The Marr Family

Aedan's 1st Jack-o-Lantern

2009-10-21T02:09:00.000-07:00

Aedan "helped" carve his first jack-o-lantern. Actually, Grandpa Howard did most of the work, but Aedan sure was interested once the candle got inside! He loves "turning it on" each night. He tells everyone the teeth are funny and are his favorite part!

DeMoss Pumpkin Farm

2009-10-21T01:58:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to the DeMoss pumpkin farm...it's hard to believe we made our first trip over a year ago. The kids LOVED the animals and the tractors, and I've promised Aedan he can ride the tractors when we visit Grandma Dorothy.

Trip to Grandpa and Grandma Howard's

2009-10-21T01:51:00.000-07:00

We took a quick trip over to Ames this weekend. The kids got to spend lots of outdoor time. Aedan helped Grandpa Howard "fix" the tractor and the kids probably spent 2 hours riding up and down to the river on it! I'll post the pumpkin farm pictures next.

Updated pics of Aedan and Alana

2009-10-21T01:34:00.001-07:00

It's been over a month, and it's amazing how quickly these kids change! Here are some update pictures.

Last Update Before Steve's Home!

2009-09-07T03:42:00.000-07:00

Steve, this is the last update I'll make before you're back in Alaska and I get a chance to see you! I can hardly believe it. I finally took some pictures of Alana...I wanted you to see how big she'd gotten. The monkey backpack she has on is the same one we used with Aedan for our Alaska vacation last summer...can you believe it?! She loves that thing and wants to wear it around every day...go figure!

Can't wait to see you. Have a safe trip home!

Aedan's 1st Birthday Party

2009-08-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

Aedan and I went to his first birthday party on Saturday. It was for a girl from his Kindermusik class. Aedan had a lot of fun even though he was the only boy there! They had it at a great park, and Aedan played continuously...he even missed opening the presents. I knew you would LOVE the video of him scooting up the climbing wall :-)

Camp-out pictures

2009-08-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

These were taken at the Howard Camp-out last weekend. We stayed with Grandpa and Grandma Nathan, AKA GG, but I didn't get any pictures there....as you can see I didn't do a very good job of getting any pictures at all!! But, there is a video of Aedan fishing with his Grandpa Howard, and one of him out for a paddle boat ride with his Aunt Tina. Both kids LOVED the water.

Misc pics

2009-08-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

These are some dinner pics of the kids that I thought were particularly good, and some pics of Aedan getting his new sleeping bag ready for the camp-out. He was sure proud of that thing.

Basement fun

2009-08-23T05:53:00.000-07:00

We had another tornado watch and had to spend some time in the basement. The kids took full advantage of it and played with all the toys they could find, danced, and played dress-up. It was quite entertaining. Ok, the go-go boots may be over the top, but Aedan kept hamming it up because we kept laughing!

Aedan Mowing

2009-08-23T05:31:00.000-07:00

Steve, Aedan won't be riding in the backpack anymore while you mow. He now wants to do it himself! This is how he and Grandpa Ray mow the lawn!

Aedan's Last Band Concert

2009-08-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything in so long! These are a couple of videos of Aedan's last summer band concert. He found another group of kids and they ran around and danced the entire time. It was so fun to watch!

Kids in front of the lilies

2009-07-07T03:58:00.000-07:00

The lilies are in bloom in the backyard, so we posed the kids in front of them for some pictures. And Aedan has learned how to blow bubbles. It's still pretty messy, but fun to watch!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T05:35:00.000-07:00

Steve, Aedan's class made you a card for the 4th of July to thank you for your service. It is the sweetest thing! I probably won't mail it since it's about 2 ft by 2 ft...and because I think it will make a neat keepsake for Aedan. I took a close-up of his hand prints so that you could see where they were at in the card. What a thoughtful gift! I'll post some pictures of the kids later today or tomorrow.

4th of July Concert

2009-07-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Ray and I took Aedan and Alana to the weekly municipal band concert...and of course it was a 4th of July theme this week. The AMVETS handed out flags to all of the children (Aedan got a picture with one of them), and then they had a children's parade around the park. My filming isn't that great because I'm trying to hold Aedan's hand and film the other kids at the same time...but he had a lot of fun and loved getting to march by the band! The other video is of him jumping around inbetween eating popcorn. Believe it or not, he does that for the entire concert!

