Paul and Katie Van Heukelom

The best hugger in town

2012-01-30T11:19:00.001-08:00

She gives the best hugs, I swear! ;)

My little helper!

2012-01-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

Iowa City in January

2012-01-30T11:03:00.001-08:00

Last week we traveled to Iowa City for a few days. We were able to meet up with our good friends, the Beimers and the Kallemeyns. Here is Paul and Ruby with Scott and Lauren Kallemeyn. Lauren is just 7 weeks younger than Ruby. ;)

We headed to an Iowa Women's basketball game with Jon and Stef. Ruby loved the action and especially the pep band.

Nicole and Lauren met us for swimming one morning. The girls had a lot of fun!

We were also able to go to a Lone Tree basketball game. It was very nice to see some of my old friends!

Christmas

2012-01-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

Better late than never, right?! I figured since January is about over, I better update the blog or January will be non-existent on my blog profile! Paul worked over Christmas so Ruby and I headed to Sibley for a few days without him. Then we celebrated with Paul's family Dec.30 and 31st at our house. It was a lot of fun...except I ended up getting sick so Ruth and Stef ended up taking care of every meal and all the cleanup, so I felt really bad about that since I was supposed to be the host...oh, and it was our 7th anniversary on the 31st too. We had plans to go out with Jon, Stef, and Joel, but I ruined those plans...I was in bed by 9:30. Happy New Year! Good memories! :) We then drove back to Sibley on January 1st and celebrated with my family. It was a wonderful time and Ruby enjoyed opening her presents and playing with the boxes they came in!

My family:

My parents, Bill and LaDonn

Paul, me, Ruby, my sister Hattie, my sister-in-law Carrie, and my brother Kenny

Paul's Family:

Paul's dad Gary, brother Joel

Paul, me, Ruby, Paul's mom Ruth, niece Sydney, sister-in-law Stef, and brother Jon

My Aunt Susan and her kids were here from Colorado for the holidays so we had to take them to Peach Wave. We are hoping to make a trip to see them for Turner's graduation in May.

Ruby's ONE!

2011-12-20T23:03:00.000-08:00

My baby girl is ONE! Goodness, this year has flown and so much has changed for our little family! I can honestly say, that Paul and I have enjoyed every minute of this year with our precious babe. Ruby is such a joy and we simply cannot kiss her and hug her enough!

We had a little party for her on Saturday with our immediate families. She has been such a momma's girl lately and I was worried she'd be pretty shy with so many people in her house. But I was wrong! She was the life of the party! She showed off all of her tricks and enjoyed showing people how old she is now! The many gifts she received was just one more reminder of how spoiled and utterly blessed we are! Ruby did just what I expected when it came to her cake. She picked at it for the first little bit and when she realized we weren't going to take it away, she dug in and got very messy! As far as I could tell, she thoroughly enjoyed her birthday!

At her one year doctor appt. she weighed 23 pounds, 14.5 ounces which put her in the 90th percentile. Her height shot up from the 69th percentile (from her 9mo. appt.) to the 90th percentile! Her head circumference is still around the 25th percentile. She still has 7 teeth. She practically runs behind her walker, especially when being chased, but still isn't interested in taking any steps on her own. We have caught her letting go of furniture, toys, etc. lately but she will only stand on her own for a couple seconds before sitting down and crawling to her next destination. A couple weeks ago she climbed the entire set of stairs from our basement to the upstairs on her first try. She is fast, funny, and friendly! She waves to every stranger around lately, and makes some of the funniest faces! Her latest tricks are showing us she's ONE, tapping her legs, finding her ears, signing "more," and blowing kisses! She has taken on many nicknames in her first year of life (Rubes, Ruby Doobie, Rubes-Scadoobs, Root-Scooten' Doobie, to name a few!) and I'm sure there will be many more to come!

Ruby,

We love you forever and for always! We can't believe God gave you to us and we are excited to see what this next year brings for you. XOXO

~Mommy and Daddy

Hadley

2011-12-20T20:43:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, my cousin Karla, had surgery and we had the pleasure of watching her 4 year old, Hadley for a couple days! Ruby had fun having a playmate and we had a wonderful time having a 4 year old around! It was also my birthday while she was with us, and I'm pretty sure I had the best birthday a 29 year old could ask for, because we took Hadley to The Butterfly House and to a "bouncy house place!" We all had tons of fun and the little girls were quite worn out by the end of the day! Heck, who am I kidding? We were ALL worn out by the end of the day! ;)

11 Months

2011-11-22T19:36:00.001-08:00

Where is the time going? 11 months...really?! Ruby now has 6 teeth. She is walking behind a walker but really has no interest in standing on her own, let alone taking any steps. She has started "being shy" when she meets new people or sees someone in her house that she hasn't seen for awhile. She will bury her head in my shoulder. For the past few days she has refused to eat almost everything. She basically lives on yogurt melts, cheerios, and corn puffs. Silly girl. She still gets three bottles a day but has started to really get the hang of her sippy cup too. Ruby loves to play "chase," do "360s" with her daddy, and play "peek-a-boo." For the past month, Ruby has also been "growling like a bear." Not really sure how this started but it is one of her favorite tricks and of course makes us laugh every time she does it! She probably should have been a bear for Halloween! ;)

Getting the hang of walking...

...but sometimes this happens!

Peek...

...a-boo!

What happens when you fight your normal nap time! :)

Kinnick, Uncle Kenny and Aunt Carrie's dog, came for a visit! For the most part these two were oblivious of each other! They both just did their own thing! Although they both felt trapped by the baby gate!

We made a trip to Iowa City for Sydney's 3rd birthday party. Although I didn't get any pics of the birthday girl, here is Ruby enjoying a ride at Sydney's "Pig Birthday Party."

Watching the Hawkeyes with Uncle Kenny.

Snuggles for Daddy :)

Ladybug

2011-10-31T20:13:00.001-07:00

My little ladybug has three teeth poking through and a nasty cold right now but she didn't let that ruin her first Halloween! Daddy took Ruby to a few houses with a bunch of the neighbor kids. Then we just relaxed out front with a fire and handed out candy! Ruby was just as content watching the kiddos come to our house!

