New Carpet!!

We finally got around to putting carpet into our living room. Cold, hard, uncomfortable laminate floor just wasn't cutting it for me (or my knees during family prayer). I LOVE the carpet. The room feels much more homey now and it doesn't echo anymore when I shout. :) These are just some pictures of the progress the room has gone through in the last year.

Cloudy with a chance of ???

I just had to post these pictures that Kari took because I thought the clouds were so cool. They moved very swiftly over our house with a little bit of wind, but that was all! I thought for sure some ultra-dangerous storm was upon us...as we're out taking pictures and picking veggies from the garden.

Soccer

Preston was able to play soccer this year! It took a few days for him to really enjoy it, but by the end he was a little pro. This picture is on the last day. You can tell by looking at him that he did a lot of running that day. He was actually told to STOP kicking the ball so that someone else could have a turn...even though half team was picking bugs out of the grass. j/k

Preston is the one kicking the ball in the back. My camera battery was dying or else I could've gotten the goal he scored.

Before each game the times grouped up and shouted a little chant across the fields to the other teams. Once again, I waited until the last day to bring my camera...with the dead battery...so I couldn't film this either. :(

First Day of School

Preston started Preschool this year at Zion Lutheran Church. He goes 3 days a week for three hours each day and I love it...I mean HE loves it. Except chapel time. He's not a big fan of that yet.

Braden and Kari started school at the end of July. I put them in the "optional" calendar. They start about a month earlier then everyone else and have two 2-week breaks throughout the school year. Braden is now a 4th grader and Kari is a 2nd grader. I also switched them to Meadowlark Elementary, which is the school close to our home. Kari misses Windy Hills, but Braden is doing much better at Meadowlark. Yeah!

Chop Chop!!

About a year ago a new family moved into our ward. They moved to Kearney because the husband got a job as a helicopter pilot for the hospital. Steve, of course, had to ask for a ride if there was ever a time to do so. Well, this past week Br. Kennedy called up Steve and said that the helicopter was at the airport for maintenance and needed to be returned to the hospital and therefore asked if Steve would like to ride along (along with the rest of the family). Luckily it was a Wednesday morning when Steve doesn't see patients. So within 15 minutes of the call we were all at the airport waiting for our cool ride over Kearney. Preston was actually at a day camp, so Emmalynn took his spot.

I didn't tell the kids where we were headed, but they were very excited when they finally discovered what we were doing.
There was only two headsets and lucky Kari got to where one of them. Braden and Emmalynn just got earplugs. We were able to talk to our pilot and "co-pilot" throughout the trip.
Braden didn't get to wear them during the flight but wanted to try them on after we landed.

Steve was VERY excited to help fly the helicopter. He did an excellent job hovering at the airport and then was able to fly over our house. He thought he was pretty cool.

This is our neighborhood. Steve flew directly over our home so I wasn't able to see it.

This is an aerial view of Kearney. Isn't it beautiful?!

Thank you Br. Kennedy for an awesome experience. Let us know when you need more assistance. :)

MONA

Every year for art class the kids need to make their assignments and then the art teach, Mr. Hansen, chooses a few to go on exhibit at the Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) here in Kearney. Well this year, Kari had 2 of her pieces on display.

This is a painted picture of edelweiss:
Here is the bird and nest that she molded out of clay.

She even received a little certificate for her good work. The boys didn't care much for the art, but they did enjoy the cookies and lemonade!

Braden's Birthday

Braden turned 9 years old this year. He wanted to have a party with friends, but due to school he had to wait about two weeks before having his party. So on his actual birthday we went out to eat at The Cellar, came home and did doughnuts and presents. My boy claims to not like cake!
Talking on the phone with someone who called to wish him a Happy Birthday.
This is his latest haircut. Just kidding. Steve does like to cut his hair in ridiculous ways and then take pictures of it. It was funny though. This time before he could finish cutting it his clippers ran out of batteries. Braden refused to leave the house until the next day when the batteries were charged.
We had his "friend" birthday party at the Big Apple Fun Center. He wanted to do the big indoor playground "Ballocity." He originally invited only boys from his class at church but because I had to bring Kari with there were a few other little girls allowed.

Thanks everyone for helping Braden have a fun birthday!