iowa state fair giant slide

I got these from my mom today.  They are from the 2010 Iowa State Fair.  Sorry you have to turn your head sideways to view.

Until next time...

Christmas with the Bergmans

We opened presents with Pa, Gram and Aunt Josie on Christmas morning after church.  The kiddos must have been really good this year because they came away with a good loot...enjoy the pictures and a video (or two).

The tree before  (Notice what Santa left for a special little boy?)

Dallas anxiously waiting to open presents

Dallas and Reba got this great tire swing to hang at Pa and Gram's house.

A Thomas the Train box to carry Dallas' engines and train cars.

Reba got some new snow pants!

Some new books for Dallas

And new sunglasses for Reba

and bubble bath

Now for a few videos.  I took quite a lot this year, as the kids were more fun to watch opening them.  In this video, Gram had a little labeling mishap.  Dallas was a little confused when he opened the present...

Dallas loves to "farm", so we thought this barn and animal set would be perfect!  Thanks for getting it Pa and Gram.  I do believe it was his favorite present of the day.

And, finally, here's one of Reba opening a gift.

Until next time...

Cookie Time

Over the weekend, we went to Aunt Katie's so Doug could go pheasant hunting with Pa-paw and a few other friends.  Aunt Katie was brave enough to tackle some kitchen time with Dallas and I.  I had picked up a Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix, a can of icing, and some sprinkles earlier in the week.  Needless to say, Dallas once again loved helping in the kitchen!  Enjoy the pictures...

Until next time...

Fun Friday Foto - Christmas Card

You can click on the picture to make it larger for viewing purposes!

Until next time...

Jingle Bell Time, It's a Swell Time

To go riding in a one horse tractor sleigh!

Doug took the kiddos out for a ride today...enjoy the photos!

My little marshmallow girl!

Getting ready for her first sled ride

Dallas gave her a few pointers...until he fell face-first into the snow!

Dallas taking his "sleigh" ride

Then it was Reba's turn

Everyone had a blast!

We thought it would be fun to have them ride together, only they were exceeding the size limit for the sled...

Until next time...

No Dogs Here...

means that I don't have a reason to go the barn everyday...



Plus, with the blizzard and sub-zero temps we had over the weekend, who would want to go out...


Which, in turns, means it took me a few days to find this in the barn...

Yep, I had a pipe freeze somewhere between the house and that faucet in the barn.  What a mess!  Got to love Iowa winters...

Until next time...

Look Who's Talking

Until next time...

Fun Friday Flick

Ok, so I'm not sure how to get the video to load directly on the blog, so you will just have to use this link.  I hope you all get a good laugh out of it.  Dallas and Reba can't watch it enough!

Until next time...

Some 9 Months Later = A BIG BOY

It all started around March 7, 2010

But, we didn't hit it hard until the first of July...remember this?

We had a few set backs along the way, but my baby boy is no longer a baby!

He deserves every single right and privilege to be called a BIG BOY!

and I couldn't be more proud of him!

You may have noticed that the certificate is dated December 2, 2010, and you are now thinking..."isn't it December 8?"  Yes, but I have been waiting to post this in fear of jinxing the guy.  No longer, though.  He has been a week - yes, 7 days, accident free!  Also, on the night of December 2, he informed me that he didn't want to wear Pull-ups at night anymore, thus marking the day of his potty training completion!

As a reward for completing such a huge milestone, Dallas got this Crayola Color Wonder Magic Light Brush paint set.  He had a blast painting with it this evening...

Until next time...

Visiting Santa

The kiddos and I were out and about today...seeing if we could find some great Christmas deals, when I had the wild idea to take them to see Santa!  This happened while at Menard's, and Dallas saw a yellow dump-truck that he thought he needed right then and there.  I said, "You will have to ask Santa for it."  Well, the rest of the way through the store, Dallas kept repeating, "Yellow truck, please."  I then asked him if he wanted to go find Santa and ask him in person, and he said, "Yes."  So...off to the mall we went!

Lucky for us, it was around 2 o'clock and there was only one other little girl in line!  She was about 4 years old, and she climbed right up on Santa's lap.  I showed Dallas what she was doing and said, "That's what you will do when it's our turn."  That's all it took...to get the tears started and the shuffling of the feet!  Reba had no problems sitting on the jolly guy's lap!  Dallas, it took a little more work to get him to stand by Santa and then sit on a stool next to him.

I didn't think the picture turned out too bad for our first-ever visit with Santa!

Until next time...

Sneak Peek

I attempted to take a good photo of the kiddos yesterday for Christmas card purposes...enjoy the bloopers!

Until next time...

Lots of Posts...

I just wanted to let everyone know that I believe I am caught up on m blogging.  The kiddos and I had a wonderful trip to Indiana for Reba's birthday and Thanksgiving.  We have so much to be thankful for, and we are blessed to have such wonderful families to share this time with.

As far as some random things things that have happened (i.e. no pictures to go with the stories):

Tuesday morning at 12:30-ish, Reba made her first trip to the ER.  She is fine, but does have croup.  The doctor administered a steriod shot and a couple nebulizer treatments.  After another 2 hours for observations, we were sent "home" (we were still in Evansville at the time).  Reba slept peacefully the rest of the night, and almost the entire way back to Iowa on Tuesday.

Wednesday morning was Reba's 1 year check up!  She weighed in at 20 lb 11 oz, and she is 29.25 inches.  Dr. Boelter had her hemoglobin level rechecked, and it was actually lower than at her 9-month check up; therefore, we have to go back to the hospital to have another blood draw done.  Yipp-ee.

The kiddos are excited to be home and with their own toys.  They love being able to move about freely, and I love not having to worry about disturbing the neighbors in the hotel.

We haven't had any lookers at the house in a couple weeks.  It's a little disappointing, but we keep saying our prayers that the right buyer will come soon.

I'm debating about decorating for Christmas.  I know Dallas will like having the tree, but I'm afraid Reba will be climbing it.  Also, it's just not that fun when Doug isn't here to help and be a part of it.

Well, that's all for now.  Make sure to check out all my recent posts...there are about 10 new ones (counting this one).

Until next time...

Merry Christmas to Me!

I got my Christmas present from Doug early this year (got to love Black Friday deals)...check it out!

Of course, I had to give it a test run!  I ran my old vacuum over all my carpets before running the new Dyson.

This was what I collected from the living room:

This is after the kitchen*:

and this is from the stairwell and upstairs*:

*note: I did not empty the container after each area...so it is an running collection*

Until next time...

New Septic System

While in Indiana, we finally got our new septic system installed!  Here's what my yard looks like now...

On Wednesday afternoon, they came back to pump out the old tank and fill it in.  Dallas was excited to be able to watch them work...

As you can tell, the sun was coming right in the window, so Dallas thought he needed to wear his sunglasses while watching!

Of course, as they were digging to expose the old tank, they hit the gas line coming to the house from the LP tank.  Great.  After a couple calls to the gas company, they were able to get out here a few hours later and get the line repaired.  Luckily, we were only without heat for about two and half hours, so the house didn't cool off to much (the temps outside were in the low 20's with windchills in the single digits)  I'm not sure who is covering the costs of that repair...but it better not be me.

Until next time...