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Yesterday after church we braved the crowds and headed off to the Iowa State Fair. We weren’t sure exactly what to expect as we had heard weather reports of severe thunderstorms with the possibility of hail, but we had nothing but sunshine! We had a fun day and the kids were great–we finally called it a night shortly after 9pm. While we were there we ventured out to the campground at the fair to see Jason’s Uncle Kenny & Aunt Brooke’s camper. We also had Allie with us most of the afternoon and Anya loved having her with us. It was a fun day and we were all pooped last night!

Here are the pictures of our fun at the Iowa State Fair!

Yep…we have been pretty lazy lately. We haven’t had any big weekend plans for a few weeks now and have spent most of our free time playing outside, swimming and swinging. Just the same old same old! However, our normally very quiet piece of the world is going to be CRAZY starting today thanks to the Iowa State Fair!

Tonight Jason & I are heading to the Jeremy Camp/Steven Curtis Chapman concert at the fair with Brad & Steph Cathcart. We have been looking forward to it as Jason & I are both big Jeremy Camp fans and who doesn’t love Steven Curtis Chapman’s music. It should be a great concert and the weather looks nice, so it should be a fun evening!

Tonight was the last night of AWANAs for Anya until it starts up again in August. We had an awards ceremony at the church followed by a meal. Anya has successfully completed her first of two years in the Bible Buddies category. She got to go up on stage with her class and had her medal proudly around her neck. They recited the Bible Buddies pledge and sang a song. It was very cute and she did a great job–we even got a wave from the stage when she spotted us. For some reason she panicked at the very end when she was leaving the stage to come sit with us and started crying–she said she didn’t know where we were. Luckily, her teacher was there to point her in the right direction and all was well.

Otherwise, we had a quiet weekend. Here are a few pictures of the AWANA celebration.

So, as some of you might remember, Josiah got his first haircut at Magic Kingdom last month on our vacation to Florida. Yesterday he got his second “first” haircut at Roosevelt Barber Shop on 42nd St where Jason has been getting his hair cut for years. Jason has decided that the haircut at DisneyWorld didn’t really count since it wasn’t in “his” barbershop. Either way, the guys at Roosevelt Barber Shop did a great job and I hope they are ready for another McArtor man coming every 5 weeks for a trim.

Here are a few pictures of his second “first” haircut.

We survived our latest snow storm…but it did throw a wrench into a few of our plans. To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we were going to go out to eat with our neighbors Friday night, but b/c of the terrible road conditions, we decided to postpone our date. Anya had an ENT appointment in West Des Moines Friday afternoon and it took us 2 hours to get from there to home!!! I couldn’t believe how fast the roads got bad–it was truely a nightmare! I had never been so glad to be home safe and sound–and never so glad that we have a TV in our van that kept Anya occupied as we made our trek home.

Saturday morning the whole family slept in–it felt great and I think we all really needed the few extra hours of sleep. We managed to pull ourselves out of bed just before 10am and then enjoyed Jason’s signature Saturday breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Then after a few hours of lounging around the house we headed over to the Sleep Inn here in Pleasant Hill to go swimming with Katelyn & Allie (Jason’s cousins) who were in town for a show at the State Fair. I was anxious to see how Anya would do swimming since she hasn’t been in a pool since summer, but boy did she jump right in. Once we strap her float backpack on her, there is no stopping her. Josiah was a little concerned with the pool at first, but once we got in the hot tub (which was not very hot, don’t worry) he was much happier.

After a couple hours of swimming, Kenny, Brooke & the kids all came back to our house and we ordered pizza and hung out. It was fun getting to see them and Anya always has a blast playing with Katelyn & Allie.

Sunday we went to church and then headed to Babies R’ Us to look at strollers for our upcoming Disney trip. I have been having anxiety attacks over picking the right stroller (I don’t know why), so finally I decided I was going to bring Jason & the kids and we were going to get one picked out. I am happy to report that we finally got one and got a great deal on it–half price thanks to a sale going on and a coupon I had–can’t beat a deal like that! So, now we are one step closer to having all the essentials for our trip!

Well, here are a few pictures from the weekend. Hope everyone had a good Valentine’s Day and weekend.

Well, we finally had our family Christmas today…..apparently we like to stretch out the holiday joy as long as possible! We had a great time watching the kids open their gifts and Anya couldn’t tear through the wrapping paper fast enough. I would say that all in all, they made out pretty good this Christmas.

Here are some pictures of our McArtor Christmas. Enjoy!

