Cargill Family Day

For those of you who don't know, John works for Cargill. It is a corn processing plant that makes corn syrup, corn starch, corn anything really. It's pretty much one of the biggest food industry giants in the world. Yup. I know. Kinda....ironic? that we seek to live a lifestyle that is additive/preservative free, grown from the land, straight from the farm, etc etc etc. And yet that lifestyle that we strive to live is actually funded by a company that makes bazillions of dollars in making processed, fake, highly sugared foods. Hmmm.....
*gotta get food on the table somehow*
Any hoot-a-majooty. Every couple of years, this Cargill plant opens the doors to the employee families. They offer tours, prizes, meals, free PPE (personal protective equipment)  ;-), etc to all the employee families. This is a pretty big deal because the plant is closed to ALL non employees. ALL. They are very very very strict about security. On Saturday they held a family day. So we packed up the kids and headed to CarGAIL(as Yvette would say). I must say it was rather fun and very nice to see where John works and what he does. They had a lot for the kids. There was a corn pool with prizes the kids had to climb in and dig out. They gave childsized PPE to every kid (hardhat, work gloves, glasses, and ear plugs). And we got to jump on a tour bus and drive around the plant, see some of the work areas, and walk around a little bit. It really was great. The kids had so much fun. And I think it was really great for John too.

*Wyatt was the cutest thing out there...okay, maybe not the cutest (I'm kinda partial to 30something men in hardhats, utility glasses, and black tshirts....but that's just me). Wyatt got into it. He wore it all and checked out everything John pointed at and made comments accordingly. It was really really funny.

"We're Following The Leader..."

Enjoying this amazing wonderful fall weather!!!.....

More Weekend Fun To Share

My mom came with Isabell and Abby this past weekend. And did we have fun!!!! The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast.

Pass It On

My grandfather made this rocking horse for my brothers and I in 1982 when Stephen was born. Along with it came a mini rocker for Steve and a dolly cradle for me. All made by hand by my grandfather. OH the miles we put on this horse! And now they all sit in my living for my children to play with. All still sturdy and ready to ride.
What memories this brings back.......

*thanks Grandpa!!!*

Days Of Summer

Can summer get any better than this? A hot and breezy Saturday afternoon of playtime with cousins and friends and some oh-so-yummy homegrown watermelon. I think I can taste it again just thinking about it.

Sun Bathing

It begins with an innocent washing of the hands.

Which lead to a curiousity and a dress soaking....

...and the dress comes off.....

..."Mom, my hair is stinky.....can I wash it?".....

...then the tummy and the inevitable question..."Mom, can I get nakey?"...."No, Yvette. You leave you pants on."

....and the hair again with a question from me, "Yvette, are you all clean yet?"....."Almost...."
She continued to wash herself for a good 30 minutes. Quite possibly the most entertaining 30 minutes of our day. She was so content with her wash bucket and rag. What 2 year old wouldn't be!!!

Hey. I know what you are thinking.....*sigh* "those were the days..." (of freedom and innocence and curiousity).

no use trying. this kid is the messiest, loudest, stubbornest, rowdiest, most willful of all 3 put together!

yet i just can't stop kissing him. is it because he's the baby? is it because he's just so darn cute? is it because he's spoiled? or is it just because I"M his mom? i don't know....maybe all of those reasons. i suppose it doesn't even matter. he's mine.

SPARKLE!

Four Days With Grandpa

John's dad stayed with us from Sunday until today. He was so easy to have around and he got some great quality time in with the kids. Oh did they all have fun together!!!!

Kite night. Melvin, John, Justin, and the kids were all out in the field. At one point there were 7 kites in the air and only 3 adults out there. I think Wyatt had a kite attached to his stroller, Hayden had one in hand, and Mel had 3 going...."the kite master"!

Hayden and Mel helped John fix the shingles on the roof. Darn wind storms keep blowing off our shingles!!!

And the park visit.....we had fun!

MY LOVE!!!!

Hayden's Hospital Stay

Hayden wanted his brother and sister to visit so badly. He waited and waited and tried to stay awake until they got there. He fell asleep about 15 minutes before they got there. We couldn't wake him for nothing!

So we made sure we took pictures to prove they DID come visit him like he wanted.

Hayden's first trip outside of his room. His legs were still a little too weak to walk on so he got the "medwagon":

And just before we left John asked if Hayden could maybe meet a helicopter pilot. They took it a million steps further in invited him to the roof to meet the pilot AND sit in the helicopter. Hayden LOVED that!

And then we went home with a safe bill of health!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers!