Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Zoo Time!
Brenna and I spent the day at the Omaha zoo with Maranda (my sister-in-law) and Marlee (my new little neice) on Thursday. The weather was beautiful and we had a blast. Maranda is on maternity leave from teaching 5th grade, but she was asked to come for the end of the year 5th grade trip to the zoo. So she asked if we wanted to join her. Brenna loved seeing all the animals and all the activity of the day. The first animal we came across was the giraffe. When she first saw it, she said "wow". I think she was surprised at how big it actually was. The giraffe was stretching it's neck up real high to get some leaves, so she reached her hands up real high imitating it.
We got to see lots of other animals before lunch....bears, tigers, peacocks, snakes, etc. We ate our sack lunch and then headed to the aquarium.
We decided to head home after the aquarium....we were all getting tired. Brenna only lasted about five minutes and then conked out in her car seat.
Thanks for letting us join you at the zoo, Maranda!!! We had a great time!
She liked watching the flamingos too. I was a little nervous she would get her hand bit, because they came real close to Brenna at the fence. Thankfully she didn't.
She really liked the monkeys too. I can't believe how close the monkeys get to the window and then they just stare at you. It kind of freaked me out....Brenna didn't seem to mind at all...she just waved at them :)
We got to see lots of other animals before lunch....bears, tigers, peacocks, snakes, etc. We ate our sack lunch and then headed to the aquarium.
We decided to head home after the aquarium....we were all getting tired. Brenna only lasted about five minutes and then conked out in her car seat. Thanks for letting us join you at the zoo, Maranda!!! We had a great time!Sunday, May 17, 2009
Weekend with the Bohlens
My parents were spontaneous this weekend. They called me on Friday night to see what we had planned this weekend. Since we didn't have much going on they packed up, picked up my grandma and headed to Ames that night. We had a great time! Saturday morning we went to some garage sales and then came back and helped my grandma make her famous cinnamon rolls and apple pie. We relaxed most of the afternoon and then went to an open house that Jared was hosting....one of Chris Gardner's amazing Bella Homes. Check it out: http://jaredvancleave.c21sre.com/properties/dspProperty.cfm?propertyID=192043 It even has a hidden poker room in the basement! We grilled out when we got home and then watched a movie. Today we went to church and then Hickory Park for lunch. It was a fun weekend. Thanks for coming to visit, mom & dad!!!
Brenna is a sporting an ISU hat my parents found at a garage sale in Burlington. Doesn't she look old in it?
My mom brought Brenna a babydoll with a bottle. Brenna loved feeding her all weekend. My mom taught her how to burp the baby too. It was pretty cute. This is another garage sale deal my mom found....5 cents!
Brenna is a sporting an ISU hat my parents found at a garage sale in Burlington. Doesn't she look old in it?
My mom brought Brenna a babydoll with a bottle. Brenna loved feeding her all weekend. My mom taught her how to burp the baby too. It was pretty cute. This is another garage sale deal my mom found....5 cents!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mama's Day! ~Brenna
Brenna, with a little coaching from me, was able to put a very important sentence together this evening before bed on a very important day!
Steph, thanks for all you do for Brenna. You are an awesome mom and are doing an outstanding job raising our daughter. I love you very much! -Jared
Friday, May 8, 2009
Crazy Day!
I have had a pretty crazy day so far!
