{ Of course }

We made it through the first full week of school, although I'm not sure it's considered a full week if you only go to school 4 days.

Last week a few days before her birthday, Kinzley started crying and complaining of an earache. I called in and the Dr. prescribed some drops thinking it was swimmers ear since she had just the week before started going underwater for the first time in her life.
Instead of getting better with the drops, it only got worse. The day before school started we made a trip to the Dr. to be told the swimmers ear had cleared up but now she had an inner ear infection and the drops wouldn't help. So she started on an oral antibiotic and discontinued the ear drops since they no longer would work.

She had a pain free birthday. She went to Kindergarten for 2 days. By Tuesday night she was coming home crying, saying she was just so tired, she wanted to go back to preschool, it's so hard, she has no time to play, no time to herself, she has to follow the teacher's rules all the time. She was just exhausted. In addition the "girl drama" with friends started. Her feelings got hurt by a friend, so as her mom I hurt. I know it's the first of many times my heart will get hurt because my daughter is struggling. It just sucks.

Kindergarten is hard.

After school Wednesday she came home sobbing that her ear hurt. The other ear mind you. Wednesday night neither of us sleep due to her having a fever, crying in her sleep, tossing and turning and screaming every time she turned her ear onto the pillow. I mean she was hysterical.

No school Thursday, back to the Dr. we went. This time the infection was on the outer ear. Neither I nor the Dr. understand why the antibiotics didn't keep this one from getting infected. So she was prescribed steroid drops.

Back to Target pharmacy. Where we waited and waited since they couldn't find her prescription. Finally what seemed like hours with a crying child, we were told her script was denied.

Denied because we had already gotten this medication this month. I run through the whole story about both ears, inner infection, outer infection. She just keep telling me I just filled that medication. I keep telling her, I did not. We had gotten Augmentin before not a steroid.

Finally, oh finally it all became clear to me.

Tim had picked up the ear drops for the swimmers ear the week before.

In other words, my daughter was in extreme pain for 24 hours, missed her 5th day of school, didn't get any sleep, couldn't touch her hair or turn her head or eat because it hurt so badly and the entire time I had the medication she needed in my possession.

Of course I had it all along.

Of course.

{A} Plane

A few weeks ago after church service, I was getting the kids rounded up ready to leave when I couldn't find Tim. Finally I see him with this huge grin on his face talking with a guy, when he notices me and waves me over. They had been talking about Canada and how much Tim loves the planes up there, how we wanted to take the girls on a airplane ride but ran out of money time. To shorten this story~the guy grinned at Tim and said "Did you know I have a small plane at the Vinton airport? I would love to take you guys up."

So this past Monday our family was lucky enough to be able to go on a {A} plane ride as Kenna likes to call it.



Kinz and I went first {feel free to just glance at me. This was after the ride. I should mention the top half of the window section of the plane was wide open the entire ride so it was windy.}
I do realize I am not looking my best in these pictures.



The airport {by car} is probably 20 minutes or so from our house. He asked where we live and when I told him by Shellsburg, I assumed that would be to far.

10 minutes later we were flying over our house.


{Kinzley proceeded to giggle hysterically in my ear the entire time. She loved when he circled around the house and when the plane would jiggle around in the wind}


{look how little the cows are}


{cornfields}


{Iowa is beautiful from this view}


{waiting for their turn}

Kenna and I went for a shorter ride over my home town of Vinton.









Then it was Tim's turn.


Notice how small the plane is? It was a tight squeeze to say the least. Which is why I ended up riding with both girls and Tim got a ride alone. {grin}


{See the open window/door?}

While he was up in the air, the girls and I walked around the airport and took pictures. {Which I should clarify is a small airport for personal planes and crop dusters.} We were the only ones there that night.









As we were flying above the cornfields, the farm houses, the gravel roads, I couldn't help but be aware of things I had passed all my life and never noticed. To see the world from a new view made me look in awe. Awe of the beauty God created. Each and every square mile that was designed by Him for a purpose. To see the river and know He purposely placed it where it was. To see each tree He planted. To see each house and know His children lived there.

I looked at this {small} 20 mile area in Iowa and found I felt so small compared to all I was seeing. Knowing this was only a tiny dot of what God has made.