Sturgis Falls pictures

2009-06-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of the Sturgis Falls parade, courtesy of Christina. I'll go through my parent' camera tonight and add some more to the blog. Apparently the tractors and anything that had music in it got Aedan's attention.

Aedan dancing

2009-06-29T05:18:00.000-07:00

Steve, here's the video I was telling you about. Christina took it at the Sturgis Falls parade when one of the dance groups was going by. I didn't know how to turn it, so you'll have to look at it sideways...but it's great!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T09:21:00.001-07:00

Babe,
Sorry your cards won't be there in time...here are some pictures and a video we took today for Father's Day. I love the picture of Alana and her Grandpa reading their books together. She's really gotten into her books lately...you can see her reading in some of the other pictures and video as well. The video is Aedan showing you all his "faces" The kids and I send our love!

Time at the park

2009-06-05T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures and videos from some time we spent at the park. I figured since we couldn't webcam anymore I had better keep the pics of the kids a little more up to date.

There is a video of Alana walking. She motors around pretty well now. And yes, she's still eating dirt!

Enjoying the warm weather...finally!

2009-05-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of both the kids this weekend out enjoying the warm weather. Ciara's enjoying it as well. Alana sure is impressed with her big brother!

Aedan pics

2009-05-31T13:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Aedan from the past couple of weekends. He's trying to convince Lucky to snuggle with him in a couple of them...Lucky wasn't having it! Hey, and I'm eyeing some of these hostas for our Colorado house...I love all the green!

Alana pics

2009-05-31T13:50:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of Alana from the past couple of weekends. She still loves her rocking chair...and eating dirt!

Aedan's Bird Nest

2009-05-31T13:31:00.000-07:00

There is a family of birds in one of the birdhouses hanging on the porch behind the kitchen. Aedan watches it during every meal...and loves to show everyone how the baby birds open their mouths to get food from their mommy. I think they're about ready to leave the nest, so I don't know how much longer they'll be there to entertain him!

Misc. pics

2009-05-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here are some misc. pictures from Steve's trip home. No, Aedan really wasn't this unhappy for the whole trip!!....and no, Alana really wasn't drinking pop! I also included some pictures of Alana and Aedan helping fix a window in the Cedar Falls house. These kids love to help on a project!!

The Denver Zoo

2009-05-12T05:15:00.001-07:00

We went to the Denver Zoo while we were in Colorado. Aedan wanted to ride the "choo-choo". We all enjoyed it, and we got to see the a lion demonstration (yes, those eyes look CRAZY), the gorillas being fed...and of course, rode the choo-choo! Steve and Aedan also rode the carousel a couple of times which was a hit. It was a great day.

Alana's Birthday at Oma and Papa's

2009-05-11T08:00:00.001-07:00

We had a great time in Colorado and celebrated Alana's first birthday there. Oma and Papa babysat the kids for a night so that Steve and I could visit Colorado Springs...it was wonderful! The kids had a great time, and Aedan's new favorite game is taking us all on train rides to Oma and Papas house while eating ice cream!

Visit to Great-Grandma Martens

2009-05-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

We were able to stop by Grandma Martens on both our way to and from Colorado. Aedan was scared of the tractors the first time, but was pretty excited to "drive" them the second time around! He also loved the cats in the shed and kept trying to get them to let him pet them. Alana just loved climbing up and down the stairs!

Visit from Great-Grandparents Nathan!

2009-05-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

My grandparents (or GG as Aedan likes to call them) visited us just a couple of days before Steve came home. There was a lot of dancing that I didn't capture, but I did get these pictures!

Visit to Grandpa and Grandma Howards

2009-05-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

Steve left yesterday on his long trip back to Iraq. We had a wonderful visit and got to see a lot of people. This set of pictures is from our visit to Ames where Aedan got to do some work with the beehives (he is now obsessed with bees!), ride the lawn tractor, and play in the sandbox. We also celebrated Alana's first birthday a little early and she loved the cake!

Aedan's Big Boy Bed

2009-04-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Aedan has made the transition to his "big boy" bed. Just in time for Daddy to get home! The gorilla is Uncle Nathan's donation from his childhood, and Grandpa Ray made the bed, so he thinks it's pretty special. So far so good....!

