Eli's new best friend

Yep, it's a map. We had really been slacking on our tour of parks, so it was fun when we got this map in the mail. It has all of the town parks listed, so now we just mark them off after we visit them. Eli gets more excited about finding the parks on the map than actually playing at them. Last night we picked up KFC with the idea of eating at one of the "new"parks. Well, the playground equipment was made of rotted wood and metal slides, with no picnic table in sight. We let the boys go down the slides once, and then we were off to another park.

Erin... Jen.... you will be so glad that you did not join us on this morning's adventure. Eli found two parks on the map last night that are pretty close to each other and insisted we go today. This was the first park we went to. It was in the middle of a trailer park, and it was gross. Luckily, it didn't take much to convince the boys to move on. The second park was just a little neighborhood park, and it was fine but small. We didn't stay very long!

the boys

Krista and Brent had a wedding this weekend, so I offered to take the boys for them. We got to our house around 2:30 on Friday afternoon, and I was exhausted and thinking we had done everything we could possibly do by 4:00. I didn't even take a picture until we got to the lake yesterday and Grandma and Grandpa took over. A very wise man once said "you can't let them out-number you". Oh yeah- that was my husband who now thinks another one wouldn't be so bad. Maybe this weekend changed his mind.

*On a positive note* The kids were really good. They had lots of fun, and Brady is the best baby in the world. I even saw the return of old Eli- the one who plays nicely, listens (for the most part) and uses his manners.

family night

I packed a little picnic and decided that we should show Joel Eli's favorite park (the one with the maze). I thought it would be fun to take Eli's bike and go for a long walk. Well......Eli wouldn't ride his bike, and Noah wouldn't ride in the stroller. We had fun anyway with Eli in the stroller and Noah on shoulders, and we ended with an ice cream treat at the DQ.

What we did in Iowa

We had a lot of fun during our week at Grandma's! Noah kept saying, "Go that way. Go back to Grandma's" all the way home. Thanks for taking such good care of us, Grandma and Don! We loved Grandma and Don's swing on the their big front porch. We even watched a thunderstorm one night.

We celebrated Matt and Noah's birthdays. The kids had a blast trying to break open the pinata.

We played with our friends, Jake and Chase.

We went to Adventureland with Jennifer, Rich, and the kids. Eli's favorite ride was the "underground".

Grace and Eli had a lemonade stand. They had a few customers, but I think they drank most of it themselves.

Jennifer and I took the kids to the movie Space Chimps one afternoon, and Joel, Don, Tyler and I went to a late movie that night. I don't think I've been to two movies per years since the birth of Eli let alone two in one day!

Noah turns two...

almost a week ago!! We celebrated at the lake today. He also had a party last weekend when we were in Iowa. I'll post pictures of our fun week at Grandma Cathy's tomorrow.

trying out his new fishing pole

nice outfit!

Noah got an early b-day present from Auntie Jen and Uncle Craig last night. He has been carrying his new glove and ball everywhere!! He asked for them the minute he woke up this morning and again after nap. Tonight he was running around like this saying "I'm a hawkeye player" (he's still a little confused).

Go Redhawks!

Noah still calls them the Hawkeyes. Can you believe that the Redhawks have been playing for 2 months, and this is the first time Craig and Jen got our whole family to a game???? My mom, Craig, and I took the kids for a day game on Craig's birthday in May, and Eli got to go with Jen and Katelynn on Monday night. This was Joel's first game. Monday night, Jen taught Eli all about baseball: how many players are on the field, how many outs, how many strikes..etc.

Tuesday night, he learned the most important thing about baseball: how to eat sunflower seeds (which kept him very busy for a couple of innings).

Noah just ate Jen's snacks and then sucked on a lemon for a while.

Attack of the cheese puffs!

I just had to pass along my favorite picture from the weekend.

fun at the pool?

We met Jack and Ella at a cute little pool today. The first half hour was great. The kids had fun going down the little tunnel slide and playing with the water toys in the shallow end. Then, Eli decided he needed to go hang out in deeper water which eventually led to him crying (for a long time) about not being able to go down the big kids' slide (they don't let you wear lifejackets on the slide).

Kids fishing derby

The resort on my parents' lake held a kids' fishing derby on Saturday morning.

Everyone gathered at the resort at 8:30 to get bait and to find out a little about the derby. Dad, Joel and I took the boys out fishing for about an hour. We went back to the house for a snack, and then Joel, Dad, Eli and Zach went back out.

We went back to the resort at noon for pizza and pop. All of the kids (about 130) got a 12 pack of pop and lots of prizes. It was a fun morning!!! THANKS GRANDPA STEVE!

fabulous 4th

The great weather, parade, slip n slide, swimming, floating, fishing, family, boat rides, campfire, fireworks, birthday party, and squirt gun fights made for a great weekend!

Did I forget to mention...

that we are now proud co-owners of a fishing boat???

a lazy summer day

*sleeping until 9:00

*still eating breakfast at 10:30

wearing pajamas past 11:00

*gotta love the pj's he picked out for the hotest night of the summer!

In his defense, I know a few other family members who are not big fans of air conditioning!

