Unexpected family reunion

Last Monday we ended our 4 day weekend get-away with lunch at grandma Dodie and grandpa Bill's house. Barnyard Blooms is closed on Mondays so Bryce and Nicole had the day off and joined us at gma & gpa's for lunch. Kate had grocery shopping to do, so she was in Muscatine for the day and decided to have lunch at grandma's and grandpa's too. As we drove up to the condo, we saw Jenny's car. She and grandma were planning a trip to the store to do some back to school shopping for Andy and Lloyd. Austin wanted to come visit gma and gpa for the day and since Jessica and Lisa had the day off, they decided to come as well. So, before we knew it, we were having a family reunion minus Bryan and Jill, Rick and Brian. We had a very yummy lunch and enjoyed everyone's company. It was the perfect conclusion to our very fun 4 day weekend!

"It's State Fair Time!"

This weekend was State Fair time for the Hobens! We left early Friday morning for Des Moines where we met grandma, grandpa and Kate. It was a hot day and it was busy at the fair grounds, but we had a great time! After a day of walking around the fair we went to the hotel where we ordered Pizza for dinner and went for a refreshing swim.
On Saturday we woke up in good time and enjoyed the breakfast at the hotel. Brett and the kids went for a quick morning swim. We packed up shortly after that and headed back to the State Fair to spend another fun-packed day.
I am going to post quite a few pictures because it was so hard to pick from the multitude of pictures I snapped. I hope if you didn't make it to the fair this year, you can enjoy it vicariously through us.


Dakota (who joined us at the fair on Saturday aft.) has a brick in front of the Agricultural building He served as one of the FFA state officers in 2008.

Also, Grandma Dodie and Grandpa Bill have a brick in front of the "Ye Old Mill" to commemorate their 50th anniversary!

There was a play area for children that Kylie and Brayden thoroughly enjoyed. One wooden train might have been their favorite as they climbed and ducked in and out of that fun wooden train. Here's Brayden telling an older girl to "WAIT!" for him to climb up the stairs :).

"Look Gwandpa!"

Resting!


Just too cute!

Umm....what's going on here? Are you ready for potty training Brayden? We can start any which way you want!

Colton boo!


We watched a magic show and a cowboy and his horse show.


One of my favorites is the picture exhibit. I could get lost here for h-o-u-r-s!

After a hot day of walking around ice-cream was a refreshing treat!

Saturday morning we went to the "Little hands on the farm" It was an awesome experience- the kids first got aprons, buckets and seeds. Next they planted the seeds after which they gathered the plastic fruits and vegetables and place them in their buckets. They milked a fake cow -Bessie, gathered eggs from the chicken coop, rode miniature tractors, and at the end were awarded fake money to buy something out of the store. They picked ice-cream.

There was a Butterfly House that we enjoyed. I have never seen that many butterflies in one area, ever! Kylie told us about the stages of a butterfly's life that she learned at Cricket Camp this summer.

The theme for the "Butter exposee" was the 40th anniversary of the moon landing.

The butter cow.

Old school T.V made of butter, featuring the moon landing broadcast. I have 2 words:"Amazing job!"

Oh yes!! You may wonder, what in the world is Brett chewing on??? It is chocolate covered BACON on a stick!! You know how they have any food you can think of for sale on a stick. However, this was by far the strangest combination!!! Of course my husband HAD to try it! Yuck!


The champion big bull. His name is Big Black and it weighs 3,404lbs. I am just glad I'm not the one taking care of this big boy.

The sky ride was one of the favorites!

The view from above.

We watched the State Fair queen contest. Here is Kylie with Bailie, the Louisa County Fair queen. Bailie is a good friend of Kate, Dakota and Kylie!

After yet another fun- filled day at the fair we loaded up and headed for Grandma's house. We ate dinner on the go and watched "Jungle Book". Tired can't even begin to describe the state of our children when we reached grandma's house, good thing is was just on time for BED time!

Aunt Kate's visit

Kate came to visit us for a couple of days and we had a great time! We kept busy and I think we tired Kate out. She arrived early Tuesday morning, just on time for our play date. It was fun to have aunt Kate here to meet some of our friends and play/help with the kids :).


Kate with Colton

Victoria, Kylie, Johnny, and Rachel

Rachel and Brayden eating lunch.

On Tuesday afternoon we went to Crystal Lake Cave.

We had to wear a jacket inside the cave, it was quite chilly.

After visiting the cave we enjoyed a picnic dinner at Mines of Spain (recreational park)

The view from Mines of Spain was beautiful!


For dessert we stopped at DQ and enjoyed some YummYY ice cream!

The next day, we rode bikes in the morning and went to the pool in the afternoon.

Kate played many "Guessing" games with Kylie. They would take turns drawing on the board and giving clues to help the other guess what the picture was.

On Thursday morning we went to the Mall to shop a little, play at the mall playground, and of course ride the escalator (we can't go to the mall without riding up and down the escalator, it's just a must!!) On Thursday afternoon Kate left to go home and we miss her already! Come back Kate!!!! I asked her to move in....still waiting on the answer :). Here are a couple more pictures I think are cute!

Brother and sister


Brother and sister and...

... little brother!