The Sand Box is Filled!!!!

Oh happy day! We have new sand in the sandbox....and only a few (thousand) granules travel through the house on the way to the shower....if only there was a warm water hose outside...hmmm. Morgan was ecstatic to see the dump truck bring in her load of sand. She had been asking all summer and we were so busy that I never got around to it until this week, the last week in July! The little boy in the picture is Jose, who lives on the corner. He came running across the yards and slapped his hand over his mouth and his eyes got really big...it was hilarious to see how excited he was to see Morgan's filled up sandbox. The two of them have been in the sandbox both days, making ramps for cars and digging up holes. No water traps so far.

Annual Relay for Life/Visiting Mitch and Jenny

Every year I buy bags in memory of my mom, Betty, and in honor of my dad, David, who have been through cancer experiences. We lost Grandma Betty in 1995, but Grandpa David lives on and is healthy to this day with a full recovery....we thank God for that! After making the bags we discovered the Grandma Laura is going through surgery on July 31 and we pray for a full recovery. Next year there will be a bag there to honor her too. This is the first year I did not attend the Relay for as long as I can remember because we went North to visit Jeff's family.



We arrived at the resort late Friday night and spent two glorious days there with Mitch, (Jeff's brother), Jenny, and their three boys - Luke, Alex and Nick. It was Luke's birthday on Saturday so we celebrated with cake and gifts. He turned 8!! Maren, Morgan and I went to a beading class that was held at the clubhouse. Maren made earrings, Morgan made an ankle bracelet and I made a wrist bracelet. We had a great time and it was fun to experiment with different beads to find just the right look. This is my third piece of jewelry from this resort as this is the same place that we have had the Malakowsky girls' weekend! We also went swimming, played mini-golf, went on a paddle boat ride, had camp fires nightly, played cards, and Morgan's favorite....drove the golf carts around and around the entire resort...she couldn't get enough! If I was thinking I would have taken a picture of her in the golf cart driver's seat....her dream is to drive when she is old enough! What a girl!

Vacation Bible School at First Lutheran

What a great week the girls had with their friends at Vacation Bible School! The camp counselors were fun and energetic and the activities were engaging and fun. The girls especially liked tie-dying their shirts and being able to wear them during their worship service on Wednesday night. Every year is an adventure at Bible Camp!!

Morgan found two loves over the weekend!

Morgan fell in love with Aunt Dawn's dog, Shadow. She carried the dog around like a baby all day Friday night after rehearsal. She was back to love up the dog before we headed for home on Saturday night! Shadow is a very protective, picky dog but she warmed right up to Morgan. Shadow will "talk" to you by growling low and whining....it is cuter than it sounds. Her desire is to be a veterinarian....
I was so happy that she held baby Josephine at the church so I could get a picture of her loving up a human as much as she loved up that dog! Morgan has always loved playing with dolls...still does....and she loved having a human "doll" to play with.

Kari and Jason Eastgate

We had a great time at my niece's wedding on July 19, 2008. She and Jason Eastgate said their vows in a beautiful church ceremony and then, at the end of the ceremony but before the blessing, they baptized their absolutely gorgeous baby girl, Josephine. I was the proud aunt that had the honor of holding Josephine throughout the wedding ceremony and she was just perfect. She is a beautiful baby! They are a terrific couple and Jason is a wonderful man to my niece. He is kind, caring, thoughtful, and there for her when she needs him....what more could we ask for? The weather was gorgeous and we have about 80 pictures, but these are my two favorite!

St. James Pool

After berry picking we went to the pool and we felt very safe because we had Cory, the lifeguard, as our protector! I am sure he hated me taking a picture of him, but it is his first job and I had to have proof....you know me! Anyway, the children all had fun, especially on the diving board. They were all being so silly and I got a few good "air" pictures. The girls and I have been at the pool 4-5 times a week all summer. I enjoy getting a tan and the girls enjoy playing with the friends that they find there.

Uncle Mike, Aunt Shelly, Kody and Bailey came for a visit on July 11-13. We went out to our "secret" spot and picked a bucket full of blackberries which will be made into jam. We then went for a hike and Cory got us a little lost in the woods....Aunt Shelly used her "I love to go for walks and get lost" skills and got us back to civilization all in one piece. It was a great day to be outside and a fun walk! Can't wait to make up a batch of that jam!

Fourth of July in Sioux Falls

We drove to Sioux Falls in our brand new van...it was a very quiet ride! It was wonderful to spend the weekend with brother David and family and my dad and mom. We did fireworks, went to a really wonderful waterpark!, and enjoyed the days outside. They have a very nice home with a great view out the back...David has put in many hours of hard work putting together a very beautiful landscaped backyard. It was really relaxing!

