Hottest Day EVER!

We've had 3 record breaking days here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Yesterday was the hottest day ever recorded in Seattle and Bremerton-104 degrees. Central air is rare to find in homes and ours is no exception so we've thought of some creative ways to beat the heat.

Tuesday afternoon-naptime upstairs was out of the question, so the kids enjoyed Madagascar with the fan blowing on them. A popsicle to cool down before we head to the airport to pick up Nana.
Wednesday morning-hanging out on the porch with Nana. Iowa and Washington have swapped weather this week!

A retreat to Scenic Beach State Park in Seabeck. According to the thermometer in our car it was almost 20 degrees cooler along Hood Canal. We might not have sand to build castles, but the rocks are sure fun to dig in!

Camden was on a mission to find some crabs with Nana.

Rock throwing!

Camden decided to test out the cool water.

Our next stop to beat the heat: the pool at Tammy and Mike's house (a.k.a. Claire's Nana and Boppa's)

The heat doesn't seem to be bothering Claire one bit!

Yippee-a boat ride in the bay!

Chris and Camden cooling off in the bay

A FULL Day of Fun!

Saturday was the day of summer festivals in our area. We hit Silverdale Whaling Days and the Grapeview Water Festival & Art Show.

Here we are warming up for the Whale of a Run. Chris ran the 4 mile and I ran the 1 mile (pushing the kids in the stroller). Our friend, Melissa, was visiting from Iowa so she joined our day of fun.
Here's Chris making a strong finish in the 4 mile.
I am proud to say that we were the first stroller to finish the 1 mile! It was going on at the same time as Chris's race, so no pictures of us in action.

After the race we headed to the Rotary Pancake Breakfast-YUMMY!

Parade time!

Emma's classic reaction to the loud fire truck's siren as it passed by.

Heading to the festival in Grapeview hand in hand.

"Here's a bite, Camden"

Hugs for Daddy!

Emma and her buddy, Melissa, trying to keep cool.Our future boat maker, Camden

Emma helping design her boat

The masterpieces!

Back to Silverdale for the Whaling Days carnival. Emma and Camden loved the rides!

Co-pilots Camden and Emma

Melissa and Emma on the Ferris wheel

Summer School

I am teaching Summer School this week and today I invited Emma to come along and join my Wacky Science and Fun With Cooking classes. She had a blast and was an excellent student. :)

My lab assistant helping me set up for the day.Testing out her "mystery powders"
I think she needs some smaller goggles. :)

Having fun making Gloop.

Lunch time!

Emma was in heaven because all the kids took turns pushing her on the swing. She was even brave enough for an under dog!

Emma waiting for her turn to make chocolate chip muffins.

"Yeah! We're Home!"

Those were Emma's words as we pulled into the driveway Wednesday afternoon. We had a wonderful trip to Iowa, but it is good to be back home!

Here are Emma and Camden watching a movie on the plane. They had slept most of the flight since we got up at 2:30 a.m. The first thing Camden did was check on his fish...
Emma ran upstairs to see her room.

As we were unpacking, the kids were enjoying a popsicle on the front porch. Camden tried walking down the steps with his popsicle and took a tumble. This was the 3rd time in less than a week that he fell and bumped his head. He wasn't so lucky this time and scraped up his cute little face.

Do you think he could have picked a bigger bowl for his Cheerios?!?

Jessi and Parker's Wedding

Our much anticipated trip to Iowa was scheduled around a very important event, our dear friend Jessi's wedding. For those of you who may not know, Jessi and I were both Resident Assistants during college. We knew one another but never really hung out much. Who happened to be joining the Sullivans School staff in Yokosuaka, Japan the same year as me? Jessi! Talk about a small world! Jessi quickly became part of our family. She is Emma's best buddy and Camden's wonderful Godmother.
We were thrilled for Jessi when she met Parker a few years ago. She was the happiest we've ever seen her on her wedding day.

Here is the flower girl getting her directions from the bride at the rehearsal. Not only did we get to see Jessi and Parker, but it was a mini Japan reunion with Jane, Patti, Lindsay, SuzAnne, and Mike.
The Bridal Party

It's almost time!

The radiant Mr. and Mrs. Parker!

The fabulous flower girl

Taking our family picture for the bride and groom's digital guest book

The flower girl and her proud papa.

Emma was quite a hit on the dance floor. She was showing off all her moves she's learned from watching Alex the Lion on Madagascar.

The picture of the night: Camden and Emma at their best!

The party animals crashed as we helped clean up.

A Beauty Lesson

One of the biggest laughs we had in Winterset was when Nana let Emma put on some make up. Emma looked in the mirror and exclaimed,

"I look like a zebra!"

