"Down and Derby"

Luke had his first Pine Wood Derby for Cub Scouts this past weekend. He agonized over the right color, shape, and speed of his car. Grandpa Steve helped him and, I think, they had a great time. Although he didn't win, and was quite disappointed, he had fun with his buddies. I think Grandpa Steve examined all the other cars and has grand plans for next year. Luke also earned his Bobcat badge.

Put up the gates, lock all the doors.....

A Juderbug is on the loose and into EVERYTHING!!! Jude is 9 months old now and a very busy baby- I found him eating toilet paper yesterday, destroying the diaper basket on Saturday, and into the tupperware the day before that. What will today bring?

Bald Eagle Sighting....

The boys got a kick out of this because we rarely see bald eagles around here. Fortunately I had my camera with me. This bird was just hanging out by our house. Did you know....The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), our national bird, is the only eagle unique to North America. The bald eagle's scientific name signifies a sea (halo) eagle (aeetos) with a white (leukos) head. At one time, the word "bald" meant "white," not hairless. Bald eagles are found over most of North America, from Alaska and Canada to northern Mexico. About half of the world's 70,000 bald eagles live in Alaska. Combined with British Columbia's population of about 20,000, the northwest coast of North America is by far their greatest stronghold for bald eagles. They flourish here in part because of the salmon. Dead or dying fish are an important food source for all bald eagles

Disney Delight!

WHEW! We survived and loved every minute of Walt Disney World. The kids had an amazing time! I honestly have no idea why we live in Iowa other than having family right here- if we could get everyone to move we'd definitely be closer to the warm weather!!! We hit all 4 parks- Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Jeremiah and the boys took advantage of the Extra Magic Hours and stayed out until 2AM one night riding all the rides they could. Space mountain, Expedition Everest, Splash mountain, Test Track and Soarin' were definite hits! Luke had an amazing experience and made his father very proud- while at Hollywood Studios he was chosen out of the crowd to become a Padawan Jedi in Training. He was given a Jedi robe and light saber and then had to fight Darth Maul- talk about excitement. Luke was SO nervous but had a blast! Owen loved every second of Disney and wants to live there. He doesn't quite understand why we can't have a theme park here in Iowa. And little Jude was terrified of all the characters. He had many pictures taken with the Disney gang- however he had NO idea they were there. We had to strategically place him so he wouldn't see them. Hopefully on the next trip he'll allow Mickey to come a little closer. And so we start planning for Disney 2011... anyone that wants to join is welcome!!!