Grandma made Ruby her very own "Ruby" pumpkin!

Hattie's "Angry Bird", my OWL, Grandpa Bill's antlers, Grandma LaDonn's ghost :)

Ten Months

2011-10-24T21:34:00.001-07:00

Ruby seems to be learning new tricks everyday! Some of her favorites as of late are doing "touchdown" and "pig nose." She says "mama" whenever I ask her to and she gives lots of kisses...sometimes without us asking! She is standing up on everything but she still seems too shaky to take any steps too soon! Her top two teeth are starting to poke through which have caused some interesting nights... but I can't complain about a little extra snuggle time in the middle of the night! :)

We got to take a trip to the Butterfly House for the first time.

Stef and Sydney came for another visit!

Ruby seems to have a sweet tooth... just like mommy and daddy! She LOVES ice cream!

"Pig Nose"

Nine Months

2011-09-18T21:33:00.000-07:00

Our sweet Ruby girl turned 9 months on Saturday! It was a great day as the Hawks had an awesome come-back to beat Pittsburgh! Although Ruby's shirt is hard to see, she's sporting a pink-sequined Hawkeye onesie. The pictures below seem to portray her attitude throughout the game!

Ruby still only has two teeth. She is crawling all over the place - she likes to follow me around! She is starting to pull up on some things. She loves her bath, rough-housing with her daddy, and being held by mommy!

Ugh...the Hawks are losing...

Yay! The Hawks finally scored!

Oh boy, this game is making me nervous!

Woo hoo! The Hawkeyes WIN!!!!!

And just a few other pictures as of late...

Jon, Stef, and Sydney were able to spend the night at our house on their way to Fargo, ND.

...and Happy Birthday to Papa Gary!

Road trip to Iowa City

2011-09-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we traveled to Iowa City to stay with Jon, Stef, and Sydney for a few nights. We had a great time with them just hanging out and relaxing. One of the nights we were able to meet up with our good friends Scott, Nicole, and their little girl Lauren as well as our friends Evan and Jen. Although life in Sioux Falls is treating us well, we sure do miss these people!

For the past couple of years the Van Heukelom boys have given each other ridiculous gifts when it comes to birthdays and Christmas... thus the Vikings "beard heads" above. Luckily, the girls weren't even phased by their dads' goofiness.

Ruby absolutely LOVED being around Sydney! She tried very hard to keep up with her all weekend long! It was a very hard task for her though! :)

Sydney likes her hair "wild" but we talked her into wearing one of Ruby's flowers for just a couple of pictures. These two sure do take some cute pictures!

Eight Months

2011-08-31T21:42:00.000-07:00

Ruby's two teeth!

If this look tells us anything about the future, we may be in trouble!

Ruby and Grandma LaDonn

Being silly with Grandpa Bill

Ruby and Papa Gary

Getting stronger!

Snoozin' with Grandma Ruth

First trip to Falls Park

Ruby's arm stuck in her hairchair!

Swimming on the deck!

Ruby is getting quite the personality! She has several funny faces that are quite difficult to capture on camera but make us laugh everyday! She can't quite get her tummy off the ground to fully crawl but she can get wherever she wants by scooting or doing some form of the army crawl. Ruby loves when daddy throws her in the air. She loves peek-a-boo and being sung to sleep. She raises her hands when she wants to be held and has started to give kisses...the very slobbery kind.

Visitors!

2011-08-31T21:30:00.001-07:00

We had lots of visitors in August and we loved it! First, Stef and Sydney came and spent a couple of nights.

Uncle Paul helping Sydney feed the goats.

A couple days later we were able to spend a morning with our good friends Jen and Claire.

And then a couple weeks after that we got to see more good friends! Kyle, Katie, Anika, and baby Amira made the trip to the midwest from Baltimore. We were so glad they could stop in Sioux Falls for a little while to see us!

Grandma's Garden

2011-08-02T21:47:00.001-07:00

Ruby and I traveled back to Sibley on Sunday to spend the day with my parents and grandparents. We had to visit Grandma's garden and take a few pictures as well. I've often said that my mom doesn't just have a green thumb... but that all her fingers are green! Her garden is AMAZING and it looks so good right now!

Ruby with Grandpa and Grandma Great!

Seven Months

2011-07-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

Ruby turned seven months on July 17th. She is now sitting up very easily on her own. She has tried Puffs and doesn't care for them one bit. She was doing a great job eating baby food but for some reason in the last week or so, she has decided that she doesn't want her morning cereal/fruit. So she gets a bottle instead. She will however, eat her fruits and veggies at suppertime. She has two teeth on the bottom and still takes three naps. Her favorite trick the last month is to blow raspberries and boy can she go wild when she gets excited! Spit flies everywhere and on everyone and for some reason we think she couldn't be cuter! We probably won't say this if she continues doing this next year at this time! I weighed her the other day and I think she weighs a whopping 21 pounds! Her giggle is the best sound ever and we love her more every day!

Little Fishy

2011-07-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

We took Ruby swimming for the first time a few weeks ago and she loved it! She was pretty serious at first, but ended up splashing around and having lots of fun!

This is actually a bath tub but we blew it up and are thinking that we will use it on our deck as a little swimming pool. However, for now it remains in our living room...with no water of course!!!

Fourth of July

2011-07-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

We hosted our first (of many, I hope!) "party" for the 4th of July! We had a great time grilling out with our family on Paul's new green egg! Then the boys thought we needed some fireworks since they are legal in South Dakota, one bonus for moving out of Iowa. When they went to buy the fireworks, the guy selling them did give the boys a little warning about lighting them IN town, because they were "BIG" ones. Not really knowing what that meant, we decided to ask a few of our neighbors if they minded if we shot them off in the street and all of them said it was just fine. So... the boys lit them and they were HUGE!!!!!!!!! Our two minutes of fireworks were awesome! :) A few of our neighbors said that we just started a tradition! So I guess we better start saving for next year so maybe we can have four minutes of fun!

