Scary

So, one of our dearest twin boys, Carver, showed us his "different" side the other night as he came out in his tighty whiteys, wearing Taylor's belt and shoes. He then followed this up by telling his mother 'This is what I'm going to look like when I turn into a girl'.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.......

Letting Go

Our little girl grew up before our very own eyes this morning as she started kindergarten at Herbert Hoover Elementary School in West Branch. Though we knew she was beyond ready, it was still very hard to grasp as tears were shed walking back to the car while she remained with all new strangers in a new strange place. Though we may have been worried for our daughter, Tay obviously had no concerns as she asked me 'Why she couldn't just go in by herself'.

Needless to say, we informed our little girl that we were going in with her and we were taking pictures (like it or not). BTW, she had a wonderful first day and was ready to go again when I picked her up. She was very excited and it was fun to hear about her day, though she was definitely ready for early bed time.

Taylor in front of the fireplace before leaving

Taylor in front of her school

Taylor and her new neighbor and best friend Skylar

Taylor heading off to her class with her new teacher Mrs. Hamilton

I Can't Believe These Are Cupcakes!

Amy received a book from her sister Jennifer filled entirely with various cupcakes that can be decorated. For our Vineyard Couplehood church group she decided to take a shot at one of these fabulous and difficult designs and it turned out great. The food theme for our couples group that nights was summer barbeque so this fit right in.

I present to you......Corn on the Cob Cupcakes (pictures don't do it justice)

I.....O....W.......A

We took the kids to the open practice/scrimmage at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday and had a good time. It was a bit hot and the offense was struggled a bit, but it was sure nice to be back in Kinnick's Stadium as we always enjoy anything involving the Hawks!

Play Ball!

The first season of tee-ball for Taylor is now complete. She was on the Royal Blue team and I was the coach. We had a great year and an enjoyable time with our team. Though the boys weren't officially registered and on the team they chipped in and played in one game as we needed players. Tay did a great job and was our lone switch hitter.

Growing Up

We had the first of many to come Graduation ceremonies last Friday as Taylor graduated preschool from Appletree. She still will be attending Appletree this week as her first day of kindergarten is this Thursday. She will then have Friday off and start full time next Monday. Appletree had a really cute ceremony in which Tay and her friends received their diploma as the Pomp and Circumstance played in the background. There were plenty of goodies and we followed up the party by taking Taylor to the pottery store where she painted a new breakfast bowl for her oatmeal and cereal in the morning. As always, we were very proud of Taylor as she had a wonderful couple of years at Appletree!

Getting Green!

Culver's came in the past two days and did an awesome job on our plantings and landscaping. We are so excited to have something around the house other than dirt! We look forward to getting some grass seed down in a week or two and are now enjoying the great smell of new cedar mulch. We tried to use a lot of species native to Iowa in order to keep with our "natural" theme.