Bring on the Festivities!

Happy Holiday Greetings, Space Cadets! This is SuperDad coming to you from the frigid and frozen Iowagner HQ. Somehow another couple of action-packed weeks have slipped by. Now it is time for us to reflect together on our experiences. We hope you enjoy the journey!

On the 12th SuperDad was able to rejoice due to the semester being over. This gave his mind and nerves a much needed break. SuperMom celebrated by baking up a storm and sharing her tasty wares (cookies) at a neighborhood cookie exchange party.

We made our first attempt as a family to build a gingerbread house. We must admit though that we somewhat cheated by buying a pre-fab house kit. As you can see from the pics, the SuperKids were much more interested in the candy decorations.

The House Takes Shape (Ignore the Box in the Background)



Mmmm, Candy!

SUGAR!!!



The Finished Product

We also celebrated our Lil' Bear turning two years old. SuperMom and I still wonder in disbelief how our baby could be two years old already. It seems just like yesterday he was in diapers...wait...he still is! We had a quaint celebration with some of his buddies, the smaller half of the Super Schloemers. I love his range of emotions and faces in the following pictures. I see a future on the big screen or television.



Hmmm...Which one do I eat first?!



Do You Like My Moustache?! Clark Gable Eat Your Heart Out!

Bear wondering, 'Is this for ME!'

As a family we were also able to enjoy Monkey's Pre-school Christmas Program. It was great seeing all the little kids singing classic songs and some new ones. My favorite was a rendition of the 'Wheels on the Bus' song with a Christmas theme. Monkey loves to sing, so this was perfect for her. Gotta love the hats too!



Monkey Singing. Once Again, She's the Tallest



Monkey Telling the Bearded Great One How Old She Is

SuperMom ended the week with yet another cookie party. No wonder people gain weight around the holidays! As for the weather, on the 14th we started out around 50 degrees and within a matter of 3-4 hours we were around 17 degrees. Places that were warmer than we were: Nome, Alaska! This week we have dropped below 0 degrees multiple times, -25 to -40 degrees with wind chill. Welcome to Iowa! It looks as if we will have a White Christmas after all. Makes this time of year even more exciting.

-Finally, SuperDad just wants you to remember the reason for the season. Merry CHRISTmas to all SuperFans everwhere!

WE'RE BACK!!!

Hello again Faithful Followers of the SuperFamily. We apologize for our absence. We have been out trying to save the world in our own unique and special ways. We'll do our best not to let it happen again!

Now, let us catch you up on the harrowing adventures of...The IOWAGNERS! The past weeks found us celebrating such milestones as our official first snow (subdued 'yeah!'), Thanksgiving, and visitors from afar. The following picture show, with narration, has been compiled for your enjoyment and education. There will be a short quiz to follow! :)

To get in the Christmas spirit Monkey and Bear had to make their traditional visit to Santa and Mrs. Claus at the local shopping mall. Bear was not too enthused.

The First Snow. To remind us that warm weather is a distant memory and sub-zero temperatures are just around the corner.

Thanksgiving preparations. SuperMom and another favorite superfamily, The Schloemer's. They brought with them the gift of deep fried turkey (quite tasty) and yummy pies. They also brought with them family from St. Louis. All in all we had 12 people (6 adults/6 children) at Iowagner HQ.

The beginning of "The Spread." Each of us ate our requisite 5,000 calories (more or less) in one sitting. You have to love American tradition!

Bear's new love: Cranberries. We gave up on refilling his plate and simply gave him the entire dish of cranberries. Yes, he ate the entire bowl!

Breaking the gender barriers. 1 dollhouse; 1 girl-3 boys!

Monkey makes a fashion statement/exclamation(!)

Bear shows his love to a sleeping Monkey

Simply a cute picture of Bear I had to throw in (I'm a sucker for his dimples and blue eyes!)

The newlyweds, we'll call them 'Team A.M.', came to visit us on their way from Philadelphia, PA to Utah. The SuperKids especially liked having new friends to play with. We especially owe a big 'thank you' to Mrs. A for facilitating the dance where SuperMom and I met for the first time many moons ago.

Pop Quiz: Who's your favorite SuperFamily?

SuperDad signing off...

3 Going on 13

SuperDad and I are always talking about how our little Monkey is 3 going on 13, but now we have proof. If you look really closely at the picture of Monkey below you can see a huge zit on her nose. Can you believe it? She even has the "oh, mom!" look down pat. I cherish these precious moments with her because at the rate she's going she'll be 18 by Thursday and wanting to get married by next Sunday. They grow up so quickly, don't they?

Other highlights of this week...

The SuperKids were playing in Monkey's dress up clothes and Bear wanted to wear one of Monkey's Easter hats almost all day.

Oh, ice cream how we love thee! Like Mother, like daughter you've got to lick out the bowl.

Bear on the other hand is not always the ice cream fan. This was his reaction to his ice cream. Needless to say, SuperDad ended up eating Bear's share. Where did this kid come from?

This Week's Forecast: 73 Degrees and SNOW!!!

