meet our roomie!

Meet our new roommate, Lindsey. She is an awesome addition to our household- as of two weeks ago. She is in her last semester at UNI and then will head out to do student teaching. Until then, the Hoskinson basement is her home!

It wasn't too long ago, my cousin mentioned to me at a family gathering that "you guys sure don't like to do things normally do you?" Not exactly sure if I should take it as a compliment but I will ha ha. She was referring to the number of roommates Mark and I have had since being married. We had Liz (right after we got married- before she got married), my sister for a summer, we lived in the Hansen's basement for a few months, and also lived in the Kraayenbrink's basement for a few months. Now- Lindsey. All in six years(ish). At first, some may assume this means Mark and I don't want to be alone! That is definitely not the case. It just often seems like these opportunities have worked out well. We have either had the opportunity to open our home to someone who needed it for a certain period of time or someone has been generous enough to do the same for us. It seems to me that living in community really makes sense. It is where you often grow as the good, the bad, the ugly all comes out! Plus, we have space that isn't being used so that seems to make sense too. This is a different season (with two little kiddos) to share a living space so I'm sure we'll have some learning along the way. But we are excited to have our sweet new roomie.
*When I first wrote this post, I knew our list of roomies didn't seem complete. And my friend Kelsi reminded me of the semester she lived with us (up until the first week of when we had Addelyn!) Wow, the list is getting so long I can't even keep track anymore. Kelsi was another great Hoskinson roommate that we have lots of great memories with:)

hansens dairy tour

Our summer To Do List included doing a tour at Hansen's Dairy Farm in Hudson. It is run by a couple and their four sons (and families). We have been buying their milk for the past few years after being introduced to it by some of our friends. It is non-homogenized. Why does that matter? Read this link. Jace has had lots of dairy issues so I'm hoping this will be helpful for him as he starts drinking milk. And now that we live so close to the Outlet store, we also frequently buy ice cream cones from there this summer too! Oh and don't forget their homemade cookie ice cream sandwiches, yum. I mentioned the tour idea to Ilene and they decided to make a field trip out of it for the daycare so it was fun to all go together.

Addelyn and her buddy Jack

On the trolley on our way to the barn to see the cows and the process of how they make milk and other products. Addelyn was convinced she should wear her sequined dress to the tour on that ninety degree day. Oh my farm girl:)

They have wallabys at the farm, which are their mascot. The kids got to feed them and they thought that was pretty fun.

Here they are standing next to the silo- it was very tall!

Checking out all of the cows! Each one has it's own unique name.

The office where all of the cow's birth certificates are. Quite an interesting process- how they make cow babies and all that goes with it. I learned a lot at this tour!

Addelyn thought it was pretty cool seeing the calves bottles. Of course, she is infatuated with anything that has to do with bottles, babies, etc.

Our tour guide showed us how we could let the calves suck on our hands. Addelyn was nervous to do this so I had to show her it was okay! Now the farm girl in mom came out:)

All of the kiddos in front of the big ole' preggo cows. Poor things- it was hot and they were laying down, miserable looking. I could feel their pain!

Riding the trolley across the farm

Best part of the tour- the end, where you get the sample of Hansen's ice cream!

If you haven't done a tour, I would definitely suggest it! We had a great time!

swim lessons

Addelyn just finished her second year of swim lessons. Her first year of going alone. Last year, parents had to get in too. Not going to say I missed that this year, although it was about 90 degrees every morning by 9:30 when her lesson started. Somedays all I wanted to do was jump in too!

Miss Jen (on the far left) was Addelyn's teacher. She is 93 years old and has been teaching for more than fifty years. She is a no-nonsense kind of gal and expects a lot from the kids, which is awesome. My favorite rule: "No crying!" At the same time, you can tell she truly cares for each child and wants them to learn how to swim. Addelyn grew a lot this year - her timidness in the water changed so much in the few weeks with Miss Jen.

on the go weekend

Every year Mark goes on a "Man Trip" with his friends from high school and college. They are a great group of guys that would do anything for each other. This year, the trip was a little longer than the past and they went out to Colorado. Since Mark was going to be gone for such a good chunk of time (Wed-Sunday night late)- I decided to make a "traveling" weekend out of it. We went and saw some family and the days passed quickly.

We road tripped through Steamboat Rock, hit up some time in Perry, and hung out in Des Moines. It was a full, fun weekend. One of our favorite things we did was go to the Heritage Carousel and Splash Park with my sister Jill. The Carousel ride was only fifty cents and both Addelyn and Jace liked it.