Happy Easter Daddy!

2009-04-13T10:53:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our Easter Egg Hunt yesterday. We didn't do anything for Easter except dress the kids up and send them out to look for candy :-) Aedan LOVED it! Can't wait to see you next week!!

More Easter Pics

2009-04-13T10:45:00.001-07:00

Egg Hunt Videos

2009-04-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some videos of the kids. Aedan is so funny running around with his hat over his eyes.

Aedan and the Easter Bunny

2009-04-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

I almost wasn't able to get this picture away from Aedan. He is so excited about his picture with the "Bunny". But I told him Daddy needed to look at it, so he gave it up for a few minutes so that I could scan it. Sorry we're missing one more holiday together...but you'll be home in just a few weeks and we can try to celebrate them all at once. Can't wait!

Baby Cousin Belen

2009-04-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

Nathan and Ruth had Belen Naomi on 30 March. Momma and baby are doing well. Aedan loves watching videos of Belen and helped Grandpa Ray make her crib.

Grandpa's Helpers

2009-04-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

Aedan and Alana LOVE helping Grandpa Ray with projects. They both got to work on the kitchen table, and Aedan got to be a special helper for the crib for his new cousin, baby Belen!

Aedan's St. Patricks Day Party

2009-04-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Aedan's St. Patricks Day party at preschool. Now you can see the "green cookies" he keeps talking about! He was SO proud to bring them in. The other picture is of him on his cot during nap time. He's been doing really well with nap time lately.

Alana loves the dogs

2009-04-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

Alana can't get enough of Ciara and Spanky. And they are both very good with her...they seem to know she always has something good to lick on her face or hands!

Pics from while I was gone

2009-04-04T20:34:00.001-07:00

Well, our children grew fast over the 3+ weeks that I was gone at Annual Training. Here are some of the pictures my parents took.

Alana and Patty-Cake

2009-03-05T04:28:00.000-08:00

Here are just some misc. pictures of Alana...and a video of her patty-caking. She's turning into such a ham...just like her big brother!

Aedan making cookies for Daddy!

2009-03-05T04:20:00.000-08:00

Aedan had a wonderful time making cookies for you. He is such a good worker! His apron is actually my mom's...made for her as a little girl by Grandma Nathan. I thought it was adorable on him. Hope you enjoy the cookies!

Trip to Great-Grandma Howard's

2009-03-05T04:06:00.000-08:00

We car-pooled up north for a few days. Here are some pictures of the kids with their Great-Grandma Howard. Aedan LOVED watching the birds eat out of their feeder. He actually saw a wood-pecker!

Aedan's 1st Day of School and Misc.

2009-01-31T21:47:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of Aedan's first day of school. He LOVES going! I've also included several recent pics so that you can see how the kids are changing. Alana is now standing up by herself and is quite the busy body! Aedan loves to read, and in the picture is reading a book to Ciara. Oh, and yes, Aedan did manage to get into my mom's make-up!

Hawaii

2009-01-31T21:31:00.000-08:00

The trip to Hawaii was a lot of fun. I can't say it was all relaxing...especially not the 30 hours it took to get there...but we all enjoyed it. The only thing missing was you! We will have to make this trip again as a family when the kids are a little older. That way they'll actually be able to remember it...and hopefully no one will have to work!

Polynesian Culture Center

2009-01-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

I wasn't there for the first part of the day, but the PCC was a lot of fun. Aedan got up on stage twice during the day to try to join in the dancing! The video of him trying to dance along to the music is cute! Alana got into it as well :-) The performers were wonderful. Aedan's so fair-skinned that he was very popular with the ladies....he's posing with one of the New Zealanders. Aedan also loved the coconut tree climbing demonstration. Even with all of that, his favorite part of the visit was the birds. He thought it was the greatest thing in the world that the ducks would eat right out of his hand.

Pearl Harbor

2009-01-31T20:50:00.001-08:00

The Pearl Harbor tour was a neat experience. Aedan had to practice being quiet while we were on the memorial (you can see the picture of my mom reminding him), but the kids were actually very good.

Aedan's bath crayons

2009-01-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

These pictures are after I let Aedan use the bath crayons that you and Dad and Cheryl got him. Needless to say, I have only let him use them once...it was quite the clean-up effort!

