Waterpark Overnight Trip

For some annoying reason, our school district has no school on election days. It's because of the fact that several schools are polling places and they're just trying to keep the kids safe, but despite that, it's really weird to have a Tuesday off of school! This time around, we made the most of it and planned an overnight trip to a waterpark in Wisconsin. We've taken the kids there before, but when they were MUCH smaller. This time around, it was so nice to be able to enjoy the water without fearing that a kid would drown...not only because they are all good swimmers, but also because it was TOTALLY dead (who goes to a waterpark on a Monday night?!?). The kids did some swimming when we got there on Monday evening. We had a fun time watching a movie in our room that night and enjoyed a slow morning as we waited for the waterpark to open back up at 10am. Unfortunately, about a half hour before the park opened, we had a MAJOR catastrophe. Tyler and Leah were heading to the lobby to ask for a later check-out. As soon as they walked out of the door to our room, Leah bumped into Tyler (who was holding a full, freshly poured cup of coffee). It didn't end well, as you can tell from the picture. Sadly, Leah didn't get to swim that morning, but she was thankful for the chance to play in the arcade with just Mom. All in all, it wasn't the trip we were hoping for, but everyone managed to have fun despite the crazy turn of events.

Halloween 2018

We had a busy and fun Halloween season. It started with a trip to the "pumpkin patch" (Aldi) where we ran into two of our favorite people - Nana Pam and Ed. The kids had fun finding their pumpkins and we were happy to finally pay a lot less than what we usually pay at the real pumpkin patch!

The weekend before Halloween was packed with activities. Friday night, we went to a costume party (as Richard Simmons and an 80's workout girl). Tyler almost won the contest....he should've won for being brave enough to wear shorts as short at these:

There was a Harry Potter themed fundraiser for a local girl and it was the perfect excuse to take our Harry Potter fanatic out in his costume. He loved getting to go with his fellow Harry Potter fanatic friend, Micah.

We carved pumpkins with family and the kids had a lot of fun. Sadly, Joel was in the middle of a week-long sickness that night, so he wasn't his normal upbeat self. Regardless, we ended up with some great pumpkins. Joel decorated his with the face of one of his favorite stuffed animals, "Cowie". Leah made a princess crown. Caleb went with the theme of his costume this year and made a Harry Potter face.

Halloween was a busy day. I helped at Caleb and Leah's parties in the morning. Poor Joel was home sick and ended up at the doctor that afternoon. He had a temp that kept coming and going for several days, and we wanted to make sure it wasn't anything super contagious before letting him run around with friends while trick-or-treating.  Thankfully, he was just diagnosed with a plain old cough/cold. All sniffles aside, the evening was perfect for trick-or-treating and the kids had a ton of fun. We got WAY more candy than we could ever actually eat!

Fall Highlights

Fall is always a busy time in our home, and this year was no exception. Weekdays are packed with school, homework, and squeezing in the last bits of warmth and sunshine in the evenings. Weekends are filled with yardwork, football games, and quality time as a family. We love the feeling of settling into a routine, but definitely miss the freedom of summer!

Our favorite baseball team, the Slammers, made it to the playoffs and we were excited to be able to cheer them on in their final games. They ended up winning the whole tournament, but sadly, they were out of town during that victory.

We love the revolving door of friends that come to hang after school and on the weekends. The Sturm kids are lucky to have such great friends. Joel is especially thankful for Caleb's friends who get excited about helping him during homework time!

Mom's weeks are filled with a couple days of kid-freedom, mixed in with a few days of babysitting two of the sweetest little boys. On the days off, a lot of time is spent volunteering at school, running errands, and occasionally subbing. The days with the boys are exhausting and a good reminder of how thankful I am to not have little ones 24/7 anymore!

 We hosted our annual chili cookoff. We had BEAUTIFUL weather and the house was filled with many of our favorite family members and friends. It was a blast and everyone had a great time!

Our garden provided an abundance of good veggies this year. Tyler definitely loves taking care of the garden and his interest is being passed on to the kids. Joel got a pumpkin seed last spring in kindergarten and couldn't wait to plant it. We didn't have much room left in our garden, so Grandpa and Grandma planted it in their garden. We got regular updates and stopped by to see it quite often. In the end, Joel was ecstatic to have a pumpkin! 

Tyler and Caleb took a special one-on-one camping trip to a local campsite. They had a great time and did some major bonding. It's hard to believe this boy is already nearing age 11!!!

 Joel spent weeks trying to wiggle his top tooth out. It finally came out and his first grade smile is just about as cute as it could be!

 We took our annual trip down to Champaign to tailgate and spend some quality time with family. The kids had a blast hanging out with their cousins. The tailgate was cold, but we still had fun. We also loved walking around campus and heading to Curtis Orchard the next day.

Fifth Grade

I'm pretty sure I just sent this kid to school on the kindergarten bus yesterday, so I don't think it's possible that he's already in fifth grade! Being at the intermediate building again means he'll be switching teachers like last year and he's quite excited to have three different teachers. He's also looking forward to the clubs and after school activities again. There's no doubt he will rock it in fifth grade. This boy works hard and has always been serious about doing well in school.

