It has been so long since I have sat down to type, and yet, as I stick my fingers on the keys, my voice comes back. I am rusty, yet eager to tell you all about our year.
- Luke and Max started preschool in the fall and they love it! We decided that they would have more opportunities if they were in separate classrooms, so we took a deep breath and went with that. They love it. It is one of the very best gifts that we can give them. When they each walk into their classrooms, he is Luke and he is Max. They get a little break from being twins and being lumped together. They really enjoy their time away from one another and it is so much fun to listen to them talk about their day's events on the way home.
- Karter and Gavin started a new school. After a whole lot of praying we decided that last year was our last year in Newton school district. We had always had such a great experience at Berg and so our decision to leave was not taken lightly. The boys love their new school and we have been so happy with our decision.
- Karter is in third grade. He loves watching sports, playing sports and reading about sports. He enjoyed playing baseball and football this year. His favorite teams are the Hawkeyes, the Broncos and the Lions.
- Gavin is in second grade and is becoming quite the history buff. He enjoys learning about war and inventions. He has an amazing imagination and adores pretending to be a soldier, a policeman, a firefighter, or a cowboy. He also found a new channel on our tv that airs old tv shows and he gets quite a kick out of those.
- I started back to school full time. This is a picture of me after I finished all my finals. This was my first semester actually going to school instead of taking online classes. I took Math for Liberal Arts and Oral Communication at the school and then 2 online classes. The freedom of having all the kids in school was so nice. Next semester I am taking Statistics and Chemistry.
- We finished remodeling our house.
- We braved Adventureland again this year and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! I was worried about how the babies would do but they made it for NINE HOURS! We had the best time and it was nice to have Taylor come to help with an extra set of hands. Everyone enjoyed riding rides and the waterpark. We even had well behaved kids at Jethros afterwards. Such a great memory! Also, right before this picture was taken, L & M decided that they had to pee, so we rushed them down to the bathroom barely made it back before the train pulled in to pick us up! Phew!
- We bought a new car. We kissed the vanborghini goodbye and upgraded to a Suburban.
- Summer Bucket List we worked on some summer list items and got to cross some of them off our list!
- Max had his first emergency room trip this year. He fell into the table and split his eye open. He did great and was excited to tell the dr and nurses how he was "super fast." They had to give him something to help him relax so they could get him stitched up, but he handled it like a champ. We giggled at him when he was waking up because he was so out of it.
- My MoM friends and I got together twice this year. We always have a good time catching up and getting away from the kids. Its so nice to have met such an amazing group of women.
- Karter and Gavin played baseball this year, Gav played t-ball for the Orioles, and Karter played machine pitch for the Dodgers. Karter got to pitch for a game and he was pretty excited. He figured out it is a lot harder than it looks, and has been practicing for next year! Gavin's favorite position was also pitcher, but he didn't actually pitch. But he could really fly when he was chasing someone down with the ball.
- We went to the Wisconsin Dells this summer for vacation. We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge and had a great time. We spent lots of time at the giant waterpark and even rode a duck boat and go karts. Max even got to drive his own go kart. Yikes!
- Our annual trip to the Omaha Zoo was full of laughs too. We met my MoM friends and toured the zoo as a heard of twins.
- Pa found new (to us) four wheelers for Karter and Gavin. They have some serious rules to follow, but have a good time putting around the yard.
- My mom and I took he boys to the Iowa State Fair. It was an exciting experience for everyone as we got to ride the Metro Bus to save on parking. Once we were there, we had gyros, and funnel cakes and corndogs and snow cones and lemonade. We visited sheep barns and cow barns and horse barns. Karter competed in the Chess tournament and Gavin, Luke ad Max and I went to find a cow to milk. Max loved this little calf we found in one of the barns. He loved Max too, because she licked his entire face and tried to eat his shirt. Karter won 2nd place at the Chess tournament which was pretty good for his first time playing not with grandma. Next year, Gavin wants to try mutton busting. Which seems right up his ally.
- Karter and Gavin participated in cub scouts this year. They won 2nd and 3rd in the derby car race. We attended a family camp out, and they sold over $800 in popcorn earning walkie-talkies as a reward.
- We celebrated the Smead family birthday extravaganza at the pool and collected donations for the ARL and Ronald McDonald House. We were blown away by the kindness of our friends and family.
- Fall/Harvest
- Football
- I turned 30. We were in Wisconsin for my birthday, but Scott planned a big bonfire with all our friends to celebrate when we got home. He surprised me with my favorite cake and a visit from my MoM friends.
Scott and I celebrated 10 years of being together and 9 years of marriage.
- We had a great Christmas here at 6 Smead Acres. Everyone was happy with their gifts and seemed to enjoy just being together.