Visit with Grandpa and Grandma Howard

2009-01-25T07:26:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Christmas and birthdays for Aedan, Sadie, Jeanne and myself while we were over at Dad and Cheryl's. So it was a busy few days! Dad made the cake...yummy! The outfits that both kids are wearing are the ones they got from Oma and Papa for Christmas! I'll post some pictures of Aedan with his bath crayon next...

Interactive Museum with Christina and Mike

2009-01-25T06:49:00.000-08:00

I've gotten so far behind in my postings. These pictures are actually from Christmas. Christina and Mike took Aedan to an interactive museum. As you can see he had a wonderful time knocking things down! The videos are my favorite!

Visit with Oma, Papa and Grandma Dorothy

2009-01-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

We were in Minden for New's Years Eve and New Years and had a wonderful time visiting with everyone. I took Aedan out to get a picture in the same tractor that you were photographed in when you were little!

We also celebrated Christmas with your parents while we were there, so you can see the kids (mostly Aedan) opening their gifts. And we watched Nebraska win the Gator Bowl, and you can see both kids were decked out in their Nebraska outfits you got them for Christmas!

Aedan's ear infection kept him from being the charmer he can be (ha ha), but I'm hoping he's better behaved when we visit everyone again in April!! You can tell from the pictures that he LOVED having his Oma read to him!

Aedan turns 2!

2008-12-30T21:02:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures from Aedan's birthday party. He and Sadie shared the cake since their birthdays are only 2 days apart. So now our little man is two years old!! I also threw in a picture of Ciara and Spanky for you! We'll be able to enjoy it all together next year!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T14:52:00.000-08:00

Here are some Christmas pictures. The kids really enjoyed their presents from you Steve. Aedan loves his Nebraska semi and Alana modeled her Husker PJs for you. We wish we could have celebrated with you and are looking forward to next Christmas!

Decorating for Christmas

2008-12-15T00:09:00.000-08:00

The kids are helping decorate for Christmas. We sure miss you and wish that you were here!!

Ciara's an Iowa Dog!

2008-12-15T00:05:00.001-08:00

Ciara and Spanky both got new Iowa Hawkeye tags after Ciara got out of the fence and when a man caught her at the post office he thought her tags were from Arkansas!

Aedan pictures

2008-12-14T23:56:00.000-08:00

And Aedan, our calm child...ha ha! He has really gotten into coloring...and you can see that Alana also participates in his artistic expression! The pink outfit is the one morning that he woke up and decided he wanted to be dressed like "the baby"...yes, the sweater is actually Alana's...it's a little snug. He surprises me with something new each day!

Alana pictures

2008-12-14T23:21:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pictures of Alana. As you can tell, she's growing fast...and can now sit up and pull herself to standing. Her hair continues to grow...and is starting to look like mine when I was little...sticking straight up! She's a busy girl, and as you can tell from her highchair picture, she works so hard she gets tired out!

Aedan's Snowman

2008-12-01T00:40:00.001-08:00

We had our first big snow today, and Ray helped Aedan build a snowman. Check out what they used for the mouth! Ciara quickly made off with the arms!

Alana (Finally!) and the flowers

2008-12-01T00:28:00.001-08:00

I wanted to get some pictures of Alana on the blog...and also of the beautiful flowers that you sent. They lasted more than 2 weeks...thank you! The one picture is of Alana sleeping is in the dog bed! For some reason she loves to crawl in there and play :-)

The Player Piano

2008-12-01T00:15:00.000-08:00

Aedan has become a HUGE fan of the player piano. I almost didn't include the video since my singing is so horrible, but it's hilarious to watch him dance. Ray is playing the piano rolls in the background. Aedan went back and forth between the GGs making them dance with him!

GGs Nathan's visit

2008-11-30T23:58:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa Nathan (Aedan calls them GG for Great-Grandma and Grandpa) stopped by Cedar Falls on their way to Arizona. As you can tell, Aedan kept them busy!

New Cousins

2008-11-30T23:47:00.001-08:00

On 11 Nov, Steph and Bryan welcomed another little girl into their family. Madison is beautiful! Mom and baby are doing well.

