Pool Fun

It was perfect timing this week as it seemed; pool parties and extreme heat & humidity. Our first outing was here at Como with the community supplying pools, a water slide, and hot dogs. Lots of fun! It's events like these that I really think that I'm going to miss, however, that afternoon I had to wagon my laundry a half block away because our laundry room is being renovated--this I will not miss.




Today we went out to Jessica (our twin cities aunt) for another pool party. We do this every year and this year the Beckerings decided to join. (The Beckerings got to know Jessica back when the boys were in the NICU where Jessica and I worked.) Hailey has gotten to be really good in the water. Jessica says she sees obvious improvement every year. Taylor is very conservative in the water, but still really enjoys it. Carter was feeling a bit under the weather today and woke with a low grade fever. He took a nap by the pool and woke up with lots of smiles.

Happy 5th Birthday Hailey!

Today our Hailey turned 5 years old! We celebrated outside here at Como and thankfully the weather allowed us to have a great party. It was pretty wild and we accumulated more kids from the community as the night went on. We had a water balloon toss, a dance including: The Chicken Dance, The Bunny Hop, and the Hokey Pokey, and finally a candy hunt. Hailey had a great time and Taylor had layers of dirt, candy, cake, and pop dried to her face.

Back Yard Bible Club

This week I hosted a Back Yard Bible Club. I sent out flyers all over Como and invited kids ages 4-12 years. I was very happy with the turn out and I believe that the kids know Jesus better than when they arrived. My role was to welcome, do a craft, and provide a snack. A lesson, singing, and prayer were done by two girls from the program. It has been a very busy week.

Dutch Festival

We decided to take the kids to their first ever Edgerton Dutch Festival. This event was HUGE to both Mike and I growing up. We both remember getting a new outfit just for the Dutch. The girls loved the parade and raked in lots of candy. Taylor had no evidence of her candy by the end of the parade, that is except for the trail of empty wrappers. The festival was much bigger in my memory.

Taylor really didn't know what to expect with the parade and the sirens at the beginning.
Cousin Macy was on the "Vikings" float and was just reaching for a water balloon for Ucle Mike.
Hailey competed in the Tractor Pedal Pull and won 3rd place! She competed against 14 other 4 year olds; her parents were shocked at her level of determination during the competition.

This & That

Hailey thought that it was just hilarious that she gave Carter some "princess toys".
We got back from vacation and had our first big harvest from our garden. Hopefully we will be able to eat some of our tomatoes before we move on Aug. 16th.

Homeowners

This is Mike (Carter is getting fussy and my ability to calm him down is equivalent to the Boogie Man's affect on children so Allison has delegated the blogging duty to myself - she normally would just do it herself in the AM but she is quite excited so only a immediate entry will do), so as you can tell by the pictures, the Miedema's are proud owners of a new home. We purchased a 5-bedroom, 2 bath home in Bloomington this evening.

Though it is not luxurious, it is a nicer home than we ever thought we would get in the Twin Cities at this point in our lives. It has a great kitchen, great backyard, awesome living/dining room area, and new windows and floors. It is also right off of 35W so even though it is in a 2nd ring suburb - my drive to downtown shouldn't be too bad and it is within reasonable distance of Calvin - where Hailey will start kindergarten this year. Though we have our concerns about a large down payment, a higher monthly house payment, and a high likelihood that Taylor will at some point try and commit arson, we are quite excited about moving. Having our own washer/dryer, garage, backyard, and dishwasher are all amenities that we have longed for over the past few years. We also now have a new list of needs, including a lawnmower, water softener, washer/dryer, and big screen TV - though my wife seems to think that last one doesn't qualify as a "necessity".

We have frequently joked over the past years about Como Student housing and its shortcomings but I have a feeling that we will look quite fondly on our years at Como as we move ahead in our lives. Hailey and Taylor have loved their early years here. They have numerous friends and assume it is natural to have 4 playgrounds in your backyard. They also assume it is natural for everybody to have skin of different colors. Differences in appearance, race, and religion do not phase them and in no way hold them back from extending their friendship. They have learned values here that we would have a difficult time teaching them in other settings. Though we are very excited to move on we are very grateful for out time at here at Como.

Yankton Vacation 2008

We are home and recovering from our week vacation to Yankton, SD. We left last week Sat. with a packed van and returned last evening with an even more packed van. We were so blessed to have great weather and safety.
Hours and hours were spent on the beach. Taylor was quite conservative in the water, but it was rare to see Hailey out of the water.

Carter was a trooper with the camping trip however he did get his first black eye after a dive off of the couch in the camper.

Go cart racing!


At night we would set up a movie for the kids. They were exhausted!
There really wasn't a good place to bathe Carter and he didn't really like this idea either.

Grandpa and Grandma have the most beautiful grandchildren, but I'm sure that they are enjoying the silence of their home back in Leota today.
Not sure what Hailey was doing here.
The entire group!

CSCC Children's Theater

CSCC had their first Children's Theater featuring: The Gingerbread Man, The Little Red Hen, and The Lion and the Mouse. Taylor and Hailey had about 8 practices. I had no intention of having Taylor in it, but she insisted on staying when I dropped Hailey off and they said she did whatever they told her. Hailey was the narrator for The Gingerbread Man. In The Little Red Hen Hailey was a pig and Taylor a chick. Finally in The Lion and the Mouse Taylor was a bunny and Hailey a monkey. Hailey had lines, but Taylor just wondered on/off the stage.



This picture has nothing to do with the theater, but I just thought it was cute. Carter is now 7 months! It is still just very strange to me that he has those bright blue eyes.