DMAF

There was a lot going on in Des Moines last weekend, besides hosting the USA Track & Field, Des Moines also had their annual Arts Festival! It was held at the Western Gateway Park downtown and featured the newly finished, amazing, Pappajohn Sculpture Park! We met up with the Pella VL's Saturday evening to take in all the art.
I accidentally spilled a large bucket of paint on the street...
Nathan enjoyed the kids activities, especially making his own superhero mask. Despite the 95 degree heat, he wore that thing the rest of the night!

With temps at 95 and heat index of 104, we tried to cool off by standing in the water feature by the library!

Nathan, the superhero, and I get cooled off and splashed around a little.

Having been melted in the heat, we headed up to Smokey Row to grab some ice cream in the conditioned air. I think Aaron was a little delirious from the heat, the was using this puzzle piece as his pacifier.

...but not to worry, he too got cooled off with a little ice cream!

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Nathan loved his ice cream cone!

Aaron and Heather having a tickle fight...

...which spurred on Chad, Nathan and Aaron into a big tickle fight, filled with laughs and giggles!

We had a great time at the Arts Festival and hanging out with the Pella VL's. Let's do it again next year (minus the heat index)!

2010 USA Track & Field

Last weekend, Des Moines and Drake Stadium hosted the 2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. I was able to attend Thursday's events and it was awesome! It was amazing to see the nations top athletes competing right here in my backyard!
Some of the big dogs...Jeremy Wariner, 3 time Olympic gold medalist and 3rd fastest competitor in history in the 400m.

They also ran the Junior National Championships and Trevor Dunbar, running for Portland, ran 14.34 for the 5k. What really caught my attention was his well groomed mullet. He rocked it out and rocked the blue oval!

My favorite event was held Thursday night, the 10,000m run, 25 laps for 6.2 miles. There were some big names in this race too. On the left, running for the Oregon Track Club is Galen Rupp. On the right, Dan Browne, member of the 2004 Olympic team in the 10k and marathon. Also running in the race was Wartburg grad, Josh Moen, who now runs professionally for Team USA Minnesota!

And there off...it was a great race. Galen Rupp won in a time of 28.:59.

Here is a full list of results, if you are interested.

You'll shoot your eye out...

As some of you may know we have a yard filled with creatures that seem to be a bit of an annoyance. Seth has come to the end of his rope with these creatures and decided to "borrow" his dad's b.b. gun in order to take back his yard. Deer, squirrels, gophers, and cats let it be known you are not welcome in our yard and we will shoot!

Jed and Sarah's Wedding

I had the joy of being part of my sweet friend Sarah (Wilson) Johnson's wedding this weekend. Thursday night began with rehearsal and dinner at Felix and Oscars. Friday (wedding day) we gathered for breakfast at Smokey Row and were stuck there longer than anticipated due to nasty thunderstorms blowing through Des Moines. The day pressed on and the sun came out and it was beautiful with little to no glitches. Sarah is a beautiful bride and what a joy to celebrate with her as she and Jed begin their journey into marriage.
Father of the Bride

Sarah and I dancing in classic junior high style.

I love this girl and am so thankful for the friendship we have and look forward to what God has in store for she and Jed.

P.A. and G.A posing for picture (personal attendant and gift attendant)

I wonder what she was thinking about...probably the sweat running down her back.

I bet these guys had more sweat running down their backs.

What a great looking group...beautiful!

The bride and her groupies

Getting ready...

Rehearsal

Sarah and Jed - thank you for inviting me to be part of your special day! I am blessed by your friendship!

Girls Day Out

After our weekend of family fun my mom decided to keep the OC girls at her house for a little "grandma time" I decided take a day off work so we could hang out. We had a great day beginning with "beauty shop" and then heading to the zoo.

Cute little Addy drinking from her big girl cup - so cute!

"beauty shop" the artist's busy at work

They did a great job - pretty sure we used every hair tie and clip they own.

Off to the zoo - Addy got to pet the baby goat, she wasn't too sure what to think.

Gracie and Kary's petting the goat - he wanted some of our goodies in the stroller.

