Halloween at ITAGroup

Today was the annual Halloween parade at ITAGroup. The kids did well. We heard alot of Oh cute pooh. . . Oh and it's the Hunny pot, how cute! We also had one person ask Ian where his hunny pot was. . . only to see Maren in her costume and started to laugh. . . there's his hunny pot! They were cute and amusing :) The kids made out like bandits. . . lots of candy.

Later this evening we went over to Walnut, in an attempt to get some trick or treating in. We didn't make it in time for the festivities but we did hit Jim and Mo's. They believe in trick-or-beer. . .so Eric and I sat down and had a beer with Jim and Mo. We had a good visit.

For a more extensive selection (86) visit the shutterfly site.

Happy Halloween

Tonight I had PT conferences until 9:30, yes 9:30! 13 1/2 hours of school! Fun fun.
Anyway, Eric took on daddy duty and took the kids out for trick-or-treating! That was so nice of him :) Here are a few pictures of the events. Ian and Maren are going Disney this year. Ian is Pooh Bear and Maren is his Hunny Pot. SO cute! ( I figure I won't get away with it in years to come so I might as well do it now!) It looks like Ian earned his candy, hauling his little sister around in the wagon. Trick-Or-Treat!

there's hope

Eric filled up for gas today 1.97 a gallon! the $60 normal to fill the car was about $30 today. . .how nice! (dexter gas is 1.99 as of this evening)

Carvin' Punkins'

In the last couple of weeks, Maren has been introduced to pumpkins on 3 levels. First, is the pumpkin in the field. As you read in earlier blogs, we went to the pumpkin field in the apple orchard up in Fort Dodge. There, she got to pick out her own pumpkin ( I helped of course). Second, Maren got to experience pumpkin pie. . .I didn't know if she'd like it, so I only gave her a small piece. She LOVED it. . .so I gave her the rest of the piece. . .1/8th of a pumpkin pie in her first sitting. Ian, too, loves pumpkin pie. He ate 2 pieces (that night it ended up being supper) The third experience with pumpkins was tonight. She got to help carve her own pumpkin. I figured she'd be a little more aggressive with the emptying process. . .eat some even. Nope. She was fairly subdued about the whole process. She WAS however interested in the carving part. She sat on Eric's legs while he helped Ian carve his pumpkin. Ian said that he wanted a mean pumpkin, , , Maren got one just like her, smiley with 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom ( front anyway) I must say this was the cleanest pumpkin carving I've ever seen. I didn't even have to mop the floor!
Here are a couple of pictures from the pie eating contest :)

Race for the Cure-Des Moines

Today I participated in Race for the Cure, in Des Moines. This year broke23,350 participants. Woo Hoo! I was joined by my friends, Natalie Storm and Jenny Bader, My Mom, my sister Erika and her husband Hermes. It was a fun day. The morning started off at 6:30 am. . . time to layer. . .Eric asked me if I was an Onion today? (Shrek reference) Luckily I didn't put too many layers on, it warmed up to be quite a nice day. Mom met me in Dexter and we left at about 7:15. After making a pit stop at Quick Trip in De Soto for Cappuccino, we made our way towards the Capital Building. We decided that if there were to be 24,000 people, we needed to just look for a parking spot, period. . .so we ,didn't look long. After following a line of traffic off the interstate, into the Mercy hospital parking lot I spotted a whole bunch of spots. . .Now, how do we get to them?! No worries, we were driving the Explorer. . .curbs shouldn't be a problem. . .I was driving, so I went over the curb and into the empty parking lot. . . Success!
There were people already in the parking lot (OK, so they worked there) so we figured we were OK. Next we found Natalie and Jenny. (they were tailgating next to the capitol) We had about 45 minutes to waste, so we went to the sponsor tables to see what kind of treasures we could find. . .We got pink everything. . .shoelaces, lanyards,toothbrushes,scarves, chip clips, you name it, they had it.
9:00 AM Race Time. The mob of people was amazing. . . so many people! We were towards the middle of the pack, the race started at 9:00, we crossed the starting line at about 9:05. The race didn't seem to be as long as I thought it would. It as crazy just how much of downtown was covered by people. We all survived the walk with very little trauma, I had a blister on the back of my left foot, and mom was a little sore, but overall it went great.
Following the race we listened to the awards for races and door prizes ( no we didn't win anything) we went and hit the tents of sponsors at the bottom of the hill.
It was 11:00, we decided to go have an early lunch at Bob Monkeys Noodle Zoo. Cool name Huh!? It was OK food, cool atmosphere.
Next we went to "Found Things"( I think that's what it was called) a store that had loads of STUFF. (the best way to describe it is that it looks like grandma's attic) Lots of stuff. Didn't buy anything. Yay! Following our adventures in downtown Des Moines, we went to Ankeny to drop off a tread mill for my cousins dog. ( don't ask)
We finished off the day with a quick trip to target and a slow ride home. (semi accident)