Ruby did get to see a few smaller fireworks before bedtime, but I put her to bed before we lit our big ones. I felt kind of bad that she was missing out but they were so loud that I'm sure she would have gotten scared anyway! Next year she will have the full experience of her daddy's pyro-obession!

Life in Sioux Falls

2011-07-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

We moved to Sioux Falls on June 19th. We are getting settled and are loving our new house. Paul started working as an Emergency Medicine doctor at Avera McKennan Hospital on July 11th, which gave us time to relax before he got busy with shifts. Although we miss Paul's brother, Jon, sister-in-law Stef, and niece Sydney (BIG time), living in Sioux Falls means we get to see the rest of our family more often. The rest of our siblings live in Sioux Falls now and my sister, Hattie is even living with us right now! We've also made a few trips back to Sibley already to see both sets of grandparents.

Ruby and her aunt, Hattie

Ruby meeting Kinnick, Uncle Kenny and Aunt Carrie's dog

Ruby at the zoo for the first time

Hanging outside

Helping daddy in his new office

6 Months ~ Moving Day ~ Paul's Graduation

2011-07-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

Yep. All of these things happened in one day! It was a busy day but everything went well, and Ruby and I are very proud of Paul for making it through three busy years of residency.

And on June 11th I....

2011-06-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

...blogged a LOT. Someone (other than my husband!) please see the 8 posts below so my afternoon will seem worthwhile! ;)

And here are a few more pictures... just because!

Ruby all pretty for her first attendance at a wedding.

Ruby rockin' in her new jumperoo!

Daddy's girl!

Playing with Cousin Sydney!

Slobbery kisses for Daddy!

Ruby and Jenny... Jenny will be taking over for me as Head Cross Country Coach at Lone Tree. I can't think of a better person to take over! She will do great! Good luck, Jenny! :)

Meet ELLA

2011-06-11T17:13:00.001-07:00

This is Ella. She is one of my cross country runners. Even though I won't be coaching at Lone Tree next year, she will always be one of MY cross country runners. Although I could probably devote a post to each and every runner on my team, because they are all equally cool kids, Ella and I seemed to get the closest throughout our years together. She is one of a kind, I tell ya. This girl is so sweet, determined, humble, and kind-hearted. She loves competition and puts forth her best effort in ALL she does. I have often said that I hope Ruby grows up to have many of the same qualities that Ella has. I will miss her next year! (But I have promised her and the rest of my team that I WILL be at a meet next year. And I've already marked my calendar for the STATE meet that they WILL be at!) So Ella, this post is for you! Thank you for being you! Keep working hard and text me whenever! ;)

5 Boys... and the ZOO

2011-06-11T16:34:00.001-07:00

I just had to share this...! When I found out last year that I would be teaching 3rd grade, one thing I thought of right away was the end of the year field trip to the ZOO! I LOVE the zoo! As the end of the year approached, I shared my love (and weird phobia... I love animals but really don't want to touch them... even dogs scare me!) of the zoo with my students and I'm pretty sure I was just as excited as they were! The zoo has a rule that there be an adult for every 5 students so that meant I basically got to hang out at the zoo with only 5 students! Pretty cool! I definitely hand-picked these 5 boys for myself for many reasons. One has Ausbergers, a couple of them have ADHD, and a few of them have less than ideal home lives. Now, don't get me wrong, they ALL have VERY, VERY loving parents. But one of the boy's parents are going through a divorce and a couple of them expressed to me that they had never been to a zoo in their entire third grade lives. We also got to cross the Mississippi on our way to the zoo - another first for several students. I just wanted these boys in MY group so I could make sure we had a BLAST at the zoo. And that we did! It was great! They definitely thought we needed to run from one area of the zoo to the other so they kept me on my toes! It seriously was great though! And this picture is just too awesome not to share!

Side note: after school got out, one of the boy's parents were arrested for having a meth lab IN their home. It seriously broke my heart to hear that one. So if you have an extra few minutes to just pray for these kiddos, I would sure appreciate it and the miracle of prayer is so powerful that it just might make a difference in these boys' lives.

SUE

2011-06-11T16:27:00.000-07:00

Ruby's first day with Sue.

Ruby's last day with Sue.

Sue was Ruby's AWESOME "daycare lady" (babysitter just seems like such an immature term!) and boy was she AWESOME!!!! I'm not sure how Sue does it, but she takes the best care of several teachers' kiddos during the school year. Although I'm super excited to get to hang out with my cutie every day next school year, we will definitely miss Sue! Thank you Sue!

Five Months

2011-06-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

Ruby really seemed to learn a lot right around 5 months. She learned how to roll over about a week before she turned 5 months (but she has only figured out how to roll from her back to her stomach).

Ruby also found her toes...

...started eating rice cereal...

...and learned how to read.

Oh nevermind... it's upside down.

...and backwards!

Joel Graduates!

2011-06-11T15:00:00.001-07:00

Paul's younger brother, Joel, graduated from the University of Iowa's Pharmacy School in May. He will now be moving to Sioux Falls, SD to do a one-year (which could turn into a possible two-year) residency. He found an apartment about a mile from our new house so we will be excited to see him often! (Speaking of new house...we move in a week...!) Joel has already moved and is busy studying for his upcoming test. Good luck, Joel!

Joel and his two adorable nieces! They love him and want everyone to know he's single!!!

Ruby and Papa Gary! Love this pic!

Great Gma Ruth and Great Uncle Greg came from Michigan to help Joel celebrate, so Ruby got to meet them for the first time!

Baptism

2011-06-11T14:27:00.000-07:00

On May 8th, Ruby was baptized back in our hometown church. It was very special as Paul's dad was able to baptize Ruby and my dad was the assisting elder. Ruby is such a happy baby, but of course, she decided to cry before, during, and after the baptism! I think she played a bit too hard on Saturday with all the family around and when Sunday came, she was just so tired, she didn't even know what to do!

