Lake Michigan

We went to Chicago to visit my brother and his family in July. We had lots of fun at the Lake. Jonah was so excited to finally see the "sea"! On the way to Chicago, every body of water we'd pass he would look out and say, "Look, there's the sea!". He wasn't sure what to think of the waves at first.
Sam, being entertained by Uncle Evan! Sam was in the running away mood so he was pretty much stuck in the stroller. I let him out for a while and he tried to take someone's ball and also chased a bird down the beach!
As you can see, Jonah got used to the water! He kept going farther and farther, it was hard for him to leave. It was really such a beautiful day, not hot at all, perfect weather!

Mourning the Loss

I was cleaning today and took a good look at my dining room chairs (They are disgusting thanks to my cute little boys!). I don't plan on keeping this dining room set very much longer (I bought it at a garage sale for $40), it is pretty much shot so I was kind of ignoring how bad the chairs look. It has to last for about one more year though so I went to Wal-Mart hoping to find some cheap fabric to cover the chairs and I was shocked to find that Wal-Mart no longer carries fabric!! I am so sad. The dollar a yard table was my favorite thing at Wal-Mart. It was so nice to spend so little on fabric to try out a pattern or make curtains, not to mention cover chairs. The Lady at the checkout said that all the Wal-Marts were not carrying fabric anymore. I don't like Wal-Mart very much for other things anyway so I won't be going there very often (like I did anyway!).

Time For School

I think it is time for school to start. My kids have been fighting a lot. You can tell Jonah is ready for some time apart because he asked me two days in a row, "Can we take Bekah to school now?". I think that says it all!

Lofdahl Family Reunion

We always have a family reunion the fourth Sunday in July, near Axtell Kansas(Marshall County) about an hour and a half away from Lincoln. This church is the church my ancestors helped to start and attended when they came over from Sweden, in the 1870s. John Lofdahl and his wife Charlotte came over from Sweden and settled in Kansas. They had 13 children, one died in infancy. My mother's father, John Lowell Johnson descended from one of these children, Effie Augusta Lofdahl Johnson (the third child). The second farm that John Lofdahl built is still in the family and not far from this church. There is also a cemetary not far from the church where many family members are buried. I have always loved the feel of these places, the quiet of the country around them and the sense of history. Thinking about my ancestors walking and living in this area is amazing to me.

Columbus, NE

Alan worked in Columbus Nebraska for 6 weeks this summer. He worked at a family practice there. He stayed at a farm that belongs to some members of our church. They were so nice to let him stay there, we were very grateful for their generosity. It was a beautiful farm with lots of animals. The kids and I visited in July and the kids adored all the animals.

We stayed at a hotel for the weekend and the kids just had to swim for a while. My kids love to swim.
On Saturday we went to a water park there. The kiddy pool was really ideal for the kids and the water slides were so much fun. we were there for 5 hours! It helped that Sam took a nap in the stroller, he was wiped out. They had a lazy river that you could just float on inner tubes, that was relaxing even with Jonah on my lap. We all had to try the water slide that flushes you out like a toilet. Not my favorite, but had to try it. I was proud of Bekah, she was starting to get scared standing in line for it (so was I), but she did it anyway.

Still Sick

We went to Columbus this weekend even though I was still a little sick. It was fun and crazy as it always is to travel with kids. They were so good in the car, it is a 1 1/2 hour drive. Jonah slept both ways, AMAZING! Sam slept on the way back. Bekah and I listened to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I think I successfully got her hooked on the series! I don't like to drive so I was really grateful that the kids were good. Hey, prayer works!
We got to see where Alan has been working the last 5 weeks. It is called the Good Neighbor Health Center. He has been able to use his Spanish a lot! One more week of being apart during the week and then he will be home for about 2 months. It is definately not something we plan to do too much in the future, it is hard to be apart. I don't know how military families do it!
We went to a water park in Columbus and the kids swam for 5 hours! I felt ok at this point, just still coughing and hoarse. I even went down the water slide that is shaped like a toilet and "flushes" you out. It was interesting, but a little scary! I think I'll stick with the traditional water slide, thank you very much. Saturday night we went out to the Farm where Alan has been staying. The kids loved all the animals, dogs, cats, chickens, goats, a horse and a mule.
We went to church at the Branch there, very nice group of people. Then we had a picnic of sandwiches, fruit and chips. I felt a little worse on Sunday. Then the kids and I got ready to go home. Like I said, everyone was good on the way home and getting unpacked. Then I started to feel worse again. I had a fever again and was coughing so much I thought I might cough up a lung! Alan insisted that I go see a doctor on Monday and after a night of misery I was ready to go. I got to spend lots of money on drugs that really better work. I also was about to kill my kids because it seemed like they were fighting a lot more than normal. So Audra, I can sympathize with you on being sick in the summer. It is strange to be cuddled under a feather down comforter in 98 degree weather! Hopefully I will get pictures of the water park up soon, it was really fun.

Sick Week

Bekah has been battling a summertime cold and she lovingly passed it on to me. I felt it coming on Tuesday night. Also on Tuesday Jonah just wouldn't go to sleep, he cried and cried. He had a temp and then he threw up. He still had a fever on Wednesday, but acted normal, no more throw-up (yeah!). I took Nyquil last night and went to bed early. I woke up in the middle of the night to a closed, crusty eye. Conjunctivitis I thought and went back to sleep. The pink eye is from Sam (he had it last week). Luckily, because of Sam, I have drops and used them in both my eyes this morning. I'm sure I looked wonderful at swimming lessons this morning with my eye all swollen! Now both boys are coughing a little, I just hope that it doesn't get worse. We are going to Colubus Nebraska this weekend since Alan has been working there for 5 weeks. They have a fun little water park there and we plan to check it out. Hopefully we will all be a bit better, I plan to take it easy today.