For more complete compilation of pictures check out the shutterfly site or http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57792&l=2a74c&id=573462616

It's been a while

It seems like I haven't been on here for a bit. There's not much new going on. Maren is sporting another new tooth #9. She now has a top molar on her right side, to go with the upper and lower on the left. She is still in great spirits most of the time. She gets bored in the car and gets fussy. . .but other than that, she's a very happy baby. It's already Thursday. . . we have an eventful week ahead of us. I am doing Race for the Cure on Saturday. I have a short week, I have Friday off BUT I have conferences from 1-9:30 on Thursday. . .I haven't figured out what I am doing with Ian and Maren. Trick-or-treating in Dexter is Thursday night, I will have to miss it :( I hope Eric takes them. . .

Bill for President

I got this as an email from Uncle John, I'd vote for him! ( this doesn't have any Max math, like the last one, either)
____________________________________________________
I HAVE DECIDED TO BECOME A WRITE-IN CANDIDATE. HERE IS MY PLATFORM:

(1) 'Press 1 for English' is immediately banned. English is the official language; speak it or wait at the border until you can.

(2) We will immediately go into a two year isolationist posture to straighten out the country's attitude. NO imports, no exports. We will use the 'Wal-Mart's policy, 'If we ain 't got it, you don't need it.'

(3) When imports are allowed, there will be a 100% import tax on it.

(4) All retired military personnel will be required to man one of our many observation towers on the southern border. (six month tour). They will be under strict orders not to fire on SOUTHBOUND
aliens.

(5) Social security will immediately return to its original state. If you didn't put nuttin in, you ain't gettin nuttin out. The president nor any other politician will not be able to touch it.

(6) Welfare - Checks will be handed out on Fridays at the end of the 40 hour school week and the successful completion of urinalysis and a passing grade.

(7) Professional Athletes--Steroids - The FIRST time you check positive you're banned for life.

(8) Crime - We will adopt the Turkish method, the first time you steal, you lose your right hand. There is no more life sentences. If convicted, you will be put to death by the same method you chose for
your victim; gun, knife, strangulation, etc.

(9) One export will be allowed; Wheat, The world needs to eat. A bushel of wheat will be the exact price of a barrel of oil.

(10) All foreign aid using American taxpayer money will immediately cease, and the saved money will pay off the national debt and ultimately lower taxes. When disasters occur around the world, we'll
ask the American people if they want to donate to a disaster fund, and each citizen can make the decision whether it's a worthy cause.

(11) The Pledge of Allegiance will be said every day at school and every day in Congress.

(12) The National Anthem will be played at all appropriate ceremonies, sporting events, outings, etc.

Sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes but a vote for me will get you better than what you have, and better than what you're gonna get.

Thanks for listening, and remember to write in my name on the ballot in November.

God Bless America !!!!!!!!!!!


Bill Cosby!!!!!!!!

Ian's been busy!

Ian helped out with the name log in the front yard. The log has only been there for a year. . . it's about time to get our name on it! Last night Eric got ambitious and sided the house around the window that he and Greg replaced last weekend. I need to get some primer and paint now! Ian helped our by keeping Toby busy. . . We are really liking the wireless fencing. Once we get the chain link around the back quarter, we will have a great system for keeping kids and dogs where we want (and don't want) them.
Miss Maren has been wearing her new clothes. Today she is wearing one of the cure outfits that Kevin, Megan and Lydia gave her. She looks like a big stuffed animal walking around.

Maren's "Party"

