Beggar's Night

 

Ok, Iowa is a bit different than the rest of the world.  The kids here go 'trick-or-treating' on October 30 for beggar's night and then Halloween itself is very anti-climatic.  Lucky for us, today's weather has been perfect - low 70s.  So anyway, for your Halloween pleasure, here are the Greening Goblins... John-the crazy clown; Annie-the annoying reporter; Katie-the sorceress; and Erin-Lucy Prevensie from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  

Catch Up Blog

Sorry for the long absence from blogger world.  Here are pictures to catch everyone up on the lives of the Greening Family.  These are not in correct order, but my life is like that right now. 

Here is the first day of school - John-7th grade, Annie-5th grade, Katie-2nd grade & Erin-1st grade.

 

Our patio has had a makeover-stamped concrete overlay to be exact.  We love it and look forward to entertaining next Spring.

As you can see, the new look is considerably better!

Annie has been a wild quilting woman, finishing one for Patty's family and one for Joe & Kelly.  

Here is the Woods' family quilt - green and gold.  

And here is Joe & Kelly's quilt - blue & gold.

Early in September, I visited Park City.  Here we are with Kelly's family at Deer Valley Resort for a Dwight Youkam concert.  

On Sunday, Joe, Kelly and I climbed the PC mountain behind their house.  Joe & Kelly are standing on the top of the 'C' and then in the other picture you can see the PC behind Mom and me way up high.  It's amazing how huge those letters are.

Summer is winding down...

Well, John started football practice today.  We'll see how beat up he is when he gets home.  

Annie was busy learning a new skill today as well.  Here she is... "I went to a quilting class today!  You can see my masterpiece below.  I learned to use a sewing machine, poked myself with a lot of pins, and had a great time.  I plan to make many more quilts for relatives.  Let me know your color requests..."

      

Back to Brigid - I'm just excited for Annie to teach me how to quilt.  She also learned to knit last winter and has promised to teach me that as well.  

Katie & Erin are anxious to get back to school.  They can't wait to wake up early, sit in class all day and miss out on all their favorite TV shows.  Yeah, RIGHT!!!  Tomorrow is the first day of back to school life as far as bed times, wake up times, etc.  SCHOOL STARTS ON AUGUST 19th!!!!!  

   

The Rest of June and July

While John & Annie were having fun down South, Sally (Goethals) and Darren Smith and their family visited us in Des Moines on their way to Sturgis.  We adults stayed up way too late catching up both nights, but we did manage to squeeze in time at the Science Center of Iowa for the kids.  

         

For Independence Day, we visited Kyle's parents in Waubay, South Dakota.  The kids loved the relaxed, "go outside and find something to do" atmosphere of a small town.  They even asked if we could just move there.  The boys (Buzz, Kyle, & John) drove around and ran into a former classmate of Kyle's who happens to be an American Indian.  John was pretty amazed at that.  Kyle and John thrilled all of us with fireworks all day on the 4th of July.  We also visited Kyle's aunt & uncle, Audrey & Al Dutenhoffer on Saturday.  Kari came over with her 1 year old daughter, Ashlyn and John got to drive a big tractor.  

           

Back at home, the kids dived right in to swimming lessons - and everyone passed!  Every time we go to the pool now, Erin wants her height measured.  She's so close to the 48 inches required to go down the big slides.  We all hope she makes it before the end of the summer.  

    

  

Katie & Erin are spending this week at Living History Farms Day Camp - each for 1/2 days; Erin in the morning, Katie in the afternoon, Mom in the car driving all day.  Additionally, since Kyle has been gone for 4 days this week, I offered to take each kid on a date one per day.  I don't exactly know why I do this to myself because I then get nothing done for myself or the house, but I have really enjoyed the time alone with each of the kids and I know that it has been really special to each of them.  

