with all the roads closed from the flooding.

Here are some of the pictures Jason and Julia took when they went through with Jamie. We saw it all, too, on our way there, but it was pretty dark out to take pictures. (actually, I was sleeping, but Mom and Julie saw it...I saw it on the way back, but by then it was going down quite a lot! I feel SO bad for all those poor people! What a mess!) See the little DQ sign trying to keep it's head above water?

And the huge Quaker Oats factory!
The beautiful courthouse even got flooded :(
And Jason and Julia had some water problems of their own in their basement, but thankfully it didn't amount to too much. I have some pix of their back yard on here, too.

Julie's Home for the Summer!

Julie came home for the summer on the 6th. It's SO wonderful to have her home again! Doug was so sweet to help her move back. They packed her car completely full of all her stuff and put that on the trailer, and then Doug brought a 4-wheeler in the back of his truck and hauled it all here. We had so much fun riding the 4-wheeler around! (Doug's the only one who got a grass stain...ahem!) We also unpacked Julie's car, but I don't think I can say that was fun, except for the fact that it meant she'd be staying here for awhile! yay!



We also went to the races Friday night - they were really good races that week, cause they were all close from beginning to end! Mr. Malmanger had his car running for the races that week, too, so it was fun to be able to see him racing out there!

I don't know why all my pictures aren't showing, but I hope they work for some people? :)

Doug Visit #2

Doug brought Julie home to us for a weekend in May while she was still student teaching. It was fun to have them both at home and to get to know Doug even more :) Laura came over for supper and got to meet him too!

Date Day

A couple weeks ago I had the day off work so I was able to go out and have some fun with a couple of my good friends.

Josiah Schofield and I went out in the morning and went to Starbucks since his family doesn't go there very often - he's one of the few that likes it. We played some games and then went to the park and played pirates. It was raining, so we got pretty wet, but it was still fun :)

Josiah posing for the camera

I also have a video Josiah made, but blogger won't upload it right now...maybe later.

Victoria and I went on a date Monday evening and went shopping, took a walk by the lake (by then the rain had stopped), and then went to Perkins for supper. It was so fun to have some girl time together! :)

Discovery World

After Julie's Graduation on Friday morning (May 2nd), we all had a cookout at Doug's house along with a few other friends. It was so much fun and delicious! Saturday before Jenny and Jordan headed back up to Northland, we went to Discovery World and enjoyed looking around at all the neat stuff - especially all the hands on things, such as "creating" a few souvenirs on the Dream Machine.

Ate Supper at a Pizza place that I can't remember the name of - but it was good! :)
Julia & Kaden Dean!
Takin' a rest - Matt, Jess, Jules, Jenny, & Me
Doug & Julie by the beautiful Lake Michigan!
The Octagon House: The first Kindergarten in America!

Mom having fun being Grandma!
They had a place to pet fish - even a stingerless stingray! pretty neat! And the fish actually seemed to ejoy it! Found a neat place to chill! The headphones magnified all the sounds around you. I would like to have a hanging bubble chair like that at home! It was quite comfortable ;)
Julia snapped this candid - it looks like everyone's posing for a CD cover for a singing group or something. Haha!
Julia lying on the bed of nails. We all took a turn - even Grandma!
The guys providing power for the giant fan!

Visiting our dear friend, June O'Neil Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..it's so wonderful when we can all be together!
Jason on the Segway - he was a natural at it! I tried it, too - it's a pretty neat little form of transportation!
Julia and I - we found all these round mirrors and thought it made for a pretty neat background! I love Julia - she's totally like another sister!