First Day of School

Bryson and his friends Cayden and Colton

First day of 3 year old Preschool

First day of Kindergarten

This is a very late post, but both boys are in school now.  Bryson goes to Lil Cubs 3 year old preschool with Ms. Amy 2 days a week.  He started off crying some, but now he is a pro. 
Jaden started kindergarten with Mrs. Gibson.  HE LOVES LOVES LOVES IT! He was so ready and he is excelling and learning so much.  I'm so proud of both of them. 
As you can see Jaden has a cast on his arm.  It is off now, but he had a fall when we were camping this summer off a slide and had a cast for 6 weeks and a removable splint for 3 weeks.  So after 9 weeks, he was ready to be cast free.  It didn't stop him though. 

Volleyball 2012

Last Thursday was the last day of volleyball for my 9th graders.  What an absolutely awesome group of girls.  They will be successful in everything they do for the rest of their lives.  They work hard everyday, and genuinely want to get better everyday.  They have all improved at both volleyball and at being a team this year.  I will enjoy watching them grow in the next few years.  We ended our season at 23-5.  Going undefeated in the conference, making us conference champs! We won 2 of our 3 tournaments, bringing home medals for both! Congrats girls. 

It's been a while...

I have been meaning to write a new post for a long time now, but I have just not done it.  So I am going to update you on us from the last few months.

Jaden:
Jaden learned to ride a 2-wheel bike this summer.  I was the one more pushing it, but he has been doing a great job and he got the hang of it pretty quickly.  I took him to the park where there was lots of blacktop and he just went.  He prefers the smaller bike over his bigger bike but he really is a big boy now.  Here is a video.

Jaden also really enjoys playing the computer or our cell phones.  He is very much a tech guy, and can just pick up a game quickly.  He really impresses me, it is amazing what kids can do with technology that us adults can't do.  In July, Jaden turned 5!!! He wanted a Mario birthday party, so he had a Mario birthday, complete with Mario mustaches.  He LOVED having both his family and friends over to celebrate with water guns, balloons and cake.  

Jaden was in swimming lessons again this year, and he made a 180 degree improvement from last year. This year he had to fear of the water, and got his face right in.  When it was time to jump off the diving board, he ran and jumped in and yelled, "CANNONBALL!"  It was so fun to watch him enjoy it.

He also started Early Kindergarten a few weeks ago.  He loves it, loves his teacher and loves PE and Music. :)  I just love the polite, kind, fun, honest boy he is growing up to be.  He looks out for his brother, (most of the time), he still enjoys spending time with Jason and me, and he cares about other people.  I can only hope he continues to grow this way and grow into just as wonderful school-ager and teenager.  

Bryson:

This then brings us to Bryson.  The baby of the family (he lives up to this title).  He is a little more challenging than this big brother, but he can be the kindest little boy too.  He really likes to get his way and he likes to do the opposite of what I tell him to do.  Maybe it is just because he is 2, but I have a hard time being patient sometimes.  Him and Jaden are sooooo much different, but that makes each of them even more special in their own ways then. :)

Bryson was potty trained pretty easily this summer and he is dry 99% of the times he sleeps, both at naps and at night.  I usually still put a pull-up on him because otherwise I get nervous, but it is almost always dry.  He really got the hang of potting in the potty really quickly.  

He still REALLY loves his blankie and he loves playing "monster" in his bed.  He crawls and hides under the covers and tells me to come and get him.  He would play under his covers for hours.  He loves to watch movies and to snuggle.  He also likes to do whatever his brother is doing and bothering or tackling his brother.  He likes to play outside on bikes or in the sandbox.  Bryson also had swimming lessons this summer, it was the mommy and me class.  He loves the water as well and really enjoys little slides to go down, like at the Ames pool, and Manchester pools that we had sometime to get to this summer. 

 

We had the opportunity to go out on Uncle Joe's boat and the boys enjoyed it a lot.  Jaden and Jason went on the tube and went pretty fast.  Jason and I also had a chance to tube and it brings back old memories. It was so fun.  I love boating.  

Jason:

Jason was really busy helping his dad again on the farm.  They were still doing a lot of work cleaning up from last summers wind storm.  They have been roofing, building a new garage for Grambo :), and building A LOT of fence.  