I left this morning about 7:50 am and just got home about 1:45pm. I started out the morning thinking I would go to one or two garage sales and then Target. Well....the morning didn't really work out as planned. I went to a garage sale and found some cute clothes for Brenna. As we were walking to our car, Brenna kept pointing to the park across the street w/ a neat wooden play area. I was having a debate in my mind at this point....keep my agenda or let Brenna have some fun. Thankfully one of the guys in connection group last night was talking about selfless love, so the Holy Spirit convicted me to not be selfish with my time and have some fun w/ my daughter. So we ended up playing for about 45 minutes and had a great time. Then I decided to go to two other garage sales...didn't find anything. Then Target...only got a card, but looked at a lot of stuff. Then I decided to go to Salvation Army....didn't find anything. It was about 11am, so I decided to go to Goodwill before we came home for lunch. I found a cute GAP t-shirt. When I went to leave, my car wouldn't start. It was completely dead. I called Jared...he was at a closing and said he would be there in 15 minutes or so....it was about 23 min....not that I was counting or anything :) During that time I put Brenna in the stroller and went into Hy-Vee to buy some water and 2 apples. We sat outside on a bench, eating our apples, waiting for Jared. Brenna loved her apple...she ate it whole and almost ate the entire thing! It was messy, but kept her very content. Once Jared got there he tried to start it, but with no success. He tried to find someone with jumper cables, but couldn't find anyone. Fortunately we got a hold of one of our friends, Brett, who lives in an apartment complex right across the street. He just finished finals yesterday and was free today....so he came over with some cables...which didn't fix the problem. Jared had a 1:15 apt in Huxley, so he needed to get going. Brett offered to go to Wal-Mart to get us a new battery and then install it. What a blessing he was for us today!!! While he did that Brenna & I walked across the street to McDonalds. Brenna only wanted to eat fries, dipped in ketchup of course, and the pickles off my sandwich. Brett was pulling up just as we were walking up to the car. It took him about 3 minues to get the new battery in. The car started right up! Praise the Lord!
My hour outing ended up being about 6 hours!!! Brenna is now napping....I think I need to join her!
I left this morning about 7:50 am and just got home about 1:45pm. I started out the morning thinking I would go to one or two garage sales and then Target. Well....the morning didn't really work out as planned. I went to a garage sale and found some cute clothes for Brenna. As we were walking to our car, Brenna kept pointing to the park across the street w/ a neat wooden play area. I was having a debate in my mind at this point....keep my agenda or let Brenna have some fun. Thankfully one of the guys in connection group last night was talking about selfless love, so the Holy Spirit convicted me to not be selfish with my time and have some fun w/ my daughter. So we ended up playing for about 45 minutes and had a great time. Then I decided to go to two other garage sales...didn't find anything. Then Target...only got a card, but looked at a lot of stuff. Then I decided to go to Salvation Army....didn't find anything. It was about 11am, so I decided to go to Goodwill before we came home for lunch. I found a cute GAP t-shirt. When I went to leave, my car wouldn't start. It was completely dead. I called Jared...he was at a closing and said he would be there in 15 minutes or so....it was about 23 min....not that I was counting or anything :) During that time I put Brenna in the stroller and went into Hy-Vee to buy some water and 2 apples. We sat outside on a bench, eating our apples, waiting for Jared. Brenna loved her apple...she ate it whole and almost ate the entire thing! It was messy, but kept her very content. Once Jared got there he tried to start it, but with no success. He tried to find someone with jumper cables, but couldn't find anyone. Fortunately we got a hold of one of our friends, Brett, who lives in an apartment complex right across the street. He just finished finals yesterday and was free today....so he came over with some cables...which didn't fix the problem. Jared had a 1:15 apt in Huxley, so he needed to get going. Brett offered to go to Wal-Mart to get us a new battery and then install it. What a blessing he was for us today!!! While he did that Brenna & I walked across the street to McDonalds. Brenna only wanted to eat fries, dipped in ketchup of course, and the pickles off my sandwich. Brett was pulling up just as we were walking up to the car. It took him about 3 minues to get the new battery in. The car started right up! Praise the Lord!
My hour outing ended up being about 6 hours!!! Brenna is now napping....I think I need to join her!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Fun at Reiman Gardens
Brenna & I enjoyed a morning at Reiman Gardens this week. Hollie and her two boys invited us to join them. Reiman Gardens is a block from our house and is a 14 acre garden owned by Iowa State University. We started out in the butterfly room with a lot tropical plants and beautiful butterflies fluttering around. Then we headed outside to walk along the paths and look at all the tulips. It was a fun morning! Since we only live a block from the gardens we decided to get a family pass for the year and go whenever we want. For those of you who live in Ames: let us know if you ever want us to join you at the gardens.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Pictures from the Week
Brenna is already 18 months old! I can't believe it. It seems like she says a new word every day. Her newest ones are happy, water, & park. She is a chatter box and is trying so hard to communicate with us. She still loves books and likes to read them by herself now...miss independent! We have a park behind our new house and she asks several times a day to go to the park.....her favorite part is the slide. She's a pretty happy toddler most of the time...this week she is cutting some more teeth, so it's been a rough week for her. What a wonderful daughter God has provided us in Brenna....she brings so much joy to our family!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)