Madelyn goes to Preschool!

Madelyn started her second year of Preschool this morning.  She will attend Webster Public Preschool on M-W-F mornings.  She was very excited!

Her teacher's name is Mrs. Vondracek

The check in

A quick hug and she was off to join her classmates.

First day of School 2010

Here we are enjoying our first annual "Back to School" supper.  We talked about our goals for the year and the example we wanted to set for our peers etc.  We even toasted the new year with sparkling grape juice.

Lauren heading to 3rd grade.  Her teacher will be Mrs Andrea.

Jillian is off to 1st grade.  Her teacher will be Mrs Lindgren.  This is her teachers first year of teaching.  We told Jillian how special this year will be for both her and her teacher.  I have heard a teacher never forgets their first class.  

Dad and his school girls!

Madelyn and Owen sitting at the breakfast table taking in the morning festivities!

The drop off.  

Lauren barely had time to pose for me and then she was off to see her friends.  Jillian stood close by for about 5 minutes and then found a friend. 

The life of a tree.....

Notice the beautiful Maple Tree to the far left.  We are assuming it is 20 + years old

We had a storm on Sunday night with high winds.  This crack was found the next morning.  They checked into bolting it together but said that was not an option.  So down it had to come :(

It took 20 years to grow and less then 10 minutes to cut down. 

And that is the life of a tree.

  The End.

How can it be August already?

Jillian kicked off July by loosing her two front teeth!

We spent July 4th at Will's Grandpa's Farm as we always do. 

Lauren and Jillian completed another summer of softball.  Will is their coach.

We took a family vacation to the Black Hills.  The girls said their favorite part was the guided trail ride on horses.  We also had a great time at Cascade Falls.  Other highlights included:  A cave tour, Reptile Gardens, Hill City and Storybook Island, We ended it at the FCA camp in Spearfish where we took part in the last evening of activites and then headed back to Yankton the next morning. 

In Loving Memory of

ABBY

Today we had to put to sleep our beloved dog of over 11 years.  She had been loosing weight and declining in health for the past few months.  It really progressed this past week and we had to make the difficult decison to say good bye to our watch dog, companion, floor sweeper, and lap warming friend.  If you are reading this blog then you already know how special Abby was to all of us.  The picture above was taken in May of 1999 when I brought her home for the first time.  I had wanted a house dog my entire life.  I was beyond thrilled!  I am so grateful for having had her in our home for the past 11 years and getting to share her with our kids.  I could not have scripted a better way for her to pass on.  We were with her and she did not have to suffer.

Abby was our "baby" for the first 3 years.

Abby and Lauren in 2002.  She loved the kids and was always very kind and gentle with them

The girls spending our last few minutes here at home with her. 

We love you Abby!

Happy Father's Day!

Thank you God for my husband who I celebrate 12 years of marriage with today.  Thank you for blessing him with 4 wonderful children and making him the best husband and Daddy around!

Thank you God for my Dad.  My mom always told me that when she was dating, among other things,  she always tried to envision what kind of a "dad" the men she dated would someday be.  She encouraged me to look for this same quality.  Well I am here to say she found the perfect dad for me and her advice allowed me to find the perfect dad for my kids!  My dad is so great, that he won't even kill me for posting this picture of him in a snuggly he recieved for his birthday this past year (maybe?)

Thank you God for my Father in Law.  Thank you for the son he raised and the qualities he instilled in him to be the Godly man he is today.  Happy Father's day to my brother in law Jay who is also shown in this picture. 

What have we been up to?..........

Planning Women's events at our church

Spending time with family

Attending the musical "Little house on the Prarie" at the Washington Pavillion.

Spending time with Uncle Jordan

Building a house.

We are enjoying our busy summer and looking forward to a family vacation to the Black Hills next week!