CUTE

Noah picked out his own clothes today.

Schwantz Bash

Joel was gone over the weekend, so the boys and I spent a couple of days with Krista & family. Saturday was the annual family get together at my Aunt and Uncle's which is always a good time.

Hay Ride

Yard Games

Followed by an evening campfire

Surprise

The big boys (and Brady) got to go to Como Zoo and Como Town on Tuesday. We met one of Krista's friends and her 6 year old boy there. Of course it had to be the hottest day of the summer so far, but we had a lot of fun (and the boys couldn't wait to tell the others all about it!).
Eli's favorite animal was the corn snake, and Zach liked the Zebra. They both loved all of the rides but were VERY disappointed to find out that they needed to be 7 to drive the bumper cars.

Camp Connie

I think we've been teasing my mom about "Camp Connie" since Krista was pregnant with Zach. Maybe we'll have to change the name to "Cousin Camp" so Dad can get a little credit. Since Grandma and Grandpa were pretty sure that they didn't want all of the grandkids at one time, we sent them in shifts. After Austin's party on Saturday, Eli and Zach went home with them. They went to the Prairie Wetlands Center in Fergus for a little while and weren't home 5 minutes before Zach fell and hit his head on the coffee table which required 4 stitches above his left eye.
Krista and I met at Mom and Dad's on Monday to deliver Noah, Drew, and Katelynn (Children must be potty trained prior to going to Cousin Camp, so Austin and Brady got left out). We spent the afternoon at the lake before taking Zach and Eli to Krista's with the promise of a big surprise in the morning. Craig and Jen spent Tuesday night at Camp, and the rest of us joined in for one more day of fabulous lake weather yesterday.

Highlights from Cousin Camp
- swimming under the pontoon at the swimming hole
-fishing
-eating fish
-making a "cherry pie" with Grandpa (playdough crust, berries from a tree, and napkins as whipped cream)
-campfires with smores
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!

Happy Birthday Austin!

Could he be any cuter?

Having fun with Jake and Chase

I had some more Iowa pictures on my other camera, so I'll share. We spent an afternoon playing with water at Jake and Chase's house. My "baby" Luke came over too. I can't believe these little boys who I started watching when they were 6 months old are now FIVE...and the babies are THREE.

The night before we left, Erica and I met at Hawkeye park so the boys could see each other one last time. They had fun feeding ducks, climbing trees, playing on the climbers, and watching Matt play in his tennis tournament. Next time we see these guys there will be another little blonde baby. Chase insists that he will not play with the baby if it's a boy.

The Cities

We left Iowa on Saturday and stayed at my Aunt Cindy's for a couple of days so we could meet up with Joel's Mom's family. We were able to catch up with some friends over the weekend before everyone arrived on Monday. All of the kids had a great time together! Joel and I are still nursing sore muscles from the family tennis tournament.

Iowa

Lemonade Stand

Adventureland

Eli's favorite rides were the Underground and Sawmill Splash. Noah's favorites were the Froghopper and Sawmill Splash (thank you cousin Tyler!!).

Noah had a Batman birthday party at Cathy's. We were glad that Jake and Chase were able to come (Chad and Erica too!)

Noah spent most of the week with the dogs. Cathy and Jennifer both have two.

Aunt Jennifer made the adorable Batman cake(s).

The boys had their first bowling experience at Matt's b-day party.

Birthday Girl

We got home at 11:30 last night from 10 days of parties and vacation (lots of pictures soon) Today, the boys and I got to spend the afternoon helping Little Miss Ella celebrate her 3rd b-day. We love you sweet girl! Thanks for the fun party.