Life's Been Busy

So I guess I haven't posted for over a month (almost 2). We've been really busy - I started my new job at Mercy - I really like it - the hours suck (I decided to work 11-7s), and it's unbelievably busy, but it's good. Levi spent some time at Patty Grandma's. We went to the Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque with Candi and the girls and Patty Grandma. Oh, and we stopped at the dog track on the way home! And of course, Reese turned 1! Last weekend we ventured to Davenport and attended to Devine family reunion. On the way home we stopped in Des Moines at Agatha's Bridal shower and Smith family reunion. I'm sure there's a lot more in between that I'm forgetting. Anyway, here's a slide show, mostly of pictures from our trip to the Mississippi River Museum.

DAVENPORT!!

We had a very full weekend in Davenport. On Friday, the kids ran the JrBix - they had a great time, check out Candi's Website for more info and pictures!

Reese, Hallie, Levi and Taylor in their racing gear!

Levi and Hallie running through the sprinkler.

Levi, Brianna, and Taylor with their metals after the race

We visited the Devine side on Saturday and had an absolute blast!

Grandpa Devine and Taylor and Levi singing their ABCs for Aunt Sue and Grandma Trudie!

Then we headed to Candi's house for dinner (Jessie was there too), but even the scrapbooking queen didn't get her camera out! We finished up Sunday with a big dinner at Great Grandpa and Connie's before making the 6 hour journey back home. We sure were glad to see everyone, and in spite of the long car ride, it's always worth it.

Not just for Bridal Showers Anymore!

So what do you do when your toilet paper has been strung all over the house by a playful three year old? Play dress up, duh! Hopefully this doesn't reinforce the behavior (although I'm sure we'll have to have a discussion later about why we can't do it again) It was fun, and I'm totally bringing a case on Labor day, we can do boys vs. girls it'll be way fun!

The Amazing Spider-man!

Grandma Carol had a great find this summer at a garage sale, A REAL SPIDER-MAN SUIT. I'm sure it's real - not your average Halloween costume - because since we've acquired the suit Spider-man has graced our house almost everyday! Thank you Grandma Carol for hours of fun!

Hairdos

Levi came up with some wonderful hairdos for the wedding. Let me know what you think.

JULY

I realize it's been a while since I posted, but honestly, not too much to take pictures of around here. I did get a new job!! YES!! I start August 6th at Mercy!! We haven't been doing a whole lot, we spent a weekend in Grandma Carol's pool - I was too busy swimming to take a picture though, and we visited Grandpa and Nana yesterday. I finally put some of Levi's pictures on to my computer and was excited about some of the results (Clearly, I took some of the pictures). Here's his slide show.

Happy 4th of July!

I don't have pictures to post, but I wanted to wish you all a happy fourth (I know it's a little late, but the neighbors here are still celebrating with fireworks so I figured it wasn't that late). Tuesday Jake and I went to a Sioux City explorers (baseball) game - they're horrible, but it was kinda fun and I finally got a big pretzel - I've been craving one for weeks! We got rained on and wimped out in the 5th inning! Wednesday we drove down to Ida Grove and went golfing and then took Levi to the fireworks in Battle Creek - for being such a small town they always put on a good show! I still have absolutely no idea what we're going to do this weekend - Grandma Carol is coming up for dinner tonight, and I have to work at 11. Monday I have a job interview at Mercy - cross your fingers!

THE BIG PARADE

Sioux City's Mardi Gra celebration was this weekend! There was a carnival and the BIG parade. It wasn't as big as Holstein's, but included giant balloons! We had fun watching it.

We also met Robi and Ashley at the Omaha Zoo on Saturday, unfortionatly I forgot to recharge my camera's battery after the parade. I did get one shot of Brandon (Ashley's son) and Levi looking at a gorilla.

Holstein Parade

This weekend Holstein celebrated their 125th Birthday, and we decided to check out the celebration. Saturday was the parade and Grandma Carol and I took Levi and Taylor to go watch. WHAT A SURPRISE! The parade lasted almost 2 hours, and had minimal tractors and live stock! The kids really had fun and got tons of candy! We choose a really great spot, as before the parade started the Shriners came through and did their routine on the way to line up. They were Levi's favorite part.We even witnessed one break down!