Greetings and Salutatations Space Cadets! The month of November started with us thinking it was a few months earlier. Monday and Tuesday the temperature was a pleasant 73 F degrees. By Thursday though Mother Nature reminded us that Winter is indeed coming. With daytime highs barely breaking freezing and snow flurries, the Iowagners are preparing for a few cold months.



On Tuesday SuperMom and I exercised our right to vote in this very important election. Since this is not a political blog, we will not reveal who we voted for (Sorry Uncle C!). On Friday night we took the SuperKids to a Family Movie Night at the local community college. In their gymnasium they had face painting, clowns, juggling and much more entertainment. The main event was a showing of the movie 'WALL-E'. It is a great kids movie with less than subtle political and environmentalist undertones. It is Monkey's new favorite movie.



Unfortunately, the remainder of the week was uneventful, but pleasant. Gotta love the SuperKids and SuperMom!





SuperMom n' Kids Having Fun

This is Halloween, this is Halloween....

Lots of Halloween fun this week here in Iowa. Thursday Monkey had a Halloween Party at Preschool. The first few pictures are of Monkey before she went to School. Being homemade I wasn't sure if the costume would hold up to the test of being worn at school. Bear was a bit jealous that sister got to wear her costume so I put his on him as well. If you can't tell Monkey is Cheer Bear and Bear is Grumpy Bear from Care Bears. Whenever people asked Monkey what she was she would say, "I'm Cheer Bear from Care-a-lot." It was really cute. Monkey picked the idea for the costumes this year. It worked out well and really cheap. :)



Cheer Bear from the front.



Cheer Bear from the back. It's all in the details, my friends.



Again the jealousy set in. Bear with his five minutes of fame.



SuperDad's turn to take the kids Trick-or-Treating this year.

Here in Iowa they do it the night before Halloween; what is called Beggar's Night. I had planned the costumes to be warm because it is typically really cold here around Halloween, but it was in the low 70's this year and everyone came home sweaty.
We quickly got everyone changed into some cooler clothes and the kids ran around the house trying to wear off their sugar high. The kids didn't quite come home with the candy haul that SuperMom was hoping for, but it will have to do. One of the highlights of the evening was the kids taking turns trying to walk in SuperDad's big shoes.



Monkey Big Foot



Bear Big Foot (you can tell he thinks he's such a big boy)

We also had a Trunk-or-Treat with our Church on Halloween night that was tons of fun. Again, SuperDad took the kids around and again, not so great with the candy haul. He was too busy chatting with everyone to focus on the real issue; The Candy!!!! Oh, well. We all really did have fun. I didn't end up handing out all the candy we bought so I guess everything works out in the end. :)

SuperMom signing off...

Still Racing For the Cure - Part Five

The Iowagners would like to cordially invite you to partake of this splendid blog post. We hope you find it as uplifting and inspiring as we have. First off, I must give a big verbal hug and even bigger thank you to SuperMom, and all those who responded to her posting this week. It gave me the warm fuzzies.

This week found SuperDad as busy as ever as he started again with framing young minds. His mission: to empower select youth to keep this country (well, at least Iowa) mobile. To enable them to fight the injustice of a vehicle in disrepair. Only time will tell if he has been successful.


The real excitement came on Saturday. Your favorite SuperFamily combined forces with approximately 24,350 other equally awesome people. We took to the streets of downtown Des Moines to take on the pernicious evil known as breast cancer. This was our fifth year in a row to participate in 'Race for the Cure'. We do it to honor SuperMom's amazing and feisty Grandma J, who fought a battle with breast cancer and won! This year, with SuperKids in tow, we completed the entire 5K walk. Even with the massive crowds we still were able to enjoy the experience. We actually came extremely close to breaking the record set by New York City of 25,000 participants. There is always next year...

Waiting for the Race to Begin

The Starting Line

SuperMom n' SuperKids cross the Des Moines River

People as far as the Eye can See

Rare Shot of SuperDad n' S-Kids

All Smiles at the Iowa State Capital (a.k.a. the finish line)

The Statue of Liberty...in Iowa! (note Bear's excitement)

Monkey-Always Fashionable in Ford 'Warriors in Pink' Headscarf and Sunglasses

Until next time space cadets...farewell and good night!

-SuperDad

Just Because / For The Man

Just because my SuperChildren are being extra wonderful at this moment and I was having fun reading every ones blogs. Just because I'm grateful for Mr., Mrs., and Baby Potato Heads that keep my children busy for hours on end. Just because I can. More especially, just because SuperDad needs a shout out.

I get comments all the time from people that tell me how hilarious and fun our blog is. Frankly, it wouldn't be as good without SuperDad and his posts as well as his Creative Genius. I'm not quite sure if it is because men are not so apt to be involved in the world of blogging, if he doesn't feel like he gets quite as many comments from people as I do, or some other third thing, but he's feeling a bit unappreciated lately. So I'm asking, no Begging, you to please leave a comment of praise for this wonderfully comedic man that works extra hard for his family and at saving the universe from untold perils. Thanks for all your love and support SuperFans!

-SuperMom signing off...