Nevada Family Chiropractic is also a busy place these days, and we celebrated our 5 year anniversary in August.  We had homemade ice cream and cake to celebrate.  Congrats Jason.  

Heidi: 

I did a lot of running this summer, as you saw before I did the Warrior Dash and then did my favorite, the Bix in Davenport.  Not only have I really been enjoying the exercise I appreciate the friendships I have been making and building while doing different runs.  Here is a picture of the crew in Davenport before the Bix.  It was a beautiful day and I ran my fastest Bix. 

I have started my 4th year at Nevada High School as a PE/Spanish teacher.  I really enjoy it, both the kids and the teachers I work with.  This is my 5th year of coaching volleyball and I am loving it.  My freshman are doing a wonderful job.  They are a wonderful group of girls, they work hard, are kind to each other, and they all understand what it means to be a team.  And they are really good at volleyball!!!  Our varsity is ranked 3rd, currently, in the state and are doing awesome.  Look for us in November in Cedar Rapids.  The girls and James, our head coach, have worked hard to get to where they are, and they deserve to do really well this season! Go Cubs!

Hope it didn't take you days to read this and you enjoyed my little update.  

WARRIOR DASH MINNESOTA

The last few years I have really gotten into jogging, I have 3 runs planned for this summer and the first one was yesterday.  The Warrior Dash - 3.1 miles of mud, hills, obstacles, mud, water, hills, hills and more hills, oh and heat and sun.  I know it doesn't sound too fun, but we had a blast.  I had a great group of friends to join me (or maybe I joined them).  Check out the warrior dash website for pics of the obstacles.  Notice how cute we are before hand and how muddy we are afterwards.  The last obstacle was swimming through a huge mud pit with a blast of mud water being sprayed in our faces, we weren't too muddy before that.  Can't wait for next year.  In 2 weeks I will run a 5K in Ames, Midnight Madness and in 4 weeks I have signed up for the Bix 7, a 7 mile run in Davenport.  Can't wait.  

Yes - still smiling! 

 At the finish line...

After our "showers" - which was a huge machine (like a snow making machine) blowing water out over about 100 people, it burned and was so cold, but we just wanted less mud caked on us.  

Here Fishy Fishy

Jason, and Poppy and Grambo were able to make some time this last week to take the boys and me fishing.  The boys each caught a fish within a few minutes and then they got bored.  But they really enjoyed the snacks and chocolate milk. Thanks Daddy, Poppy and Grambo for taking the time to take us.  

Potty Training

This last Monday I decided it was time to potty train Bryson.  He has been doing a great job and loves getting M&M's after going potty in the potty.  I am very proud of him.  

 Of course Big brother has to help be silly to keep things exciting! What silly willies. :)

Soccer

Jaden is now old enough to play soccer.  He is lucky enough to have his mom for his coach (poor kid). But they have been doing a great job and I think he really likes it.  It is so fun to watch them play games and put what they have learned together.  Here are some pictures from his first game. 

And not to be outdone by his big brother.  Bryson always wants to play too.  After Jaden's game the other day, this is what Jason caught on camera.  

Snowman..... finally

This morning the boys and I were able to get outside for about 2 hours.  We had a lot of fun building a snowman, having a snowball fight and playing with our friends, Gavin and Trevor at the park.  It was over 40 degrees, and the little snow we got last Monday was perfect for our snowman.  We have been so lucky not having much snow and having warm weather all winter, but the boys really do enjoy the snow, so it was nice to have for a few days. 

This is a picture of my 3 boys playing, "hungry, hungry hippos."  We love playing that game, and I remember playing it when I was little.

My little smiley cutie!

Helping mom make fruit dip for our super bowl party! Well helping mom taste the dip, we had to make sure it tasted okay to feed to others.... :)

Big Boy Bed

My baby is now a big boy because he sleeps in a "big boy bed".  He has done great the past two nights, he goes right to bed and even calls for me in the morning.  I am blessed with boys who don't get out of their beds unless I get them... AWESOME!  Jaden would call for me from his bed until he was almost 3, I would much rather have them call for me to get them, then have them up and running around without me knowing about it.  Good job Bryson!  He is so proud to have a big bed like his big brother.  After I get their room all put together and cleaned I will post a pic of both boy's beds.  

Warm Winter... I'll Take it!

