28 June 2013

Friday's Funny~2 special people

Happy Birthday to Grandma Iowa today!  She is one special lady & as you read this, we are heading that way to not only celebrate her special day but also attend a cousin's wedding in Lester on Sunday.

there is exactly 30 years between my Mom and I and myself & Haven...so if you know how old the youngest is, you can figure the rest out!!

And...I can hardly wish Grandma Iowa Happy Birthday without wishing her "womb-mate" a Happy Birthday as well!  Happy Birthday Uncle Butch!!  Grandma Iowa came first & approx. 5 HOURS & 54 minutes later, Uncle Butch appeared as my Grandma Doorneweerd had know idea she was having twins!!! Can you imagine?!


Uncle Butch & his grandson Jackson~Nov. 2008

 2009

 2012

2007

24 June 2013

swim lessons~tadpole style :)

I LOVED swimming as a kid!  Some of my fondest childhood memories came from the excitement of completing all your chores in the morning & swimming all afternoon on the farm.  It was a great way to stay cool during the long, hot, humid summer Iowa days!

So from June 10-June 20 from 10:10-10:40am, I whisked Haven off to Fairview Aquatic Center here in Normal for her first swim lessons.  While she had a 74 degree heated pool with a zero depth entry for her entry level class (quite different than my experience), she braved the challenges most 3 year old fear...getting your face wet, jumping off the side of the pool into the deep end & going off the diving board.  Her swim teacher was FAB.U.LOUS and turns out she's also smart as she's headed to the lovely state of Iowa and was accepted into Drake's Pharmacy program.

Haven is already bemoaning the fact she is done with swim lessons :(
Here are some pictures and videos to document our little tadpole...now a minnow :)

 
 swim test day

 1st day excitement!

 Haven was one of 3 girls in her tadpole class...which was great for 1-on-1 instruction.
The other two girls were 5 & 7 so my little 3.5 year old had to hold her own!

 getting her life jacket on to go off the diving board

 waiting in line...and for some reason, my video is not uploading so

 here she is after her big jump!

 last day of class games

 slide after slide on her polar bear slide



Ms. Kylie, her teacher

Haven's commentary on her independent bob!

she was very proud of her certificate that said she passed!

lunch at Noodles & Co. for an after-swim-lesson treat AND...

ice cream at Carl's...these two places may or may not be where she earned most of her reward coupons for the NPL summer reading program :)

Great job Haven!  We are SO proud of you conquering your fears and "being very, very, very brave!"

21 June 2013

summer fun ~ June

As I upload pictures on to my computer from my phone, I am quickly realizing almost one month of summer is gone (insert sigh).  We've spent some fun days at the pool, playing out back, bike rides, park/picnic trips & zoo trips already...before I get too backlogged with pictures, I thought I would update with pictures from June.

a trip to Peoria Zoo with our Hodel friends





the 3-some of cousins with their friend Ashlyn at the Central IL Preview Show



whale pool time!

a trip down the slide at Savannah Park

backyard water gun duel!

trying to conquer the monkey bars

she's getting stronger, but can't quite do it on her own yet ;)

 
"look Mom-I created a hanger Monkey"...whatever that is!

thank you Aunt Twyla for the yummy watermelon

Father's Day 2013 and her new haircut

thanks Arianne...we love it!

Sunday morning photo shoot
 
Tuesday night Family baseball in Bloomington

Anderson Splash Park with her friend Kate



 in the nursery with cousin Will at Gridley's VBS

the zoo lady painted Haven's face at the Miller Park Zoo's birthday bash!

meeting a new friend, Keegan Dohman

We also hosted the Miller & Schlipf's for Father's Day so it was fun to catch up family...below are just a few pictures of that festivity.
































Daddy opening his Father's Day presents...he got a flashlight "for camping" from Haven & 2 new dress shirts & a new tie from me...handy, huh?

 an attempt at a Father's Day shot :)

Almost done...pictures from our family camp out:

smore time!





Haven, why do you like tenting so much?
"Because it's SOOOOO cozy!"

Yep, Mommy set up the tent all by herself!

If our camp site looks a lot like our backyard...well, because it is!

 


sooo, maybe I was the last one to wake up :)...at like 6:30AM!! 
Ahh...the joys of camping!

a Daddy-daughter date at Parklands!

she loves Parklands :)