July

On the Fourth of July we went to Grandma Diane and Grandpa Steve's house.  Grandpa found a bag of giant marshmallows.  They were so big Nora had trouble fitting them into her mouth!  We enjoyed the fireworks at Elmcrest.

Alena is a great decorator.  She really improved this spiderweb with glitter and flower petals.

My uncle Doug turned 50 and had a big birthday party at the Marr Park campground.  The girls loved camping with Grandma Dee and Grandpa Ed.  Grandpa put up the lollypop lights that we had on our camper as kids.  The girls had fun with the Graber cousins collecting rocks and cleaning them in the campground sink, playing in the sprinkler, playing on the playground, and taking Aunt Renee's dog Libby for walks.  There was a big thunderstorm that sent the party running for their campers just after supper.

Daddy applied for a grant for the Ceramics Center and recieved it from the Riverside Casino.  He had to be present to collect the money.  Here he is with his novelty check.  The girls hung out eating sweetcorn with their grandparents while we were at the presentation.

Grandma Dee and Grandpa Ed celebrated their 41st anniversary.  We made a cake and the kids decorated it with bride and groom barbies.

Isn't Nora cute when she sleeps?

June

.  We enjoyed our last walk to the balloon glow at Brucemore and plenty of picnics in my backyard with "perfect shade."  The weather continued to cause trouble and a big storm blew part of the neighbor's tree onto our swingset!  Daddy and a neighbor quickly got it taken care of and the swingset was spared. Alena graduated from St. Matt's four year old preschool.  Mrs. Bates presented her with a nice certificate following some songs sung by the class.  For Father's Day we met Grandpa Ed at the Raptor Center and had a picnic.

May

The girls and I walked over to Brucemore and picked a lot of dandelions which we made into a cool heart.  Daddy was helping with a fundraiser called "Cereal Saturday."  Lily and Finn came over and spent the night so we could go the next morning together.  Alena and I made a lion pinata and we had fun breaking it in the backyard.  

We decided to sell our house so we could get off of the busy street and get away from the flooding basement.  But first we put a sump pit in.  Yes, after years of a flooding basement we decided to fix it for the next family.  Grandpa Steve and Daddy dug the hole quickly and the sump pump was in for the 6 inch rainfall we got the following week!

Easter

We had a fun filled Easter weekend.  Friday there was a preschool party at the trampoline park.  The girls and I had a great time jumping with Alena's friends.  Saturday morning we went to Noelridge Park for an Easter egg hunt.  There were thousands of eggs and the Easter Bunny.  Alena then went to celebrate Maren's 6th birthday with a Fancy Nancy party.  She loved dressing up and having a fashion show.  When we got home, Grandpa Ed came over to help dye eggs.  Sunday morning the girls searched for more eggs hidden around the house by the Easter Bunny.  Alena ran around collecting them while Nora would find one, open it, and either say, "candy!" excitedly, or "this isn't candy," and dropping the offending stickers on the ground.  The Easter Bunny even left a couple of gifts for the girls.  Alena got a book about mythical creatures with figurines which she loved.  Both girls had fun with their Pez dispensers and made sure everyone they encountered was offered one. We had to rush on to make it to church for Cousin Sadie's baptism.  Aunt Melissa hosted a party after church including yet another egg hunt!  The girls are set for candy for life.

Nora's third birthday

Nora celebrated her 3rd birthday in style.  She kicked off the day with a breakfast of donuts, complete with candles.  After a little nap, her guests began to arrive.  Both sets of grandparents as well as Aunt Kristina and the Cahalan crew came to party.  There was a major downpour all day, and just as the party started the basement started to flood.  Fortunately, that didn't dampen Nora's spirits.  She ran around singing songs from Frozen and played with her cousins.  The highlight of the party was eating cake and ice cream!  We made her a four layer cake with bright pink frosting.  Some of her present highlights were a bike from Mom and Dad, a CD player from Grandma Dee and Grandpa Ed, and the Frozen movie from Grandma Diane and Grandpa Steve.

Birthday donut and disastrous bang trim.  Thanks a lot, Great Clips.

