Thanksgiving & Christmas Rolled into One

For Thanksgiving, we headed to Sibley to spend a long weekend with my family.

Thursday was the DeJong (my mom's side of the family) get-together at church.  This was the crew of mostly great-grandchildren with a few younger grandchildren added in as well.  Unfortunately, Annie missed this picture because Paul had taken her back to my parents for a nap.

But she was still able to hang out with her cousins!  She took fondly to Jilian...and her phone!

Thanksgiving evening, my mom, Ruby, and I got to pick up Hattie and Brandon from the Sioux Falls airport!!  They didn't know who was picking them up so Ruby hid under the seat in Grandma LaDonn's truck and grabbed their ankles when they got in the backseat!  Hilarious!

After bath time with Aunt Hattie :)

Thanks for the hand-me-down big sis/little sis jammies, Kelsey and Ashlyn!  Ruby and Annie love them so much!

The Hawkeyes played Nebraska on "Black Friday" so we all dressed up in our Hawkeye gear and snapped some pictures!  Grandpa Bill and Grandma LaDonn with their five grandchildren. 

We had a full house for the game!  And the Hawks won!

Saturday morning, we played some games with Hadley!

Hattie and Brandon were not able to come home for Christmas so we decided to celebrate early!  

So our Thanksgiving weekend turned into Christmas with more good food and opening presents!

Tate and Jace got super hero jammies!

These two can get on each other's nerves sometimes but we caught this sweet moment!  They were snuggled up in Grandpa's chair for quite some time, giggling away!

Ruby with her new watch!

After the kids went to bed, we played the saran wrap/oven mitt game.  Brandon won ;)

We had to head back Sunday afternoon...but we were able to catch a few pictures first!

Annie and Grandpa looking at one of Grandpa's hunting magazines.  Annie LOVES deer.

Me, with my brother, Kenny and sister, Hattie

Love them.

Someone couldn't be left out.

And these two took a nice car nap on the way home.  Signs of a fun weekend!

We always have a great time with family and this weekend was no exception!

Weekends Away

My dear friend, Jaci, gifted me with a ticket to the Belong Tour in Minneapolis, MN.  The two of us were able to get away for a moms only trip and spend some great time together.  We had a wonderful time listening to many amazing speakers and singers at the Belong Tour.  Paul, with a little help from his parents, were able to hold the fort down at home.  ;)

Then two weeks after that, Paul and I, along with Jon and Stef, met Joel and Amy in Minneapolis for a Vikings game.  Although the Vikings lost, we had a great time together.

 

We ran into Thad and Keevan from our church, so we had to snap a quick picture with them too!

Meanwhile, back at home, my parents were in charge!

Donuts at the park!

Grandpa Bill happily took over the deer feeding duties.

They ended up at the same park as Gary and Ruth who were staying with Sydney and Asher.

Thank you to my parents for staying with our kiddos so we could have a little time away!

Fall Fun

 We were blessed with the most beautiful fall.  The weather was so gorgeous and we were able to spend so many days outdoors! 

We went down by the Coralville Dam and threw rocks into the river.  Pretty sure we could have stayed there all day long.

 We found a trail off the pedestrian bridge at Iowa River Power Company that led to the river.

Someone "slipped" in

University of Iowa Cross Country meet

Park dates galore!

We took the Hawkeye Express one Saturday morning for game day.

Lots of neighborhood fun!  Aiden LOVES Annie!

Gary and Ruth camped at Kent Park one weekend.  We spent quite a bit of time out there with them and the oldest three grandkids were able to spend the night.

There is a Conservation Education Center at Kent Park.  The kids were able to meet some of the ornithologists there that study birds and they were even allowed to hold some of the birds that they were letting go back into the wild.

One-on-one time with my Annie girl at Colony Pumpkin Patch.

University of Iowa Homecoming Parade

Ruby and cousin, Sydney, were able to spend the day with Papa Gary and Grandma Ruth at a Grandparent's Day Camp in Pella.  They had a wonderful time together!

Annie and I got to tag along during Jace's walking field trip.

We spent a weekend in Sibley visiting my parents.

Trip to Bloomsbury Farm in Atkins, Iowa.

Wednesday mornings in October brought "Workout Wednesday" at Van Allen Elementary where the kids ran around the school to promote staying active and being healthy.  We carpooled with some of the neighbors.  This was my day to go and I caught Ruby holding the torch!  

Picking out our pumpkins at Colony Pumpkin Patch right down the road from our house.

A friend recommended Stone Wall Brick Oven Pizza in Wellman, Iowa.  We headed there one Friday evening with Paul's brother Jon and his family.  SO FUN.  It was their last night of being open for the season and we will definitely be going back there next summer!

We participated in our third annual Run For The Schools.

Cutest spectator award went to Annie!

Jace ran the 1/2 mile and shaved nearly two minutes off his time from last year!  ;)

Ruby, Sydney, and Clara ran the half mile first and then turned around and ran the Mile as well!

Annie got stung by a bee...

...nothing a popsicle couldn't fix.  However, she hasn't forgotten this incident.

 Fossil Gorge adventures

Annie and cousin, Asher

We ate popsicles well into November!

 We had two extra kiddos one morning!

My one-on-one park date with Jace!

Ruby has never asked to see any movie...until this movie came out!  I took the kids to a Saturday morning matinee while daddy was home sleeping after a night shift.  

Ruby loved it.  Jace said it was kind of boring.  Annie...well, let's just say, thank goodness for popcorn at 9am!

Paul and I got to enjoy a date night at the Iowa/Michigan game.  Best. Game. Ever.

I'm kicking myself at the lack of pictures, but I think it will be safe to say we will remember this one!

Winning field goal!

Ruby got to have a date with Dad at the Iowa men's basketball game.

Ruby also got to take a limo ride to Pizza Ranch one day for her success in the school fundraiser.

 Ruby and Jace have been taking swimming lessons this fall as well.

Fall wrapped up! ;)