Hello again. I just got the urge to sit down and write, and it appears I left off last July. I'll see how far we get.
We took a trip the first weekend of July to spend in Lester (Northeast Iowa) with family for the Ezra Knobloch family "Christmas." I was surprised to show up and everything was actually decorated Christmas-y. We had a nice time, and Uncle Myron's shed and greenhouse was the perfect venue for children and all!
The Fourth of July did not bring with it the usual Steffen-Massner gathering in 2023, but we did follow through on another Schulz family float in the Northfield Parade! Cherelle did actually show up in Mediapolis to represent the Steffen family, but she was actually here because of Abram's sister Angela. Clara and Avery did get a picture to commemorate the Steffen presence at Sperry Fireworks.
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| Lots of fun activities at Sperry as usual! |
A few random pics from July...
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| This poor child was the victim of two sad head injuries last summer. I can't remember which one this was. No trips to the ER were involved and all has healed up well. |
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| I don't feel like taking the time to rotate this photo. Our chickens were producing well for a few weeks, until 4 of the 10 were killed by a vicious predator. |
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| The kids decided it was about time for some skating! |
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| This was monumental! We were able to go on a family walk/bike ride, with only two children in the stroller! |
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| We went to the Myron Schulz family "Christmas" in July in Eureka, and stopped to visit my Grandma Knobloch in Peoria on the way. |
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| End-of-Library-Reading-Program-Foam-Party at the park. Super fun time! |
Joanna celebrated her 5th birthday with a sleepover and day with her cousin Adrienne! A 20th Anniversary dinner for Matt's parents happened to land on Joanna's birthday, so the Dotterers happened to be around and the girls were so thrilled and had lots of fun!
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| A birthday gift for Joanna and Keenan being put to good use! |
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| A visit to the Des Moines County fair on a 100+ degree day - found one of our baby lambs raised by Lacey! |
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| Pool Day! |
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| Every Iowa girl needs to document her first sweet corn eating experience. |
Then arrived a week of summer vacation at the beginning of August with the Massner family on Table Rock Lake near Branson, MO. We all stayed together at a large house with a community pool. Our outings for the week included a siblings night out on Tuesday evening and seeing Esther at Sight and Sound in Branson (insert story about children + stomach bug + late evening at a BBQ restaurant). We also rented a pontoon for a day, played lots of games, and of course spent many hours at the pool!
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| Yes, that's me and Clara. She was the only one of my children brave enough to ride on the tube. |
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| Stopped at the world's largest candy store on our way home. |
We celebrated Joanna, Keenan, and Matt's summer birthdays in August.
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| Matt made a doll bed for Joanna's doll that matched her bed. |
We butchered our four remaining lambs at Andrew and Hannah's in August.
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| The two youngest helpers of the crew! |
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| First Day of Kindergarten! She was so excited! |
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| Good ole first day! |
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| Town and Country Days |
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| The Redwood Brothers' final performance before Justin B. moved away! |
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| Joanna told me she styled Clara's hair to look like Lafe's brother. Only if you know what Lafe's brother's hair looked like, will you probably be able to appreciate this. |
A few other pictures of fall...
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| We've been enjoying an art curriculum this year! |
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| Iris, Clara, and Charlie at Young Couples |
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| Evening at Big Hollow |
The MACC (local homeschool co-op) kicked off the year with a field trip to Niabi Zoo!
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| Levi's dream was to catch a frog. And it happened. And lived in my kitchen for a couple months. |
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| Thanks to help from Kelli, we got a bunch of applesauce done from our apple trees! |
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| A big day for Baby Joy at the Mediapolis nursing home! |
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| We also are trying out a science curriculum this year. The kids enjoy the activities! |
Billy and V hosted their second annual Cider Day at their place in October. It was a fun day working together, and we made a LOT of cider!
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| More co-op activites! |
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| Uncle Jesse was willing to do a robotics class with the boys put on by the library! |
Fall School Pics
Dad's 70th Birthday Party
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| Four little girls had a tea party hosted by Liezel! |
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| Holly, a friend from high school, was in the area for a couple months and our children enjoyed a couple play dates during that time! We also enjoyed catching up! :) |
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| We celebrated our 10th Anniversary with the family at Wildcat Den State Park in Muscatine. A wonderful co-worker and his family watched our children at another park that evening while Matt and I went out to eat together. Hard to believe ten years has passed! Yet they say we're just getting started! |
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We went out to Rittman, OH for Justin B.'s wedding in November. The people we stayed with had a dairy farm so the children got to help out with a feeding! We had a lovely time of fellowship that weekend and it was a nice wedding. On the way out, we also visited Blaine and Alyssa in Bluffton, and Cherelle in Latty.
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| We broke up the way home with a hotel and swimming! |
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| Mom and Dad treated us to another siblings night in October! We had a bit of fun exploring the Tractor Supply store and introducing Brittany to some Iowa culture with this photoshoot. |
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| A couple weeks later, Justin replaced me with a new sister by his side, Darci Wettstein from Eureka. They are planning to be married in another week and we are so excited to have her join our family! |
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| We headed over to Eureka in November for an engagement dinner and were late due to a blown tire. Our van is still in service but will never look the same again. |
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| I missed Darci's Eureka shower due to sickness after Thanksgiving, but Joanna was able to go with my mom. Her and Darci's niece, Sierra, have been bonding so well these last few months! It is fun to see friendships blossom! |
I will sign off here. Now you're only a few months behind. I guess you'll have to contact me directly to find out what else we've been up to. Bwahaha. I like hearing from my readers. The biggest downside to blogging is it is a one-way communication and I don't feel connected to others the way you feel connected to me! So please do say hi. :)
Love you all and hope you are all doing well in 2024 thus far! Life is such a journey!
This is post 2 in a row that has not been proofread or edited by myself or my husband. Apologies for whatever was said amiss.
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