Paul's family! Unfortunately, we don't have any more pictures from the baptism, but my mom took lots of great family shots. They are all on Facebook and for some reason I couldn't copy them into our IPhoto.
Sydney was hilarious all weekend long, which isn't unusual! This girl cracks us up ALL the time! Jon and Stef had been preparing Sydney all week for the baptism, which included answering lots of questions about what baptism was all about. Evidently, Sydney grasped that something would happen with water. So during Ruby's bath, Sydney shouted, "Baptize her! Baptize her!" It was really cute!

The other funny Sydney story occurred after baptism while we were taking family photos in the front of church. We asked Sydney if she wanted to hold Ruby for a few pictures. Of course, she was super excited to do so! So we got Sydney sat down on the top step (looking back on this, we probably could have found a better spot!). Then we placed Ruby on her lap. They both did great and we got some awesome pictures of them! After about 5 pictures from everyone's cameras, we were done and started putting the cameras away. Sydney realized this, and decided that since pictures were over, she didn't need to hold Ruby anymore and simply let go. Ruby tumbled down one step! Luckily, I was two steps down and caught her before she went any further! Sydney said, "She's kind of slippery!" We all laughed, Ruby seemed unaware of what just happened, and we all wished we could've gotten it on camera!!!!

At least we got her to smile afterwards! My parents had many family members over to their house for lunch after the baptism. It was wonderful to have them all there! I think we counted about 50 people! Thanks mom and dad!

Easter

2011-06-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

I guess you could say I'm a bit behind on my blogging... and I can't even say I've been that busy... writing has never been a favorite of mine, so I guess I've just put other things above the blog! So anyway, here are some Easter pics in June (ugh, so embarrassing!).

I had a wonderful 4-day weekend with my cute little lady! Paul had to work on Good Friday and the Monday after Easter but we had a great Easter just staying at home in Iowa City. Paul's brother Joel joined us for Easter lunch as he stayed in IC as well.

Four Months

2011-06-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ruby weighed over 14 pounds at her 4 month checkup. And as you can see, she was SO happy before the shots, and so sad afterwards. The nurses accused me of being a mean mom with the camera (I think they were kidding!) but I just couldn't help it! I still think she's just the cutest little thing when she cries!

Three Months

2011-03-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

Ruby came down with her first cold this week. Even though she sounds like a little piglet, she is still eating and sleeping very well. She is one tough cookie!

Two Months

2011-03-30T19:22:00.000-07:00

Yep, a little behind! Our little baby cakes is growing fast! She started going to daycare on March 7th and is enjoying all the other little kiddos there! Ruby did really well with her 2 month shots...when they poked her, her eyes got real big and she let out the biggest scream ever. Luckily, when I picked her up she recovered in about 5 seconds! She weighed just short of 12 pounds at 2 months.

Trip to Sibley

2011-02-16T17:51:00.001-08:00

Ruby was a great traveler when we went back home to Sibley in mid January. She also got to meet LOTS of people!

Ruby's Gpa Great and Gma Great (Katie's grandparents)

Cousins

2011-02-16T17:39:00.000-08:00

4 Generations

One Month stats

2011-02-16T17:30:00.001-08:00

So I've tried to update this blog for awhile now, but for some reason my pictures wouldn't upload, and a post without pictures would be a little boring! So I guess January is over and our baby girl is already almost two months old!

Ruby had a little trouble gaining weight her first month - she only gained three and a half ounces more than her birth weight by her one month checkup. At five weeks, she finally caught on and gained over a pound in 8 days! She was in the 15 percentile and back on the growth curve that she needed to be on. We are excited to see what she weighs at the end of this week at her two month checkup!

We just love her to pieces!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T09:38:00.001-08:00

Reading "The Christmas Story" to Ruby!

Merry Christmas to you!

Love, Paul, Katie, & Ruby

Ruby Kae

2010-12-24T12:02:00.000-08:00

Ruby Kae was born on Friday, Dec. 17th, 2010 at 1:16a.m. She weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and was 20 inches long. God has blessed us with the best Christmas present we could receive this year and we think she's a keeper!

Details of Ruby's birth story (in case you're interested...and if you're not, then consider these details as part of my own memory book b/c I don't have the best memory and want to remember how it all went!):

I had contractions Wed. night the 15th and finally decided it was time to go to the hospital around 3:00a.m. on Thursday morning. My water broke as the resident was monitoring me so we were there to stay. We ended up having the c-section talk a couple hours later as Ruby's heartrate was doing some funky things. The doctors went back and forth for over an hour. Just as we were about to say that we would go ahead with the c-section, Ruby's heartbeat started acting appropriately. I labored through the day and got an epidural around 2:30p.m. I went from 4cm to 10cm in two hours and was ready to push around 5:45p.m. Unfortunately, Ruby's head was OP or "sunny side up" which makes it harder to deliver. We once again had the c-section talk after 5 hours of pushing. However, our doctor thought we could hang in there and eventually used the vacuum and forceps to get her out. She arrived at 1:16a.m. Friday morning and had to spend a couple hours in the NICU but was soon able to join us! She is absolutely precious and nothing makes us happier than to have her home with us this wonderful Christmas season!

Uncle Joel

Grandma Ruth, Papa Gary, and cousin Sydney

Uncle Jon and Aunt Stef

Mom and Dad

Gma LaDonn and Gpa Bill

Aunt Hattie

Aunt Carrie and Uncle Kenny

Just Shy of 200,000

2010-12-15T19:56:00.000-08:00

After driving the Bonneville with no air, no rearview mirror, and no horn for the last year or so, it finally started having some other issues as well. Paul put it new power steering fluid, new brake fluid (which just continued to leak out and make our car beep nonstop), and the transmission was going. We decided that we couldn't quite drive it to 200,000 miles. We were very close though! So we said goodbye to our 1993 Bonneville and bought a new Toyota Highlander.

Week 39

2010-12-15T19:53:00.000-08:00

If I had to guess... I would say that this baby is going to come before Week 40! But since I really don't know what I'm talking about and this is just a guess... no one is going to laugh at me when the baby doesn't come until Week 41... right?!?! Stay tuned!... hopefully we will have exciting news soon!

Week 38

2010-12-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

Nicole's Shower

2010-12-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, Jen and I hosted a baby shower for Nicole! We made onesies for their new little babe and even though I didn't mean to iron on some of the letters backward... it turned out kind of cute! We had great fun and are so happy for Scott and Nicole!