Snow

This pretty much sums up why Ben and I went to Mexico this year.  It has been the coldest winter we can remember and it hasn't stopped snowing.  Cedar Rapids called school off due to weather every week since Christmas break.  Hopefully spring will come soon.  There have been a few days in the 20s and we have taken advantage by going sledding.  Alena loves to go fast down the big hills, but Nora likes to ride short distances with me.  

Disney on Ice

We went to Disney on Ice to celebrate Daddy's birthday.  It was really good and both girls were riveted the entire time.  One of the parts had songs from The Lion King.  Alena has fallen in love with The Lion King and wants to recreate scenes and sing the songs constantly.  If I say a line a little wrong she is quick to correct me.  Nora is playing along but is still more interested in fairies and princesses.

Alena created this Simba costume: Kitty blanket is her mane and a ribbon is her tail.  Actually, she starts out with only the tail, then during Hakuna Matata puts the mane on to signify Simba growing up.

Maple syrup fest

We made our annual trek to the maple syrup festival this weekend. It is too cold for sap to be flowing but the pancakes were still yummy with large amounts of real maple syrup.

Mexican vacation

Ben and I went to Puerto Vallarta for 6 nights this week.  The girls spent a lot of time jumping on the trampoline under the supervision of Grandpa Ed and didn't seem too upset that we were gone!  We had a great time staying in the city for the first 4 nights, then we went to a small village named Yelapa, accessed only by water taxi.  There was a boardwalk, the Malecon, located one block from our first hotel.  There was never a dull moment.  The first day we ended up in a bridal parade with a marching band.  One night there was a free dance performance of different Mexican dances.  There were sculptures and street performers, as well as plenty of people selling jewelry and timeshares.  And of course there was food everywhere!  Ben found a new addiction at a taco stand.  We watched the Super Bowl at an outside bar next to the ocean and ended up sitting next to Iowans.  A lot of travelers we met were from Canada or the midwest with lots of retirees with second homes.  Maybe because it was sunny and 80 every day?  

The streets were all cobblestone.  You really need to watch your step.

We went ziplining in the jungle.  We both got to fly like Superman!

I don't know how many steps we climbed to get here.  It was a beautiful view.

These guys were out every night looking for tips.  They were Ben's favorite.

We had the bad luck of clouds rolling in most nights just before sunset.

We went on a whale watching tour to the Marietas Islands where we snorkeled.  We saw several groups of whales and lots of pretty fish.

This is the view out our second hotel window.  By window, I mean hole in the side of the wall.  It was pretty but the ocean was so loud we couldn't sleep!

The streets in Yelapa went straight up and wound all over.  There were no signs and though it was small, we always were lost.  The only transportation was ATV or donkey.  Dogs and chickens everywhere!  Our first night we watched Wolf of Wall Street in an outdoor restaurant on a big screen while eating supper.  Still in the theater in the US, but anything goes in Mexico.  It was over at 11 pm and we had to wade through a shallow (though very wide) river to get back to our hotel with only a small flashlight to help us find our way.  The tide had come in and the the river was much wider on the way home than it was on the way in.  The next day we hiked toward a waterfall but had to turn back after losing the trail several times because it was going to get dark soon and we didn't want to have to spend the night in the jungle.

Our hotel restaurant was pretty relaxing.

Some fellow Iowans took our picture right before we had to head back to the airport.

Funny Nora

Nora has told me several times, "I like to laugh and sing and play."  It is true!  She is still very vocal and is a big singer. We were sad the day Nora stopped saying depa for pizza this month.  If she stops using "eleventeen" as a number it will be another sad milestone!  Every night she asks me to tell a "mooky story" about a big monster with sharp teeth and sharp claws, a scary witch, and a scary ghost.  Other things she says daily: "watch uh show" (Dora is her favorite), "eat cereal, all the cereals," "I need all of my stuff" (multiple pillows, blankets and animals that need to be transported downstairs after every nap and every morning.)

Nora teaching baby signs to Kylie and Ariel.  Kylie the mermaid has been the most played with toy for 2 years.  She is the cause of many a toy fight.

Nora likes to be carried upstairs in her blanket.  She has two blankets, puppy, soft puppy, and Licky the racoon that have to go to bed with her every night.

Nora as Monster Dog.  She pants and tries to lick people.