Then we walked over to the Splash Park. On the way there, it was rainy and cool so we didn't even think we'd hit the Splash Park- just the carousel and playground maybe. I never brought along towels or suits. As soon as we got there, it warmed up and the sun came out. So the Splash Park sounded like a good option. I'm kind of a planner and I kind of like life in order. But kids are teaching me sooo much! I'm learning to let go of plans, let go of order, and to let go and let my kids get dirty, muddy, messy, wet, etc! It really feels good.

We started out getting wet, just a little.

 But it felt sooo good.

So much fun to run around- plus we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Yep, fully immersed. Why not?

Having a blast! We could have seriously stayed there for hours. The kids loved it! I honestly think that running around in the water with her clothes on was fun for Addelyn too- rather than in a swimsuit.

So no towels? Well, the best option is stripping your kids down and letting them air dry on the way home! :) What a fun time we had. We'll definitely go back sometime when we are in DSM! Good idea, Aunt Jiller!

I didn't get pics of the rest of the family fun weekend. Some time on the farm with the Kramers, swimming time in DSM and Perry, the Farmer's Market in DSM and even meeting up with friends. It was a great weekend and time quickly passed by with Mark being gone. His trip ended up being great too- by Sunday night, we were all ready to be home!

summer days, drifting away

I can hardly believe how summer is flying by. It kind of makes me sad. I love summer- although our days are full- there is less of a schedule and more family fun outside. We have been to the pool lots this summer which is why I must post a family pool picture. Notice our friend Jaxon running in the back of our picture. His sweet head or body was in every family pic attempt. Gotta love it!

Sparklers on the Fourth of July. Of course.

Messy smores! Yum. These were microwaved. I wish my husband would be up for a fire pit but that is another discussion or blog post.

Sometimes you need a break from the outside heat - and staying inside and doing playdoh seems like a great option. On this day, Addelyn was the dentist. She was filling some cavities.

Mornings have even been hot- by 9 am- we have been outside, playing in the pool. One day Addelyn and I made "ice bricks." She put food coloring in water in various containers, froze the water, and we took the bricks we made out to the pool. Too bad everything melted pretty quickly on such a hot day. Jace thought it would be fun to eat the ice brick. Go figure. The kid that doesn't ever like to eat. Unless it is something not meant to be eaten!

Gotta love the sunglasses!

Summer smoothies. Yum. We eat them a lot. And this boy actually loves his smoothies- one thing I can get him to eat. So I sneak lots of good stuff in there (whatever is in the fridge- kale, swiss chard, collard greens, berries, apples, bananas, yogert....little does this boy know!) There is something satisfactory about knowing your kids are downing a load of veggies and fruit- and they love it!

Can't forget the kisses. This boy has started giving kisses now and they are big, wet, on the mouth ones. Love 'em! Sorry about all of my swimwear in every pic. Can you tell we don't wear real clothes very often? Oh summer, we love you.

splash pad

We hit the new Splash pad in Waterloo on the Fourth of July. It was one of those terribly hot days- perfect for running through some cold water! The kids loved it. Actually, we all loved it. What a great addition to Waterloo- the Amphitheather is awesome too- all down by the Youth Pavilion by the river.

Our buddy Austin came along and of course, his favorite part seemed to be climbing on the playground equipment, next to the splash pad.

Yes, even mom got wet!

Our best attempt at a picture of the kids. We will definitely have to go back! Maybe next time with a picnic lunch.

13 months old

Can't believe how time flies! I'm behind on the blogging but want to make sure I remember some of these important milestones for my Jacer boy.

Jace at 13 months:

*Between 12-13 months he started to walk. The waddle/zombie walk. Now he runs. Watch out world!

*Still nursing- loves that. Food, not so much. He has his random moments where he'll eat but you just never know.

*Loves cars. Pushes his little cars around the house all day long.

*Balls (or anything he gets ahold of)- he throws! Watch out, it hurts.

*Knows Mama, Dada, and Sister/Addelyn- when we say one of our names he knows exactly who we are talking about.

*Gives kisses- big, open mouth ones. Also blows kisses when he feels like it!

*Doesn't say much- a lot of jabbering and sometimes things that sound like words. Mama and Dada sometimes.

*LOVE this boy's laugh. And that toothy grin. We see it often.

*Into everything! We need to baby-proof our cupboards. He is opening cupboards, pulling stuff out, playing in the toilet, up the stairs- he is everywhere. Discovers new things that Mom hasn't babyproofed daily.

*Naps- still taking two good naps a day (most of the time!)

We love our Jacer boy!