Retreads vs. Da Heat

2010-12-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

So a few of Paul's old med school buddies decided to put together a 3 on 3 intramural basketball team - the Retreads - for a little tournament this week. They actually decided to have 5 players for their team (maybe that's normal for 3 on 3 or maybe it was due to the fact that they are all nearing their 30's)! Anyway, they won their first game on Tuesday night so they played again last night. Paul was talking pretty big before he left saying he'd be home within the hour because if they won, they were done for the night. After about 2 hours, I assumed they had lost and had to play again. However, when Paul got home he informed me that their ONE game had lasted that long. Apparently, they played a group of fellas who were the biggest foul-ers ever. Team members are supposed to call fouls themselves (as no refs are being utilized) and then you take the ball at half court again... so basically you can foul and foul all you want and nothing really happens. Well, the Retreads kept calling fouls because Da Heat were apparently hammering them big time, and Da Heat kept arguing the calls. To make a long story somewhat shorter... feuds kept breaking out because of the foul calling (with cussing and shoving galore). The teams are supposed to play best out of 3 games. In this crazy showdown, the Retreads won the first game, then Da Heat won the next. In game three, the aggressiveness intensified, which finally summoned the intramural supervisor over to their court. The supervisor eventually called the third game when the score was 14-13 and made both teams leave without naming a winner. The Daily Iowan (the undergrad newspaper) ended up being there, interviewing both teams, and publishing an article this morning in the paper. See here (as if this post isn't long enough for you already!). The article seems somewhat mild compared to the story that Paul shared with me, which could be due to Paul's exaggeration in story telling... or maybe just to make sure one team didn't sound "better" than the other (even though Paul assured me that their team was in the "right!"). Anyway, they ended up replaying game #3 tonight... and the Retreads won! I'm glad my husband came home alive and well!

Week 35-37

2010-12-01T16:12:00.001-08:00

35 Weeks... very unflattering... but this is my walking gear these days!

37 Weeks... "Mrs. V, it looks like you grew 2 inches overnight!" ~ 3rd grader

Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we stayed in Iowa City. Paul had to work and didn't want me to be five+ hours away from him! So instead, his parents came to IC and we had Thanksgiving supper with Jon and Joel (Stef and Syd were back in Sibley). We had a great time, way too much food, and tons of laughs (as usual!).

We have so much to be thankful for - we always do - but this year is extra special! This morning in church we sang "In Christ Alone," one of my all-time faves. There is a line in the song that really hit me this morning. "From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands our destiny." We are already so thankful that God has given us a little life of HIS to take care of. We are so thankful that God knows the plans for our baby and we are certain they are GREAT plans!

Front Row Seats

2010-11-16T20:42:00.001-08:00

Paul and I had made plans to attend the season opener of the Hawkeye basketball team earlier in the week. We paid the $12 for our tickets and were planning on sitting in section C, row 36. However, as we were walking around Carver, we ran into a doctor that Paul works with who had front row seats - literally on the floor. He said there would be two empty seats next to him and his son that we could have. Even though we were a bit nervous that we would get kicked out of them, we gave it a try! And, we made it the whole game with no one kicking us out! We had a great time, despite the Hawks losing to SDSU. Even though "Fran is the Man" according to the t-shirts the student section received... it may be a long season. But we will keep cheering anyway!

The ref to the right of the picture is my dad's cousin Rick Hartzell. He got yelled at plenty by the student section! ;)

Week 31-34

2010-11-16T20:23:00.001-08:00

31 weeks

34 weeks

Shower :)

2010-11-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, my sister-in-law Stef, and good friends Nicole and Jen, hosted a baby shower for me and baby VH. I simply cannot express how special the day was. They made it so much fun and we feel so spoiled. Our house is actually beginning to look like a baby is going to live here soon! Thank you so much girls!

My sister-in-law Carrie, Hattie, and my mom were able to make the trip to IC for the shower!

Everyone made little onesies using iron-ons. Hat made this one and it is just perfect!

The Jungle Cat

2010-11-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

Jon and Stef took Sydney to our house for Halloween - she was the cutest jungle cat ever! Sydney will even let you know that jungle cats like pepper and not cinnamon!

State XC

2010-11-10T18:39:00.000-08:00

On October 30th, we traveled to Fort Dodge with our full girls' team and Tyler who qualified for the State Cross Country meet. The weather was beautiful and the group performed well. The girls placed 11th out of 15 teams and Tyler placed 43rd - almost two whole minutes better than his time from last year. This is such a great group and I couldn't ask for better kids to coach for! Go Lions! I'm so proud of you!

Kenny & Carrie's Wedding!

2010-10-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

My brother got married last week and I now have another amazing sister-in-law! It was such a fun weekend and I enjoyed every minute of the festivities! Here are just a few pictures (more on facebook).

Week 26-28

2010-10-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

These pics are a little old. I'm actually almost 31 weeks! Time has flown! I still feel pretty good, although I can't really run around the golf courses anymore to cheer on my runners! A few facts: I passed my glucose test, the baby's head is down, and the veins in my lower left leg look horrible! I said something about my ugly leg to one of my runners and they said their grandma's looked worse. :) I'm not offended, it's a small price to pay!

26 weeks

28 weeks

Iowa vs. Ball St.

2010-09-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

So we got up this morning with plans to walk around Kinnick before the game. We checked the radar and knew it was going to be a rainy day. We decided to go anyway b/c we wanted to say hi to my cousin Jason who was bringing his 6 year old to his first Hawkeye game!... and we thought we could beat the rain. We ended up running into some friends that Paul works with who happened to have two extra tickets. We took them (still knowing that it was going to rain). We had no rain gear - and really weren't prepared to sit through a rainy game with the clothes we did have - Paul was wearing shorts. It was 54 degrees. Just a few short minutes after the game started it started to sprinkle. Then the rain really started coming in the 2nd quarter. At halftime the concession area was packed from people trying to warm up a bit. Luckily we did receive an oversized garbage bag from another friend. Paul and I poked two holes in it and shared it to stay somewhat dry. But... hey - NO fair weather fans here!!! This may be the only game I get to this season so I was glad we did it - rain or shine! And the Hawks dominated - even better!