This week also, Nancy, Kyle's sister, brought her three granddaughters over for Tuesday and Wednesday.  Sara's girls are Amaya-6 1/2, Ariana-almost 3, Hayden-5 months.  We enjoyed seeing all of them. 

  And we're all so glad that Kyle is home again, tonight.  

June is Long Gone!

Well, I don't know what happened to June or the 1st part of July, but they went past in a blink!  John & Annie visited Birmingham and Meridian for a week.  Here's John to tell you about it:

  We got off the plane and there was Aunt Sara.  After getting our luggage and finding her car, we headed to the grocery store.  We got food that we would never have gotten in Des Moines like juice boxes and chips.  At their house, Pele and Tina went crazy.  We all relaxed until Uncle Greg got home.  Then, we were off to the ballpark.  It was "quarter hot dog night" for Birmingham Barons Baseball team.  We bought like fourteen hot dogs.  I ate 2 3/4 hot dogs  and Annie ate 3.  She bugged me all night about it.

                        

The rest of the time Aunt Sara, Annie, and I went to the Science Center.  It was sooo much better than the one in Des Moines.  They had simulaters, a awesome kids land (sadly Annie and I were to big to play in it), and a bike that you could ride on a tight rope.

       

Their was a bed of nails that we all tried out.

       

A tank that makes it feel like your in a tornado.

Annie and I accidentally ran into a wall on our way out.

*** John'll get back on to post more soon.***

Ocean City, New Jersey

Our recent family vacation to the New Jersey shore at Ocean City was very fun.  We began with an overnight in South Bend, then a quick stop in Sturgis.  We visited the Augsburger Tennis Courts, toured 435 Edka!, and visited Dad's grave.  Everything looked good.

We stopped at Patty & Luke's for a bed & breakfast and then headed off across Pennsylvania early Saturday morning.

Ocean City, New Jersey is a barrier island about 20 miles south of Atlantic City.  It is about 3 miles long and, at times, only 6 blocks wide; jam packed with houses, most of them duplexes like ours.   Our house was right on the beach with 2 decks to enjoy the ocean breezes.  It was nicely updated with four bedrooms, 3 baths, and a beautiful kitchen.  We spent much of our time out on the beach, letting the waves splash us, building sand castles, collecting shells and learning about the tides.  

On Tuesday, we drove into Philadelphia to tour Independence Hall and see the Liberty Bell.  We had lunch at the City Tavern, where much of the "after-hours" meetings went on during the Revolutionary time period.

On Thursday, we visited the aquarium in Atlantic City and the Cape May Lighthouse.  We even climbed the 199 steps to the top of the lighthouse to look out over the Delaware Bay.

      

On Saturday, June 7, we had to pack it all up early and begin the sad trip home.  But, first there was Valley Forge to quickly check out - very interesting to see George Washington's house.  Then, the Hershey factory to tour - the sights and especially the smells leave you begging for CHOCOLATE!!!  Finally, another fun stop in Columbus to actually spend time with the Woods and Grandma Cronley.  Thanks for the cookout, the pool time and the trip to the ice cream shop!

Overall, we had a wonderfully relaxing vacation.  I highly recommend the trip as it was a nice combination of beach and historical touring.  There are definitely more vacations such as this on the horizon for the Greening Family.  

Many More Activities

Last weekend was a big one for the Greening Family -- 

These videos are from the dress rehearsal for Annie's jazz and hip hop dances.  I apologize for the quality or lack thereof.  (1) Jazz - Annie is in the front; (2) Hip Hop - Annie is in the back on the right side (then I move and she's more prominent.)

On Sunday, May 18th, we had Annie's 2 dance recitals and a piano recital for John & Annie.

Here are some videos from piano recital: (1) Duet with John on Sax, Annie on Piano, (2) Annie's solo, (3) John's solo. 

We finished up the Spring time activities with John's Band Concert on May 21.  Here is one more clip for your enjoyment.  Note that the band invited parents to join for this piece; sadly, neither Kyle nor I could find our trumpets.