End of School, Beginning of Summer

Maya graduated from preschool two days after turning five! Here she is going into preschool on her last day in the exact spot I took a picture of her going in on the first day!

                                                                     
Gnats are crazy bad this summer because of the flooding. This walk through Palisades Kepler Park was uncomfortable every time we stopped to look around (or take a picture).

With an entire summer off and my Montessori training in the bag I am hoping to spend more time blogging about the kids!  We just need the weather to work with us here...bugs, chilly, rainy...its just not working in my outdoorsy family's favor.

Also, what the flip is this new blogger layout??  I don't blog for 9 months and they throw simplicity out the window.

Summers End

August and now September have flown by. We've been busy with trying to do as many outdoor activities as possible, and starting preschool for Maya!! We had a great visit from Uncle Chris and Nika. We went to the Devonian Fossil Gorge for an afternoon and the kids were more interested in hopping on rocks and exploring than looking at fossils. Either way, it was a good time. We've been digging in the dirt piling in the backyard a lot now that the weather has become NORMAL, watching Jumpy Squirrel bury nuts, Sneaky Gene the neighbor's cat chasing chipmunks in our backyard, and the hummingbirds fight over control of the feeder. Good outdoor activities!! Finally, Maya has really enjoyed school. So much so, that she tells me she's bored on the weekends!

Summer

It's been a fairly busy summer, and a hot one too! So we've been having to do a lot of indoor activities (which my kids hate, they'd rather play outside all day). Here are a few pictures from some of our fun time with family. Top photos are of the balloon glow here in Cedar Rapids. We didn't stay for the actual glow, too late for little ones to stay up for. We sat and ate snacks with Aunt B and Uncle Jason, and of course our Sullybear. Maya stood in line for a half an hour..to jump in a bounce house for five minutes.

Next up are pictures from The Pregitzer's anniversary party in Ames. Maya and the boys played in the playroom at the church where the party was held and were very good entertainment for the people who attended (they screamed and ran around like banshees).

Minneapolis!

Four score and several weeks ago, we went on a little vaca to Minneapolis for Ella's birthday party and a wee bit of MOMA. We went to Sea Life at MOMA and Rowie really enjoyed the stingrays and all the other "fishies." Maya's head was wrapped around "going on rides" in the mall...so she did not enjoy the aquarium. But we did go on a few kiddie rides and I'm sure she would have stayed and gone on rides all day....We also went swimming with Maisie and Ella and Uncle Aaron. And as always, my kids love staying in hotels.

Ella's party was at Edinburgh Park which was a blast for the kids. Rowie LOVED the gym with the balls and the riding toys and he just ran and ran...Maya loved the bounce house!! Who doesn't love a bounce house??

Getting Up-To-date

We've been busy little Dieters lately and I haven't had a chance to get on here and update it. Here are a few of the things we've done so far this summer. We went to Niabi Zoo in the Quad Cities.

We went to The Palisades and looked for rocks on the beach and had a walk in the woods.

We've had giggles and fun with Sully of course!! And we've played and played....

I'll publish another blog soon of our adventures in Minneapolis and Ames!!