Party Party!

We celebrated A.J.'s birthday last weekend. He FINALLY had a birthday party that was more than just us. We invited a lot of friends over. We had around 30 people over. A.J. had a BLAST! He loved his Transformer cake, and opening presents. In fact, the next day he asked if we could have another birthday party next week. I said no, we only have birthday parties once a year. He said it doesn't have to be a birthday party-just a PRESENT party. I still said no-so let's not let him in on the idea of an unbirthday party.

Happy Birthday A.J.!!!

A.J. turned 6 this past week. We will be having a party for him later this month. I made cupcakes for his kindergarten class, and he FINALLY got the talking Optimus Prime he has been wanting!

A.J.'s First Day of Kindergarten

Awww....it went so fast. My baby is in kindergarten now! Today when I took A.J. to school he gave me a big wave and a big smile and walked in without a backward glance! When I picked him up I asked him how school went and he gave me a two thumbs up.

Labor Day Weekend

This past weekend we did a little trip to the Netherlands. We live pretty close-it's about a 4 1/2 drive to the town we like to stay in. On Sunday we headed over to Amsterdam. It's a beautiful city, pretty much built in circles around the canals. While we were there we went to the red light district (it was noon when we went-I'm pretty sure it's a completely different atmosphere at night than during the day) The kids were so enthralled with the swans in the canal that they completely missed the prostitutes in the windows. (Thank God!) We went on a boat ride around Amsterdam, too. The last thing we did was visit the Anne Frank House. Another sobering moment, a reminder of the atrocities that happened here. It was incredible to see the tiny space where the Frank family and another family hid.

On Monday we went to Kinderdijk on our way home. It's a cute little village of windmills. There are 19 windmills, and they have one that is working. When you go inside of it they show how the Dutch lived in their windmills. The rooms were so tiny-maybe my apartment isn't so bad after all...the kids had a blast climbing all the way to the top of the windmill, on the narrow steep steps. I wouldn't have wanted to go down them in the dark!

Kaitlin's First Day of School

How is it possible that my little girl is in 4th grade already????

Luxembourg and Bastogne

Last weekend we took a little drive through Luxembourg and Belgium. We visited the American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg. It is very sobering walking through and seeing all the white crosses. Especially when you think about how young most of the men were, and the fact that they gave their lives that others would have freedom. After that we drove to Bastogne, where the Battle of the Bulge was fought. The story of the battle was engraved on the walls of the memorial. It was a fascinating battle. The countryside of Belgium reminded me of the Midwest, too. Most of the time when you're driving through European villages they are just so cute and old fashioned. In Belgium I felt like I was back home in Iowa there for a little bit.

Summer is almost over...

and I haven't been posting updates. My mom and Aunt Marian were here at the beginning of the summer. Mom came before school let out, and Marian came at the end of the summer. We did A LOT of running and sightseeing while they were here. We went to Paris of the 4th of July and did a few day trips in between. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed having company:)

Jamie had surgery last week to repair the damage to the nerves in his arm. He is on leave until next week. We go back on Tuesday for a follow up.

We probably won't have any exciting trips or pictures for the rest of the summer. Our excitement now consists of going to the Macaroni Grill (just opened last month!) and Chili's, and I know that's just not too exciting for those of you that live near yummy restaurants. But for us....ahhhh it is a treat to go there!