This weekend we had lots going on….good thing the bad weather held off. Saturday morning we headed to the annual Gingerbread House event where Anya made a very cute house decorated with all her favorite candies. She did manage to sneak a few pieces of candy into her mouth every now and then, but she wasn’t the only one! We sat by a couple that Jason has known for years, Mindy & Som (I met them for the first time on Saturday), so it was fun to meet them and Jason enjoyed catching up with what has been going on for them lately. It was so cute because they have 3 kids and one of them is a little girl who was around 6 years old. Everything she did to decorate her gingerbread house, Anya wanted to do to hers!!

Saturday night we headed 2 houses over to Paul & Lois’s house for their annual “Christmas in the Neighborhood” party. They had delicious food and a huge table full of desserts. We had fun catching up with everyone on the street and meeting the new family that moved in a few months ago.

Sunday we were suppose to go to Maxwell to celebrate Christmas with Jeryl’s side of the family as Jason’s cousin, Ryan and his family were home from Connecticut for a few days. Unfortunately, on Saturday their whole family came down with the stomach flu, so it didn’t work out for us to get to see them. Instead, Papa Ronnie, G’ma Jeryl and Aunt Joni spent the day here spoiling the kids!

We hope everyone is surviving the winter storm…..I hear it is much worse up north than here. They can keep it up there (sorry Mom & Dad and Jason & Jill)!!

Here are a few pictures of our weekend.

I can’t believe it. I stayed up last night until about 11:30, hoping for an exciting comeback. They had put a few runners on, and given their fans a glimpse of hope. Sure, the score was 10-1 in the 9th, but they’d already scored a run to pull within 8, and they had runners on base. Just another bloop hit or 2, a couple of walks and a homerun, and it’s one of the greatest comebacks in Major League Baseball playoff history. Do the math, it could happen…it didn’t, and the Cubs were down 2-0 in a 5 game series. Again, do the math, one more loss, and the joy of the best Cubs season in my lifetime is over. 161 games, already tarnished by 2 playoff performances that reminded me of teams of the past–not this year’s Cubs.

It makes me wonder why I care so much about players I’ve never met, about a team 6 hours east of where I grew up. I had to look back this afternoon to see when I became a Cubs fan and it must have been 1982. I would have been 7 and Ryne Sandberg was in his first season as a Cub. I had a Cubs painters hat–the kind that was flat on top, and so did my best friend. I wore #23 and played 2nd base for our Little League team, just like Ryne. I was hooked early, I was a Cub. Jody Davis, Lee Smith, Keith Moreland, Andre Dawson. A little later, Mark Grace and Sammy Sosa. I remember listening to Tuffy Rhodes hit 3 home runs on Opening Day in 1994. I was in the back yard on our farm with a ball and a glove–playing catch by myself. I listened to quite a few of the games, this was before DirecTV. Since then, there has rarely been a season where I didn’t watch or listen to a majority of the 162 games played. My dad’s a Cub fan, my Grandpa was a Cub fan, my kids will be Cub fans – Anya already is and Josiah has 2 Cub onesies.

It’s been 100 years since a World Series pennant. I hope it’s not 101.

We have had a very fun weekend around here. Yesterday, G’pa Ronnie, G’ma Jeryl and Aunt Joni came to visit for the day and had a great time entertaining Anya and Josiah. Anya was pretty bummed when they had to go home, but excited to see them again soon!

Today we had our first official family outing to church—I am so happy to report we made it on time and without incident. Our church is so wonderful–they had a welcoming ceremony for Josiah in which our whole family went to the front of the church to receive a flower and Pastor Steve held him for the congregation to see. It was very nice and Josiah (and Anya!) liked the attention.

Otherwise, we had a quiet day. Jason & Anya spent a lot of the afternoon outside enjoying the beautiful weather–we even ate supper on the deck and it was so nice to have the fresh air.

Here are a few pictures of our weekend fun.

Happy New Year Everyone! I hope that everyone said goodbye to a good 2007 and is excited for an even better 2008. We definitely had a fun year–most of the entertainment provided by Miss Anya. She really turned into quite the little girl this year and it has been so fun to watch her grow a little more independent each day. We can only imagine what she has in store for us in 08′!

To celebrate the New Year, we had a few people over….Chad & Jodi, Ben & Jacquie and Brad, Steph & Jaxson. It was a really fun night filled with lots of eating, catching up for the girls and Wii play for the boys. Anya tried her hardest to ring in the new year, but finally cashed out at 11:45pm–whew!

Here are a few pictures of our fun. I hope everyone had a great New Years and HAPPY 2008!