Sum, Sum, Summertime…

… Sum, Sum, Summertime!  Are you ready for Summer???  I sure am.  Joe has less than a week left of teaching and school is out!!  Yay!  Being married to a teacher definitely has it’s perks as far as school breaks are concerned.  Although that doesn’t mean our summer will be all full of relaxation because it’s going to fly by with all the stuff we are doing.

We are starting with a few days at the beach the first week of June, then after that the weeks are full.  Joe has basketball camps and open gyms and practices in June.  He also is beginning a Masters in Administration which will take him 2.5 yrs to complete.  First 2 classes are this summer.  Then we head to Indiana mid-June for his sisters wedding and we’ll spend 2 weeks getting together with friends and family.  From there we head to NW Iowa for a week of class for Joe while the kids and I will spend the week with my sister and her kids…yay!  Then we’ll make the big drive back to GA.  Yikes that’s a LOT of driving.  (Any tips on traveling that much with 3 kids is definitely appreciated.  I know how to entertain them for the regular 10 hr trip to/from IN but now add a 10 hr trip to Iowa and then a 16 hr trip back to GA…we will be stopping half way, but still my kids are never going to want to get back in the car again).

We’ll get back for a couple of weeks and then in August Joe starts meetings at school and Isaac will start Kindergarten mid-August (how is that possible?).  Also we hope we can attend Joe’s other sister’s wedding but plans are still being put in place with that. 

So here’s to a Summer filled with lots of fun and traveling.  I know it’s going to go by in a blink.

Back from our adventure...

We just got back this past Wednesday from a 3 week vacation. It was wonderful. 4 of those days were spent traveling. We stopped half way to/from Indiana since on the way there we took the boys to Dinosaur World (yes, it is very much a tourist attraction!). For boys who love dinosaurs it was awesome. We stayed at my in-laws, which is better than staying at a hotel. They have a pool, and my mother in-law is one of the best cooks I know. Plus the cousins come over quite often, so Isaac loved having his cousins around to play with most of the time. We filled our time with lots of fun things. We went to Brookfield Zoo, Shedd Aquarium downtown Chicago, White Sox baseball game, met friends at the park, my sister and her kids came out from Iowa, a wedding shower for my soon to be sister in law, out for dinner a few times, cookout at my brother's house, Sunday dinner with all the family at both my in-laws house and my parents house, went to see fireworks on the 4th, got to see 3 of the boys great-grandma's, and days just spent relaxing by the pool.... the list goes on and on. Every time we got in the car Isaac would ask, "Are we going back to grandpa & grandma's house?" He wanted to make sure we weren't going home yet. It was really hard to say good-bye when we had to go. But it has been good to get back into a normal routine again (I guess) :) We will be back there in October for Fall break and also for my brother, Kurt's, wedding. I'm so thankful my husband is a teacher and has vacation time throughout the year where we can go home and see family.

I'll post pictures as soon as I get done editing them. I'm currently working on a couple of photo shoots that I did and once those are done then I'll get to the 3 weeks worth of pictures that I need to edit :) Plus we took our final load of stuff that we needed to bring back to our new home. So I've been trying to get all that put away where it needs to go.

It's good to be back and see our friends here, but there is something about being with family and just enjoying time together that makes it so hard to say good-bye. But thankfully we'll be back there again in a few months

Fun Times...

Summer is almost here. Well, the weather is already here and has been for awhile, but summer break will be here after this coming week. We are already enjoying more time together as a family since my husband has not been as busy as normal. I am so thankful for school breaks. My husband is so busy during the school year that we don't get to see him very much and when he is home is quite exhausted. So today he planned a bunch of things for us to do. We went to Coolidge Park, where Isaac had a great time running in the water fountains. We all took a ride on the carousel and Isaac & Joe rode twice. Seth loved it too. Then we went to Chick-Fil-A where we enjoyed delicious chicken sandwiches and Isaac got to play in the play land. After that we went home and enjoyed a nice nap. It's so wonderful to do things as a family. We are all looking forward to our family vacation in a few weeks when we head back to Indiana to visit family and friends. Ahhhh..... I LOVE Summertime!