2 busy days

Cathy and Don were barely here 24 hours, and already... Eli had been to a movie and on a bike ride with Grandma, Cathy and I took the boys, Katelynn, and Austin to the park, Joel and Don installed a screen door and we finally got my plants planted. And then, THEY took US out to eat. We're spoiled!!!!!!! Thanks for everything!

vacation continued

Craig offered to take over watering duties, so we could meet Joel's sister and family for a couple of days at their Dad's in North Dakota. The boys loved being with their cousins, riding in Grandpa's truck, playing in the tree house, going on adventures, and spending an afternoon at a pool.

Weslake Resort

Last Saturday, Craig, Jen, Katelynn, Austin, Noah, Eli and I piled in the van to head to the lake for our annual vacation with my mom's side of the family. We had 4 sunny and warm days at the resort. The weather was great for vacation; not so great for our newly sodded yard. Joel was on a fishing trip for a couple of days, and then he met us for day one of the resort. He stayed home for the next couple of days to water the yard and came back the last day so he could golf. 6 years of marriage and we're already taking seperate vacations. Jen was pretty sure we wouldn't get everything in the van. It was a tight squeeze!!!!

Eli's favorite thing at the resort this year was the canoe.

Noah had fun playing ball, being in the water, pretending to fish, and going for boat rides.

water day

This was the highlight of the boys' day and a life-saver for me. Thanks for the fun afternoon Erin, Jack and Ella! I had to steal these pictures from Erin's blog since I forgot my camera as I was rushing out of the house!

It's an exciting day at our house!

We finally have grass (and landscape block). Now, we just need some of that rain we had last week. Unfortunately, it doesn't really seem to be in the forecast.

fun at the fair

The boys and I met Craig, Jen, Katelynn and Austin at the fair for kids' day today. The kids had fun feeding animals and trying the fair food (Eli even ate part of a hotdog), but their favorite thing was the rides. We didn't go on too many. Next year we'll invest in wristbands.

Why I love my Dad

As a child:
* He is the best dance partner for a little girl.

*He taught us how to eat fruit (bananas in a bowl with milk and sugar, strawberries with milk and sugar on bread, peaches with ice cream)

*He put on a tough face, but he was always the "softy"

* He liked taking family drives in the country.

* He knows all the words to Johnny Cash's, "A Boy Named Sue and a few other great songs.

As a teenager:
*He coached our sports.

* He cut my steak for me long after I learned how to use a knife.

* He insisted that there was nothing good going on after 10:00pm

* He gave good advice (even if we didn't always listen)

* He let us make our own mistakes.

*You just never knew what part of the house he'd be in around 2:00am

As a wife and mother:
* He gives the best wedding speeches.

* He shares my love of chips.

* He is sensitive, hardworking, and always willing to help.

* He entertains my husband and plays with my kids.

* He can fall asleep in a second, nap for 5 minutes and be good to go (this has actually amazed me my whole life).

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

After much discussion of what we should do today, Joel decided he wanted to spend Father's Day at the lake. We fished, played baseball, played soccer, played basketball, played bingo and other inside toys, played on the hammock, went for a family paddle boat ride, rode scooters, dug up worms, and even found time for a couple of snacks. It was a fun and busy afternoon! Kids just really don't care if it's warm or sunny at the lake. The boys had a blast today!

Must've been hard work!!

Maybe the wedding dance should be BEFORE the wedding

We went to my cousin's wedding today. Joel, Eli, Noah, Jen, Craig, Austin, Katelynn and I all piled in the van this afternoon just in time for some quality car naps. Krista and her 3 boys joined us in our row at the church. Joel and Craig took Noah and Austin out of the church about 5 minutes into the ceremony (maybe less). Katelynn was good, and I think watching us was good birth control for my cousin who decided to sit behind us. After the reception, we had a couple of hours before the dance started, so we decided to go visit my Grandma (lucky her). I don't know what was worse; the tornado the children brought inside the house or the threat of tornado outside the house (we had to take the kids into the basement for a few minutes).

We figured we'd only be at the dance long enough to say hi and give Austin a bottle, but Austin fell asleep which allowed us a little more time. It was actually Eli who was ready to go home. He and Joel sat in the van to watch a movie and wait for the rest of us, but I was able to bribe him to come back in with a snack and some pop. The rest of the kids had a blast dancing!

Noah was trying out his break dancing moves.

Grandpa took turns dancing with all the grandkids. Noah wouldn't let anyone else touch him on the dance floor.

Mud Puppy

It's true when they say you learn something new everyday. I had never even heard of a mud puppy until I was reading my friend Andrea's blog today, and she was saying that they were finding them while raking at the lake. YUCK!!!!! Anyway, I had to google them. I found out that they are mostly in Canada and the eastern US, but they can also be found in the Midwest. They stay in the water until night when they look for food. Mom, have you ever seen one at the lake???? What would Katelynn think of this?

Where'd Ei (Eli) Go????

Someone is ready for his big brother to come back and play with him. Although I must admit that I've been impressed with how well he's been playing by himself!

play date

The boys had fun playing at Jack and Ella's yesterday. Here they are making their teddy bear pizza's. Thanks Erin!