What another beautiful day it was! Today is January 10th - and it was about 55 degrees today.  The boys enjoyed the afternoon digging dirt.  Love it.

They both look really good in this pic, but both are getting over some sicknesses.  First off we think Bryson had a concession on Friday night.  After the boys and girls basketball games on Friday night the boys were running around with some of the high school kids and Bryson stepped on a basketball and fell back and hit his head.  He cried some, but then we came home and he was fine.  He went right to bed, (since it was after 9pm) and he slept all night.  He woke up happy and talking, but soon after he started puking and puked everything up he had all morning.  He took a short nap in the morning (which he does not usually do) and then woke up and puked some more.  Then he took his usual afternoon nap and woke up completely fine.  He was happy, playing and didn't get sick anymore at all.  It was weird, maybe he was sick, maybe he had a concession????  Well whatever it was, we are monitoring his rough housing, and glad he is feeling good now.

Well, then yesterday as I was picking up the boys from Cindy's and as we were getting our shoes on, Jaden started puking all over Cindy's front porch.  We went home and gave him some crackers and 7-up and some rest and he has been fine every since.  So maybe something just upset his tummy.  We are glad he ended up being fine.  Hopefully anything else will stay away from us for the rest of the winter.

I DID IT!

This week I enrolled in Cardio Kicks Boot Camp through our Parks and Rec and our AWESOME Cardio Kicks instructor, Monika Hinson.  I have been taking Cardio Kicks Thursday morning, which is a pretty grueling hour of both kick boxing and stations of hard things, like bag pushes and tire flips.  Well for some reason I decided to sign up for Boot Camp this past week.  It was a super intense workout Monday - Saturday morning from 5:30-6:30am, and 200 abs, 50 pushups, 50 squat jumps and 5 minutes of planks outside of class.  Also included was a strict diet, with no snacks, 5 small meals a day no more, 3 liters of water a day, only 30 minutes of TV and at least 7 hours of sleep a night.  It was tough.  I have never before been on a strict diet or starved myself, I scarfed my food when I was able to eat.
Well I lost 5 pounds in 6 days!!!!! and I do feel really good, I am going to continue with the diet (a little modified however) and continue working out.  I am hoping to lose 10 more to fit into my jeans from college.
Here I am today - so happy I pushed myself so hard and stuck with the plan to the T.  Thank you Monika for doing this camp and all the girls in the class for their awesome support and example of hard work.  Also Thank you Jason for doing to diet with me and cooking breakfast for me everyday this week.  Love you guys!

Hehe!

Santa Came...

Bryson asked Santa for "suckers" but Jason thought that he really meant a pedal tractor with loader and trailer.  So Santa brought the tractor and a big bag of suckers.  He came down stairs and he went right over to the tractor and sat on it instantly.  He really likes it and he will use it A LOT this summer.

 Jaden got a new big boy bike, as you can see it is bright green and he LOVES it so much.  He also wanted a dress up tie, he loves that too.  Since we have been spoiled in the nice weather the boys and I went outside yesterday and they were able to ride their new tractor and bike.  We didn't last too long because of the wind, but it is nice to get out for awhile, since there isn't any snow.

After our little family Christmas on Friday morning we headed over to Garrison to spend the Christmas weekend with Jason's family.  We had Xmas with his sister, Jessica, and her family, his brother, Billy and his girlfriend, and Mike and Marlene.  It is always a fun time.  This is my boys and all their cousins.  L-R: Kristin(13), Bryson(2), Logan(17), Lucas(5), Kaitlyn(11) and Jaden(4).

Then Saturday evening we went to church with Jason's dad's side of the family.  We went to church with Grandma and Grandpa Flick (Flickinger) with most of that side of the family.  You can tell that being late is a Grimm thing, b/c we were a few minutes late for the service and 3 other families of Jason's cousins were right behind us :).  At least we weren't alone.  Then we went to Grandma Flick's for a delicious dinner (as always) and present opening.  There were many kids there, so my boys had such a good time running around and playing with all of Grandma's antique toys.  

We are off to Minnesota for more Christmas' this weekend.  Can't wait. 

Hope you all had a merry and healthy Christmas.  

Getting Ready for the Season

The kids are pumped for Christmas - aren't we all? We have made cookies and treats, we decorated the tree, we have wrapped presents, and even cleaned our house. 