There's Nothing Like Family- Part 2

THE family picture! We were so excited that Nathaniel was home visiting, too. We had a great night out on the town with him and some friends.
A family picture with Nathaniel and Granny.

Mandy isn't related by blood, but she's the sister I always wanted to have. By a stroke of luck, Mandy was heading from her hometown to Cedar Falls as we were heading back from Jessi's wedding so we met up at the Hardee's parking lot in Humbolt (a very "Iowa" thing to do). We only had a short time to chat at a nearby park, but it was worth every minute to see her again! Emma and her Godmodder :)

4 Generations

Vanessa Louise, Velma Louise, Linda Louise, and Emma Louise

Let's Swim!

The hot July days Chris and I remember growing up in Iowa decided not to show up during our trip. :) We only made it to the Winterset Aquatic Center once, but the kids had a ball!

Camden couldn't get enough of the little water slide. He'd get to the bottom and shout, "Again!" Taking a ride down the slide with Mommy
In true Winterset fashion, there is a covered bridge mini slide

Emma loved playing with these fountains!

Ridin' in style!

Emma's new goggles

Winterset

I will admit that it has really bothered me that I wasn't able to update our blog in my usual timely fashion the past few weeks. We are now home and after going through 600+ pictures, it is high time I share some of the fun we had during the second half of our trip to Iowa. After the big 4th of July bash, we headed to central Iowa to my hometown, Winterset.

Camden helping Nana water flowers. Emma got her hair trimmed and curled on Monday afternoon. With the humidity and inheriting my hair that refuses to curl, this is what she got. :)
Playing at a park in West Des Moines. This is the longest Camden has ever spent in the swing. It must be Nana's magic touch.

Hanging out in the hot tub with Grandpa.

As Nana mowed, Camden and Emma help sweep off the driveway.

Camden painting...

Enjoying some ice cream at Blank Park Zoo

Riding the train at the zoo-the highlight for Camden!

My parents also kept our old Radio Flyer wagon and the kids had a blast in it!

Hanging out at Granny's house.

Chris is playing the original Mario Brothers on our Atari 2600!

Home

915 South 8th Avenue has been my home since the day I was brought home from the hospital.  My toy room is still in the basement and my bedroom looks pretty much the same.  It's great to be back home right now.  Unfortunately Emma is feeling a bit under the weather and we are hoping a little R & R will have her back to her old self soon.  She has a big day on Saturday-her flower girl debut.  I haven't figured out how to download pictures to my parent's computer, so stay tuned for them!

There's Nothing Like Family

Catching up with Grandma Rose Emma making brownies with Jen and Casey

Grandma Rose and her 5 great grandchildren
Camden, Holden, Lily, Emma, and Calvin

Camden, Lori, and Tim

Casey, Tim, and Chris-what a trio!

The brothers and their beautiful ladies

THE family picture!

Uncle Casey and Emma...

Uncle Tim and Emma...

The Kasparek Men

Marie with her guys

4th of July Bash!

The rain stopped just in time for the big Kasparek 4th of July Party. Camden and Emma helped Pops decorate the yard.
Sydney and Emma picked up right where they left off almost 2 years ago and had a blast!

We were so happy that the Watts family came over from Peoria to join the fun. Camden and Julia weren't quite sure what to think of one another...

Hanging out with Chris and Rachael.

Even though it was not pool weather, Camden was ready to swim!

Chris, Chris, and Kori- The boys from Schweinfurt'97.

Emma and Aubrey loved being pushed around on the boats.
Marie braved the cold and joined me, too! ;)

A great reunion with Kathleen and Harry.

Getting ready for the band...

Enjoying the great live music!

Sparklers!

4th of July Race

When the alarm went off early this morning we thought Mother Nature was playing a joke on us with some rainy Washington weather here in Iowa. It's almost 1:00 and we're still waiting for the rain to stop. We grabbed our rain gear and headed to Cedar Rapids for the big 4th of July race. Here is Chris taking off in the 8K race.
Our surprise cheerleaders-Jen and Casey! We are thrilled that they made it to Iowa for the weekend!

The Kasparek runners!
Chris and Tim ran the 8K, Lori and I ran the 5K, and Emma ran the Kid's quarter mile

What a family!

Emma started off so strong and confident!

Coach Tim and Daddy followed along with her.

Coming into the finish line...

Lori's parents have some pictures of the 2 Kasparek ladies, so I will post those soon!

Pop's Digger

When we came to Iowa the last time (September of '07), Emma saw Pop's new digger when we visited one of his job sites. Since that day, whenever she sees a digger, she always says, "That's a digger like Pop's!!" Along with swimming in the pool, riding the digger was at the top of her wish list for this trip. This afternoon was the big ride!

During Emma's ride, Camden kept saying, "Camden's turn! Camden's turn!"