Kary's and Gracie taking turns feeding the goats - they did such a good job.

My favorite at the zoo are the penguins...they are so classy!

Gracie and Kary's standing with the giraffe - they each got to feed him a piece of lettuce. Lettuce is like the universal food for animals at the zoo. We had a great time having a girls day out. Grandma concluded the great day with ice-cream...yum yum!

Garage Sale Success

This weekend, Heather and I had some success at a few different garage sales. Every Friday, over the lunch hour, Derek and I got to garage sales. I found this fun bowl for a dollar and thought it would work great in our kitchen.
Saturday morning, Heather and I headed out to catch some garage sales. Our first find was a tile saw for $5! Pretty awesome, but not picture worthy. Next was the this damask pillow, which fits right in on our couch!

We found this little gem, I think it supposed to look like those old lighting rods, our plan is to put it in our garden somewhere.

Our last find was this huge basket, perfect for blankets!

All and all, it was a successful garage sale weekend!

Adventures at Adventureland (lots of pics)

This past Saturday, after the rain had blown through, we meet up with Heather's family for the yearly trip to Adventureland! It turned out to be a great day of thrills and spills! When I say Heather's family, I mean all of them. This year the Tolander's came up from Texas, the OC Vande Lune's from Orange City, the Pella Vande Lune's, Grandma Great, Brent & Doreen and Heather and I. Including the kids...that's 19 of us! We started the afternoon off with the traditional picnic then it was onto the park!
I got Aaron warmed up for some roller coasters! That boy loves being upside-down
Once in the park, Aaron and Addy got to catch up with each other and how the first year of life has been going.

First stop, The Gallion, the kiddo's (big and small) were excited!

Across the ship...yeah, they are excited too!

Gracie thought it was so much fun...non-stop laughs!

Next ride...the teacups. Rob shifted the weight distribution making that purple teacup spin!

Heather and Doreen ready to ride the G-Force!

Brent and I are just as excited!

Greg, Chad, Doreen and Brent get harnessed in the Inverter.

A few somersaults around has the gang laughing and feeling butterflies...

As the ride comes to a stop, we have all smiles...almost all smiles. Chad vs The Inverter, I think the Inverter won this round.

Heather and Rob had the great idea to ride this thing...I am not sure what it is call, but it spins around pretty quick and then bounces. We are all smiles before the ride starts!

John gives a smile and Chad a thumbs up!

Gracie and I give smiles too!

Once the ride started, holding on for dear life the little kids kept sliding into us. We laughed a lot, but I think I was dizzy for the rest of the day! Of course, Nathan, Karys and Gracie wanted to ride it again.

After the Dizzy Monster, Nathan, Gracie and Karys take a trip on the water.

Next stop, Puff the Magic Dragon, Nathan and Karys having fun.

Heather and Gracie give a wave and smiles as they fly by.

After Puff, we take a snack break. Nothing like a Bomb-Pop on a hot day!

Aaron thought he might like a bite of his mom's ice cream sandwich. Sure enough, it brought a smile to his face!

Next ride...The Outlaw. Rob and Erin get buckled in and ready to ride!

Heather and Shay get the front row seat!

Gracie gives her little sister some help walking around the park.

Brent and Doreen enjoy some shade and some water!

Addyson has the look of determination, "Let me at those rides"

Aaron gets a little help from his big brother and cousin.

1/2 of the crew taking a break and enjoying the park benches!

As these three were getting on this ride Nathan asks "Why do we have to take so many pictures?"

Once the ride started it didn't matter, they were laughing again!

Aaron and I just chillin'...

while his mom and dad ride the Space Shot!

As the day was coming to an end we all wanted one more ride on The Gallion!

...and yes, it's still awesome!

We had a blast spending the day at Adventureland. The rides were fun, but I think what was even more fun was spending some time with family, watching the kids play together, making memories and plenty of stories! (Ask Chad and Shay about Nathan's comment on the Frog Jumper)

Big Thanks to Grandma Great for another great year at Adventureland, thanks to the family for making the trip!