Sleepy boy

So lately Gideon has been waking up much earlier than normal and by nine each morning he's wiped out

Here are a few examples

Last wednesday-
He had been trying to get up the stairs but the door was closed so he just went to sleep

Last Thursday-

For a while I heard him driving around banging into things. Then I just heard him snoring

Yesterday

eating also appears to be exhausting

Bong

No we have not started doing drugs, we merely went camping over Labor Day weekend at Richard Bong Recreational Area in Kansasville WI. Turns out Richard Bong was America's leading air ace during WWII.

Dakota and Tonya after a good night's sleep:) - Dylan lurking in the background

the kids loved the dirt

yes, that's a rock he's chewing on- the cup is full of them mixed with dirt

2 peas in a pod

On Saturday it started raining around noon and didn't stop the rest of the day. We all went out to eat for supper since we couldn't make a fire. After supper the women took the kids (by that time it was just Raquel and Lina since my parents thankfully took the 1 year olds back to their house for the second night:) to Burger King to play and the guys left to buy a 20x30 ft. tarp and tie it to the trees around our campsite. In spite of the rain that night we were able to build a fire and roast marshmallows!:)

1st day of Kindergarten

New clothes

All ready to go

Here it comes!

So excited to be on the bus:)

Arriving home after a good first day!

So far she is doing really well. Her chief complaint is that she has to wear shoes all day. I don't blame her:)

last day before school

Raquel started Kindergarten on Sept. 1, so the day before that we did fun things. First we went shopping for a first day of school outfit and a lunch box. After that Raquel and I went to the Museum where we saw the butterfly exhibit and then watched 'Under the Sea' at the IMAX

She really wanted to hold a butterfly

Almost!

Getting closer...

Success!:)

Cute Kids:)

Old World Wisconsin

On Lydia's last day before leaving for La Crosse we spent the day at Old World Wisconsin. It was a beautiful day- I bought a bonnet for Raquel since she was complaining of the sun in her eyes. Those prairie people knew what they were doing and it worked like charm.

We started the day out in the oldest church in Wisconsin and sang a hymn

Gideon was a more charismatic worshipper

Then Raquel and Elise tried their hand at washing clothes by hand


fed a horse

watched a blacksmith make an S-hook

Gideon chased a chicken

and we went back to school

First and second cousins

While in California we were able to visit my cousin Allyssa one day. Her husband Josh (please pray for them as Josh was just deployed last week) and their four boys live near the Air Force Base in San Pedro. The kids had a blast playing with the boys and Allyssa and I got in a few games of cards:)

We went to a park and fed the ducks

I tried to let Gideon feed them but he ate the old bread we were giving them and then attempted to dive into the water.