Summer!

Summer time has arrived but it does NOT feel like it! Good thing we bought pool passes this year..grrr! We did manage to squeeze in 2 trips to the pool before this arctic rush. Ava, just as suspected, is a fearless potential poolrat (I say potential because who knows if we will get back to the pool this summer at this rate with the rain and cool temps). She was jumping, splashing, practicing her strokes and dives (this two times I had to pull her under both times she looked at me laughed). Needless, to say, Ava is NOT satified with the pool from the 0 depth area. She perfers the deep end which makes for one busy momma! Here she is sporting the suit!



I love my job during the school year and also for this incredible summer break to spend with my family. Joe has been working at Character Building Academy since school got out. It's official, he could have never been in the teaching profession. However, I think he does see the impact he could have on young lives in such a short amount of time. Mostly though from the scheduling prospective we LOVE character camp because of his "normal" hours. But, I think he is itching to get back out "on the road." That's cop talk for out on the streets fighting crime.. :)!
We met Shannon, Sheldon and Jake at the Omaha Zoo. The boys had a great time together. Ava did great until she faceplanted on the concrete. Ooops.. Poor thing. The weather was perfect!




Adventureland with the Lust family was a blast as well! Kale hit up all the rides with Addison and Camille. I think it helped to have these two fearless leaders along to help the confidence! Mom and Dad (ok mom) did not give him enough credit! (I have never been a rides fan..). We sent Ava on a couple rides as well. Dad won the apprehensive award for her...Ava loved, of course! Joe paced nervously watching like a hawk. :) Good times had by all. Ava was asleep before we left the parking lot! (rare for her to even nod off in the car!)





We have made it back to see the Grandmas and Grandpas once this summer. It was Great Grandma and Grandpa Goekens big 65th wedding anniversary party. We had a celebration at the Community Center in Everly. It was very special.

I have a new found hobby that I can't seem to get enough of (but I think my kids have had enough ;), Photography! Lots of the camera in the face. Kale has been playing right along. He has claimed my old camera as his own and has added photographer to his long list of jobs. Here are a few: Calling all cute kids! My kids would loved to be replaced as the guinea pigs so let me know if you want to be in a photo shoot with me ;)





Can't wait to see what the rest of summer brings! Mr. Sun, Please shine down on me!!!!

Wet, rainy, miserable! This weather has been putting a damper on our outdoor fun. Kale's "sheep" and "horses" are not enjoying it either and are probably starving since Kale has not been out to do "chores" much lately!
We had a wonderful Easter weekend and the sun even managed to make an appearance on Sunday allowing Kale to get his traditional tractor ride and Ava on her first of many! She loved it. I FORGOT my camera, which I CANNOT believe but don't worry-- I borrowed Grandma's I just don't have any to post right now!
We celebrated Jake's third birthday. Buzz Lightyear is quite popular this year along with the rest of the Toy Story gang. Jake and Kale really do have a lot of fun together. But they act like brothers rather than cousins. We parents find ourselves refereeing alot. Things go much better if we leave the room and hope for the best! We enjoyed helping him celebrate although Kale is really hoping his birthday will come quickly! Here is a funny Jake conversation.
Me: (we were just about to leave to go outside) Jake, have you gone to the bathroom?
Jake: Ya, last reek.
Me: Last Week?
Jake: Ya
Me: Okay, you're good.
Here are the two michevious ones.... love these pictures. I can see in their eyes they have an agenda!




What's Ava up to? Well she has ALOT to say and we have no idea what she is talking about. The conversations used to be entertaining but now we are getting to the point where our responses back to her must not be relevant to the message she is attempting to convey. She can become irritable with you rather quickly if you don't do what she asks. Now, if we only knew what she wanted! She IS starting to point at things when she blabs about them so there is now a very small chance you just might have an idea of where the conversation is headed but usually not... She recently has developed and new hobby. screaming...loud screaming. This is a hilarious activity that we at one time found quite comical as well. Not so much anymore. :)
She is also up and down the stairs several times a day. She has mastered the art of bringing things with her to different levels of the house and hiding them...making it a crap shoot to find any missing item. Yesterday, however, I lost HER. This is where I found her. Kale thought it was so funny he had to join the fun!

Hey at least she found the pink plug I had been looking for... maybe it was in the dryer?!?!
And FINALLY, at 14 months, I can say she sleeps like a champ! Usually around 13 hours straight making for a much more well rested family!
Kale (aka, Bill, as he would prefer to be called) has been working on using a kind voice and saying "ok". I will keep you posted on that progress :). He keeps us very very busy and engages in many insightful conversations. Here is one I had with him in the car today:

Kale: Was I in your uterus when you played with your basketball team? (referring to high school)
Me: No.
Kale: (gasp) Where was I?
Me: You weren't created yet.
Kale: (LONG pause) well...talk to me about that?
Me: You were just a twinkle in my eye.
Kale: What? your eye? I thought I started like an egg.
Me: what?
Kale: Did I start like a little chicken in a egg?
Me: No. Remember mammals don't lay eggs.
Kale: I wasn't an egg (in a confused voice).
Me: (thinking omg where is this conversation going I am NOT ready for this) actually yes there is an egg involved but not like a chicken egg... its....uh.. uh
Kale: (interrupting) is there milk in coconuts?
Me: YES! Lets talk about coconuts!

