Thoughts about the first week of school......

We made it through the first week of school. I feel like I am adapting to my new job as a chauffeur fairly well. It is an adjustment though! The drive to school takes about 15 minutes- that's an hour a day in the car. It's nice to break up the day- we'll see how I feel about it when the snow starts to fly :)

The boys have a had a great week. They have really enjoyed getting to know the boys in their class. I asked if they play with the girls and Carson said "No, because they're not as big as we are." One day he will appreciate that quality :) They have PE and music during the week and have enjoyed those. The class has a jar that they get to put hearts in when they are caught doing something nice for someone else. When the jar is filled they get to have an ice cream party. Both boys have gotten to put hearts in the jar a few times this week.

School has been fun, but it has also been tiring for them. Carson is almost always the first one to get up in the morning- usually between 6:30am and 7:00am. It is rare for him to sleep past 7:00am!!!!! This morning (Saturday), he slept until 9:15am. He probably would have slept longer, but I just had to go in and check to make sure he was still alive and he woke up. It will take some adjustment to going everyday, but I think we have had a good start.

This afternoon we took advantage of the very warm Iowa temperatures and had a good water balloon fight. The boys discovered the bummer about a water balloon fight is that is doesn't last long. It was fun while it lasted!!!!

School days

I realize it's been a long time since I posted. I have many reasons why but will not bore you with all of them now! I hope to get back to regular posting as we start to get into more of a routine with school starting. Yes, the boys had their first day of school today!!!!! They were very excited. The school really prepared them and helped them to feel comfortable for this day and that is exactly what they were. They already knew where to go and already had made a friend from their orientation time. They of course said that their favorite part of the morning was recess. Connor observed right away that they didn't do any science today and was a little bummed about that. I assured him that there were plenty more days in which to do science. Carson has the first hook to hang his coat and backpack on. Connor hung his up so quickly I couldn't snap a picture. The first thing they will do every day is write their name on a piece of paper. After they do that they are able to go sit in circle time. They are sitting at different activity tables which I think will be good for them to meet different friends. Their teacher Mrs. Annie is on the left kneeling beside the table. She is very nice and the boys said they liked her. After school we went out to McDonald's to celebrate the success of the first day. They said they are excited to go back tomorrow- I would call that success!!!

The excitment builds....

The excitement for school to start has been building for several weeks now, but got a lot bigger today as we made the trip to Target for the anticipated school supplies. They each picked out a backpack. Carson got Spiderman and Connor got Speed Racer. He has not seen the movie (and will not), but really liked the race car on the front. Everything on the table went into their new backpacks which are now sitting in their room eagerly awaiting August 26th - the first day of school!!! Carson has "I'm going to Wilson-Beardshear early kindergarten" down pat. Mommy is eagerly awaiting the start of school too. I would never ever trade being at home with them, but I am looking forward to a new chapter of life with some time of just Kaelynn and I. The next pictures we post will probably be of our Kvernen vacation at the lake. We are all very excited for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A day at the amusement park!!!

Yesterday was a very fun day for the Kvernen family. We used the Adventureland tickets that Vicki (our Ames grandma) gave the boys for their birthday. It's very close to the same size as ValleyFair in Minnesota and we were able to spend all day there- literally- from 10am until 9:30pm. The kids were amazing. We figured we would just stop once they stopped, but they proved to be the energizer bunnies- they kept going, and going, and going. They had a lot of rides for Kaelynn- her favorite was the Ladybug ride. She also liked the hot air balloon ride. It took her a little while to get to the point of riding, but once she did she had a blast.
Connor and Carson were amazing. They are at a great height and age where they can go on a lot of the the bigger rides. Connor experienced his first full-size roller coaster. It's called the Outlaw and is a old wooden roller coaster. It doesn't go upside down, but went very fast and was extremely bumpy. He thought it was great until we got to the first big drop. At that point I think he made up his mind that he was going to stay away from roller coasters for now. He was a trooper though and endured through it without any tears. It came to a stop and he said, "That sure was scary mom." Carson didn't do a roller coaster, but went on most everything else. Here he is on one of his favorite kiddie rides- the frog hopper!!

The boys went on the log ride with dad. They thought is was the best!!! Connor was in front and was definetly the wettest!
Kaelynn liked these motorcycles because they were pink. That's what got her to start riding the rides.

There is a big top circus show there. We got to see frisbee catching dogs, a trapeeze artist, jugglers, and even a......

...man shot out of a cannon!!!
They have a great waterpark included in the cost of the tickets. The boys couldn't get enough of the waterslides!!!

Kaelynn- the bathing beauty!!!
We had such a great day!!! The kids are still talking about what was their favorite. We felt very blessed to be able to go and have a fun, safe time. Thanks Vicki!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Birthday photos and Roland days

Happy Birthday to me!!!!!!!!!!!!! We enjoyed the day with special times for all. We got to go to our favorite restaurant Hickory Park where I was serenaded by the servers and we stuffed ourselves with barbeque and ice cream. We then came home and ate cake. We did not win an award for healthy eating today!! This past weekend we went to Roland, IA where some friends live for their summer festival. The kids rode their bikes in the kiddie parade. Connor and Carson are surrounded by a few of their friends that joined us.
We enjoyed soaking people with the water balloon launch. It was a hot day so it felt really great!

Carson and Connor competed in the tractor pull. You can see the tractor in the background. They had to pedal the tractor that had a trailer attached to it with weights on it. The weights got heavier and heavier the further they went. Both boys did very well. Connor went 33 feet and came in 3rd place in his age category. Carson pedaled 36 feet and came in 1st place. He got a trophy and is seen here with the second place winner. He qualified for the state tractor pull in September. I don't think we are going to pursue that though!
We enjoyed fireworks and great times with friends.

Connor and Carson's 5th Birthday Party

Hi everyone,

We thought you might enjoy seeing this.  I'm sure Kristi will post some cute pictures tomorrow or sometime soon, but I wanted to get this out tonight.  The boys had a great birthday party today!  Enjoy...

Love,

Andy (and family)

4th of July fun!!!!

We spent the day at a cabin of some good friends of ours, Shana and Danny Wilson. We got up there in time for lunch and then spent the rest of the day on the water.

They have a jetski that we rode on a few times. Carson would only go if mommy was driving. Needless to say, we didn't go very fast.
They also have a great boat that we got to do some waterskiing behind. The kids loved cheering everyone on.
The kids did some fishing from the dock and caught a few walleyes- no keepers :( But, it was Chloe and Sophie's first time fishing and they each caught one. It was great!

At the end of the day we sat down around a fire for homemade peach ice cream, smores, and some beautiful fireworks over the lake. The little girl is Sophie (Shana and Danny's second daughter).
We had a wonderful day celebrating the freedom we have been given! Hope you did too!