Weekend Recap - Water Park!

We've begun a tradition of spending a long weekend with two of my best friends from high school and their families.  We usually try to go over Memorial Day, but this year Memorial Day weekend won't work.  Jill and Geoff are expecting baby #2 sometime around then.  So we decided to take advantage of the MLK holiday that 4 of the 6 of us got off from work.  As always, we had a fantastic time!!

Each year it seems to get a little more complicated with the number and ages of children.  This year we had 4 kids Camden (3 1/2), Kade (17 months), Grace (20 months), Abby (20 months).  Next year we will have a 5th child in the mix when baby Janes arrives.

Here are the three of us--Beth, Cherri, Jill

We stayed at the Wasserbahn Waterpark near the Amana Colonies in Eastern Iowa.  Camden had been asking how many more days it was until we got to go swimming for a week leading up to the weekend.

Saturday morning we had breakfast then got the kids dressed in the swim gear and took them to the pool.  They were so excited to finally get in the water.  Unfortunately the heater wasn't working in the kiddie pool on Saturday morning so it was much too cold for the kids to play in.  We were restricted to the bigger pool which was fine.  They did get the heater fixed by Sunday!

 They were both excited to get there and to finally put their swimsuits on.

After a couple hours at the pool, we went back to our room and the guys went to Amana to check out the Millstream Brewery.  It sounds like they had fun and they came back with a few growlers of beer to drink.  When the guys got back, we put the kids down for a nap and the girls went to Williamsburg to check out the outlet shopping there.  We got some great deals and had a blast spending the afternoon shopping together. For supper we headed into Amana and had dinner at the infamous Ox Yoke Inn and ate some yummy schnitzel.

Sunday morning started the same way that Saturday morning started.  We had breakfast and took the kids to the water park. We tried hard to get a picture of all 4 kids together, but there was always at least one that wouldn't cooperate.  At least they are all in the same picture here--even if Grace isn't sitting up.

 The kids ran through the halls to get to the pool!

 Steve and Abby

 Kade and Daddy.  Kade didn't really love the water.  He was happy as long as he was being held, but  he didn't want to do any exploring on his own.  And he certainly didn't want to be splashed in the face.

Grace and Camden just chillin on the stairs. 

 Sunday morning after swimming, we went into the Amana Colonies to do some shopping.  Poor Kade fell asleep in the stroller and wasn't left alone by the girls.  Camden and Grace took turns kissing him while he was asleep.

Grace's turn to give Kade a kiss! 

 One of the stops at Amana was at the Ackerman winery.  We sampled some yummy wines and brought home a few bottles as well.

 We had the most delicious brunch at the Ronneburg Restaurant.  It was authentic German food served family style.  The German pancakes were the best thing I've tasted in a long time.  I think we all ate more than we needed to while we were there, but it was amazing!

 After shopping it was back to the water park for some more swimming.  Sorry Steve - I couldn't resist putting this picture of you up!

 Kade and Daddy.

Beth and Abby going down the water slide. 

Daddy and Kade going down the water slide.  What do you know, Kade hated it.  Surprise! Surprise! 

 Showing off the baby bump!

 Geoff and Grace exploring in the kiddie area.  Grace was very brave--she loved the water!

 Camden loved it by the end too!

 Daddy and Cam getting ready to go down the water slide.

 Abby was full of smiles after she went down the slide.

 Kade watched Camden jump off the side to Daddy and thought he would give it a try.  He had fun!  I think this was the only time Kade smiled while in the pool.  He tolerated it the rest of the time, but he didn't love it like the rest of the kids. 

 Camden getting ready to jump to Daddy.

We had such a great time! Thanks for the awesome weekend Janes and Rachuts!!  We can't wait until our next outing!

First Haircut (x 2) !!!

Both kids were starting to look a little shaggy so we decided it was time for the first real haircut for both of them.  Other than trimming up a rattail, neither one has had a haircut...until now.

Here's Camden's before picture.  The curls do a nice job of hiding the unevenness of her hair.  

 She sat like a big girl in the chair and let the girl cut away.  

 We might have bribed her with some fruit snacks, but it worked!

 Here's the after picture.  Not much change, but it looks nice :-)

 She was so disappointed when we got home and she looked in the mirror.  She said, "Mom, she put curls in my hair.  I didn't want curls in my hair anymore!"  She thought getting her hair cut would make the curls go away and she was really disappointed when they were still there.  

 Kade didn't do so well in the chair.  He didn't want to sit there, he didn't want water sprayed on his head, and he most certainly didn't want anyone fiddling with his hair.

 He pretty much cried through the entire thing!

We even tried to bribe him with fruit snacks, but it didn't work.  He spit them out.  He was not having any of this haircutting business! 

 But we pushed through and got it done anyway.  He looks like such a little man now!  

  As you can see here, it's still pretty long on top (and still red as ever).  It's still growing in so we didn't want to cut it too short.

 Here he is with it combed down.  What a big boy!!

2010 Year In Review

With 2010 coming to a close, and 2011 now here, I think it’s appropriate to look back on the year and see where it has taken us.  Whew! It’s been a whirlwind!  In case you've forgotten, here’s the recap:

Camden

Camden started the year as a 2 ½ year old full of spirit and attitude.  Oh wait, that hasn’t changed except now she’s a 3 ½ year old full of spirit and attitude.  She’s been involved in gymnastics this year which has been really fun for her.  And has given Mommy and Daddy a taste of what’s to come in the next few years as she enters the realm of organized sports.  We can’t wait!