He also continues to be very interested in being different kinds of "workermen" throughout the day. This results in at least 6-8 FULL wardrobe changes and a lot of laundry. He has been trained to but his dirty clothes (that was one he wore one outfit a day) straight into the hamper.... just can't win, can I? :)
Joe brought Kale and Ava to visit my classroom today. We happened to have inside recess because of the lovely weather and Kale got to stay and play. Kale didn't want to leave and it was neat to see some of my students being some "brotherly" to Kale and showing him around. I was glad Kale could make it while there were kids there. He always asks about the kids I teach. I did tell Joe to bathe them both in hand sanitizer as they left though! :)

Spring!

Things have been hopping around here. Since I last blogged (sorry it's been awhile for those following our action packed life ;)) I had spring break. It was a nice relaxing week with the kids. We were planning on a trip to Minneapolis but it would've been rushed AND judging by how much Ava likes her carseat, we decided a relaxing week at home would be just as enjoyable. Instead, I took Kale to his first live producation, Madagascar. He loved it.


We did make a trip back to Northwest Iowa, but that was about the extent of our travels. Our nephew, Landyn, was baptized and we got to meet the newest Schueller, Macie! This is the best I could do for a picture. Hopefully, a better one next time everyone is together.


The following weekend was Joe's birthday. I decided I was going to attempt to pull off a surprise. I knew he was suspicious (i guess, anyone in law enforcement who was any good at their job would be, right?)but, apparently, he knew from the first day I started inviting people. I guess, in the madness of sending facebook messages and emails I ended up inviting him to his own party! ugh! Oh well, he acted surprised...so I am counting it as successful. Lots of running around for me though..still sweating! And with all that work..no pictures! Can you believe it?! But here is one of the yummy Birthday cake!


The kids have been LOVING the weather we have been having. Today it was 82! Even busted out the sunblock today! We have been going on LOTS of walks, picnics in the backyard, grilling, and bike rides. I can almost taste summer!
Ava hates her carseat....and i mean really hates...BUT we have discovered she loves it with the windows down. So, if we can drive 3 hours with the windows down it should make for a much more pleasant trip to Grandma and Grandpa's! The warm weather MUST stay!
She was laughing and screaming in this picture!

Along with springtime come the owies! Ava got her first wound on the driveway. She is pretty sure-footed these days.... except for when it comes to running down inclined driveways. Poor babe! There were tears at first. But with a little distraction she forgot about it and hasn't complained since. Tough cookie.

Kale has been enjoying just being able to walk outside without getting all bundled too. Lately he has been feeding his "sheep" and "horses" every morning in the backyard right after breakfast. If he waits any longer than that they get too "frisky" and next week he is going to start "shearing". And we all know "that's a really tough job." He's even has been dressing the part lately. It is not surprising to see Cowboy Kale in our front yard, chaps and all. ( I tell you what, Halloween costumes are worth EVERY penny! Just buy them big enough the can wear them for years! Kale has worn all of his many many many times and would wear them to church if we let him!) People used to ask about them "whats the occassion?" "costume party?"... now no one bats an eye! It's almost expected! :)

Happy Birthday Ava!

Ava is one!
She is walking, climbing, pushing, pulling...you name it.
She says a few words (only a couple recognizable to the outside population) ball, drake, puppy, mommy, daddy... and a repeated babble that sounds the same everyday that we can't decipher. Can't wait to figure out what she has been trying to tell us for weeks!
She has her two bottom teeth and one lone tooth we call "the scraggle" on the top!
We took her to her 1 year check up and she is about 23 lbs (60 percentile)
Height is 32" 95th percentile
And head size is of course still huge...99th percentile..she's very smart!

We celebrated her birthday with both sides of the family at Papa and Grandma Schueller's.
Here is her cake and the one she has all to herself to mush up!


She was sporting the ever so cute birthday girl shirt that Aunt Shannon got for her!


We managed to get some people to wear the very fashionable party hats, some not by choice (Sheldon, smile!).

Ava is so lucky to have so much great family to help her celebrate. Here are the great grandparents telling stories!


Kale and Jake were described as "The Match" and "Gasoline" at the party. They tend to really get each other going. They made gift opening quite the whirlwind. By the end of it I wasn't sure what came from where..phew!




She got LOTS of clothes! She is one well taken care of little girl! Thanks everyone!

CAN NOT believe its been a year since we welcomed our little girl into our lives. Although, I can hardly remember what it was like without her! We love you, Ava Grace!

Cheers to warm weather!

I have a lot of work to do so... time to blog! Finally, after days and days of bitter cold, the weather is beautiful! We have been keeping very busy but ready to move that busyness outdoors instead of being cooped up!
We went to church today for the first time in weeks! It is not very often that we go to church and aren't moved to tears but this sermon was especially good (from what I heard of it, ava took some behavior management during church today). I have no idea why we miss (I am going to blame it on the cold!)
Kale had his last basketball game last week. He improved so much from day 1 until now that I was sad it was over so soon, felt like we were just getting in the groove! Here he is taking a shot! Check out that form that we worked on in the garage. Nana and Papa got him a basketball hoop but it is too big for the garage and its way too cold to go outside. We improvised, a diaper box nailed to the wall of the garage!

