A Busy Week

Last week was our first full week home this summer and were we ever busy! Nate did another science camp this week with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders and I was his assistant again. The camp was Monday through Friday for two hours in the morning. The kids made gak, tested for fat in foods, made ice cream, tie dyed, and made bottle rockets. We were even able to go to the planetarium. It was so much fun working with Nate and seeing the kids get excited about science. I hope to use some of the things we did this week during my science time this year.

What in the world are these kids doing laying on the floor? Well they are shooting their straw rockets. We had so much fun making rockets. The fun began when we were able to go in the hallway and see whose rocket flew the farthest and highest.

Nate and I also made our own shirts to wear the last day of science camp. After we made our shirts we had to rinse all of the kids shirts and wash them. We thought it would be easier for us to do it rather than the parents. The parents really appreciated it too!

The magnificent shirts! They turned out very cool and the kids were so excited to wear them on the last day! Nate and I were pretty excited to wear ours also. You can see our excitement in the picture below!

After a busy morning with the young science campers, Nate ventured over to the high school for football camp. He worked with the middle schoolers and the high schoolers. He came home every night excited and happy. He loves football and seems excited about his 8th grade team this year. I enjoy football season too because I get to spend some extra time with my best friend Darcie and her two cute girls. Her husband Rich coaches with Nate. We love watching our men working with their team. They are fantastic coaches and we just love being coaches wives!

So what did I do while Nate was off doing football stuff? Well, I went to Shar's pool with some friends and my sister of course. Jaime, my mom, and I were even able to spend some time with Grace and Joy while Darcie went to a meeting. We had so much fun playing with the girls. Grace talked the whole time. She talks about a mile a minute and just goes on and on and on. I think she gets it from her mom! Joy is just adorable. She just wanders around and watches what everyone does. We decided to play hide-and-seek with the girls. Jaime and Grace went to hide and Grace doesn't quite get the concept yet. I was looking for them so I said, "Grace where are you?" All of the sudden I hear, "I'm right here Staci!" Jaime and I had to tell her that you aren't supposed to say anything while playing. She did better the next time we played. After the girls went home, we were all exhausted. I just don't know how Darcie does it all day. She is a super mom!

Here are Jaime and Grace hiding in my mom's closet. Jaime just loves spending time with Grace. She is so great with kids!

Joy and I taking a break for a picture. "Come on Joy will you just look at the camera for once?" Oh well, she is still a cutie!!

So that was our busy week. This week we are doing some home projects. I hope to have pictures up some time soon. It has been so much fun working around the house with Nate and some very special helpers. Stay tuned to find out who has been helping!

A Visit to Nebraska

Last week we headed out to Nebraska with Nate's mom and dad. They were so nice to let us join them on the long journey to Nebraska. We left the day before the 4th of July and spent the night in Iowa City. It's nice to do the trip in two days. All of the hotels were still packed with people that were still dealing with the floods that went through in June.

Why did we go to Nebraska? We went to visit Nate's sister Anissa, her husband Craig, and our cute nephew Graham. Nate did a science camp with some upper elementary age kids at Craig's camp. I was his assistant and had a great time working with the kids. I could tell that I was missing being in the classroom! We made slime, gak, ice cream, bottle rockets, and learned some interesting things about science. I just love watching Nate work with kids. He does a great job!

While we weren't doing science camp activities we were spending time with Graham. Let me just say that little boy is full of so much energy! He is always happy and just loves playing with everyone. He has an Elmo sprinkler that shoots up water and it was so much fun watching him almost run in the sprinkler. I think he ran in a couple of times when his mom had him and when his Uncle Nate ran through a couple of times. It was so hot that I'm sure the sprinkler felt good to them.

Here are a few pictures from our week.

Nate and I by the Mississippi River. I was going to feel the water but it looked too icky!

Dad, Nate, and Mom by the Mississippi River. What a cute family!

Nate and I in the car on the way to Nebraska. "Are we there yet?" I think I asked this question when we were just approaching Holland. I'm not a huge fan of long car rides!

Iowa 80, the biggest truck stop in the U.S.A. We have yet to stop there and take a little field trip. Wouldn't that be so exciting?

Nate and I by the Missouri River. We're getting closer to Nebraska! Finally!!!

Graham and I playing hide-and-go-seek. He loves playing that game. He's better at finding than hiding.

This is a picture of Graham and me when we got to see him in June. Isn't he just adorable? I wish we could see him more during the year!

Well that was just a glimpse into our week in Nebraska. It was so great seeing our family again! Thanks Craig, Anissa, and Graham for hanging out with us all week. We loved spending time with you! Thanks mom and dad for driving with us to Nebraska. It's always a fun trip with you both!