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Anya is off to school!

Brandy McArtor — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:47:04 +0000

Once again, we are adjusting to a new routine as last week Anya started the pre-K program at Grandview Park Baptist school. She will be going full days on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She thinks that it is so fun to bring her lunch and snacks and is very proud of her lunchbox–every night before school she makes sure to tell me what she wants in it! She had a mini-day on Wednesday where Jason & I got to attend also and see all the rooms they would be using and get a general run-down of what her day would be like. Then, on Friday she was all set for her first full day. When I picked her up, I asked her teacher how she did and Mrs Sternquist said that when it was time to go, Anya said “the day can’t be over yet?”–so she must be having fun!

Here are a few pictures of her first week!

Hats Off!

Brandy McArtor — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:41:20 +0000

Or Hats On in Josiah’s case! His latest obsession is wearing a baseball hat. This started this summer when he got a Buzz & Woody hat from G’ma Jeryl, Papa Ronnie and & Aunt Joni. I have to admit, with him being as fair skinned and blonde as he is, it was so nice having him wear the hat when we were outside. However, his hat wearing isn’t just limited to when we are outside or even conscious. Take a look……

IMG_8772.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

IMG_8775.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

IMG_8850.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

And my personal favorite:

IMG_8789.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

Little Hands on the Farm

Brandy McArtor — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:32:46 +0000

IMG_8749.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

On Sunday we made our first trip to the state fair. We didn’t stay too long since we will be going back several more times before the end of the week, but we did have time to visit Little Hands on the Farm. JP was in “farm heaven” !!

Here are a few more pictures of our farm adventure!

Summer Swim Lessons 2010

Brandy McArtor — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:40 +0000

IMG_8727.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

Anya just wrapped up her 2-week swim lessons last Friday. She took them with her friend, Lillie, and the girls had a great time. They both improved by leaps and bounds in their swimming and they had NO FEAR when it came to jumping off the board. In fact, Anya was the first in line when the time came!

Here are a few more pictures of their swimming lessons.

Water Slide Fun!

Brandy McArtor — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 16:58:52 +0000

Anya & Josiah have THE world’s best babysitter. Look what they were doing when I picked them up the other day:

High Power VBS

Brandy McArtor — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:27:16 +0000

Last week our church had it’s vacation bible school with the theme “High Power” soccer. This was the first year Anya was old enough to go (and just barely–the minimum age is 5, so she made it by less than 2 weeks!) and she had a blast.

, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

Jason volunteered as one of the team coaches while I floated here and there and manned one of the water stations to keep the campers nice and hydrated! Despite not knowing much about soccer, Jason had a great time coaching his team (he had about 12 kids ranging from 1-3 grades) and really enjoyed interacting with the kids. Anya just enjoyed the opportunity to socialize with kids (big surprise, I know) and after a few attempts to try and play soccer, she decided that chatting with the goalie was more her scene

As entertaining as it was to watch the soccer, the real fun came in watching the kids learn and become excited about Jesus. What a great week!

Here are a few pictures of Anya’s first year at VBS!

Sibling Love

Brandy McArtor — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:06:42 +0000

Among all the fighting, toy-taking, crying, bickering, hitting and all the other things that brothers and sister’s do to torture each other, moments like these happen. And then you remember how much they really do love each other.

IMG_0454.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

IMG_8700.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

IMG_8591.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

IMG_8582.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

Puckerbrush Days 2010

Brandy McArtor — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:59:15 +0000

This last weekend we joined the Miller Family & Papa Jim and G’ma Barb in Forest City for a fun (and HOT) couple of days celebrating Puckerbrush Days. We left Pleasant Hill bright and early on Saturday morning to be at the parade by 10am. The parade was very good–especially the Miller Pharmacy Float–and the kids got another ridiculous amount of candy and other goodies. After the parade we did all sorts of fun things around town–bounce houses, kiddie train rides, firetruck rides, ice cream breaks and finally we ended the day with a great fireworks show. I think kids and adults finally climbed into bed around 11:30pm and were all asleep by 11:31pm!

Sunday we were lucky enough to get to spend the day on Clear Lake on the Miller’s boat. Thankfully, it wasn’t quite as hot as Saturday, but we all still got plenty of sun! We spent a lot of time with the boat anchored jumping off and swimming in the water (which was probably about 75 degrees!!) and after awhile we got the tube out. Anya was so excited to go tubing…she tubed with me, daddy, Noah, Zachary, Aunt Jill and finally Aubrey. There is nothing funnier than watching a 4 year old and a 5 year old in a tube together–especially when they are screaming to “go faster” the whole time. What little daredevils!! Josiah swam some in the lake and had a good time—but he much preferred to be sitting at the wheel “driving”. The boy is obsessed with anything that has a wheel!

Finally at about 5:30pm, we decided we had better get headed home. Needless to say, after 2 exhausting days in the sun, it was a very quiet ride back to Des Moines.

Here are the pictures from our Puckerbrush fun!

Anya’s Birthday Party with Family!

Jason McArtor — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:04:11 +0000

IMG_8562.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

On Saturday we had Anya’s 5th & Aubrey’s 4th birthday party. We had a house full of friends and family and the weather was perfect for the kids to play outside! Thanks to everyone that came to help the girls celebrate–it was a fun day.

Here are a few more pictures of the birthday girls’ fun day!

Happy 5th Birthday Anya Kay!

Jason McArtor — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:15:36 +0000

IMG_5142.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

5 years ago today, Anya Kay came into the world and changed ours forever. In what seems like the blink of an eye, our little girl is growing up.

IMG_8529.JPG, originally uploaded by farmboymac.

Happy Birthday Anya Kay! WE LOVE YOU!