Inside Out

Oh, Seth. You're adorable.

Lars ran his first cross country meet! We're so proud of you, Lars!

This day reminded me of the children's book We're Going On a Bear Hunt.  "We're going on a bear hunt. We're going to catch a big one. What a beautiful day! We're not scared. Oh no!! A deep dark forest! We can't go over it. We can't go under it. Oh, no!! We've got to go through it!"  I'm pretty sure this was the craziest adventure I've ever had. After catching this bear on camera, 7 days in a row, we knew he was coming in. All we needed to do was wait. And wait. And wait, until it was almost too dark to shoot. "Stew" came in broadside during the last 5 minutes of legal shooting hours. A fatal mistake on his part. I looked at Dad, and mouthed "Should I take him?" He looked back, whispering "If you've got a good shot, yes." I had the perfect shot. Broadside, but slightly quartering away with his front leg forward. I took it. He ran off to the right, and crashed through the alders. 40 minutes...

Hannah ran her first collegiate cross country meet. She rocked it. 

These two have taken to doing headstands anytime and anywhere. 

Young minds are exceptionally creative. I wouldn't have thought that "fishing" in the basement would keep them occupied all afternoon. Della, the technology master, had a whole bunch of cute fish printed off within about 20 seconds. It was a coloring project, an imaginative activity, and a science lesson all in one! (Don't tell anyone that they were actually learning about magnetism...)

The cross country season is in full swing, and it's going well. What a fun way to spend a fall afternoon!

There was a skunk in the chicken coop.  Needless to say, the house didn't smell very good for a few days.

School is back and rolling at the Bettendorf household.  Anders has a way of making everything more exciting.  He needed to turn his math bears into an army.  He had a whole story all ready to tell when Mom came over to see what he had accomplished in his math book.

"GET THE TOAD OFF OF THE TRAMPOLINE!!!" "But I was told frogs like to jump!"

We're enjoying the last few days of summer.

God has done a work in Della's life, and she decided to share her testimony and be baptized.  We are so blessed to have you as a part of our family, Della, and are beyond joyful that you are living your life for Jesus.