Happy Birthday Amelia

Today is Amelia's 5th birthday! She has grown up so much over the past year. Some of her favorite things are playing with her kitties and brothers. She loves pick flowers and draw them. She will start preschool next month, some days she's excited about it others not. :) Below are a few of my favorite pictures that we did for her 5th birthday.

Oskaloosa Enduro Cross

Mark and his brother BJ competed in the first ever endurocross race at the southern Iowa fair Thursday night. The heat index was nearly 100 degrees and the course was brutal! They had around 25 guys participate in two classes. Mark took on the challenge of riding in A class, even though he has never rode in an endurocross and has only rode in one harescramble race a few years ago. He ended up with a 5th place finish! Awesome for his first race, especially since he was racing against some of the top enduro riders in the the state! Great job Mark!

There were two heat races for each class. They had a straddle start. This is were your bike is off and you hope it starts easy so you can take off first! Mark is second from the right in the blue gear.

Mark riding through the mud pit.

Three large poles tied together was a big challenge for most guys. Especially after several laps!

Endurance is the key to being successful in an enduro. Several guys dropped out for a lap or two but Mark hung in there and never quit!

A hot group of fans watching their dads! :) A big thanks to my mom for coming along to help with kids!

The start of the main for the A class. Mark is in the front row second from the right.

Cooling off after the race.

A short video of Mark riding part of the course.

Final Young Farmer Committee Meeting

Last weekend Mark, Anton and I headed to NW Iowa to our final Young Farmer Advisory Committee meeting. We've had a wonderful three years serving on this committee and made so many wonderful friends from all over the state! We will truly miss serving on this committee!

The retiring 3rd year committee members. These are the couples that Mark and I went to Baltimore and San Antonio with. We have gotten to know them well and will miss them a bunch!

Randy taking over as chair for Emily.

We always go to the retiring chairs town for the final meeting. The Van Regenmorters live in Inwood, IA. In addition to farming they also own a service station in town. Here is a picture of our group on the tour.

Chad and Jody ringing up a few sales. :)

They also started a development on the edge of town. I love that they named the two streets Rebecca Lane and Emily Ave. after their daughters!

Rebecca and Emily were excited to show us their 4H bottle calves.

They have a small vineyard and enjoy making their own wine. This picture is of Chad explaining how they take care of the grapes.

The sow barn. For those of you that don't know much about hogs I'll explain a little about the picture. Their feed goes in the top (the part with the red lid) then drops down into a feeder pan. The sow goes in the crate and it closes behind her so nobody can steal her food. When she's finished she backs up and and gate opens and she can hang out in the barn or outside.

We had a baby boom this winter! Three out of the eight couples had babies, two couples had their first child, Mark and I our forth. :)

Kid Pics

I am way behind on my postings! Here are a few of the kids over the last couple weeks.

Anton would be happy if we held him 100% of the time. Of course that can't happen so he does hang out in the exersaucer some.

Happy Guy!

Amelia LOVES kitties, thankfully we had only one litter this spring. She prayed for two months that her cat Princess would have babies. Now she prays every night that they are safe. :) She loves to play and cuddle with them. They will even tolerate her dressing them in tutu's. :)

Elijah has been wandering around the house some during the night. We've found sleeping on the floor in front of his room, in the living room and once sleeping behind the couch. This picture was taken right before Mark and I went to bed one night. I thought Mark tucked him in and he thought I did. Turns out he helped himself to some cookies and fell asleep in Anton's bouncy seat. :) Kids truly keep life interesting!

Elijah

It's hard to believe that Elijah has already turned two years old! He's your typical toddler, full of energy and always busy! His favorite words are "mine" and "no!". He LOVES sweets and will help himself to whatever he can find. :) His favorite toy is a little blue motorcycle. He also loves playing in the shop on his tricycle with Ethan and Amelia.

Kurt & Emily's Wedding

Last Saturday Mark's brother Kurt got married. We were very excited to be a part of their special day! Here are a few pictures from their wedding day!

Amelia LOVED having her hair done! She is such a beautiful girl!

Mark and Anton posing for a picture.

Our family picture.

I can see them with six kids some day. Maybe not this close in age though. :)

Hanging out between pictures. I love the candy hanging on Johnathon's tongue! :)

The wedding party.

Mark's family.

Karl & Mark

Boys hanging out during pictures.

The Boender girls

Kurt seating his parents.

Groomsmen during the wedding ceremony.

Emily and Kurt near the end of the reception.

Me and my handsome husband. :)

Just having fun with photo-shop! :)