Eliza Monkey

 Eliza monkey landed herself in the ER Saturday night for her second set of stitches in 18 months. What will we do with her!?! This time we had moved the dinning room chairs in to the living room while we mopped. She was jumping from chair to chair and decided to make a long jump over to the couch. But she landed short and hit her face on the wooden bench instead.

It wasn't too deep, but it was that classic eyebrow split that would leave a huge scar if left untreated. (And of course it happened after the walk in clinic was closed. Why do these things always happen outside office hours!?!) She did an amazing job though and didn't make a peep even during the numbing shot. She's a tough little thing! A few days later she starting rocking a killer black eye. Ouch!

Eliza, we're in awe of your bravery, but we're really hoping this is your last set of stitches for a very, very long time.

Starting Summer off Right

We're starting summer off right with lots of fun! Day one Eliza had Orson dressed as a lion before breakfast and eating leftover popcorn.

Doughnuts for mommy's birthday! I'm 30 now! Not only am I not sad, 30 feels great!

One hot afternoon we set up a lemonade stand on our corner with friends. The kids had a blast, were interviewed by the local paper, and earned $32 dollars!

Giving an interview for the paper!

Library kick-off to summer reading carnival. Orson was obsessed with the bounce houses!

Shaving cream hands at the YMCA!

Getting ready for a free summer movie. We loved Sing!

We also had free passes to the butterfly garden. The girls loved it and learned a ton!

Pool day! It's been a HOT June around here.

 During our home inspection I had to get all the kids and dogs out of the house for 2 hours so I got brave and we hiked down to the creek for a swim. We all survived (barely!).

 Kate Shelly Park got checked off our Iowa bucket list. Iowa is SO beautiful!

 Boating with friends from the ward! Hazel was really brave this year and rode the tube a few times.

We love summer! 

House Hunting Trip

We spent our Memorial Day weekend checking out Kentucky and looking for a new house. We decided to make it a whole family affair to help the kids feel better about the move, and I'm so glad we did. We all came back excited for our new adventure!

The EKU campus is beautiful! Of course this fountain was a favorite. We also visited the Daniel Boone statue. At the beginning of each semester students rub his toe for good luck (which keeps it that nice copper color while the rest has the weathered green look). We all rubbed his toe for good luck too!

Also while we were there Michael's awesome new department arranged a picnic/welcome party for us one night. They hosted a nice BBQ in the park and we were able to meet many of the faculty and their families. We felt so welcome and the kids all found a friend or two!

Richmond and all of Kentucky is stunningly beautiful! Lush greenery and rolling hills are everywhere. The town is the perfect size and very nice. I think we'll love many things about Kentucky! 

All day Saturday we looked at houses. I think we saw at least ten homes. The kids were amazing! They were perfectly behaved and lasted all day without any complaints. Our realtor commented most adults don't do that well haha. They were pretty worn out that night! 

Michael was really hoping to find a mini-farm on several acres, but there just wasn't anything quite like that available. However, we did find a beautiful home that just felt right. It's in a sub-division outside of town about 15 minutes from Richmond and 10 minutes from Berea (the town just south). The house is very nice, newer, and sits on a full acre with a wooded area and small stream at the end of the lot. The location is beautiful! It only has 3 bedrooms but the basement is unfinished so there's lots of room to expand. At that point our house in Iowa hadn't sold, but we liked the house a lot so we put in a contingency offer (which they accepted!) We went to the ward for that house Sunday and loved it! Now we just had to hope and pray our house would sell in time.

Selling here was a bit of a roller coaster. We had tons of showings (16 to be exact) and everyone loved the house but we weren't getting offers. We began to worry it wouldn't sell in time for us to move out before school started or that once it finally sold the house we'd found would have received another offer. It was a lot harder on me an I expected! I was trying to trust the Lord's timing but worry and doubt were winning most days. In the end it, of course, worked out perfectly. The offer we received wants to close the middle of July which was our original goal, our house in Kentucky didn't sell to someone else, and we were able to line up the closing dates perfectly so we'll move straight from one house to the next. Our home inspection here was amazing, and we only had to fix one minor item (a huge miracle when your house is 107 years old!) Heavenly Father truly is good, and He always takes care of us!

Moving day is set for July 17th. Kentucky here we come!

Wrapping Up the School Year

There are always so many fun activities at the end of the school year. Eliza's class did an ABC countdown to the end of school. Each day she looked forward to the theme that went along with that letter. It's such a fun tradition! 

A - Animal Day

The local pet store brought some animals for a visit. Can you believe Eliza's touching that huge snake!?!

Eliza - white shirt, purple skirt

D - Doughnuts with Dad

M - Muffins with Mom

T - Teddy Bear Tea Party

Eliza has blossomed in to such a confident and courageous girl this year! She's now outgoing with friends and adults alike. We're so proud of her! 

Hazel's class also had lots of fun at the end of the year. They'd been studying life and school in the late 1800's/early 1900's (which Hazel has really loved because she's been reading the Little House on the Prairie Books and we read the Kirsten books for her book club). One day I was lucky enough to join her on a field trip to the Living History farm. 

Hazel and Addison

 Another day her class rode a "big yellow time machine" to the old one room school house in town for a day of school circa 1918. They dressed up, packed lunches in pails or baskets, had old time school lessons, and played games like Red Rover.

Hazel- white shirt, light purple bonnet right in front of her teacher

Hazel standing to recite

I'd describe Hazel's growth this year as a growth in perseverance. She found for the first time in her life an academic skill that didn't come easily (timed addition tests), but she fought through her fears and discouragements and conquered those tests in the end. Way to go Hazel! 

 Field Day is always another highlight at the end of the year. The big girls had the world's best, cutest cheer squad!

And just like that they're done! First and third grade here they come!

Last day of school!