Camden has her pre-school open house tomorrow and registration in just a few weeks.  How can my baby be old enough to even think about Pre-school?  I’m not sure where the last 3 ½ years have gone?!?  I can’t think about it or my eyes fill with tears!  Next topic…

This was definitely a precursor to what we would see over the next year.  Camden and Kade play together very well…when they want to, but they also fight like crazy.  They are both very determined little children and neither one wants to give in.  I think we need to create a new rule in the Wilson house – everything we have should come in multiples of 2 so they never have to fight over who gets something.  Or they could both learn to share better.  That would probably be easier, huh?  I suddenly know how my parents felt raising a boy and girl who were almost exactly 2 years apart…Sorry Mom and Dad!

Kade

Kade began 2010 as a 4 month old baby that couldn’t sit up on his own.  He then went to crawling, walking and now running in a matter of a year.  He’s also talking quite a bit too.  Some of his favorite things to say are “here you go” when he gives you something and “thank you” when you give him something.  He also has names for everyone in the family—Mommy, Daddy, Sunny and Sissy (apparently that comes out easier than Camden).  Every ball is a baseball to him.  And I’ve never seen anything as cute as Kade telling you what sound an owl makes!

He can point out where most of his body parts are—head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, belly button, feet, etc. He is also learning where Time Out is.  He is definitely more defiant than Camden was at that age.  If we tell him “no”, he thinks that means “do it again only this time flash my cute smile so mom and dad can’t be mad”.

Jobs

Derek and I both changed jobs in 2010.  We are both still with Wells Fargo, but in different Business Lines and different positions.  And for about 3 months we were actually in the same building.  However, that didn’t mean I saw him anymore.  With 5,000 team members in that building, we managed to only run into each other a few times. 

In March I switched from Home and Consumer Finance Group to Corporate HR.  I took a position as a Business Systems Consultant in Enterprise Learning.  I LOVE the new position.  It challenges me daily and I really like that!

Derek left Wells Fargo Financial right before it closed down to go to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (great timing!).  He took a new position as a VP, Lending Officer working with federal and internal audits.  He seems very happy with his decision to change positions as well.

One thing that the new roles have brought is some travel.  We’ve both had to adjust to being a single-parent for a week at a time occasionally.  Between the two of us over the last 6 months, we’ve been to Charlotte 3 times (Cherri twice, Derek once), San Francisco once (Cherri) and Phoenix once (Derek).  There will be more of it in 2011 but hopefully not quite as much.

House

This is one area of our life I think I’d rather not reflect back on how 2010 has been.  Or, I’d just like 2011 to look a heckuva lot different.  The drama started in April when we put our house on the market for the first time.  After a short 3 months we received an offer and accepted it.  In the meantime we met with a builder, decided on a floorplan and found a lot we wanted to build on.  Seven days from closing, we found out there was some trouble with the buyers coming up with their money.  Two days before we were supposed to move out, we found out we likely wouldn’t close.

We already had 90% of our house packed up, a POD filled to the brim with our belongings we could live without for the next 3 months while we build, and a rental contract signed in Adel.  So, in September, we put our house back on the market with hopes that it would sell quickly and we could still go forward with our plan.  Luckily we had not started the building process yet thanks to my conservative husband (Love you, honey!).  As winter approached we began to see that it wasn’t likely so we were able to get out of our rental contract after 3 months.  Our house is still mostly packed up and we are hopeful that a new year will bring some lucky buyers to our home! 

We did go ahead and purchase our dream lot in Adel so as soon as we sign closing papers we can dig a hole and start building our dream home.  The lot is just north of Adel at the River Valley Golf community. It’s just over an acre and has a gorgeous view of a driving range and the Raccoon River valley out of what will someday be our backdoor. 

Highlights

All in all 2010 has been a great year full of wonderful family memories and time spent with the people we love the most.  In May we became and aunt and uncle (for the 3^rd time!) to a new niece Reagan.

We had lots of fun in 2010 like this and this and this and this!

Lowlights

I did lose my sweet grandpa in 2010 but I can look back and be thankful for the wonderful memories I have with him.  And know that he had a wonderful 88 years on this earth and left a lot of dear friends. 

Health

While it seems like we’ve spent more money on co-insurance than I’d like to remember the past few years, I am thankful that we are all healthy at the end of the year.  In May, Kade had surgery to repair his hypospadias. The surgery went well and recovery was fairly quick.  Camden started off the first business day of 2011 with round two of ear tubes.  Hopefully this isn’t a sign of what 2011 will bring in regards to health!

Looking forward to 2011

We have big plans for 2011 and we hope it doesn’t disappoint!  Over MLK weekend in January we are going to hit up a waterpark with the Janes and Rachuts.  We’ve got a trip booked to Vegas in February with the Blessingtons and are very excited for the warm (does 60s count as warm?) winter get-away and our first real vacation since before we had children.  Hopefully we’ll have a house closing/move somewhere during this spring—keep your fingers crossed for us!  The summer will bring 2^nd and 4^th birthdays for our babies.  I’m sure it will feel like a flash and in no time we’ll be reflecting back on 2011.  Here’s to slowing down and savoring the moments that 2011 has in store for us.  We have been blessed beyond words!

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa King's

I'm a little late getting this one posted, but better late than never!

On Christmas afternoon we traveled over to Guthrie Center to celebrate Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa King and Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Jacki, and Emmett and Ella.

 Uncle Jeremy looked festive in his elf hat.

 For some reason I didn't take a lot of pictures during the gift opening.  I think it was all the chaos of four kids tearing into their presents and trying to figure out what belonged to who.  My hand were occupied!

 Here's the newest addition to the King family.  This is baby Astrid who is 6 weeks old.  Emmett and Ella are thrilled with their new little chocolate lab!

 Grandpa with two grandkids and one grandpuppy.  

 Grandma with the kiddos.

Thanks for the great Christmas and all of the wonderful gifts Grandma and Grandpa!  We had so much fun with you!