Kale would go outside no matter what the temp. So there were a few days we couldn't take anymore and bundled him up and sent him out. Poor Ava, she thinks she is missing out on the fun... and Drake...he hates the cold so he would rather watch from indoors!

Can't believe we are planning our sweet baby girl's first birthday party! Pink Polka dot party it is! This year has been the fastest year of my life....where did it go? I think the older you get, the faster time goes. Why is that?
Ava is picking up on some adorable tricks that we can't wait to for her to show off at her party (blowing kisses, saying "puppy", patting her belly and WALKING!)
Kale is reading more and more everyday. I am trying to stay out of "teacher mode" as much as I can. It's kind of a dance. I don't want him to feel like he is "working" but I can tell that he has the skills to take off in reading...BUT...he's a little bit stubborn (shocker, huh?) and doesn't always WANT to do it. So, amongst our "dances" I have found that I can get him to do things when he feels like he is getting to avoid bedtime. So we have been having what I call "power hour" right before bed ;)! Whatever works!
We are looking forward to the warm temps this week (might have to bust out the shorts is going to be above freezing)!

Separation!

I spent the week in Florida for school at a conference. It was fun, interesting.. but of course hard to be away! It took a week to write sub plans and line up home plans! Phew, there is a reason I am NEVER gone! :) It felt so strange to only have to feed, dress and care for myself!!
We had the help of Nolan and Clare, Dorothy, and my parents to stay with the kids while Joe was at work. I LOVED hearing the funny stories of what Kale had to say. Missed those funny conversations while I was gone. Deb, Jerry, Katie and Landyn came down to spend the weekend with Joe and the kids. Ava had yet another ear infection just before I left so I was feeling bad that Joe might be up a lot with her. Turns out she slept 7-7 most every night I was gone! Turkey, she usually sleeps 7-5 enjoys some milk then goes back to bed until 7. How nice of her not to make daddy get up at 5! Thanks to everyone who helped us out!
Kale had basketball on Sunday. His first big game. It had been just clinic up until now. Let's just say he choked! I have a feeling we have a perfectionist on our hands. He wasn't into the warm ups off the bat and then when he got going in the game he missed a shot, got embarrassed, and was done! *sigh* Oh well, the competitive side of me wants to kick and scream but he's only 4 so deep breath Brook...let it go.

Ava turned 11 Months! Tried to get a picture of her...this is about how it went!






Accomplishments:
She can take two little steps by herself
Cruises around all furniture
Climbs on top of ANYTHING possible
TWO bottom teeth
We think she might be saying Drake...confirmation on that yet to come. Joe thought I was crazy to even think she might be saying that but he too witnessed her petting him and saying what could be interpreted as "Drake" hmmmm?
Starting to trade the bottle for a sippy, so far, so good!

Joe had to work Friday night and then he took a night off to get together with some college buddies here in DesMoines. So...the kids and I headed back to Northwest Iowa for Landyn and Katie's baby shower. The road report before we left was iffy but I thought for sure people were just over reacting..umm no. Roads were clear, vision was 20/20 until all of the sudden we couldn't see a thing! Scary! If I would have been alone I think I might have cried. Kale was watching a movie and hadn't noticed my nervousness until we pretty much were creeping along. Then he became well aware of my white knuckles. I think the snow flying at the windows contributed to him dry heaving in the back....just what we needed and I had visions of being lost and stranded with two kids in the middle of no where. Did I mention my kids rarely sleep in the care?!?...Needless to say, if there is snow in the forecast... I won't be going anywhere for awhile!

After about 4 and 1/2 hours of driving we made it to my mom and dad's. EVERYONE was ready to be out of the car. Especially me! Shirley, my parents dog even got to enjoy being inside the house for awhile. Ava wasn't so sure of her at first but they quickly became good friends!


Katie's shower was good and Kale was very excited to hold his little cousin again. Here are the cousins! I should have smoothed out Kale's hat head! Oh well!



Rumors of a snowstorm were circulating at the shower and that was starting to make me nervous about the drive home. Its one thing to be driving in the snow alone, another to be driving with precious cargo!

I ended up leaving early Sunday morning to get back in time for Kale's long awaited YMCA basketball practice. He of course had his "basketball clothes" all picked out weeks before. He did great for about the first 15 minutes. 3 and 4 year olds aren't receptive to much "coaching" :). And having to wear the provided green basketball shirt over his under armour basketball shirt he was so pround of, threw him for a loop too!
Kale is also very competitive and becomes easily frustrated when he can't do something perfect.. We are working on that! ugh! So he got mad when he couldn't dribble twice and shoot. When we got home he worked on it in the garage for about a half hour so he could show "Coach John" next week. At least he has some perseverance.





We are starting early getting Ava to say that she is "one!"


And here is her new favorite hiding place! Good thing Kale is a good seeker otherwise we might lose her!