Just Life

I have fallen way behind on keeping updates.  So for now it may just be quick posts occasionally of just every day life.  Here's a few of us lately.  

Father's Day

The boys and I tried to spoil their dad all weekend.  We didn't plan anything big, but focused on a lot of little things.  We side-walk chalked a special message on the driveway to welcome him home on Friday and had breakfast for dinner, one of his favorites.  The rest of the weekend we went swimming at our pool, Hans and Sam washed the truck, we enjoyed a pizza picnic at a park, chasing bubbles, lots of little gifts were showered on him, and we ended with eating lots of our homemade ice cream cake.  These boys believe Hans hung the moon and their awe of him is sweet.  One of their favorite daddy things these days is for him to sing some camp songs before bedtime; their most requested song is a little tune called "Barges".  Hans is a wonderful father and he works hard to provide for us all.  Our boys melt his heart every day and fill him with pride.

This one is from when we were in Iowa this spring.  It's a place all the boys enjoy.

The yummy ice cream cake that Sam picked out for us to make.

Arlington

While we are living in VA we hope to see as many of the historical sites that we can.  One of our first trips we made was to Arlington National Cemetery.  A place of much honor and pride.  We were glad to share this history with the boys and to help them understand what it means to stand and protect one's country.

It was so tiring being quiet for so long.

Wall Space to Fill

Our new house has lots o wall space that needed filled, so a few new family shots were in order.  Time was limited and the sun was bright, which did not give us an ideal photo op.  But, what really matters is that we are all in them and that we have some family photos to hang.  Here are a few.

Tub Tea Party

While we were in Iowa my nephew, Grady, stayed with us for a few days at Nana and Papa's house.  Zeke and Grady had a tea party in the "bath tub", aka Nana's kitchen sink.  Zeke LOVES baths, especially in Nana's sink.

Chin up, Pinky out, and sip.  Perfect tea etiquette.

Some Old Photos

We turned in our out-dated phones for an upgrade and in the process cleaned out all the old photos on our phones.  As I was doing this, I realized that these pictures told a lot of our story over the past few years.  I don't carry my big camera with me everywhere, so my phone is the back up.  The photos are grainy, but the tell our journey the last 2 1/2 years since moving away from Iowa.  A slide show of these pics is at this link:

http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d4779898k3519445o1/old-p

The Big Move

From one coast to the other, it was a LONG drive.  Moving is exhausting, especially with small children in tow.  Thank goodness the military packs you up and transports your goods.  We filled almost half of the semi trailer....and to think we considered moving ourselves.  We could not have done it without my mom's help.  She came to stay for over two weeks and then drove with the boys and I back to Iowa to wait for Hans.  Plus, Nana AND Papa drove the boys all the way to VA for us a few days later so we could get most of our things unpacked.   On the bright side, moving is a great excuse to get rid of stuff and take some extra trips to Goodwill.  We all made it to the east coast healthy and safe.  The pictures our hung on the wall and it's beginning to feel like home in our new house.

The only thing missing is our family and our wonderful friends we met in Washington.  If we could have brought you with we would have.  Everything is a new adventure and trial and error until we get use to our surroundings.  We are all together and that means we truly are home.  

Here's our move in pictures:

Time with Nana before they packed us up.

One last picture of our house before we left.

The big semi and the very happy 4 year old who got to pull the horn before it pulled away.

day one, blue skies and sun....Iowa here we come.

two happy back seat travelers.

rest stop picnic lunch had to be relocated inside as there was still snow in the mountains. 

First night swimming at the hotel was motivation for the boys to get there and DQ for dinner as a special treat.

Morning two met with another sunny day and some beautiful mountain views.

Broadus, we only passed through, but this is a piece of Hans' heaven on earth.  The boys were sleeping so we kept on truckin'

Night two we opted for a picnic dinner in our room and the boys slept like rocks all night.

Last leg of the trip.  Zeke did great.  Only a few rough moments the last few hours.  Made for a trip to ShopKo just to let the kids run in the toy aisles. 

Home in Iowa!  A last treat and reward for being troopers, dinner at Culver's :)

And we finally arrived at our new house all the way on the other side of the country...