And we just found out that Nathan and Ruth are also expecting a little girl in April. So Aedan and Alana will have lots of cousins to play with...if only we all lived closer!!

Aedan and Ciara

2008-11-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

It's finally gotten cold here. So here are some pics of Aedan decked out in his new coat. Steve, I knew you'd like the video because you can see Ciara "butt-tucking" in and out of the screen a few times. She and Aedan were so excited to see each other again. I will try to get some new pics of Alana up soon...I know you've been missing those.

Pics at Grandpa and Grandma Howard's

2008-11-09T21:39:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures that my dad took of the time Aedan spent in Ames. It sounds like they had an adventure every day. I don't think Aedan wanted to come home!

Halloween Pictures

2008-11-09T21:37:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures of Aedan at Halloween. Dad said that he caught onto the candy part very quickly :-) He got the lion "roar" down pat. Alana just dressed up to hand out candy. Wish we both could have been there.

Aedan with his pumpkin

2008-10-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

Steve,
I won't be able to post Halloween pictures until after the first week of November, but here is a pre-Halloween picture of Aedan in his "little stinker" costume with his pumpkin that Grandpa Howard got him at the pumpkin patch.

Irish Eyes

2008-10-22T12:51:00.001-07:00

Steve, here are the outfits you sent the kids from Ireland. They fit perfectly and the kids say thank you daddy! Can you tell Alana's found her thumb?

Fun at the Park

2008-10-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

We visited a park behind Charissa and Phil's house, and Aedan had a blast. He loved the swings...and thought it was great that Joey did all the work and the singing!

Girls' Weekend

2008-10-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we traveled to Minneapolis for a girls' weekend with my grandmother, my mom and me, my aunt Debbie, and my cousin Charissa and her three kids. Charissa's husband Phil also graciously put up with all of us for the entire weekend. Secretly I think he likes being one of the girls. Charissa's children are Asher (5), Joey (3) and Harper, who is about 2 weeks older than Alana. I think the kids almost had as much fun together as we did.

The best part of Plow Day...Riding Henry

2008-10-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Two gentlemen from Roland, Iowa were nice enough to invite Aedan over to pet and ride their two horses, named Henry and Harry. They are the biggest horses I have ever seen! When the men were told these pictures were going to be seen by Aedan's daddy in Iraq they said, "Now we know why we were here today." Truly wonderful people...why I love the Midwest.

Aedan Directing the Drinking

2008-10-08T21:37:00.001-07:00

Aedan LOVED telling the horses how they were supposed to drink out of his bathtub!

Aedan Watching Plowing

2008-10-08T21:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video of the actual plowing. Aedan loved it when the horses made noises.

Plow Day!

2008-10-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

We had the best time at Plow Day in Iowa Falls, IA on 5 Oct. Aedan got to pet the horses with Grandpa Ray and shell corn with Grandpa Howard.

Aedan and Alana

2008-09-29T10:10:00.000-07:00

Aedan and Alana seem to keep changing every day. Alana has just starting rolling over. In the picture of the 2 of them, Aedan is showing Alana how to talk to Daddy on the phone. The video shows Aedan's attempt to play with his sister...still pretty rough, but we're getting there!

Aedan misses Daddy

2008-09-29T09:54:00.001-07:00

Aedan really misses you Steve. Here is his sad face to show you just how much!

Ciara Reunited!

2008-09-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

We have all been so excited to see Ciara again...no one more than Aedan. He loves his puppy!

Second Summer!

2008-09-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

The kids are really enjoying their second summer and the lack of clothes! Aedan has learned how to pick tomatoes!

Iowa!

2008-09-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

The kids and I arrived in Iowa on 23 Sept. So far they have really enjoyed the warm weather (it's about 30 degrees warmer here than in North Pole...in fact the termination dust just hit interior Alaska this week) and being out in the dirt. We all miss Steve and are grateful that we are now counting down the days until he comes home rather than when he leaves.

Christmas Early

2008-09-18T08:01:00.001-07:00

Here is our family Christmas picture. We took it just before Steve left.

First Attempt

2008-09-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Marr Family blog. I'm creating this page so that Steve can get all the details of what is happening with me and the kids while he is deployed, view pictures, etc. I'm new to blogging, so hopefully the page will get a little more interesting with each posting.