VBS, sparklers, and Iowa City

Kind of a week of pics wrapped in one! The kids went to Vacation Bible School last week and had a great time! They made lots of crafts and have been singing the songs allllll week (which was ok the first day, but now I too know all the words :) ). I only got one picture all week...here they are in the visors they made.

And that night they lit some sparklers too. Grace has come a long way...last year she didn't want much to do with them!



Yesterday I met Phyllis and Dick in Iowa City, they took Ben and Grace to Galesburg until Thursday. I drove around Iowa City (or heaven as I like to call it!) and loved it! Iowa City makes me happy :). I went to Sycamore Mall to see my old friend Chanon at Waldenbooks where she works and had a great chat! Lots of fun!

Jim's graduation party

Saturday we went over to Eldridge to Jim's graduation party. I can't believe these kids are so old now! They had a really nice open house, with lots and lots of people. We're very proud of Jim, he's a great kid. And he's going to Iowa...YES!!

Eli, day 3 (late of course!) and new pets

Eli and Grandpa went home today and took Tyler and Matt with them. Joel had some yard work lined up for the boys to do, so I think they'll stay over at his house before heading for ND. Yesterday we took the kids to the movie Up...it was so cute! The kids did really well, it was in 3D and they kept their glasses on most of the time.
Matt set up an obstacle course for the little kids to ride their big wheels around. Matt attempted to ride a big wheel too :).And we ate dinner at Grandma and Don's house, with Dilly Bars for dessert...yum!
Today we added two new pets to the Kinney zoo. A stick caterpillar, which actually looks exactly like a stick (not a walking stick bug with legs, this is a caterpillar) that Ben named Dexter, and a Betta fish they named Perry.

Eli, day 2

We had a rather uneventful day today. It was cool and cloudy, so the kids played inside at Grandma's most of the morning. When they came home we went across the street to the park. Grace and Eli were playing a game on the slide where they sort of dogpiled on each other going up the slide. Luckily, we were the only people at the park so it was ok :). Eli accidentally stepped on Grace's head once and the game was over....I told her she shouldn't be laying on the slide in the first place! We came home and took Eli over to Jake's house to play. When he got home they played in the backyard for awhile while we grilled some chicken for supper. I'm pleased to announce that Eli ate most of his food tonight! Woohoo, I'm getting better! After baths they decided to watch some Disney channel and eat popsicles. Next, off to bed!

Oh, I forgot the obligatory flower picture. This is my mom's purple clematis...it's SO pretty!

Eli

Eli came down with Grandpa Jim to stay with us a few days. They are going back on Wednesday...Tyler and Matt are going back with them to stay a few weeks in ND. Hopefully the snow will be melted at my dad's house...they got SNOW yesterday, how ridiculous is that?! Today has been pretty laid back for the kids. They woke up around 7 am (after not going to bed until after 11 pm last night!), then spent the morning over at Grandma's. They came home after lunch and played a little, then had some quiet time reading books. After that Eli found the Nintendo DS and was enraptured on the couch for awhile :).

Matt took them to the park, then they came home and ate supper. We had spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. After I put the plate in front of him, Eli said "I don't like salad. And I only like noodles with cheese and butter on them". :)..I told him it was fun to go to different places because you could try new foods. He looked at me with that Eli blank face LOL, kind of like I was crazy. He did take one bite of salad and two bites of noodles after some bribing with another park trip. Here's what his plate looked like AFTER he ate....pretty much an eaten out crust of garlic bread.

I'm waiting for him to ask me for a PB & J :). Tyler took them to the park again after they ate. Grace and Eli went into a bush and picked some berries. During his bath Eli told me "I forgot that I put my berries in my sheens". I said "Do you mean your shorts?". "No, my sheens...they are half shorts and half jeans because they have so many pockets". HA! He cracks me up! After baths we all settled into the basement because we had a tornado warning and the sirens went off for like half an hour. The kids were unphased and played several rousing games of Guess Who.

Oh, and Joel we got your Odyssey in the garage in case you were worried.

We have another licensed driver in the house!

Tyler got his license today!! He was really nervous because he had to take the driving test at the DOT, but it was actually easier than driver's ed. Look out drivers of Central Iowa! This is a pretty bad picture LOL...I snagged him from his basketball game and he's all sweaty :).

Congrats Tabitha and Connor!!

All the grandkids, minus Melissa. We missed you Mellie!!

We went down to Bloomington over the weekend for Tabitha and Connor's graduation parties. Tabitha graduated from Illinois State University and Connor graduated from high school. I still can't believe how grown up they both are, it makes me sad!! It was really fun to see everyone...we miss them all!