A New Van!!!

The last week of June we went for a drive and came upon several vans that Jeff was interested in. After test driving three of them, we decided to purchase this bright red Grand Caravan. Morgan's selling point was the dvd player with the tv overhead. Our other van we put in a tv/vcr combo but you had to lean in between the seats to watch it and it was a strain on their necks. We took the van for our first trip out to South Dakota for a fourth of July celebration and it was just such a peaceful ride! I am really happy that we now have more room to travel in as we are going to a wedding three hours away, then going camping the next weekend 4 hours away! It will sure make the traveling a lot easier! Thank you, Jeff!!!

The Fight is On!

Teenager Campout

Four friends, a tent, the woods, some animals, lots of food and beverages, chairs, a campfire, VERY supportive, wonderful, fabulous, terrific parents.....and they're off!! Cory and his friends, Macy Coleman, Emma Petersen, and Logan Hoppe are in the woods! Literally!! They are camping at the Petersen farm, actually an abandoned farm between Petersen's and Hoppe's, because they were unable to make it to Bible Camp at Homestead this year. We are hoping that they are having a terrific time and able to fend off the mosquitoes and enjoy each other's company! Thank you, Connie and Mark, for opening up your land to the crew.

Kastle Kingdom

Kastle Kingdom was our next stop to let everyone run one last time before heading for home! Everyone had a great time! I didn't realize what the park was all about, even though I had heard about it from other friends that had played there. If I would have thought ahead I would have brought a picnic lunch! It is a very nicely built wooden structure with lots of shade, hidden passage ways, and a chance to be the "guard" of the Kastle! I was the guard, tried to deter the boys from taking over my castle.....I lost....so sad. This is a picture I grabbed of them while they were still having a great time. It took me a while to get everyone situated, so Cory got red in the face and was losing conscienceness by the time I finally snapped the family photo!!

My 2nd Grade Classroom

If you can make sense of these pictures, this is my 2nd grade classroom that I will be teaching in this Fall 2008. The entire clan drove over in our 6 passenger car, with no complaints believe it or not!, and viewed the school I will be teaching at and helped me haul my graduation presents into the room. The blackboard will be covered with showerboard and used as a white board. The room has been freshly painted, but I have a lot of work to do on it when I get in there in August. It was a computer lab so I need to wait for the computer tech to come in and move his things so I can start putting things away. I did measure for bulletin boards and the like and that felt good. We had a tour of the school and then the kids went out back and played on the playground.

Fun New "Perms"

Sunday night was a dull night at the Malakowsky home, so the girls took a shower, I braided their hair, and they went to bed. The next morning we removed the braids and they had lovely perms for a day! Morgan's hair was so soft and it looked so different having all the waves in it! Maren's hair became fuller (if you can imagine that!) and it was just beautiful on her! They had fun and want to do it for my niece's wedding in July.

Tennis Tournament

Cory was a part of the tennis tournament held on Sunday of Railroad Days weekend. He had five games and four different partners. He really enjoys tennis and I really enjoy watching him. His first game he played with 3 state tennis players from St. James and he did really well! I am glad that he is so sports-oriented! Cory really enjoyed the day, they had a team photo, and then it was off to eat as much pizza as possible....which I think was three pieces. He then came home and went for a bike ride for a couple of hours with friends. Needless to say, the next day he slept most of the day away!

More St. James Railroad Days Events

Downtown St. James was hopping on Saturday morning, even though it was cold and looked like more rain. First we enjoyed the games that the Girl Scouts had in the downtown park, with the children winning candy and pop. Then we walked over to the parking lot and all four of the children had fun playing on the Bouncy games....there was one where you played human tug of war and tried to make a basket, there was one where you boxed with long blow up sticks, and then there was the slide (which only Maren enjoyed). There was also a variety of food vendors, but Jeff took us all home and made us a vendor kitchen (onion rings, mini-donuts, cheese curds). It was a "greasy" day!

The Parade is Cancelled!!! What are we to do?!?!? Well, the girls and I made sugar cut-out cookies. Yup...if all else fails, the oven still works. We had a good time making the dough, rolling out the dough, cutting out the cookies, baking them, and then eating them....of course, we shared with everyone even if they didn't put all the work into it! Hunter helped himself to about a dozen cookies when we went out to our friend's house (The Jackie and Mark Nielsen clan) for an after-parade party.