Fun in Tennessee

We’ve been having a lot of fun the past couple of weeks. Okay, so these pictures are really from Labor Day weekend and this past weekend. Joe has been working at school and I’ve been able to do some fun things with the boys – although he did go with us to the park several times during Labor Day weekend.

Isaac loves playing in the fountains at Coolidge Park.

He also loves riding the goat on the carousel at Coolidge Park. Not sure why, but he loves the goat.

Looking at the walking bridge that we take to cross the Tennessee River. Coming from Coolidge Park going to downtown Chattanooga.

Isaac playing with the art/instruments at the park. (I guess it’s artwork that’s meant to be played)

We were invited to go with a friend to the Tennessee Aquarium. A volunteer placed a butterfly on Isaac’s arm. He thought that was pretty neat!

My boys looking out at the river. Well, Seth is :)

Sweet little Seth

I can’t believe my baby is 6 months old already!

No more pictures, mom!!!

Click here to see more pictures of the boys I posted on facebook.

A Fun Weekend!

Mom & Dad Venema came for a visit this past weekend. We had a great time with them. We went to Coolidge Park where Isaac had tons of fun playing in the fountains. Then we walked across the pedestrian bridge to downtown Chattanooga. We checked out a local market and the downtown area and then they treated us to ice cream! That night we went to a Lookouts baseball game. The first hour was really hot and humid, thankfully they had an air conditioned gift shop that I could take the boys into for a bit of relief from the heat. The boys did great and we had a good time. Even though it was a short visit, we had a nice time with them and we were sad to see them go. We are looking forward to going back to IN for a short trip in October. Isaac is too, since we will celebrate his birthday then. To see more pictures from the weekend you can view them here.

Isaac all wet from playing in the fountains.

Isaac with Grandma & Grandpa at the ice cream shop.

Seth (5 months old today!)

Our family at the Lookouts game!

We're settling in...

It's been one week since we arrived at our new home here in Chattanooga. Life definitely has changed a bit for us. Joe has a new job, which he is quite excited about and is already going to school most mornings and this week started going in the afternoon as well. For me it's a bit different since I am now always at home and I have no car since Joe takes the car to school. I'm enjoying staying at home with the boys. I wish I could get outside with them a bit more, but the heat here is incredible. It's been in the upper 90's most days and the humidity is extreme. So it's just a bit too hot to take them out, especially for Seth. We've taken Isaac swimming a few times and the pool water feels like warm bath water. We've gone on a few little outings in the area. Walmart and Target :) We went to a local park last Saturday morning at 8:30 and only could handle being there 30 min or so because it was already 85 degrees outside. I thought we could handle a bit more since we do have hot and humid days in the midwest, but it's crazy here lately. Yesterday we drove over near the Tennessee River where you can walk across it on a bridge that is meant just for pedestrians. Isaac loved that and kept saying.."Look at the Wiber (river), Mom!" and pointing out the blue bridge, etc etc. We walked to the Tennessee Aquarium where there was a steep downhill walk to get to it from the bridge. As long as we held onto the stroller it was fine, but on the way back we both had to push the stroller up hill in order to get the boys back up. We'll have to take Isaac's swimsuit with next time so he can play in the fountains. They have animals that are squirting water and fountains that squirt out of the ground that the kids can play in.
We had a great time this past Sunday visiting a small OPC here in Chattanooga. Isaac loved the Sunday School. He was a bit nervous at first, but once they sang "This is the day" (a song he knows) then he told me I could go and he wanted to sit by the kids. The pastor had us over for lunch and we enjoyed a nice time of fellowship with him and his family. They served cold tea as a drink and I guess it's a Southern thing. I'm thinking I might have to learn how to make it since it's expected to be served when you have guests over.
It's been interesting living in someone else's space. I don't have all the normal things I would cook with. Plus they have an electric stove/oven, which I don't do well with. I think that's common in most homes here, so I better get used to it. I prefer gas, but I hope to figure this out. We are definitely thankful to have such a nice place to live. It fits us comfortably and is working out really well. It's very convenient too since for Joe it's only a 10 minute drive to school.
One thing I am missing is adult conversation. I haven't had the opportunity to make any friends here yet...I mean it's only been a week. But I'm used to more interaction with other friends and that is a little hard for me. So feel free to leave a comment or email me or call me. We actually have done Skype a few times and that is great since you can see people on video as well and it's FREE!!