What the kids have been doing:

Bryson has been talking so much lately, it is so fun to hear what he comes up with next - it is really entertaining when he says, "snowman" because it sounds just like, "oh man!" He also likes to watch the "Ginch" not Grinch.  He loves "lights" (Christmas lights) all over town and at our house.  He LOVES candy, cookies and suckers.  But even more he LOVES yogurt raisins.  It took us forever to understand he was saying "raisins", but we hear it so much now, we know right away. He also loves cheese sticks, and applesauce.  He is great at going to bed, he says good night to everyone and everything then walks upstairs.  He still loves his "lala" or "la-ly" which is his nickname for the nickname for blankie and shoves it in his mouth and puts it over his head when he is sleeping, which makes mom nervous.  

 Jaden  is still loving preschool - I was able to go to school with him last Friday to help the class make gingerbread houses.  The kids in his class are great, and his teachers are great as well.  He is excited for his pajama party tomorrow in school. He is so lucky. Jaden has been obsessed with computer games lately.  All he wants to do is play on my computer or on anyone's phone he can find.  He is also a little sweet tooth, but if it is not candy/cookies - he LOVES tacos.  Last night he ate 2 1/2 tacos.  Both

This is the boys enjoying each other watching a movie.  They really do get along and love each other!

Xmas 2011

Check out our 2011 Xmas card at this link. Enjoy!

Xmas 2011

NEW GARAGE

I am sure you have been anxiously waiting to see the finished product! It is done, we can park inside of our garage, and close the door.  WE LOVE IT SO MUCH! Can you heat the excitement?  Merry Christmas to the Grimm's. :)  My second night parking in the garage, it snowed - perfect timing.  Thanks to my wonderful husband for doing so much for this.

Fall into the Season

When I got home on Tuesday after practice I noticed there was a lot of leaves that had fallen, and Jaden has been asking to rake up a pile, so we headed outside in the beautiful weather and raked up a BIG pile of leaves.  Jaden loved running and diving into them, Bryson slowly backed into them and then plopped down.  What a beautiful season.  

Can you spy Jaden in the leaves?

 Last Sunday, Iowa State had a home volleyball game at noon.  We finally had a chance to go cheer them on.  It was a heart-breaking 5 game match against ranked Texas.  I love watching the Cyclones, they are so good. They boys had such a good time too.  Jaden yelled, "Go Cyclones" about every minute and Bryson tried to cheer too.  Jaden did slip up once and yelled, "Go Hawkeyes".  Not sure why that came out :) but I was glad he didn't get beat up.

Cute pic of the boys in their cute jammies.  They are getting so big and they still love each other so much!

Also - I don't have a picture yet, but my 9th grade volleyball team kicked some butt today in our home tournament.  They played so well and got 1st place.  We didn't lose a match, let alone a game all day.  I only had to call 1 time out all day.  They were covering their hitters and picking up blocks, hitting so well, passing well... They all showed so much improvement not only individually, but as a team as well.  So proud of them.

Apple Orchard

Saturday morning we decided to enjoy the nice weather and go pick some apples and raspberries at the Berry Patch Farm outside of Nevada.  It was awesome having Jason home to come with us.  The boys had so much fun picking apples from the trees, and Bryson I think ate more raspberries then we brought home.  We are missing Grambo's apple tree (that blew down in the storm) so we had to get extra apples to make some apple crisp.  

At Grandma and Grandpa's

My cousin Kristen's little boy Preston wanted to spend his 4th birthday party at "the farm". Meaning where my parent's and my mom's two sisters live within 40 acres. We had so much fun, playing games, bobbing for apples, riding on a hayride, and playing with many cousins. From my cousins on my mom's side, there are 8 kids and 7 of them are boys. And are all pretty close in age.

Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Marty also like to spoil the boys and bought them a police car to drive around and show off. :) They loved it!

Jaden's First Day of Preschool

Jaden is now in the free 4 year old preschool program at the elementary school. He started on Tuesday. He seems like he loves it. Here is his front step picture. (notice my beautiful gerbera daisies - they haven't been this bountiful for 4 years, they are so pretty this year.)

Professional Photos

We had pics taken earlier this month. Here are a few to enjoy! Our awesome photographer was http://www.destriandorf.com/ she was great. There are a few pics on her website as well. Enjoy!