Hodge Podge from Late Summer / Early Fall 2018

We quickly adjusted to our school/fall schedule. Cross Country & Volleyball practices, school clubs, youth group, football games, etc. It seems to go from nothing to everything in one week!

One evening on the way home from a Trail Life meeting in Geneseo, Will & Matt stopped to rescue this owl. "Casey Boxer" was lying on the side of the road. They stopped at a gas station to get a box to transport the owl home. Their plan was to find a local rehab rescue group to help Casey get better. Unfortunately, there isn't much in our area so Will & Matt took a trip to Hoo Haven the next evening. They met up with our friend Toni and the founders of Hoo Haven.  We knew that Casey was in great, loving hands.

It's been a few weeks and Casey is doing better. He won't ever leave Hoo due to his bad eye. He will be loved by many people and visitors for years to come. Many thanks to Toni and Hoo Haven!

Kaitee had a milestone in September - she got her braces off!! Look at that radiant, beautiful smile!

We had fun winterizing the yard and garage. I had Will climb up on the garage to clean out the gutters. The girls quickly climbed up behind him and had some fun while up there!

Will received his Trail Life Standard at the awards night in October. They followed the awards with a pumpkin carving contest.

I've been busy too - garage sale/local swaps, work, taxiing the kids, keeping up with the house. As we rearranged the basement (and sorted their Lego sets...another huge project we undertook!!), I realized that I wanted to add some canvas and art to the empty wall (used to have a bookcase there). I came across a great deal for the canvas pictures and ended up completing the wall. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

Will braved the very cold, wet weather mid October for a camping trip to Morrison with his Trail Life Troop. He had a blast and said that the cold wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

As Fall is in full swing right now, we start looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hard to imagine!

Maddie Found Her Sport - Volleyball!

Volleyball is offered as a 7th & 8th grade sport at Wilson. Maddie fell in love with the game during her 6th grade year and inundated herself with everything volleyball. She watched volleyball YouTube videos, asked numerous questions (many discussions with the 7th grade coach), bought a volleyball and a serving tool. Matt took Maddie to the park (with volleyball net) multiple times. She attended two volleyball camps over the summer - all of this culminating in the 7th grade tryouts at the beginning of school year. There were 38 girls who tried out. They had 2 days of tryouts with the team announcement on the 3rd day. Maddie texted with the wonderful news - I MADE THE TEAM!!!! We were so proud of her dedication - even more so when we found out that most of the girls on the team had played in leagues before (I didn't even know there was such a thing in Moline!).

First game - we didn't have a clue what to expect! We quickly found out it is a fast acting, fun sport to watch.

They played in a tournament in Sterling one Saturday and ended up getting better as the season went on. They ended the season 10-4. Maddie learned a few positions as the season went on too. Serving, back row and setter became her favorites.  My favorite moment of the season was against Seton. Wilson was down 21-5 when we got the serve back. Maddie served 19 straight serves then served the 20th too long. While most of the 20 serves weren't aces, the team played well together and won the ball back so Maddie could continue to serve. We ended up winning the game and the match. Amazing!!!

Here is Maddie serving Match point. Their final game is always held at Wharton Field House (high school basketball, volleyball, etc is held at this location). The last game is between the two city rivals and is "Fight for Cancer Awareness" night. It was a fun night and Wilson won a nail biter! What a fun season!

During the Volleyball Awards Night, Maddie was given the "Hustle / 110%" award. Coach mentioned that Maddie loved to run suicides and she never had a good way to punish her! She picked her for the team because of her aggressive attitude - because coach gave her a shot, Maddie stepped it up and has become a very good, all around player.
Now we start Winter ball. Woot Woot!

Freeport - 2018

We knew life would start up, full force, now that school was in session again. We made a point of finding an open weekend to make our annual trek to Freeport. We have been making this annual day trip for 20 years (since Matt & I first met).

Our first stop was the Lena Drive In for lunch. We then drove to  Le-Aqua-Na State Park to see how the park was fairing. We haven't been to this park for a couple of years and enjoyed the little time that we spent here on this day.

We left Lena and headed into Freeport. First stop - paddle boats! We've been burned the past few years (we decided that we wanted to try to do these every year after riding them 4 years ago.) 2014 - we rode them for the first time. 2015 - we found out that there was over an hour wait to ride them (and we were on the way out of the park at that time!). 2016 - evidently they don't take credit cards! 2017 - closed early in the season due to flash flooding.

We headed straight to the boats and rented them for the 1/2 hour ride down the Yellow Creek. We were warned of the Heat Advisory and told to wear hats, take water, etc. Yeah, of course we didn't have any of those things on hand. "Can't really be that bad, can it?" Um yeah, it was really hot and miserable. We paid for this the rest of the day - mentally and physically exhausted!

We have taken annual pictures of the kids on the rock wall every year since it was installed. It's been fun to watch them grow over the years.

Next we rode the carousel...another annual tradition.

And tried to persuade Maddie to go down the fire pole. Yeah, she still didn't do it. Maybe next year!

Our last stop of the day - Union Dairy for yummy ice cream and Debate Square for our annual picture at the Lincoln/Douglas statue. Always a great way to end our day in Freeport!

Had to laugh when looking at the pictures on the computer - Will & Abe having a stare down!

We waved goodbye to Freeport until 2019. We love this town as much as we first did when we discovered it in 1998! A town full of memories for our family.

Back to School 2018-2019

Summer fun has come to an end and now the school year has officially begun!

As we finished out the last week of summer break, I told the kids that we would have a very low key week. We went bowling, watched movies, played card games, (they) slept in, watched lots of TV and played on their Chromebooks. It was heavenly for all of us!

During the week, the twins also had some pre-school activities. Band & Volleyball Camps.

As today approached, my anxiety level started to rise quite a bit. I am not a fan of the "Unpack Your Backpack" nights - let's see how many people we can cram into the school hallways, meet as many teachers as possible and go through the kids' schedules with them...all in 30 minutes.  30 minutes, you say?  That doesn't seem right that a school would only allow 30 minutes - you are right, they are actually all open for 90 minutes.  However, some of us have multiple schools to attend!  It is a very taxing, overwhelming night!  I am always glad when that night is over!

We placed the twins in separate classes last year. It worked out really nice and they enjoyed their freedom - while still seeing each other throughout the day. This year, they will have two classes together AND their lockers are right next to each other. You can see how they feel about that...

We survived the First Day of School Eve. Everyone got to bed at a "decent" time (yeah, let's face it...it's gonna be hard to get back to the earlier bed time routine). Today, Matt & I were the last ones up!  Here's crossing our fingers that every day is that way, haha!

Here is the obligatory "First Day of School" Picture. Kaitee - 11th/Junior, Alex - 9th/Freshman, Will & Maddie - 7th

While I sit at home with my windows open (thank you Lord for the cooler temps today!) and silence throughout the house, I contemplate my never ending "to do/project list". As I look at the above picture, I quickly add (1) repaint mailbox and (2) touch up railing! I think I'll find enough things to keep me busy for the next few weeks.

Kaitee, Alex, Will & Maddie - I pray every day for you as you leave this house and go in to school (out in to the world). I pray for your safety, I pray over your decisions/choices, I pray for those around you - friends or foes, I pray for your learning as well as your teachers. Most of all, I pray that you will make an eternal impact on someone else's life. Be His Light Today. Be Kind and Be His Love.  I love you all, very much!