Happy Birthday Paige and Claire!

The kids are at the fun age of Halloween. They still love the cute costumes (and still share their candy : ) ). The girls went as Alvin and the Chipmunks. I think each choose the chipmunk that best fits their peronality: Paige, inquisitive Simon, Claire, munchable Theodore, and Ava, sassy Alvin.
Isaak choose to be Indiana Jones, as did every boy in the free world. However, he was super cute as he hummed the theme song from house to house, flicking his whip at the Chipmunks. The kids were beat after a few houses. Our new neighborhood is awesome, in that the houses are spread out, but this makes for a LONG trick-or-treat route. We didn't make quite the haul we used too, but still have the huge tupperware bowl filled to the brim with treats
Claire and Paige had pretty good birthday, beautiful weather. Turning 8 came and went in flurry of nachos and brownies (their choice -- but I think it was a good one). They had lots of presents. New "fur" coats and snow boots. (I think we'll need these in Iowa). Not as many toys this year. *sniff* *sniff* They are growing up. They didn't even really desire toys this year, but I threw in some Polly Pockets and small toys to keep my dreams alive.



Favorite gift of all --- The $2 toe socks from Ike and Ava. Aren't kids funny?

Best of Both Worlds

We survived Paige and Claire's "Rock Star Party", where you got to have the best of both worlds. The girls all received a backstage pass in the mail and had to wear it to be allowed in. Brant the bouncer was very stern and strict -- no pass/no enter. The moms thought it was hilarious. Each pass had their true identity name and their "secret rock star" name. All the rocker names were rhyming state names --- Claire Delaware, Elaine Maine, Pippi Mississippi, etc. After serving microphones and soundbites (corndogs and party mix), my lovely neighbor Jill and I performed their rock star make-overs. Huge thanks to Jill for doing the make-up. She went home covered in glitter, but giggling at what she got to leave behind.
After the make-overs we played a quick game and had a photo shoot in front of the stage. Notice all the pink hair and red lips. The gobs of glitter didn't show up in this phot, but, trust me, we'll be finding it for weeks.
The pass.
This I threw in to show off Iowa. Can you tell what this is? Look closely. The reason I took a boring picture of the side of our black grill is to show off the snow. Yes, people, it snowed for about two hours yesterday. Nothing really stuck, but still honest to God snow in October. Jeez, I am so not prepared for this.

Leeper Kids

These are pics from when my mom and sister came up to visit. Notice how over half of the Leeper grandchildren belong to Brant and I. They turned out pretty good for just a day at the park.

We've been busy working on the toy room/sewing room in the basement this week. It's turning out pretty cool, and since it's in the basement, there's a sound barrier from the craziness. This week also includes Paige and Claire's rock star party, so there is another layer of kookiness there. The girls are high on little girl joy and I'm going crazy making sure I have it all lined up so it runs smoothly (well, at least sanely).


This pic shows that even though Iowa may seem bland, it really is a pretty place. This is the river that runs right through the middle of our town (West Des Moine River). Most of the parks are planted along its banks, so you can overlook it while you play ( and constantly toss out drowning threats at your children if they go near it).

Back to Blogging

O.k. o.k. I finally loaded up Picasa 3 (thanks to Jennifer's suggestion and wealth of blogger knowledge). Wow this is going to be so much easier. Now maybe I can keep up. This picture is about a month old. Since then I've painted, made a few curtains, learned to knit socks, being a busy little birthday elf (leaving this off blog), made 4 Halloween costumes. . . See why I forget to update!

Anyway -- our lives have been filled with lots of love lately. Our family is in love with Awanas, a mission based children's program on Wednesday night. Brant and I help in the games department, Paige and Claire are sparkies, and Ike and Ava are Cubbies. Can't think of a more family fun night.

My sister, Mom, two nephews, and niece were here this weekend. While I had help with the kiddies, Brant started framing in the basement for a toy room and my sewing room (does he love me or what?!). It was great to see everyone. I swear my niece Sarah is too tall, and Drake eats like a horse. The biggest change was in Brock though. Oooh, how Isaak misses that little guy. He's full of karate chops and giggles, and Isaak so desires a boy around here.

Keep your eyes peeled for birthday news. Paige and Claire's party should "rock".

Off to School and "Draggin' Butt"

We made it through the first couples weeks of school. Paige is loving having Mrs. Miller, and Claire is loving having Mrs. Duffield. I was nervous about different rooms, but it seems to be going very well. They share friends at recess but have a chance to be their own unique selves in class. The same week as school starting we had another new experience -- Dragon Boat Races. This is totally an Iowa thing. We began to dub them Draggin' Butt Races because they are so exhausting. The whole thing is a team effort. Basically, if you are out of rhythm in the rowing, your team loses. Very entertaining and a good chance to meet a few more people. Brant's team, T&L Grinders, won the gold in their division. I was amazed because half of the boat was staggering by the last couple races. The layover time between racing led to some imbibing. Maybe it just raised spirits to victory.

Big Bike Riders

Such a blogger slacker, but I think I am getting the hang of it. This huge event happened weeks ago, but I forgot to show off. Ike and Ava are now training wheel free. Wooo-hooo! Bike rides are so much easier now without the stupid, creaking trainers. Isaak has not wanted to ride his bike all summer, but one Sunday after church he said he wanted the trainers off. We humored him, preparing for failure. No kidding, he picked up the bike and took off. This of course encouraged Ava-never-to-be-outdone Hamby to then get her trainers off. Very exciting that all four are now more mobile. In this little town, you could seriously ride your bike everywhere you need to go -- post office, library, pool, school, church. Everything is within a three mile radius of our house. Even the coffee shop is about a five minute bike ride. Gotta' save that gas somehow.

River and Rocks

We took some time to enjoy some of the local sights last week while Brant's parents where here visiting. We live less than a mile from the Des Moines River, but it had been far too full to actually take the kids down to the banks until recently. It's very muddy right now from all of the overflow, which made it all the yuckier in my mind and all the funner in the kids' minds.

The other pictures are from the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa. It's only a half hour from our house and it is spectacular. I'm not into all the Catholic saint stuff, being of the Baptist variety, however this is stunning. It took two priests around 80 years to build this structure. It is a city block full of structures created from all natural objects: shells, rocks, gems, etc. It is so awesome, even the kids were quiet and observative for the hour tour. Definitely recommend it if you ever hit the upper edge of Iowa. Oh, plus it's a free tour.

Another plus, while Brant's parents were here, we got so much done. New sliding door installed, new floor layed in kitchen/dining area, deck fixed/leveled, my bike repaired -- Brant's dad is so much more of a slave driver than I ever dream of being. He and Brant always get so much done when they are together. Very productive week.