Ranked!

2010-09-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Despite a heartbreaking beginning to our season (two senior boys decided they wanted to go out for football - b/c they thought they would always regret not having the "football experience" - even though their team was ranked 8th... seriously too heartbreaking to write more than that).... our GIRLS are ranked 10th in the state in 1A!!!! Not only is this team hard working and very talented, they are such an awesome group of girls! I couldn't ask for a better team. I am so proud of them and am excited to see what the rest of the season will bring!

Week 22 - 25

2010-09-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

22 weeks

25 weeks... Go HAWKS! ;)

Reunion in P-town

2010-09-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

I have been holding off on writing this post b/c I was hoping for some pictures to share but the pictures I was given said "No copying" so I thought I better follow the rules! In August we spent the weekend in Pella with Paul's family - Ruth's side. It was Grandpa John's 80th birthday and the whole family was together. We had a great time and took a whole family picture. I think the pictures turned out very nicely - sorry I don't have any to share! We also had a giant water fight after the formal pictures which also would have been fun to share in pictures. Anyway, I guess you will have to trust that we had a fantastic time in Pella and hope to keep this tradition going.

Halfway Mark!

2010-08-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it but I am already halfway through my pregnancy! We had our 20 week ultrasound last Friday and it was so awesome. We saw the baby yawn and then it was moving like crazy! The ultrasound technician actually had a hard time getting pictures of the baby's arm because it kept dancing all over the place! So fun!

20 weeks

21 weeks

Cross Country officially started this week - just in time for the hottest week of the summer! For that I am glad I'm only just over the halfway mark!

Geo-caching with Nick & Becca

2010-08-08T18:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Becca, my best friend from high school, and her husband Nick, came to visit us! We had a great weekend with them. For the most part we just hung out and took them around Iowa City to see the sites and walk around downtown. However, they did introduce us to a new activity: geo-caching! In case you are unfamiliar, you use a GPS system to find caches that other people have hidden. It is kind of like a scavenger hunt but you don't really know what you are looking for. The caches are usually in small key boxes or other metal boxes. We went to three different locations but only found one cache - not the best statistics but we had a fun time anyway! Thanks for visiting Nick and Becca!

Here are the boys looking for a very small cache at one of the gates around Kinnick stadium. Unfortunately, we did not find this one and we don't have a picture of the one we did find.

A Weekend for Carrie

2010-08-06T13:14:00.001-07:00

The last weekend in July, we headed back to Sibley for a packed weekend with family. While Paul spent a lot of time with his parents, I spent a lot of time with my sister-in-law to be! On Saturday morning we had a bridal shower for her, followed by a trip to the Lakes for her bachelorette party. After spending the night at her sister's house, we drove to Sioux Center and had another bridal shower! She received lots of fun gifts throughout the entire weekend!

On Sunday night we had a wonderful meal with my family - made by my dad on the Green Egg! It was a rare and special occasion to have all of us home in July! As you can see, it's never a dull moment!

Paul then had an interview in Sioux Falls, SD on Monday. He has not received a job offer thus far but we are actually kind of thankful for that as he doesn't interview at Iowa until mid September. Please keep us in your prayers as we go through the job searching process. We were also able to spend some time with some good college friends, Ryan and Pam Klenner, when we were in Sioux Falls. It was so nice to see them!

Growing Tummy!

2010-07-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

Definitely growing! I absolutely love it but I will admit that it is the craziest feeling ever! I started feeling the baby move a little bit around 16 weeks. Just some small flutters (that refuse to keep occurring after I feel it once and wait to feel it again... stubborn little thing)!

16 weeks

15 weeks

14 weeks

13 weeks

2nd Annual Baltimore Trip

2010-07-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

On July 2nd we flew to Baltimore to visit our good friends Kyle, Katie, and Anika Van Arendonk. We had a blast with them and found lots of fun things to do while visiting. A few highlights: Friday we visited the Baltimore City Aquarium, Saturday went to the Baltimore City Symphony/Fireworks show, Sunday we had our first Crab experience! Thanks Van Arendonks for a wonderful trip! (See their blog for more pictures... I'm hoping the arrival of the baby will help me become a better picture-taker!)

Baby Time!

2010-06-21T15:42:00.000-07:00

We are having a baby! and we couldn't be more excited!!!! The due date is Dec. 21st so right around Christmas - my favorite time of year! Everything happens in December it seems... my birthday, Christmas, our anniversary... why not add one more reason to celebrate!

I am already through my first trimester. I've been feeling great and my tummy is already growing! I love it! We are so in love with this baby already and can't wait to meet him or her! Paul thinks the baby is a girl and I think it's a boy... time will tell as we are going to wait to find out!

So... time to get ready for baby! I haven't bought or read a thing so I guess you could say I'm winging it for the time being. We aren't going to paint the baby's room - I love the blue/gray paint that is already there and if it's a girl, she won't mind (or notice!), right?!? I'm excited to start this new journey, especially with my wonderful hubby by my side!

The end of another school year...

2010-05-29T14:07:00.001-07:00

Only one day left with my awesome fourth graders. Although I LOVE summer, I will miss this class - they were great! And it also marks the end of my fourth grade career... at least for a little while. Next year I will be teaching third grade. This was not my decision but I'm trying to make the best of it! I will get to go to the zoo next year instead of Old Threshers so that's a bonus (even though it's only one day out of the year!).

I can't believe that another school year is over. It has been a busy one for both of us. Our summer is definitely starting to fill up as well. I will be headed home for a few days in early June and then when I return I will begin a six week session of summer class. Three of those weeks I will stay at UNI from Tuesday-Thursday. Paul will be in the SICU and so we plan on not seeing each other too often. :( However, he officially starts his third year of residency in July and begins with an elective month! We plan on taking a weekend getaway over the 4th of July (hopefully somewhere with spectacular fireworks... destination to be determined!) and we will probably head home again for a few days in late July. That will pretty much wrap up the summer as Cross Country will start the first week of August! Cheers to a great summer!

