Reading List

Books that have entertained me the past two months:

July: 3 books in 4 weeks

1. Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzman (Book 3) I didn't read the first two. I didn't realize it was a series, and our library doesn't have the first two books argggg!

2. Tested by Fire book 1 by Kathy Herman. This book is great. 

3. Day of Reckoning book 2 by Kathy Herman. This book is even better than the first book. 

August: 5 books in 4 weeks

1.Vital Signs book 3 by Kathy Herman. These books get better with each one!

2. High Stakes book 4  by Kathy Herman. Another wonderful book.

3. A Fine Line book 5 by Kathy Herman. A great finish to an excellent series.

4. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. A fun young adult book/quick read.

5. Raven's Prey by Jayne Ann Krentz. A fun quick read.

My goal for this year is 52 books. I have 39 books read! 13 books to go.

Books on Deck:

Wedding Belles by Janice Hanna

Moment of Truth by Lisa Scottoline

Not By Sight by Kathy Herman

Spoiled Rotten

Nana and G-pa came to visit us August 7-18. They spoiled us all and especially Charles. He was taken to so many neat things while they were here. You have already seen the Iowa State Fair photos. Now check out the other things we did.

 One day we went to the petting zoo here in town and saw goats, horses, sheep, and eagles. He feed the goats and the horses.

Enjoying playing at the park with G-pa. They had so much fun going down slides, swinging, and on various other pieces of playground equipment.

 Charles loves trains. He plays with his toy train and listens out for the trains that go through our town. They facsinate him, so while at Omaha Zoo we rode the train. He was so excited to get on and to see the train. Once on the train he cuddled up next to G-pa and sat really still. I believe that the loudness of the train scared him a little bit.

His absolute favorite part of the zoo was the aquarium. He would say "Hey Fish, Bye Fish," "Hey Shark, Bye Shark," and "come here, hold you." We went through twice.

 Here he is on his first horse. He didn't seem to want to stay on long.

 He got to ride up front with our friend Todd and G-pa on our horse ride.

 Half way through the ride he decided he wanted to hang out with Daddy, Mommy, and Nana. He went to each of us at least once during this time.

We had a blast!

Charles' 2nd Birthday Party

 Party Theme: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
 Food: Hot dogs, Chips, Various Melons, Cake, and Ice cream
 Guests: The Grote Family, The Capron Family, The Oxley Family, G-pa, Nana, Mommy, and Daddy

The Birthday Cake

So I decided to make Charles' cake this year. He is really into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so I decide to make an Ol' Toodles cake. Little did I know how much time and work it would take! I started baking at 9am and did not get finished until 11:45am. Then I wrapped the cake really well in plastic wrap and laid it flat in the freezer for 24 hours.

 On his birthday I made the icing using Wilton's Buttercream Icing. Making the icing and decorating the cake took me 2 hours. Freezing the cake really makes icing the cake so much easier. 

Tricks I learned:
1. Fill the cake pan a little more than the box cake says.
2. Mix the cake for the time it says on the box.
3. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Then use a bread knife to cut of the top part of the cake. The part that is just above the pan to make a flat surface.
4. Flip it over onto plastic wrap and wrap it really well. Lay it on a flat surface and put it in the freezer for 24-48 hours ahead of time.
5. Make sure you put icing on the cake right out of the freezer.
6. Purchase Fondant at the store. Use various items that you have around the house to make circles.
Long story short know that a majority of the cost to purchase a cake from a bakery or person is because of the time involved. I probably will not attempt making a birthday cake again, but I am happy to say it looked okay and that it tasted yummy. I will not be the Next Cake Boss!

Iowa State Fair

We went to opening day for the state fair.

 The enterance

 One happening dude.

 Rockin' out at the state fair.

 Enjoying lunch

 Meeting the big red dog "Clifford."

 The most comfortable swing ever.

 Charles decided to take a nap because of all the excitement...

but gladly woke up for some yummy icecream!

The Cat Is Out Of The Bag

We are so happy to announce that we are expecting our second baby in February. Please join us in prayer for a healthy pregnancy and a very happy and healthy baby!

The way we told my family:

We sent them a save the date/announcing baby # 2 post card.

 

Patrick's parents came in for a visit so we surprised them this way today:

 

 His shirt says I'm the big brother. The is the best picture I could get of him because he was wanting to play.

Sick

Charles is sick. Poor little guy started running a fever on Friday at 10 am and has had up and down fevers with chills through yesterday. Yesterday he started crying when he tried to eat or drink anything. He is also fighting us with medicine and he usually takes medicine really well. It looks like we will be going to the doctor tomorrow. I think he might have a bad throat infection. I feel bad about the amount of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and PBS cartoons we have watched this weekend. Charles just wants to lay around, be held, and watch his shows.

Balloons Everywhere

We went to the Hot Air Balloon Classic yesterday afternoon. Charles really enjoyed watching the balloons being blown up and flying. He was not a fan of the one that was right in front of us. He didn't like fire or the loud sound up close.

Goals for August

1. Go to the National Balloon Classic in Indianola, Iowa. I have wanted to go since the summer of 2011, but because I was 38 weeks or so my husband refused to take me 3 hours away for some reason. Last year it was in the middle of band camp.
2. Make Charles' birthday cake.
3. Go to the Iowa State Fair.
4. Continue to work on letters with Charles.
5. Enjoy time with family and friends.
6. Read really good books.
7. Try ice painting because it sounds fun. This idea came from a the blogivers along with the idea to make a list:).