Oh, we also had a Shrek encounter!

Mommy wow, I'm a big kid now.

We've been working very hard on using the potty, but it appears that Levi has mastered it! Tomorrow we're headed to Holstein for their 125th birthday celebration. It should be exciting, and we'll see how well he does away from home.

Sorry for the Wait!

So it's been a little while since I posted, I apologize. We haven't been doing a whole lot, but I do have some exciting news! Levi pooped in the toilet! In fact, he's pull up free today (he's only had one accident). We're very excited, and he's very proud of himself. Sorry for the delay and then the short post, but we haven't been up to much.

Memorial Day Weekend!

This weekend we drove to Eden Valley - which is a little secluded campground East of Cedar Rapids - I'm still not real sure where it is : ) We met up with the rest of the Devines and had a great time. I brought my camera, but it spent most of the time in the tent. For those of you who don't live close enough to know what the weather here was like this weekend - it rained, and I mean rained most of Saturday. We spent most of the day in the van trying to stay dry. Thank god our tent rocks and didn't leak!! Here are a few pictures to show you just how much rain we got!Notice the large puddle around our fire pit - it went inside too - amasingly, the guys were able to restart the fire and most of that puddle dried before we went to bed. Also, notice the large puddle in front of the wood pile - Grandpa Devine got a little wet when Sam (the dog) tripped him and he fell into that one!This pictures a little dark, but not everyone was upset about the puddles. Here's Levi and Sydney playing in one of the many puddles. This one came up to Levi's knees.

Here's Levi playing in another puddle - he told me he was taking a bath. This one is in front of Trudie and Jerry's camper.

In spite of the rain, we had an awesome time and are extremely exited for our next camping trip. We'll keep you posted as to where and when! Not a whole lot planned for the next few weeks - gotta save some money and get the house in order - sounds like fun uh?

BEACH PARTY

It's been raining here for a few days, and we've been kinda boring. Yesterday we decided to kick the day off with a BEACH PARTY!

First we set up the water (yes, that is a cleaned potty chair bottom),

then we had to change into our swimsuits

and of course a pool party is not complete without Friends!

Now we're getting ready for our first big camping trip of the year! We've got to dig all that stuff out, so check back next week to learn about camping with the Devines!

We're going to miss it, but Congrats Samantha for Graduating!! GOOD LUCK!

Dad's Birthday!

My sisters and I bought tickets to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. for my Dad's birthday. Notice the fantastic seats! Row 12! It was a little early, but a good time was had by all!

Pretty Toes

So I'm probably going to catch some gruff about this, but I thought it was cute. I sat down today to do my toes, and Levi thought that looked like fun. He decided he'd help paint them, and then he decided he'd also like to have his toes painted, and even his fingernails. He knows it's a little girly, but he still thought it would be fun. (He decided to take it all off shortly afterwards).

A Surprise at the River

Last weekend 'Patty Grandma' and Jessie came to visit, and grandma decided she'd like to see some of the Lewis and Clark things around town. Living here, you'd imagine I would know a thing or two about them - wrong. The Floyd Monument - I don't know, was he some military guy? Apparently he the first soldier to die west of the Mississippi on Lewis and Clark's expedition - Who knew? We didn't actually go to the monument, we went down to the river and the welcome center/museum and the Interpretive center. Tons of fun - for everyone! Here's a few pics of Levi enjoying our expedition.

Jumping on the band wagon.

I thought it'd be nice to share Levi's adventures and let you all know what's going on with the family. I'm trying to figure this site out a little bit, so you'll have to be patient for a little bit, but I'm sure I'll figure it out pretty fast.
Here's Levi with his summer hair cut and his boo boo on his eye.
I should probably tell you about Daddy. He'll be working most of the summer, so he'll be missing out a little. He got a great internship that he really enjoys and has awesome potential to actually turn into a real job.