Summer Special

Summer has just rolled on through...howdy-do from the Schulz clan!

We kicked off the month of June with a last minute surprise birthday party for Matt! We managed to have him come downstairs dressed in his deer costume where all his guests surprised him with a nerf gun attack. A well executed event. 

That weekend Matt took the boys to the Big Hollow Youth Jamboree to enjoy some outdoor activities.

One of Geronimo's last feedings. It was fun having a pet squirrel, but alas it has ventured out into the real world. He has come back a time or two since then to say hi.

One morning the catalpa tree was too pretty to resist a little girls' photo shoot!

The boys also had VBS that week with no photographic evidence to share. They had a wonderful time! Other unpictured June events included a weekend of baptisms in Burlington, a wedding in Mediapolis, the Sunday School Picnic, and Father's Day. 

Joanna loves all her babies! 

We've enjoyed having help from teenagers a couple times a week this summer! Camille and Shelby have been covering a day, and one of the Steiner girls have come on Wednesdays to help out. It has been so helpful to have an occasional mental break from mothering so I can keep going.

This summer I got organized and the kids had jobs to keep them busy in the mornings. It was also a saver in keeping me afloat. Joanna's job this day was "cleaning the Massner Bathroom!"

The Father-son campout is always a highlight of the summer! Keenan got to go this year! 

The next night, the Young Group babysat all the kids at the Fellowship Center so we could enjoy a date night! Clara was happy to come along!

One afternoon Joanna got to go on a picnic and spend the day with Holly!

Mom hosted a Schmidgall family gathering the last weekend of June. Uncle Bruce and Aunt Penny were the only aunt and uncle to make it. 

I got to host three of my girl cousins overnight! It was so fun to catch up!

For my birthday, we planned to take the train to Galesburg and visit the children's museum across from the train station. Unfortunately, the train was four hours behind schedule so we drove instead. It was a fun time!

When we got back home after our big day trip, a surprise star birthday party awaited at the Gary Schulz home! Being so close to the fourth of July, there was no shortage of stars! 

And then there's a picture of a stick of butter. It is not just a stick of butter, but a stick of homemade raw milk butter. Raw milk is the new excitement in this kitchen. Our seemingly lactose intolerant child seems to be tolerating the raw milk quite well, so it is serving its purpose.

This girl is the happiest, most content baby you'll ever find. We love her so much and she is such a wonderful help to Mommy! At this stage, she was sleeping 8-10 hours at night before we hit the usual three month sleep regression.

The Fourth of July

The Steffens came for the annual Massner-Steffen Fourth of July gathering. At the same time, Matt's family hosted the entire Knobloch family in Burlington for the weekend. We got to partake in a little of both reunions. 

The first order of business when the Steffens arrived was to get our float ready for the Northfield Parade. 

Then, we trotted over to the Schulz home to spend the afternoon with the Knobloch family. Almost everyone was able to make it. Here are all the three and four year olds. 

A fun fishing game for the children!

Matt and the kids went to Sperry fireworks that night. 

Sunday afternoon at the Massners!

Clara was feeling pretty festive on the Fourth!

We expanded our Northfield Parade float this year with a trailer. Several of the Steffens, Massner bros, and our kids rode with us on the float as the Northfield Community Band and played "This Land is Your Land" through the one-minute-long parade!

Colt and Keenan thought the back of the Gator was a great place to ride after the parade!

The kids spent much of the hot Monday afternoon playing in water.

That evening was fireworks in Morning Sun. I can never resist a photo of all five kids asleep in the back of the van. 

The Next Part of July

The next week was haircuts for the boys. Joanna decided she was also going to be a hair stylist. Thankfully she never grabbed the scissors for Clara's hair.

Matt surprised me with a Cricut Joy for my birthday so I decided to try it out with some shirts to wear on vacation! It is a fun little machine! 

We enjoyed a homeschool end of year cookout a couple weeks ago!

Kids sitting in the driveway in their pajamas with a bag of Bugles can only mean one thing: crop-dusting season. 

Summer Vacation

Joanna turned four the same day we headed to Des Moines for a little family trip. We stayed at a little house for a few nights and spent our days out and about, then finished with Sunday at church in Garden Grove. 

Right before we left, Levi lost his first tooth!

Thursday was the zoo day!

That evening, we went to a splash pad park after supper.

We cooked all our meals in our little kitchen!

Friday morning we visited the State Capital Building. 

The kids thought the capital building had the coolest library ever!

After that, we went to a park where there was a free circus show going on. After the show, the kids rode the carousel, we ate a picnic lunch, and spent the afternoon enjoying the splash pad and playground at the park. 

Saturday, it was 100 degrees outside so we opted to spend the day indoors at the Science Center. The kids had a lot of fun and if it weren't for a tired mom and toddler we could have opened and closed the place! 

We finished off our time in Des Moines with ice cream. It was the only time we brought our kids in public to eat on this trip!

After the Trip...

Matt finished fixing up Andrew and Hannah's old car that has been sitting in their shed for a few years, and Connor is the new owner! He did a pretty impressive job on the thing!

We finally got around to celebrating Joanna's birthday a week late!

Levi and Matt made this chair for her between supper and the party. 

The birthday excitement hadn't quite rubbed off the next day, when Joanna came out of her room with all her birthday goodies (including her new pajamas)!

The kids had swimming lessons last week and I finally got around to bringing them to the pool one afternoon! Keenan found a nest of angry wasps and managed to get away with at least eight stings! He handled it well once he got a pretzel to munch on, and the nest was promptly removed from the scene. It was otherwise a fun afternoon. :)

This girl just gets more loveable all the time! Where have four months gone?!

Saturday Matt and I had a little date attending Tucker and Molly's wedding! They are our newest neighbors!

Now August is Upon Us...

The three older kids have all been figuring out how to ride bikes this summer!

Levi is trying to learn how to write in fancy cursive letters. For a kid who cried through most writing sessions last year, this is pretty impressive!

Joanna's birthday gift from my mom was a shopping trip to Iowa City. Her uncles' gift was money to spend while shopping. The first thing she said when she got home was, "I spent ALL of my money!" The next thing she had to show me was the receipt she got to keep!

Her purchases were accessories for her doll (Sami) and candy! 

Then there is this sweet loveable boy, making hearts for his mama! 

Motherhood has been busy and a little rough the past couple months. I am thankful for the promises written on our chalkboard right now: 

"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

It is so true, every word of it. It is only by the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed. At night when I go to bed, I have to remember that his mercies will be new in the morning. And they always are. He provides the grace, strength, and help for each day even when it looks impossible. God's faithfulness is truly Great. How I've proved him o'er an o'er...Oh, for grace to trust Him more!