So in the past few days, Kate has been to Wal-Mart, as well the three different Hy-Vees in town, and apparently NONE of them have any pork rinds in stock… very disappointing.
Michael, Audrey, and I have been trying to get into this summer by doing different things to keep busy. We are LOVING the newly remodeled Coralville Library 
. It is so fun to go and pick out new books and hang out in their sunroom enjoying the warm sun, cool a/c, and a good book…
We are also enjoying visitors! Grandpa Wheeler came over yesterday to visit. Michael and Grandpa had a great time playing the wii…
I think that Grandpa even WON! But Michael was a gracious runner up! Today we took another trip to the Library and then came home to play some Frisbee! Right about when we got outside, Daddy (Chris) returned home from clinicals and threw around the frisbee with Michael a little…
and scored a hug from Audrey…
Called “The Two Coreys” and I realize its a reality show about Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. Well, I haven’t got much to say except I remember when I was 10 and I was TOTALLY going to marry Corey Haim 
… now that I see he can’t hold down a job and he’s a raging drug addict (not to mention that he is no longer hot!)
, I’m really glad that relationship didn’t pan out…
Yes, it is the blessed day where Chris is finally the same age as ME! Today Chris is 31!!! What a YEAR!!! I know that I don’t say it enough, but Chris, I am really, really proud of you and all that you have accomplished this year!
You have been working so hard to be a better dad and spend more time with the kids
You graduated from the University of Iowa! Such an amazing goal to reach, and I know it felt like forever, but I believe that it will all be worth it someday soon!
You got to see the President land at your school (well, this was exciting for you)…
AND… you are FINALLY working towards your dream and working REALLY hard! I can see it and means so much to me and the kids to see you work so hard, it really shows how much you love us! We are so blessed to have you in our lives and we love you very, VERY much!
I must admit, I was NOT looking forward to the Fourth of July. Chris had made arrangements for us to work in Muscatine with a church group fundraising project and since we would be there I knew he and the kids would want to see the parade. I was worried that it would be hot, that there would be massive amounts of walking, and that the bugs would be ridiculously awful because of all the recent flooding.
We started off our Fourth of July festivities by arriving in Muscatine right before the parade started. We had made plans for the kids and I to ride on the Trolley with Becca, Elena, and her parents while Chris and Josh watched the parade with the other kids. Parking was nightmarish, but luckily we found a spot quickly and started walking towards the parade route waiting for Josh to call us and tell us where to meet. We couldn’t get ahold of Josh, so we called Becca and she told us where the Trolley was. We got there right as they were starting to pull away to start the parade so we ALL jumped on!
The kids grabbed some American flags to wave out the window while Chris laughed as Dan Clark teased him about being a Democrat for the day (the Trolley was covered in advertisements for various Democratic candidates).
They were out of little flags so I didn’t get to wave, but to prove I was there and enjoyed the parade I allowed Becca to take a picture of me…
Near the end of the ride we came upon Josh and the kids who climbed up on the Trolley with some of their candy loot from the parade, Josh thought it would be so much fun to throw the candy out to more people instead of keeping for ourselves. Everyone thought this was a great idea except for poor Jacob who was not happy to lose his hard earned candy…
After the parade was finished Chris, the kids, and I drove to our meeting spot for the church group. We walked over to Salvatore’s and got some pizza to eat while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Once they did we split up, read the instructions, and sent them off with their merchandise. Chris and Michael went to one end of the riverfront and Audrey and I stayed near 2nd Street. Most of our job was being in a central location so that the church group members could come back and replenish their selling supplies, so really it was a bit of hanging around. To entertain herself, Audrey asked if she could get an italian ices. At first I was hesitant, but she really wanted to try it, so we got some…
She thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t ask for anything else the rest of the evening…
Soon is was nearly dark and the fireworks prematurely started. Before we knew it, they were done and the rushed part of our work began where people came back with their unsold products and the money. Thankfully with Audrey there it was a smooth operation, and we headed back to the car. I will admit that I was very worn out when we got home, but it really was a fun day spent with my family and friends!
Drew calls my phone, here’s basically how the call went….
Drew: HEY! I was wondering if you were going to take the kids to the carnival?
Me: Uhhhh, it hadn’t even occurred to me so not likely…
Drew: Really? There are some really fun rides here, and if you want, I will go on the rides with them so you don’t have to!
Me: Drew? Are you just looking for a reason to ride the rides and trying to use my children as bait?
Drew: {long pause} Basically…
Me: Yeah, I think we’ll pass this time.
Drew: Allll right, but be forewarned, I may try to go behind your back and convince Chris to bring them!
Sooo, I put up a fight for awhile, but after Drew *did* go behind my back and convinced Chris who finally convinced me that we need to give the kids MEMORIES… so we met Uncle Drew at the carnival where he bought a fistful of tickets. We walked around and discussed which rides they wanted to use the tickets for. In the end they decided on the flying swings called “Swingers” (this concerned me lol), The Dino Slide, and The Scrambler. Drew graciously let the kids ride on the Swingers and the Dino Slide and then he tagged along for the Scrambler in case Audrey freaked out. And… since I am me… of course, I had my camera, so enjoy some of the shots…
Audrey and Michael on the Swinger….
