The three, er, four stooges...

Well, as Elliott and I were inspecting our garden the other day, we noticed a ton of caterpillars on the stalks of our carrots. We thought they were cute...until we realized they were actually eating all the stalks off them! So, yesterday we took the big, fat four and put them in the kids' bucket with some leaves. This morning, two were still in the bucket and two had become our "escapees". Luckily for them, I found them before the kids or Earnie stepped on them (or ate them-Earnie that is!!) We decided it would be a really cool experience for the kids to see them make their coccoons and become beautiful butterflies! They have watched the Little Einsteins movie a ton where a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, so they are excited. We transitioned them from a temporary home to their new little crate we got at Wal-Mart, along with parsley and some sticks. They are quite the little pigs! We have decided that their names are Larry, Moe, Curly and Shemp. ha ha We hope to have some lovely pictures of their metamorphosis. Oh, and my other tidbit is the AWESOME deal I got at Hy-Vee this week. They had a deal where you bought 6 boxes of GM cereal and got $10 off and then a $6 coupon for your next purchase. Well, lucky for me that the day I went, their machine was broken, so they were unable to print the coupons so they had to give everyone the $10 plus the $6 off immediately. On top of that, I had manufacturer coupons. My first trip I bought $19.92 worth of cereal, got $16 off automatically and had $3.50 of my own coupons. My second trip I bought $20.74 worth of cereal, got the $16 off plus $3 of my own. Grand total of 2.16, which was .18 PER BOX!!!! I ROCK!!! And now, don't have to buy cereal for a good long while. I LOVE great deals!!!!!!
Take care and God Bless!

The kids and their new "pets"
The "four" stooges and their buffet

Elliott's first day of school!

I still can't believe that my baby boy has started Kindergarten! It seems like just yesterday, I was holding him in my arms.

Elliott at 3 days old

His first day was yesterday and they always do an early release, so he was done at 1:30. He had a good day and I really surprised myself by how emotional I got! I didn't think I would cry but I did! He had no issues with me leaving and for that I'm glad. He's my little social butterfly-don't know where he gets that from!! Today was his first full day and he said he got 3 recesses and one time in the gym! WOW! So far, he is listening to me about what to take and what not to take for lunch, so I'm proud of him! He was definitely tired by supper time tonight. He fell asleep on the way out to church.

Alana really hasn't had time to get used to Elliott being gone yet as we've had stuff going on the morning and then she naps in the afternoon. She and I will start gymnastics next Monday and she is sooo excited! It will be a fun time.

Well, besides my allergies being HORRIBLE (Ok, they were worse in Nebraska, but I'm really hating having them at all!) there is nothing else new right now. It has been sooo nice the past few days and I absolutely refuse to have the windows closed. I'm sure I'll have to shut them by the weekend as it's supposed to be mid 80's again.

Thanks for checking in. Take care and God Bless. Enjoy the pics!

Daddy and Elliott on their "first day"
Our big boy with his Star Wars "Clone Wars" backpack ready to go!
In front of Coolidge Elementary School

In front of his "cubby"

Elliott can ride his bike-NO TRAINING WHEELS!!

Hooray for Elliott! On only his third time out, he is riding without his training wheels!! We are so proud of him. He is doing really well-just has to master getting started and turning right. He must be watching too much NASCAR with us...ha!! Here is video from the adventure we call "learning to ride a bike!" Enjoy!!!!



Here is a video from MN. The kids, two of the big boys and two of the dogs are riding the merry go round at the park. It's cute. You will notice I tell Jonathan Earnie is eating sand. At least he didn't poop pure sand the next day...as far as we know!


And, lastly, a picture from our visit to Lincoln. We went to the bookstore to buy "Big 10, We're In" shirts & the kids and Jonathan had to model some of the fan gear. It's cute!

Take care and God Bless!!

Ummm...over a year???

I'm not even sure who even checks my blog anymore. But, I am going to try and start updating again a little more regularly!
We are all settled in our house in our new town. It's so nice to have Jonathan's family around. There was a time over the winter and early spring when we really didn't see each other all that often, but we have gotten together quite a few times since summer started.
Ahhh, summer! We ARE enjoying it! Elliott is in his second session of swimming lessons and is in Level 2! He has learned a lot and is going under water and getting very brave! We're so proud of him! Alana and daddy are taking the "Puddlejumpers" class. She really has NO fear of the water, which can be a bad thing and a good thing! She does love the water but is having a hard time listening and doing what the teacher asks of her!
We spent a week up in MN with my family. We had a great time. The kids finally got to meet their cousin, Logan. I can't believe he'll be one already next month. We celebrated my parent's 40th wedding anniversary while we were there and hosted a party for them. They had a great time! The guys did their normal "fishing day" and also added a golf day to the mix. We, of course, went to the yummy Mexican restaurant in town. It's always sooo good! And, of course, us girls (and Logan!) got in some shopping and coffee!
Elliott is also working on riding his bike without training wheels. A few more outings and he'll have it down. Next, tying shoes and working more on reading!!
Jonathan heads back to school on the 17th and Mr. Elliott will start Kindergarten the following week! How can it be?? It seems like just yesterday I was holding this little tiny baby in my arms! Oh, babies...it seems as though everyone we know is having a baby!! A lot of our friends are expecting #3...hmmmmm
I will add some pics here, but they are all on Jonathan's computer. So, they'll be on momentarily.
Take care and God Bless!!!!

Kids in the backyard waiting for a popsicle
The kids at the playground-Logan's first time!
Movie night while the "big boys" take in a baseball game
One of my absolute favorites of my babies!
Me with my precious, one and only nephew!
Monica, Chad, me, Logan, Jonathan and Alana!!
Earn-dog tired after our long trip