It's April already?

2010-04-05T20:17:00.001-07:00

Ok... so I'm really not so good at this blog thing! I love reading all of my friends' blogs... just am not so good at creating my own posts.

Anyway, I cannot believe it's April already! This means that I have less than two months left of school, 8 master's classes left before summer, track season is here, and Easter has come and gone. April means that chief residents have been selected for next year, which Paul was chosen for, and he is back in the ER after a wonderful month of research.

Over the past few months, here are a few of the things we've been up to:

Hanging with our hilarious and sweet niece, Sydney.

Spending quality time with some dear friends.

Hosting a baby shower (actually, I was the only one who participated in that one!) My friend, Nicole, and I made this cute "diaper cake" -- super easy!

Spent Easter with my parents and sister who came to Iowa City for three nights!

Wrapping up '09

2010-01-10T17:24:00.000-08:00

Despite the Christmas blizzard, both Paul and I were able to make it back to Sibley. We drove separately as Paul had to be back to work earlier than I wanted to head back, but we both arrived Tuesday night, the 22nd. I made it in time to watch my dad's basketball team win an awesome and intense game!

We spent Christmas Eve with most of Paul's family. Jon wasn't able to make it back because of the weather, but we had him on Skype a couple of times throughout the day. Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures from my camera but Sydney opening her gifts was definitely a highlight! When she opened a gift she had to hold it up to the computer screen to show her daddy... so cute!

The only other pictures (on my camera) captured from our time spent with Paul's family was of the "Polar Plunge." I'm not sure how it came about, but Paul and Joel decided it would be fun to play in the snow. Since everything is always a competition with them, they decided to run out in the snow with only their shorts and t-shirts. They're crazy... but funny to watch!

We spent Christmas Day with my family.

Katie, Kenny, and Hattie

We played a game called Compatibility. Paul and I were the losers... :(

Paul and I have yet to send out a Christmas card/picture (maybe someday!) but here is the picture my mom and dad sent out of the Hartzell family. Merry Christmas!

After Paul returned to Iowa City, I stayed for a few more days. We were able to get lots of my mom's side of the family together at Grandpa and Grandma's house. Even though the house wasn't nearly as full, we were still able to get a picture with some of the grandkids and great grandkids.

I traveled back to Iowa City on Dec. 31st just in time to celebrate our 5 year anniversary! We went out to eat at Joseph's in downtown Iowa City.

On Saturday, Jan. 2nd we were able to make a trip to Pella to visit our good friends Kyle and Katie Van Arendonk and their 5 month old daughter Anika who were visiting from Baltimore. It was so nice to see them and spend a few hours with them!

We hope you were able to enjoy a wonderful time with family and friends, celebrating the reason for the season! Happy 2010!

It Takes 3 Snow Days...

2009-12-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

Yes, it takes three snow days to update our blog... not just one... three! About a dozen inches of snow and windy weather, was the culprit of me staying home from school three days this week! I was able to get lots of things done, including my last paper for the semester! I had fun though too as Paul was able to stay home with me for two of the days and I got to hang out with my niece Sydney for a short afternoon!

And obviously, I am on a monthly basis update when it comes to this blog! November was filled with caramel apple night with some friends, Sydney's first birthday, my sister and my newly engaged brother coming to Iowa City for the last home football game, and going back to Sibley for Thanksgiving!

Abe and Erin's annual caramel apple night!

Happy 1st Birthday, Sydney! We love you!

Yes, Paul is holding a "pet" skunk while tailgating before the Iowa vs. Minnesota game. The Hawks end the regular season 10-2!

Carrie, me, and Hat! My sis and sis to be! We are so excited for Kenny and Carrie and couldn't be happier! Carrie and Kenny were high school sweethearts and reunited after five years! We always thought he let the good one slip aways, so we are thrilled that God brought them back together! Love you guys!

Sydney and Aunt Kate!

Blizzard - Dec. 8-10

The 8th was also my birthday - I think this was the first time to have a snow day on my birthday!

October... Come and Gone!

2009-11-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

Well, since it's been awhile... I thought I better get this blog updated! I cannot believe that October is already over. It's been one busy month!

Actually, I should probably back up a bit. September 22nd was Paul's birthday! He turned 28... he often forgets, so I thought I should document that! Paul's parents and grandma were in town throughout that week so we were able to see them over his birthday which was very nice. Paul's dad also had a birthday that week so we had to snap a picture of the birthday boys!

The following weekend, we went to Storm Lake to watch Hattie play volleyball. Unfortunately, the Beavers lost and Hat did not get to play. But we loved spending the day with my mom, dad, and sis!

It was also my parent's 31st wedding anniversary on September 23rd!

We love you guys!

A few weeks later in October, we were able to see Hattie play volleyball again in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. And... she played varsity! The Beavers still lost (to put it nicely, they haven't had the best season... but we are just so happy Hattie is getting to play!) We had a great time together and enjoyed (or I should probably say, agonized over) watching the Hawkeyes play Michigan State. What a game!

Above: Hat, Smalls, and Bailey!

Below: Kate, Hat, and Mom hanging out in the hotel room!

We also got to babysit our niece, Sydney one night! She is at such a fun age! Syd is so smart and absolutely hilarious! She has a great personality and we love spending time with her! I mean... just look at those baby blues!

The rest of October was consumed by Lone Tree Cross Country! I had seven cross country meets and six pasta parties! But it all paid off!!!!! The Lone Tree boys' team placed third at Districts, earning them a trip to the STATE cross country meet! Our girls, unfortunately placed fourth by 12 points. However, we did have two freshman girls place in the top 10 which also qualified them for the STATE meet. So this past weekend, we made the trip to Fort Dodge (where I ran ten years ago!). The boys tied for last place but hey, it was the STATE meet! :) The girls ran incredibly well, placing 21st and 24th out of 131 runners! I just cannot get enough of these two girls! They are so determined and have such awesome attitudes! Hopefully next year, they can lead their whole team to State!