Mmmmm.....Corn!

Isaac loves corn on the cob! Enjoy the video :)

Iowa here I come!

Isaac & I are leaving for Iowa in the morning. We will be riding with my in-laws and will visit Grandma Van Gorp and extended family on Joe's mom's side and then Friday continue on to where my sister's family lives. I'll finally be able to meet my niece who was born in January! I hope to have some fun pictures to show you from the trip. See (okay we'll maybe not actually see you - whatever) when I get back!

PS...are any of you having trouble viewing the pictures on my blog? I am and I'm not sure why they aren't showing up. Hopefully this is just an issue on my end. Let me know!

Why nap when you can sing?

Isaac should be taking a nap but instead is singing and playing in his crib. We are supposed to go swimming this afternoon so of course when I'd like him to take a nap he probably won't and so he will be really crabby this afternoon. I caught him in the act of singing in his crib and it sounded like he started to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." I'm glad he's happy and has fun in his crib, but I really wish he would take a nice long nap before we leave. I have a feeling the morning nap time may be a thing of the past with Isaac and we will just have to put him down for afternoon naps from now on. The thing is he gets up really early - usually he's up at 6:00 and if he does sleep in it's rarely past 7:00 - so a morning nap is often needed if we are going to do something in the afternoon. If he doesn't sleep now maybe he'll nap a bit in the car??? We can only hope :)

My "handy" husband

This blog post is dedicated to my dear husband. He is quite brilliant when it comes to things such as politics, theology and sports (as he often says himself...he has a mind for those types of things.) When it comes down to mechanics....well, lets just say it takes a bit longer than a man who is mechanically inclined. I am always proud of him when he accomplishes something along those lines and often have to stay out of the way and try not to state my opinion because that doesn't help matters. I took this picture of him of his most recent mechanical accomplishment - assembling his new edger. I have to say I was quite surprised to see how excited he was when we went to buy it. He assembled it while I was out of town (as I said it is much easier when I'm not around). So here is my wonderful, dear husband reading the manual for his new spiffy edger. (It was too cute not to post...hopefully he doesn't mind). I love you honey!

Why this title?

I have been thinking about starting a blog for some time and recently a friend gave me a little nudge to start one. I had a bit of a difficult time coming up with a title and I happened to come across this poem that I enjoyed. So this is why I titled my blog Blue Skies and Butterflies. Here is the poem:

Blue sky and clouds that billow
Leaves swaying upon the willow
Under the maple children play
Enjoy the shade of summer day

Sunshine high reflects in streams
Kids chase rainbows in sun beams
Ice cream drips upon small chins
Excitement builds summer begins
Sounds of laughter mid blue skies

Amusement parks and butterflies
National parks wonderful sighs
Dandelions in meadows of green

Bouquets for mom beauty is seen
Up hill hikes and frogs that hop
Tomatoes, corn fresh grown crops
Thunder beckons summer eves
Echoes softly in rustling leaves
Revel at dusk chasing fireflies
Fluttering beauty of dragonflies
Lord above blessed and created
Infinite beauty makes us elated
Enjoy summer sights and sounds
Splendor of Heaven so abounds