Only in Iowa

(outline of the girls' bodies drawn in chalk)

Well, the title says it all...only in Iowa can you enjoy 63 degree weather one day and be getting ready for 8-14 inches of snow the next!!! HA! For all of you who don't live in Northwest Iowa...you stink!!

With the weather being so nice, that has also meant that field work has begun. Kale spent about 5 hours with Grandpa Fank in the tractor on Friday and a couple hours the night before. He is in complete heaven. I can't even describe how he gets when you talk about farming, but it's so dang cute. His face lights up, he suddenly becomes all grown up in how he talks (example: "we're going to go spread the fertilizer" all while shrugging his shoulders, using hand gestures, and with such a serious look on his face - as if he's the one actually spreading the fertilizer!!!), and he can't get his coat on fast enough. The cutest was on Thursday night - I needed to run to the field to pick up Grandpa, Mike (works with Nick during spring and harvest), and Kale to run them back to the farm. When I got there, the field cultivator (or ripper, I didn't pay attention close enough) was broke down but it was still sitting down in the dirt so Kale was convinced it was stuck. As I was walking up to him he says "hey mom" with a little farmer wave and then tells me, "it's stuck mom, really stuck". Grandpa tried to tell him it was broke, but Kale wouldn't have it. As we turned to walk towards the car Kale again says to me "it's stuck mom, I'll push it" and he dug his feet in to the ground and began to grunt as he tried to push it. Such the helper!!! It was darn cute though.

My master bathroom is finally functional again. The shower is in and the painting is now done (I got that done while Kale was in the tractor yesterday!!) - so now all that's left is the storage unit going in next to the shower, trim boards, and the refacing of our current vanity to match our new storage unit!!! I'm hoping to get the room all cleaned up today so I can actually move back in to my bathroom to shower again!

With all the snow that may be moving in, I think the girls' first night of soccer practice will be pushed back a few days. First practice was going to be Monday, but we won't practice in SNOW!! They're super excited and ready to get back out there. Piano lessons have gotten a lot better. They didn't really want to see me as their teacher when we first started so whined or got mad (like they would with their MOM) if I wouldn't give them a sticker on their song because it needed to be better. We've now had long conversations about their practice habits and what I expect from them when they sit down at the piano!!! They're doing really well though and in the next few weeks we will really be concentrating on their hand placement on the piano and getting them comfortable with that. It seem so easy for me to show them, but their tiny hands don't quite cover the piano keys like mine do!!

This picture is of Daddy and Kale doing their favorite thing...looking at tractors!!! Note the concentration on BOTH of their faces!!!