Update

A lot has been going on since my last post. Rachel turned 10, had her spring concert for the Algona Children's Choir, and participated in a basketball tournament. We celebrated Easter. And Tim made his first communion. Also, for those that don't know, we are expecting our fifth child in September. We did find out it is going to be a boy which will make for a lot of testosterone in this house. :) Enjoy the various photos below:

Christmas 2009

We had an interesting Christmas this year. Due to the weather, Marty's sisters were unable to make it home and we were unable to travel to my Grandparents on Christmas Eve. Marty's dad came over Christmas Eve and shared some snacks and cocktails. On Christmas day, we opened our gifts and as I was making dinner, the power went out. We were without power for 48 hours. I'm sure the kids will never forget the Christmas we spent without electricity. The kids have enjoyed playing in the snow and there sure is enough of it. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Misc. Updates

Well, it has been awhile since I posted. On September 19th, Tim turned 8. Wow, time flies doesn't it?

He also participated in the flag football program in Emmetsburg. It involved practices on Saturday Mornings for a little over a month and then they got to play on the High School Football field. He played quarterback in the game and did pretty well. He got a couple tackles and actually ran it in for a touchdown. Pretty fun watching him.

Thanks to a friend, we inherited some old football pads. Since Tim's flag football jersey was so big he was able to put it over the pads. We improvised for Connor and he wore an old Ruthven Ayrshire Ram's jersey. Pretty funny looking at these boys. Won't be long and they will be wearing the real thing.

Rachel has been busy as well. She is taking guitar lessons. She has been wanting them for a couple years now and I finally gave in. She is also in the Algona Children's Choir, practicing for a 4th grade basketball tournament and participating in a volleyball clinic. Wow, her schedule is busier than mine.

Braden is really getting quite the personality. He is the spitting image of Tim in looks but his personality mostly resembles Connor. Should be interesting....

As for Marty and I...Well, other than chasing after kids, we haven't been doing much. The harvest is going slow thanks to mother nature and the abundance of rain (and sometimes snow) that we have been getting. I am counting down the days until I am off of my crutches (for those that don't know, they are the result of a fall and then knee surgery).

Misc. Updates

Well, since my last post we have had a few things going on. We travelled to Omaha. The main reason for the trip was as a reward for all the things Rachel does to help me out, I was able to (with the help of Marty's sister Amy (thanks Amy)) get tickets to see the Taylor Swift concert. It was a lot of fun and we had really good seats. Do you think we started something? While in Omaha, we stayed at CocoKeys resort. It is a waterpark and the kids had a blast. While we were at the concert (girls night only), Marty stayed with the boys at Amy and Eric's. The boys had fun playing with their cousin Nick. We also celebrated Braden & Connor's birthdays. It was a joint celebration. Can't believe Braden is 3 and Connor is 6. Finally, the kids started back to school. Usually I am ready for them to go back to school, but it seemed like summer went by too fast this year. See some photos below:

4th of July weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend. Marty and I went golfing with some friends on Friday, spent some time at my Dad's on Saturday and then went and watched the fireworks. Then Sunday took the kids to the Lost Island Beach. What a great weekend!!

Little League Tournament

Well, yesterday Rachel had her little league tournament. It is a single elimination tournament. We played at 10:30. The girls played great. I think it was their best game all year. The rules are that they play based on time or innings. After 4 innings our girls were up 2 -1. They had time to play another inning and unfortunately the other team got some runs and won. The girls played great though. I was kind of sad to see them lose but was glad we didn't have to spend the whole day at the ballpark. :)

Update

Well, it sure has been awhile since I have posted on this. Things have been busy. Rachel was in a play at the Emmetsburg community theatre. She was a mouse. She is also playing little league softball. That season is winding down and we will be having tournaments this weekend. We have a college girl come into our house and babysit for the summer. The kids love her and she takes them to the pool, park, library, lake, and wherever else they can talk her into going. Tim is spending most of his time with Marty farming. Seems like summer is already flying by. Hope you enjoy the pics.