Some guy at bdubs last night...

...Wanted a pic with Tyler. 

Sign my husband and son up!

Old friends, New endeavors

Yesterday I went to Storm Lake for the day. Our old neighbor, Joyce, had Devo and when she moved to assisted living last December our other neighbor, Donna, took over the reigns watching him. When I sat down on the couch Devo came and sat right beside me. They are perfect companions for each other. 

My new endeavor:

An old coworker of mine, Diana, approached me about blogging my journey through being a birth mother for her adoptive sons non profit ministry www.beautyamidsttheashes.com. 

Their mission is to advocate and educate about adoption through public speaking and written materials. 

Of course I said "yes!" Once I get it started I will post a link here for all to read. I'm very excited to share my story in the hopes of helping someone. The ministry is located in Ankeny so will fit nicely when we move. And I thought I was going to be bored when Tyler went off to college. LOL

Memorial Day Weekend

After many late nights, days off work and a little help from my dad they got the bike and camper ready for the weekend camping trip. Great job!

Friday late afternoon we got to our camp site at Timberline and got everything set up. It was very fast and easy. 

We got done just in time to join the Smith's and Kneifl's for supper. This will be the last pic I get with Chloe in it. She was super busy with all new campground adventures. 

The guys taking a nature walk with the little ones. 

This is one of my favorite pics. Uncle Steve reading to Everlee. She is just the sweetest little girl. 

Cooper is so soft spoken but when you get him one on one he is a jabber jaw. He said "Steve" 1,000 times and "Brigett" 0:(

We had an amazing weekend with the Smith's and Kneifl's! It was so much fun to get to spend time with all of them. We shared so many laughs and stories we will never forget! We love being fun Aunt and Uncle to the 2 Neices and nephew. We will definitely be joining them again and again. 

Graduation weekend

Cousins Chloe and Annie at the graduation party Saturday night. Tyler's friends commented how many redheads were there. 

 Tron, Austin, Stratton, Alex, Cameron, Tyler

 Becker's and Strathman's
2 families we love hanging out with in our free time.

 My very good friend, Pam. She gave Tyler his first and last job detasseling.

 Cousin Everlee and Aunt Andrea. We had such a great time with them spending the night with us. Steve couldn't get over how smart she is. She must get her smarts from her mom;)

 Trying to get a cousins picture is hard no matter what age!

 The Smith's

Thanks for bringing and making goodies  for us. Also, thanks in advance for being our new realtors in this home buying process. LOL!

 There are no words to express how much your love and support have meant to us these past 18 years. WE definitely couldn't have done it without you!

answer: 3,450 

question: The amount of miles that Great Aunt Karen and Great Uncle Vin traveled to be here to share in this special day. You obviously get the award for furthest traveled. Thank you for sharing this special weekend with us. I laughed more in the kitchen with you than anybody else in a long time. You are one of the many reasons we blog so you stay in touch with us.

Lauren, Ah'treil, and Deontae came over Sunday afternoon. We loved catching up with them. Ah'treil is 3, loves to eat, and loves candy even more...sounds alot like his uncle;)

Now what?! 

Tyler is 18, graduated from high school, has a summer job, taking online classes, and heading to Iowa State in the fall. I suppose I can say "We made it!" This day seemed so far off yet went by so fast. My role as a mom has suddenly changed. No longer will I be volunteering for school committees, sitting at ball games, or buying posterboard for school projects. As much as I have enjoyed those things I will find a new role as mom. Instead, I will wash his laundry when he comes home on the weekends, make his favorite meals at breaks, and attend family weekends at Iowa State. And I will enjoy those things just as much:)

Last day of school

Today I greeted Tyler coming home from high school for the last time.  We've both had mixed emotions these past few weeks and today was no exception. All the cliches about "cherish every minute" and "time flies by" definitely ring true today. 

Prom 2014 "Under The Sea"

Maddie, Zach, and Tyler helping decorate for the Promenade.

The group of kids that "partied" together. Pictures and dinner was hosted at the Brownmiller house.

Tyler and Rafa

Waiting for the bus to arrive...

The bus arrived and they were off!

We briefly saw the kids walk through the Promenade and that was it until After Prom at 12:30am. They had a great time on the bus and at the dance. 

Tyler never made it past the first ball and there were 4 of them to get across on to make it to the end. Some kids are waking up today with sore bodies;)

Chris, Jake, Blake and Tyler playing Black Jack at the "DeVos table" as the kids called it. We had a lot of fun ourselves with all the kids. 

Tyler had fallen asleep in the auditorium and woke up to the announcer calling his number that he had won this IPad mini!

Birthday supper

Tonight grampa and grandma DeVos treated us to La Fiesta for Tyler's birthday. Grandma Kneifl and Scott Meth were able to join us too. We shared a great meal and many laughs. 

Happy 18th Birthday Tyler!

Eighteen years ago a baby boy was born...

...and today he goes off to one of his last days of high school a young man. 

Another birthday celebration

Chloe loved taking pictures with my phone this morning. 

Let me take a selfie;)

Cooper and Tyler playing games in the recliner. 

Sunday noon we celebrated Tyler's birthday complete with all his favorites: pizza, BBQ chips, and blizzard ice cream cake. It was such a fun weekend of celebrating!

She turns one!

Today we celebrated Everlee's first birthday. It's hard to remember life before her birth. All I know now is that our family feels full with her in it. It was such a joyful day filled with family and friends gathering    to celebrate birth, life and love. It truly was a "happily Everlee after" kind of day. 

Easter vigil

Is there an egg in there?

Grandma always hides one there. 

Looking for one last egg. Your getting hot Tyler. 

Opening up the eggs.  

Yesterday we went to sioux city and had a traditional and delicious steak supper with grandma and grampa. 

Before we enjoyed the supper they had an egg hunt for Tyler. Twelve hidden eggs, in a confined space, and you didn't have to move anything. Easy right?! Wrong! They were twelve eggs that looked liked basketballs and were dark brown in color. He needed a few hunts but eventually found them all. 

We reminisced about past eggs hunts and had a few chuckles.

After a quick nap we went to Easter vigil service. We came home with full bellies, a little extra cash in Tyler's pocket and a renewed spirit in our soul.  Happy blessed Easter. 

Retail Therapy

Today we went shopping and dad went with us! Hard to believe isn't it?! Not really. He took us to Hornick, Iowa to get our leathers for ridin'. We are all set to go. Now we just need sun instead of this snow;). After an afternoon of shopping we stopped into Edie's in Sgt Bluff for a beverage. If you recognize the tin wall you are right. This was the second stop on the party bus. 

More weekend fun

I forgot to post these with our weekend fun pics. Cooper found the bubble wrap around some dishes in the cabinet. The two kids had so much fun jumping on them and laughed each time they heard a "pop."  It made all the adults laugh as well. 

Weekend fun

Cheering ISU on to a victory Friday night. 

Tyler having his own party and fun during the game. 

Saturday the Smith clan came to Lemars. We had a great time eating, visiting, and sharing many laughs.  

Of course when they came to Lemars we had to visit the Ice Cream Parlor. 

First wood project

 DeVos is a Dutch surname meaning "the fox."

Tyler wanted a project to do. So I came up with an idea and set a budget. Tyler did the rest. He did a great job and it came out better than I imagined.