Picnic, Park and Rendezvous

After church this morning we found ourselves relishing in how great our God is and how He has created such a picture perfect day.  Too good of a day to waste time washing windows, cleaning the car out or sorting through closets.  With the almost summer like temps, peak foliage and the smell of fall blasting us in the face we knew we had to do something special with this day.

So we talked with some good friends of ours and we decided to meet at Lake Meyer for a picnic.

 Before settling down for sandwiches and chocolate milk, the boys burnt off some pent up energy.

 

It was then that we decided to take short drive to our home town of Fort Atkinson for Rendezvous Days.

Rendezvous Days are a chance to recreate what military life in the 1840's might have been like in Fort Atkinson.

After being in the Fort for about 10 minutes, Asher decided he wanted no part of it.  Asher and I decided to leave while Jeremy, Landon and the Waskow's continued on.

It ended up being a perfect Sunday.  Here's one more thought.  This came from Pastor Ed this morning and I can't help but think of it all day.  Don't get caught up in the material things of the world.  We were born to be a follow of Jesus Christ and praise our Savior. Live life and not love things.

"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever." 1 John 2:15-17

Last Saturday's travels

Every year Jer goes on a guys trip four wheeling somewhere.  This year, they revisited Iron Range, Minnesota.  He left on Thursday morning and returned on Sunday afternoon.

While he was gone, the boys and I set about to have our own fun.  We started our Saturday morning by taking a cruise to Cedar Falls.  On the way down, we made a stop to see my Dad at work.

Of course the boys had to take a tractor around for a spin.

 

 

Much to their disappointment, we did not bring one home. :-(

 

A few laps and a bag of popcorn later, we were on our way. 

Next stop, Cedar Falls, Iowa.  I was missing my baby Sullivan something bad.  And just as I suspected, he grew so much since I saw him just a few weeks ago.

After a little shopping, and a little lunch, we headed back to the Nelson's for a little cuddle time.  It's no secret that Landon is absolutely smitten with Sullivan.  Asher likes trying to make "nice" to him as well.  His nice involves a few nice pets, and then he goes for the nose. 

This next photo was funny because just as I was snapping away, Sullivan decided to "surprise" Landon with a messy diaper.  Landon thought it was hilarious...

Asher decided he better get out of there.

After a little freshening up, we snuck in a few more quick photos and then it was time for us to hit the road.  We still weren't done with our days travels...

Once we hit the road, and the boys got in some much needed nap time.

  

Just a short hour later I woke up the boys as we parked in the driveway of Grandma Debbie's house.  She had a new addition in her barn and was excited to show the boys.

 A baby donkey.  He was so furry and super cute!

Both boys were a little leary, but I think they liked him.  No if only he had a name...

And that was our Saturday.  It was a busy, but fun one! 

Landon's first field trip

Excuse me, I've been MIA, but I have plenty to share.  I've been busy working on Asher's first Shutterfly book.  I had a coupon for a free book that I thought expired today.  I put the final touches on it last night, entered my coupon code, only to have it say, 'Sorry this code expired on yesterday.'  You've got to be kidding me.  Nevertheless, I had a $20 coupon off and ordered it anyway!  In case you missed it, you can see the finished book here. 

Coming up this weekend, I hope to do a lot more updating.  Including an interview with Landon on how school is going for him!

But this post is all about Landon's first field trip.  I was so excited to pack a lunch for him chaperone.  Ok, I wasn't totally kidding, here is his lunch.

Chaperoning was seriously a lot of fun, and I loved seeing Landon interact with his new friends.  Landon's jump start class headed to Pinter's Gardens and Pumpkins.

All the preschool classes headed there on the bus.  While us chaperone's met them there. 

I seemed to go overboard on the photos, so here is a little slideshow. 

Clearly they had fun right?!  And one last photo of Landon with his teachers, who are absolutely amazing, and his classmates.

Asher's 1st Photo Book

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Our little Indian

NICC Fall Fest

This past Thursday night, Jer, the boys and I headed to Calmar for Northeast Iowa Community College's Fall Fest.

Every fall, NICC opens their campus and hosts family friendly events, a free will offering meal and the opportunity to bring the community together.  

Temps were nestled perfectly in the 70's, the sun was shining and the atmosphere was friendly and fun. 

Landon wasn't interested in any games or activities, but he did want a balloon animal.  So, we stood in line for an hour to get a balloon from one of the two balloon artists.  Landon's request, a sword.  Yes, a plain and simple sword.  One that was already pre-made waiting to get turned into something so much more complex.  A sword with a holder, a dog, a monkey.  No thank you, just a sword please. (Sorry forgot a picture!)

 

The other hit of the night, cheetos. A hit with Landon and a new love for Asher.  Asher couldn't get enough of the crunchy orange snack.  As you can see, Asher also loved some moo mobile milk shake!

First Day of School

The dreaded big day has finally arrived.  Landon's first day of preschool. 

 

I think Landon is going to miss Asher, but I think Asher is going to miss Landon more.

 Enough with the pictures already Mom!

Ok, one more...

After dropping Asher off at daycare, it was time to head to the before school program.  You see, we would be one of the last ones on the morning bus route, and since Jer and I are both at work already, Landon is going to the CFS before school program. 

Now, reality set in a bit.  Landon did good, but I could tell he was stiffing up a bit waiting for bus #8.

There you go my sweet little guy.

I'm not going to kid, in this very minute or so, I feel like my heart stopped a bit.  My life, his life, our lives changed today. Landon seemed to walk up those steps and hop on that bus like he knew what he was doing.  On the other hand, he seems so innocent and all I want to do is protect him and not let anyone ever hurt his feelings.  

And just as quickly as the doors of bus #8 opened, they closed. 

And he was off.  And I did what so many other Mother's did today...I sat in my car and sobbed.  My baby is not my baby anymore.

I thought about Landon constantly throughout the day.  "Did he eat breakfast at school or did he eat his granola bar I packed?"  "Did he take a nap?"  "Did he cry?"

But his day went well.  And I received this email from his teacher this afternoon.  

"It is super hot here, but it looks like we're staying all day!  Landon is having an awesome first day.  He is such a great listener and he played well with his classmates during free choice time and outdoor time.  We're so excited to have him in our class :)  We're looking forward to a great (and hopefully cooler!) year." - Mrs. Dibble

That made my heart so happy!  After school, the bus took Landon to the after school program.  He was there for about 30 minutes before Jer picked him up.  Back at home, chocolate chip cookies and a surprise were waiting for him.

 Landon has been so talkative and has had so many things to share about his day.  I have loved hearing every second of it.  More importantly he is looking forward to tomorrow!