(More STATE pics to come!)

In other exciting news from October: The Hawks are now 9-0!

The week in review...

2009-09-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

This past week was Homecoming week at Lone Tree. My cross country team ran at the City High Invitational and got our behinds kicked! Little 1A Lone Tree came in last place against 5 other 4A schools and a 2A school ranked in the top five in the state and another 1A school ranked first in the state! However, the runners' times were outstanding so we considered it a pretty good meet! Last week we ran at Fairfield and one of our freshman girls won the race! She is now ranked 13th in the state!

One of our senior girls was voted Homecoming Queen and another was on the court. We were pretty excited and proud that two of the three girls on the court are part of the cross country team. I think we may finally be making a name for ourselves!

The other "highlight" from Homecoming week happened on Wednesday night when our house was TP'd by the cross country boys. I was really bummed that we didn't hear them... we would have totally scared them otherwise! They did a pretty good job and it didn't take me too long to clean up! Sorry the picture is pretty dark....

On Saturday, I went out for breakfast and then took a trip to the apple orchard with my good friends Katie and Christine.

And then, Paul and I scored some Hawkeye tickets from our good friends, Chris and Amy Hogrefe. We had awesome seats and saw a good game. Iowa beat Arizona 27-17.

Nik and Jeremy's wedding

2009-09-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Katie was able to attend her cousin, Nikki's wedding (unfortunately, Paul had to work all weekend). Nik married Jeremy Vershoor, making Nikki another Mrs. V! She was a beautiful bride, yes, in red! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the groom, nor did I get one with both of my parents... so if I can round up someone else's pictures, I will post those later!

Hattie, the Beaver!

2009-09-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

Katie's little sister, Hattie, just started her freshman year at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, IA. She is starting as a biology major and is also playing volleyball for the Beavers. She is such a cool kid and we love her to pieces! She seems to be doing well and is enjoying college life! Her boyfriend, Greg, is also attending BV so we think that helps! We would appreciate prayers for her as she is trying to decide what exactly she wants to do with her life and if she wants to remain a biology major! Oh the joys...! We love you Hattie and are so proud of you!

http://www.bvu.edu/athletics/sports/volleyball/

Teacher, Student, and Coach!

2009-09-07T06:58:00.001-07:00

Well, school has started! We both love this time of year, Paul more so for the football aspect! I have a great group of 4th graders again and am having fun getting to know them!

I have also started my Masters in Administration through UNI (FYI...this doesn't make me more of a Panther fan than a Hawkeye fan!) It is a Monday night class over the ICN at City High in Iowa City. I really haven't been too overwhelmed yet which is nice. I'm just trying to stay on top of things!

And of course, cross country is in full force! I coach boys and girls high school and junior high. We had our first meet last week and were super happy with the results! The high school girls finished in 2nd place!!!! They were second only to Pekin, who are the defending State Champs! Our girls placed, 3rd, 6th, 13th, 34th, and 56th. The boys finished in 7th place. It should be a fun season!

Sydney

2009-09-07T06:53:00.000-07:00

Jon, Stef, and Sydney moved back to Iowa City this summer and we are so happy they are only 15 minutes away now! Sydney is growing up so fast and is very active! She is at such a fun stage and really has a great personality! We love her!

Baltimore/D.C. Vacation

2009-08-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Paul began a week of vacation and we were able to take a trip to Baltimore, MD to visit our good friends Kyle and Katie Van Arendonk. At the time of purchasing our tickets, Kyle and Katie were expecting their first child and we were hoping that the new babe would be at least a week old by the time of our arrival. However, Katie went through 41 weeks of pregnancy and so Anika Kate was a mere three days old when we met her! Although our trip had many highlights, meeting Anika was definitely the best. She is absolutely adorable!

On Friday, we took the afternoon to see the sights of Baltimore, via the Water Taxi. We had a great time on the boat and enjoyed getting out a couple of times to walk around the Inner Harbor.

One of the stops took us to Fort McHenry which was a military fort used in the War of 1812 when the British Navy attacked the Baltimore Harbor.

After this battle took place, the flag still waved in the same spot as the flag in the picture below. This inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star Spangled Banner."

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Washington D.C. Neither of us had been there before so we definitely heeded advice from many before our trip. We ended up walking the whole day instead of opting for a bus tour and although we were glad to stop at our hotel by late afternoon, we were glad we chose the walking option. We visited three museums: The Museum of Natural History (our favorite), The Air and Space Museum, and The Museum of American History. We definitely enjoyed walking around the National Mall and visiting all the monuments. The Washington Monument was Paul's favorite.

This is the view from the Lincoln Memorial.

Although we did see the First Dog, this was the only picture we took around the White House.

We enjoyed walking around the monuments, so after eating supper at the Old Ebbit Grill, we walked down to the Mall for a second time and enjoyed the monuments all lit up. The WWII monument was Katie's favorite.

On Sunday morning, we drove to Arlington Cemetery. It was a quick trip because of the heat but we were able to see the Kennedy gravesite, the eternal flame, and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

On Sunday night, after returning to Baltimore for one last night, Kyle and Katie took us to Rita's Italian Ice and Custard down around the Inner Harbor and then to Federal Hill Park. We had a fabulous time on vacation and spending time with the Van Arendonks.

Jumping on the Blogwagon!

2009-08-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends! So I finally decided to start a blog... I seem to enjoy reading everyone else's blogs so I thought I would just start one too!

Our summer has been going well and extremely fast! Paul is quite happy about the fast part and I am just somewhat ok with it! Paul had a busy month in the trauma unit in June, ending his first year of residency. Then he started his second year in July on the NICU/PICU floor. He is now back in the ER and is quite happy about that. Even though his hours are quite irregular, he is not on call or at the hospital for more than 12 hours at a time! I am gearing up for my fourth year teaching fourth grade and coaching cross country....and... starting my masters....yikes! So when I've had those lazy, relaxing days this summer, I just remind myself that I will soon be so SO busy!

Well, that's my first blog - short and sweet! We hope this finds all of our blogging friends well and happy and we look forward to keeping in touch through the blog world!