Tonight we had dinner in honor of Maren's first Birthday. In attendance were: Grandma and Grandpa Jordison, Grandma and Grandpa Hoffmann, Aunt Erika, Aunt Megan and Lydia, and Uncle Greg and Dana. It was a good night, we ate dinner and then started the cake part of the night. This is when the chaos began! After setting Maren back up to the table, we lit the candle on the lamb cake. . .scooted it up to Maren. . .and watched helplessly as she grabbed it! Oh NO! It could have been worse, but Maren is now afraid of lamb cakes! We tried setting her back up for cake time after calming her down. . . didn't work!(so needless to say, this is the only picture we got of her, a candle, and a smile.too bad it's blurry)
So, we went on to presents. She made out like a bandit. . . she got outfits, shoes, stuffed animals and toys that played music! She loved it. We then tried again with the cake. . . instant tears! Maren is going to be traumatized by lambs. . .want to know the ironic thing? The train car that she got for her precious moments train(from aunt Sara and Uncle Jason), has a lamb on it. . .
Maren decided to try to eat the paper that Greg and Dana's gifts were in, we didn't think about the pact that the paper was decorated with crayola markers, water based of course. Maren had a black mouth for a while. They got her a pink and brown onesie and jeans,a nd a cute pair of shoes, great for running away from her big bro. The Jordison grandparents got her pajamas, cure outfits, and a leapfrog thingy for the fridge. . . both kids like that one. Grandma and Grandpa Hoffmann got her a dalmation puppy and a cute outfit with lots of sparkles. . . Maren loves sparkles! Aunt Erika and Uncle Hermes got her this really cute black and white outfit that will be perfect for the Holidays, and some more warm fleece clothes. Kevin Megan and Lydia got her a lepard outfit (looks super warm) and another jeans/top outfit, and a pooh bear book that makes lots of noise. . . she loves it. We had a suprise present from Great Grandma Rita. . . a homemade quilt and matching pillow. . .Maren will love it, I'm sure. . .
After presents, we retried the lamb cake. . .more tears. . . we cut it up, so it didn't look like a lamb cake, she still didn't want anything to do with it! Finally I gave her the cupcake that I was going to give her last night. . . she demolished it! She got it everywhere! The table, the floor, her hair, her clothes, seat. . . you name it! Over all it was a great night, too bad Maren had to have her "fire is hot" lesson tonight! Oh well, what can you do?! We had a great night. Thanks to everyone that came and celebrated Maren's first Birthday with us.( the picture below was the closest thing to cooperative Ian was for pictures)
'

Ian Loves It!

Ian takes advantage of the newly placed furniture to watch the combine take out the corn. . .he probably sat and watched the farmers for about an hour. He really wanted to go out and see the tractor, but I talked him out of it. He is really into the combines this year. It reminds him of Frank on Cars.

Our baby is 1!

Miss Maren is one year old today! The last year has been full of milestones. . . Firsts. . smile,giggle, rolling over, sitting up, first steps, first tooth, she can even add first lap around the house. . .She's a great kid! Every morning we are greeted with a smile, and is usually willing to go to bed on the first try (Now she says "ni ni", her version of Night night.) Her vocabulary seems to be bigger that Ian's was at that age. Up, down, hello, hi, mama, dada,(even at times Ian), we swear she says Yoda and Xander. . .and she has started repeating sounds, so it sounds like she is repeating what it is that you are saying. Maren is walking like a champ, even tries to run at times. It's weird having two little people walking around. . . we have to keep our eyes open, for anything that she can get into, because if she can she will! She likes to use her bottom teeth as a "opener" and flip the lids off of things, like oatmeal, formula, Crisco.

Some of Maren's Favorites are:

Kitties!: She loves Yoda, and for some reason Yoda seems to like her. . . that cat is the highlight of her day!
Dirt: Maren Loves to play in and eat dirt. . . I don't know what it is she finds so fascinating, but she loves it.
Balls: If there is a ball to be played with, she will indeed play with it. She loves to carry them around the house and throw them, only to chase them down and start all over. Maren also likes to find containers (like large cups) to put things in so she can walk around the house and shake the cup, making lots of noise!
Music: She will dance to music, and tries to sing when Ian is. She perks right up when the theme song to Thomas (or Cars) comes on.
Water: Maren Loves Bath time, (even more so without Ian ) she likes to splash in the water. . .I can't wait to take her to the pool next summer.
Her favorite foods are: Scrambled eggs, crackers, cold cut meat, spaghetti noodles, and every once in a while, Ice Cream. She never went for the baby food, so she has been eating big people food since she was about 6 months old.
Maren is a daddy's girl. She loves her Daddy!
Although Maren is now in her "big girl" car seat, she is not a fan of car rides. . .Ian likes to go go go!
Tonight we are going to do a cupcake birthday with Maren. . . give her a candle to blow out. Tomorrow night we are having a few family members over to have a birthday dinner in her honor :) Happy Birthday Miss Maren

________________________________

Alright, so I missed the opportunity to give Maren a cupcake with the candle on it. . . I got too involved in making things for tomorrow night. She did get to open her present from us though. We got her a "fur-real" pet cat. A kitty who will tolerate everything, perfect!

It was interesting. . .

Today, it was bazaar, these two hot guys knocked on my door and asked if I needed any work done? So. . . I put them to work!

First, I had them set posts, so that I can put up a fence to keep my children and dog confined!

Next I had them tear out the windows on the back porch. . .it was great to see the windows out of there!
They seemed to know what they were doing when they put in the window. . . Not to shabby!
(They did not come between the children when Maren was smashing Ian between the door and storm door. . . sigh . . .)
Measure. measure. measure.
We now have insulated windows on the back porch!

Family Pictures: Oct 4

The pictures turned out great. Enjoy the video!

___________________________________________

My Favorite Pictures from the Photo Shoot!


Open mouthed baby kisses are the best!


For more pictures go to Our Family Shutterfly Site