What is your name? Caleb

How old are you? ten

What do you want to be when you grow up? roller coaster architect

What is your favorite food? tacos

What is your favorite drink? soda

What makes you happy? playing

What makes you sad? when someone hurts my feelings

What is your favorite thing to do at home? play with friends

Who is your best friend? Beau, Alec, Noah, Ruby, Micah, Jack

Where is your favorite place to go? the lake

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? play with her

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? play sports

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? He is always happy.

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? She is very likable.

What is your favorite book? Harry Potter

What is your favorite movie? Peter Rabbit

Where is your favorite place to eat? McDonalds

What is your favorite thing to wear? Underarmour

First Grade

This kid. This kid is the one who cried at preschool drop off every single year (even as a four year old) for the first month or two. He then surprised the heck out of us when he jumped onto the kindergarten bus last year and never looked back. He loved kindergarten and never had a bad thing to say about it. He worked hard, was kind, and grew by leaps and bounds academically. So, one would think there'd be lots of excitement about going into first grade. However, he spent the last part of summer declaring that he was going to retire back to preschool and not do first grade. He also spent an hour crying at bedtime the night before school started. Talk about making sending him off ALL day to school feel nearly impossible for his emotional mommy! It's been done twice already, but something about sending the last one off seems so odd. A chapter of motherhood has truly ended and it's hard to accept that. Thankfully, day one was as smooth as it could be. He woke up smiling and eagerly walked into school when we got there. He was full of smiles when he got home and had so much to say about his day. His biggest challenge, for now, will be learning how to eat lunch in 20 minutes. Day one left him with an almost completely uneaten lunch. He also didn't think to ask for help to open some of his things....like the salsa that he partially opened and then put right back into the lunchbox (that was a delightful mess to clean up)! Regardless, if that's our biggest problem at this point, we'll take it!  

What is your name? Joel

How old are you? six

What do you want to be when you grow up? a builder or a police horseback rider

What is your favorite food? tacos

What is your favorite drink? pink lemonade

What makes you happy? getting desserts..."I have a lot of things that make me happy!"

What makes you sad? Daddy giving me spankins

What is your favorite thing to do at home? cook

Who is your best friend? TJ and Marshall

Where is your favorite place to go? everywhere

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? ride bikes

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? have s'mores

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? He lets me use his stuff.

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? She is nice.

What is your favorite book? Pete the Cat

What is your favorite movie? Peter Rabbit

Where is your favorite place to eat? everywhere

What is your favorite thing to wear? costumes

Third Grade

Third grade is a big year of transition and Leah is definitely looking forward to a fantastic year. She has the same teachers that Caleb had in third grade and that makes her even more excited. Last year was a bit rough, and we are also venturing down a new road with a 504 plan being put in place for her mild hearing loss that she was diagnosed with....but, we trust that everything will work out well and can't wait to see how she succeeds this year!

What is your name? Leah

How old are you? eight and a half

What do you want to be when you grow up? a teacher

What is your favorite food? ice cream

What is your favorite drink? Orange Crush

What makes you happy? Chesney

What makes you sad? When my brothers ignore me.

What is your favorite thing to do at home? play outside with friends

Who is your best friend? Bridget and Lily and Josie

Where is your favorite place to go? Florida

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? go shopping or cook

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? go on dates

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? I like to hug him and kiss him.

What is the best part about Caleb (brother))? I like to hug him and cuddle with him.

What is your favorite book? The Book With No Pictures AND Mine

What is your favorite movie? Pete's Dragon

Where is your favorite place to eat? McDonalds

What is your favorite thing to wear? running gear and dresses

Lake Trip #2

The last trip to the lake of the summer is always a bittersweet one, so I'm glad we got to drag it out even longer than normal. The kids and I spent almost two weeks down there. The first week we had Grandpa, Grandma, and TiTi with us. TiTi had to head home to start working on school stuff, but the kids were happy she was replaced with Daddy coming down for the second week. We had tons of fun enjoying simple, slow days on the water. We tended to spend most of our time at the dock, but did make a few trips to the pool as well. Neighbors of Uncle Dave and Aunt Nancy had their grandkids in town for a visit, so we spent part of the trip sharing our dock with friends. It was nice for the kids to have extra kids to play with! Another big highlight of the trip was time with some of our favorite furry friends. The kids LOVE Lucas and Bentley and left the lake BEGGING for us to get a puppy. All in all, it was a great trip and we are all so sad to have to wait so many months until we get back there next summer. For now, we will just relive the fun through the many pictures that were captured:

Picnics on the boat are always fun.

ready, set, jump

Leah was always helpful in the kitchen. She loved baking with Grandma because she got extra licks from the spatula :)

Bentley is SUCH a water dog!

This bookworm had days where he spent hours listening to audiobooks.

Arts and crafts, legos, and games are a staple at the lake.

little fish

big fish

It looks like Bentley wants a turn.

Ozzie came for a boat ride.

sunset boat ride

These kids love time with Grandma.

Uh-oh....he's as tall as the table!

Joel and Daddy tubing

Caleb and Leah tubing

such cuties

1-2-3 JUMP

The fishing was slow, but everyone caught a few.

These kids have some seriously silly grandparents!