Des Moines Arts Festival

Here are some pics of the Masterpieces created by Avery at the Des Moines Arts Festival 2008. She is so creative! I know these are priceless, at least to me :)

Ankeny Splash Park

Yesterday was our first trip to the Ankeny Splash Park this summer, and they have a new, awful, fire hose sprayer. Look at the delight on Avery's face when she saw it. Kids were spraying everyone with it and it sprays right near the baby area. Real smart, Ankeny Park & Rec. Lyla loves water, but was a little annoyed when some dared to spray near her face!

Baby Surgery

Lyla had her eye surgery to open her tear ducts today and everything went great! She was getting pretty hungry since she couldn't eat after midnight and her surgery wasn't until 9 AM. Seeing her waking up from the anesthesia was sad. She had blood coming from her little eyes and nose and she was so disoriented, and hungry. My poor little thing. But how adorable is she in the hospital issued surgery jammies and socks?

Fun at Ashby Park

Today Ashley, Carrie, Katie, Erin, and I took all the kids to Ashby Park wading pool. Keaton and Lyla were the only ones who could sit still long enough for pictures! They're not quite as mobile :) The big kids were having such a blast splashing, spraying, and "swimming" in the cold water!
Lyla & Keaton
Bikini baby!

Summer Fun!

Avery, Lyla and Kate playing in the splash pool out on our deck.

Des Moines Flood 2008

We are experiencing incredible flooding throughout Iowa and they just evacuated downtown Des Moines. Luckily we're in a North suburb and not near the river so we're safe. I took the girls downtown yesterday so Avery could see the river. She now understands what all the grown ups are talking about when we talk about the flood. The 5 bridges have been closed for days, and the water is almost over them now. The pics may not look like much unless you live here and know what these places usually look like, but I assure you it's a bad scene downtown.

Simon Estes Amphitheater & Bridge at typical river level


Simon Estes Amphitheater yesterday



Court Avenue Bridge yesterday. Typically you see boats passing under these archways and today I saw on the news that they are completely under water.

Our new babies!

We have 4 baby robins under our deck and they're so ugly that they're cute. They just hatched over the weekend and Avery has named them Baby Lyla, Avery, Chirpy Boy and Nick Jr. !

Dancing Queen

Avery's doing a summer dance program through the Park District and boy does she have some moves! The first class did not go well, she was the wildest one of the group, but this week was so much better! It's so cute to watch her learn that there is more to dancing than shaking her bootie, which she does quite well :)

Family Fun Night

Last night we went to Family fun night at Jordan Creek Town Center. Avery had a blast on the slide and bounce house and she even got to "fly" the Mercy One helicopter! She also got her face painted like a green kitty ~ Meeeow!
Mercy One Pilot
Green Kitty
Wheeee!

CRAZY CHICAGO WEEKEND!

I was lucky enough to get another weekend trip all to myself! Brian took the whole weekend off and got some real Daddy time with the girls and I had an amazing time with my friends in Chicago. Friday night at the Goose Island Pub, Saturday boating and a bachelorette party! One of the best Girls' Weekends ever.

Stacia & I at Goose Island

The Boating Babes & Captain John

Lake Michigan Ladies

Me & The Bachelorette, Kristi

Bachelorette Bash at Martini Park

Blank Park Zoo

Today we went to the Blank Park Zoo! Avery, Lyla and their friends Aubrey & Keaton and Jennah & Jack, had so much fun seeing the animals, playing on the playground and riding the train. Avery is not afraid of any of the animals and would probably saddle & ride the lion if they let her! On the way home she was naming all the animals she had just seen and said that her favorite was the bird in our garage! Guess I shouldn't have called animal control to remove it. Live and Learn~

Memorial Day Fun

What a beautiful day! I love it when spring arrives in Iowa. Today we went to a playground with Daddy, played outside at home, and cooked out with Mimi & Papaw Steve. Happy Memorial Day!

Gallery Gebhart

These are portraits that Avery drew of her family. Aren't they amazing?! I like that I'm the biggest with the biggest mouth, Brian has spikey hair, Avery has curly hair, Lyla is tiny with one little piece of hair, and Kitty has pointy ears, 4 legs and a tail. I wrote our names at the bottom of each masterpiece, but Avery drew them all on her own. I know, she's gifted :)

Iowa State Fair

Summer in Iowa means one thing...IOWA STATE FAIR! Since we moved here it has been one of our favorite things. I just checked out the webiste, www.iowastatefair.com, and the first item listed under the "entertainment" link is not the great concerts, but the Butter Cow. Ha! I love this! It's a lifesized cow sculpted from about a ton of butter. No kidding. The food directory promises 30 foods on sticks! INCREDIBLE! The Fair is August 7-17 so plan your trips to visit us now! It's sooo much fun! This pic is us at the fair last summer, Lyla was about 2 weeks old!

Lyla's eye surgery

We found out this week that Lyla is going to need surgery to open her tear ducts. She was born with blocked tear ducts and we've been waiting and hoping that they would open, but it hasn't happened. Her eyes water constantly and get crusted shut and irritated. I guess the procedure is pretty routine, but putting our baby under anesthesia still scares me. The surgery is scheduled for June 18th at 9:30, so keep baby brown eyes in your thoughts!

We'll miss ya, Girl

Brian's parents' dog, Phoebe, went to Doggy Heaven this morning. She was 12-ish and she went peacefully. She will be missed but not forgotten. I know they will find "Phoebe furs" around the house for years and years to come :)

Family Portrait

What an amazing picture of my incredible family! Each and every person in this pic has contributed to making my life the wonderful happiness that it is! Love you all so much!

Avery Turns 3!

Big girl Avery is 3! She has grown up so fast, it's crazy! We had a Hello Kitty themed birthday party with family and friends and her big present was a fabulous Barbie power wheels Jeep! She drives like a 3 year old, so stay off the sidewalks!

Weekend away!

I got a little bit of "Me" time and went to Chicago for Kristi's bridal shower this past weekend. It was the most amazing party and we can't wait for their big day! Spending the evening with Schwanny, Charissa, Kim, Alex, and several bottles was the perfect way to cap off the day! Love you girls!!!