Cookies and Friends

One of our parting gifts when Brian and I left Brookside was a collection of recipes from the church - treasured recipes from many different families. Anyone who knows Brian knows that he loves food, so some of the recipes are ones we enjoyed with friends, and at some of the Brookside church gatherings. I have been enjoying the collection, and have been encouraged by the verses and memories written on them.

This morning Ezra and I made Oatmeal Pecan Cookies that were wonderful. They are a mix between a chewy oatmeal cookie and granola bar. Brian liked them with coffee. :)

Iowa State Fair

It was great weather for our trip to the Iowa State Fair. Once again it was exciting to see the best of Iowa on display. You can see pictures of our trip last year here.

We were quite the crew with all of the kids. We managed to only lose one (who thankfully had my brother's cell phone number in his pocket). As we were gawking at the miniature Herferders we were in the way of a father and daughter preparing their livestock for show. The thoughtful farmer responded, "That's alright. If it weren't for family's like you, there wouldn't be a fair." That comment made me smile. It is a rare opportunity to be in a crowded public venue that celebrates the family, and celebrates agriculture. The Iowa State Fair is unapologetic about both.

We also managed to enjoy a pork chop on a stick, homemade salt water taffy, an egg on a stick and a corn dog. And, we'll be back again next year.

Dekalb Days

Dekalb Days is an annual event hosted by Grandpa Steve and Grandma Jan to show appreciation for their Dekalb seed customers. There is a lot of preparation that goes into the event, and I enjoyed capturing some photos of the day. It was a wonderful day to be outdoors in the sunshine with the family.

When I was younger the event marked the end of the summer and meant school was about to start. I always looked forward to friends coming over and playing football games on the front lawn while our parents socialized.

Starting out with coffee.

Preparing the Dekalb Potatoes for the meal.

Uncle Karl preparing the test plot for customers.

Looking for bean plants.

A picture of Jon by the railroad bridge.

Jon and Grandpa.

Ezra and Elliot riding their three wheelers in front of the shop.

Three cousins trying to catch fish with a net and a stick.

Jon, Amelia, Aunt Kristen and Grandma Jan serving customers.

Danny Carroll, former Representative, speaking about his passion for Iowa.

Brothers

It is kind of funny to listen to Brian and I try to figure out who Zachary looks like. Really, he is his own little person in the end. Brian showed me a picture on his cell phone and asked me to guess which infant son it was, and I'm embarrassed to say that I couldn't tell. I was relieved to hear a mom say that she could only tell which infant she was holding in the picture by what hairstyle or clothing she was wearing. Here are all three boys, see if you can tell which is which? :)

Flooding Pictures

Ezra and I took a few pictures of the Skunk River flooding between Peoria and Pella on Sunday, since it will likely never be this high again in his lifetime. His comment was, "that is a really big pool."

Thursday Morning Photos

Zachary is three weeks old today, growing rapidly, and is more alert each day. Three weeks after Elliot, I was running a 5K, and so its been hard to come to grips that a Cesarean recovery is so much slower.

Early this morning I grabbed my camera and went on a short photo field trip in order to get outside, and have some solitude, which is hard to get these days!

Newborn Pictures

We had the privilege of having Laura over to our house to take newborn pictures of Zachary last week! You can see a few of them on her blog.