I'm so grateful for this simple act of kindness by our pilot, for helping my see my world in a new way.

To help me see God in a new way.

{ babysitter}

My "babysitter" is home

and Kenna couldn't be happier!

{ice cream, plane rides, and a toothless grin }

I survived my second day with Kinzley in Kindergarten. Kenna and I ran errands all day long and to be honest it was great only having to drag on kid in and out of the car. Not to mention there was no fighting it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We got all our stuff done, picked Kinzley up on time, I came home and finished supper while the girls climbed in the bathtub in swimsuits to play mermaids. {I didn't ask} Tim got home, we ate supper and from here we should have played for awhile and started our nightly routine to get ready the second school day of the week.

Instead...
we went out for ice cream....

{I know this isn't a very flattering picture of Kinzley but Kenna in the background cracks.me.up.}

Then we wrapped up the night by going for an airplane ride.

Yeah.

You would have pushed back bedtime and made an acception too.

It's not every day you are lucky enough to be asked to be taken on a airplane ride.

I got a bit click happy and took 88 pictures in an hour {blush} so I'll have to sort and edit those before I post them.

To tide you over until then...

Here's a few I took of Kinzley for her "about me" pictures for school this morning.

Is it just me or does she look way to grown up?

More like 16 rather than 6. {I mean other than the fact that she is missing her 2 front teeth}

She can even pull off the attitude.

{sigh}

{ Luau Party }

{ Hula dance }


{12 wet girls at the splash pad}




{Kenna tried her hardest to keep up with the "big girls"}


{every once in a while Kinz will slow down for her sister. ya know, before her friends got there!}


{can't have a party without cake}


{and presents}


{Believe it or not, she never guessed what was under the sheet. Maybe we need to work on shapes again {grin} }


{love my girls!}


My own "Kamali'i wahine" or Hawaiian Princess ended up having a terrific day! She gave us 2 hours and asked when she can have her birthday party again. She must not have been nearly as tired I was. And to think she wanted to have all 12 girls spend the night.

Yeah, like that was going to happen.

{ the birthday girl }

sweet.
sour.
sassy.
splendid.
star.
silly.
spicy.
sparkling.
sporty.
spectacular.
six.



Happy birthday sweet girl.
Words can not describe the love I have for you.
May your year be filled with joy.

{ A day in the life of a Kindergartner }

Kinzley started Kindergarten today. { grin, as if you could have possibly missed that from the last posts and the tweets.}

Yesterday started with a trip to the Dr. for an ear infection. I was a little nervous on how this morning would go. Luckily she was feeling much better when she woke up today. So well in fact she sat in the car alone for 30 minutes because the rest of her family wasn't ready to go yet. Some of us were eating.tweeting.gagging.

Twice I had to make her get out of the car for pictures.

Shocking I know.

Like I told Tim, my baby is only going to have one first day of Kindergarten and I will have it documented. I mean hopefully, she will only have to do Kindergarten once.



{Some sisterly love}


{Me with my babies}


{Tim and his girls}



{Made it to school}


{Friends....Look how the two girls on either side of Kinz are holding her arms...awwww}


{Someone was a bit bent out of shape that she couldn't play on the playground}



{Speaking of playing on the playground, we were there just a few minutes before I see her running past with Gabe, ya know THE GABE, the boy that she just hates when he chases her.... It's funny how her smile gives her away on that one!}

I made them nice and big so you could see your son Angie!




{Lining up}


{ Locker Time}


{ On her way to class...She looks terrified doesn't she? }


On the ride home, I was lost in thought {with the radio off} when I hear Kenna whisper in from the back seat "Mom, it's weally quiet in here."

Kenna was a tad lost without her sister today. Let's just say I let her watch more TV today than she had all summer.

....................

Of course after picking "Miss Kindergarten" up, she wanted little to do with either of us. She climbed in the car kicked her shoes off {Can you tell she is a barefoot girl?} and asked when she can go back.

Oh and she informed me the lunch ladies made cake for her birthday for the entire school but she didn't eat it because it had green frosting and tasted like grass.

However it was really nice of them to make it for her! {grin}

..................

She is wrapping up the day by helping me make cupcakes for her birthday party tomorrow. If I post pictures you know they turned out well. If there are no pictures you'll know we made a quick run to Target!