Michael and Audrey preparing for the Dino Slide…
On the DINO SLIDE…
Drew and the kids waiting for the Scrambler to become available…
Michael and his friend Connor on the Scrambler…
Drew and Audrey on the Scrambler…
Quarter Games at the Carnival (i.e. hey… give us your money!)
All and all, my feet hurt and I have a little less money but the kids have a wonderful memory and they are already bugging Uncle Drew to take them again next year!
Today we made a trip to Muscatine for Lydia and Evan’s birthday party at the Muscatine Aquatic Center! I had never been there before so I was interested to see how similar it was to Coralville’s aquatic center. I was surprised by how much cooler the water slides were… they were not necessarily taller or bigger, but they were more fun I think. Anyway, Michael and Audrey had a wonderful time running up the stairs and careening down the water slides! Chris had to leave a little early because he was in charge of getting the grill started for the food part of the party, but of course, I brought the camera along to try and capture some of the fun…
Michael heading down the HUGE red slide…
and then CRASHING into the water…
Audrey enjoying the fun and sun…
Michael on the BIG blue slide… if you look really close IN the slide you will see his reflection sort of like he is luging…
Michael on the BIG blue slide… a better shot…
The kids waiting for the blue bucket to drench them…
Michael and Audrey going down the big red slide together…
And the most cutest, sweetest shot of the day… Audrey had asked Michael to go down the slide with her, he said sure, and they took off together…
It was really fun, and the kids have both asked if they can have their birthdays at the Muscatine Aquatic Center next year (and I am seriously considering it). I still think that the Coralville Aquatic Center is cool, but Muscatine idn’t too shabby 
Yesterday afternoon I got a wonderful call from miss Becca Tap who said that her husband was going on a fishing trip with most of her children and she didn’t want to sit home alone, so she decided to pack up Elena and head to Coralville to hang out with US! YAY!!! After they got here we sent Michael, Audrey, and Elena off to play some Pokemon. Chris still had a test to study for so Drew and Erin came over and played some cards with me and Becca. We taught Erin the Russian card game, Durock (still spelling that wrong I’m sure) and she picked it up probably a hundred times faster than our funny friend, Drew. Lucky for ME, I got to be Erin’s partner so we did fairly well together!
Then TODAY, Becca and I woke up early to get to the Salvation Army for QUARTER DAY!!! We both had fairly good success finding some good clothes for our kids and Michael and Audrey found some books in the quarter bin that they wanted, so everyone left happy. When we got home I suggested that we jet outside with the kids to play and of course, I took pictures…
Becca, Audrey, and Elena on the Pink Team against Michael in Badminton…
Michael defending himself against Badminton ATTACK…
Becca and Elena celebrating their successful volley…
Elena making funny faces for me…
Elena had a runny nose later, and Becca told her to get a kleenex and this is what Elena came back with…
Sadly, Becca and Elena have other weekend plans so they will be leaving us this afternoon, but we had a GREAT time while they were here!!!
Today the kids and I had to make a emergency run to Muscatine to drop some things off to Lori. In high hopes of getting the kids to look forward to this mini-trip, I told them that if they behaved and were patient we would have lunch at McDonald’s so that they could PLAY! They were thrilled at that idea and behaved very well. We ran our errand and then made our way to the Playplace 
After inhaling their lunches they set off for FUN in the playplace 
They got to play for almost an hour until I could not take all of the screaming children (but not before we ran into Julie and Bella Brown… I’m sure Will and the twins were running around too but I didn’t catch them).
Once we arrived home, Audrey needed a breather in the cool house to recuperate from her car sickness. In an effort to improve gas mileage I drove 60 on the interstate without air conditioning on, and the heat and long drive just churned her poor tummy! After a shower and a quick change of clothes the kids and I got out our yard games and headed outside for….. 
BADMINTON (that may not be how you spell it lol)! We had great fun trying to get a good volley going and I think we managed between the three of us to hit the shuttlecock three or four times! We still had GREAT fun…
Audrey preparing to receive the serve…
Michael setting up the serve…
We played for a good hour and a half and decided we were really HOT, so we came inside and the kids set out to do their chores! Last night we had a long talk about everyone taking responsibility for things in the house that need to be taken care of. To help us all remember the rules and the chores we made our annual Wheeler House Rules and Chore Chart 
We decided on chores that could be Michael and Audrey’s responsibilities and then chores that they COULD do if they wanted to make some money. So, we came inside and Michael cleaned the living room and made the shoe pile look nice, while Audrey washed the dishes (well, DISH) and fed the fishies.
Once the chores were done the kids asked for a treat… luckily for us Grandpa Wheeler just came back from his trip to the Pacific Northwest and had brought the kids specialty sodas! Michael got root beer, his FAVORITE and Audrey got Black Cherry! After a quick “Cheers” 
(where do they LEARN these things???) they drank the sodas right down. Michael thought his root beer was like HEAVEN and Audrey really enjoyed the CHERRY flavor of her soda!
