Last day in September

Wow, I can't believe that today is the last day of September......where has the month gone! I absolutely love, love, love the Fall though. Everything about it: the smells, the crispness in the air, the delicious apple desserts (-; the beautiful fall foilage in the trees, and of course Kate and Ben's birthdays approaching! They are counting down the days, especially Kate. After we walked Kate to school this morning, Ben and I headed to the zoo. We had a marvelous time. His favorite parts were listening to the sea lions make "burping" sounds, and listening to the lions "ROAR"! (Is he a boy or what?) Since hearing Pastor Molly's sermon on Sunday, I have been thinking alot about the message. It was about being in fellowship and community with one another. And not just for the sake of being together because we have to be, but truly enjoying one another. Just as Jesus commands us to do. Completely authentic and real relationships.......ones that I strive to maintain with all of you! For those of you that I haven't seen in awhile, I pray for you & miss you, but know that when we do get to spend some time together, hopefully soon, that I will love each and every minute of it! I hope that this message finds all of you "getting real", living for the little things that God blesses us with in every minute of our lives. Have a great October! Love, Keri

Camping in the backyard

Sissy and bro-bro

Mommy, Ben and JB (puppy)

Having a little fun with marshmallows...

What a beautiful weekend! Kate decided that she thought it would be fun to sleep in the tent this weekend, so Daddy was very kind and set it all up. Saturday we got all of our blankets, pillows, puppies, books, and the lantern and we headed out as dusk was approaching. Kate especially loved reading stories in the dark with the lantern. She said that it reminded her of Laura Ingalls (-: ANYWAY - Ben was really pumped, but was the first one to crash. As the minutes ticked by, and the dampness of the cool evening weather crept in, Kate's poor little nose became more and more stuffy, the coughing began and her allergies really started to bother her. SO, she headed back in around 9:30.......Of course, there was Benny, sound asleep, and for those of you that know him, you know the disappointment that he would have displayed if he would have woken up in the house this morning. Therefore, I headed back out to enjoy an evening of cuddling with the little guy, and spent most of the night watching him sleep peacefully. The look on his face this morning when he woke up was priceless. First he started with "Hey, where did sissy go?" and then "I slept out side all night with the crickets and I was not afraid! " too cute - gotta love that kid.

San Francisco Vacation

Alcatraz Island

Golden Gate Bridge

Celie, Stef, Suz, Lynne and I enjoying our champagne at Korbel

some fruits of the vine at Kendall Jackson

the largest redwood in the forest!

I hope that this post finds all of you doing well. I spent all of last week in San Francisco, CA with the Cairney women and had a fabulous time. There are many wonderful things to see and do. Some of our favorite moments were spent on our wine tour/tasting of the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County (delicious wines.......and beautiful landscaped countryside). I am very excited for our first shipment of wines to arrive next month! Walking across Golden Gate bridge, hiking in a redwood forest, touring Alcatraz prison and other fun sites around the city, relaxing in the sunshine, watching movies, chatting, laughing, eating.......AAAAHHHHH, what memories we made! Thanks to Celie for arranging the trip. It was awesome!!!!!! and also a special thanks to all of the Cairney men, the Jensen men, and Papa and Nanny Suhr for holding down the forts while we were all gone - you guys are the best!

Now it's back to the regular routine...school and preschool for the kids is going well. Soccer is keeping us busy during the week with practices and weekend games for Kate. That is fun for all of us. Tomorrow morning she starts chess club at school and is super pumped about that!

Ben's first day of preschool

A good luck hug from Daddy before work while finishing off his waffles!

Look out New Horizons preschool, here comes Ben Cairney! Doesn't he look great? Just a quick pose before his first day with the new bag that he was very proud of, note the baseball stickers. (-: He was a bit timid at drop off, but all smiles! I kept smiling too, until I got out to the van......just a few tears, then off to Target I went. Two and a half hours of errands went by so quick!

Ben and his teacher, Mrs. Bleeker...she said that he had a great day. He was very excited to tell us about painting with race cars, singing songs, his cupcake snack, and the fun he had on the playground. Sounded like a wonderful first day. I can't really believe that he is in preschool already...where has the past 4 years gone???

As if today wasn't a big enough day.......tonight, we headed downtown to prepare and package food with Meals from the Heartland at Hy-vee hall. Thanks Randy, Max, Cousin Joey, Uncle Jim, Aunt Stef, Papa and Grandma Cairney for helping us. In about 2 hours, we made over 600 meals for kids that are hungry! What an amazing and awesome thing...God is working miracles through all of the Des Moines metro with this project. The goal is to feed over 3 million kids. We are just so glad that we were able to lend a hand. The kids did great! Here we are in our bonnets.......

Kaleb, Ben and Kate with Cubby bear

Kaleb and Kate

Labor Day Weekend

A little "volcano"science experiment in the kitchen

Good hit Kate!

Four little scientists - with the volcanic eruptions

Kate, Ben, William and Jon

Ben and Daddy at the game on Monday

We had such a great weekend! The Stoltenberg family visited from Grand Island. The Cairney house was very excited for their arrival and fun was had by all. Kate and Ben were "pumped" (as Aunt Nicki always says) to play with Wil and Jon for 3 days.....and to have them all sleep over! Time was spent at dinner downtown and an I-Cubs game on a gorgeous Saturday night, church and the Clive aquatic center on Sunday for one last swim of the season, and Holiday Park baseball fields for some family ball games multiple times throughout the weekend. We were blessed with beautiful weather and safe travels for all!


Then this afternoon, we were invited to another I-Cubs game. That was the perfect way to end a wonderful weekend. Thanks again Clarke family!


Back to school for Kate and to preparing Ben for his first big day of preschool on Wednesday...I know that he is excited deep down (-: We will get his bag decorated tomorrow.