rainy day

We stayed inside today. Eli discovered his sudoku for kids book, and Noah spent the day in underwear without any accidents. We needed the rain outside. We did not however need the rain shower coming from our kitchen sink when I turned it on this morning.

There's never a dull moment

when all of the cousins get together. Since my dad is going on a fishing trip next week, we did an early Father's Day celebration at Krista and Brent's this weekend. We had two beautiful days filled with lots of fun! Eli got to sleep both nights in a camper with Zach and Drew, and woke up this morning not feeling well. He's had this happen more than once after a couple days of not eating, drinking, or sleeping enough. Luckily, he was feeling much better by this afternoon. When Noah realized at breakfast today that the other boys slept in the camper he said (with a very sad face), "I thought I was going to sleep in that campfire tent"...poor Noah.

The "kiddie cruise"

Matt and Tyler are here!

We had some rock delivered on Monday hoping to one day finish our landscaping. I made a quick phone call to my Dad yesterday, and less than two hours later my parents' were here to help. Dad and Joel got a lot done last night, and when Grandpa Jim and the boys showed up at 4:30 this afternoon, Joel put them right to work. It's nice to have that project finished, so thanks everyone for the help! Eli and Noah are in HEAVEN with Matt and Tyler here for the night. Eli has playstation buddies, and Noah has been sword fighting and wrestling. Eli had a GREAT time in Iowa (thanks Grandma, Jennifer, and Grandpa). I'm pretty sure he didn't miss us one bit, and he was fighting with Noah 2 seconds after he got home. Ah...back to normal.

Missing My Brother

Eventhough we've been trying to keep busy, poor Noah has not been the same without Eli. We met Craig and kids at Chuck E Cheese's today (which Joel informed me is just mean to do when Eli isn't here). It was fun, but as soon as we pulled into the garage, Noah said, "Is Eli here NOW????").

Eli is in Iowa

Grandpa Jim stayed with us on Friday night on his way down to Iowa, and he had this brilliant idea to take Eli with him. Matt and Tyler are going to spend a few weeks in North Dakota, so they'll drop Eli off on Wednesday. It sure has been quiet around here. Poor Aunt Jennifer is probably not having that same experience. I stole this picture from Jennifer's blog. Grace and Eli played a few games of Guess Who in the basement tonight as tornado sirens were going off.

**It just happens to be Jake's birthday tomorrow. Last week Eli told Jen that he was going to Jake's b-day party. Hmm......

Busy Boys!

Eli was supposed to have his first day of parks and rec golf at 8:00 this morning. We drug him out of bed, and the whole family went to the golf course to find out that they are waiting another week to start since school isn't out yet. We decided to hit some balls anyway. HAPPY GILMORE!

My wonderful husband had already taken today off, so I could have a day off. After the driving range, I left to get my haircut and to do some shopping. Joel had a dentist appointment at 1:30, so I came home a little after one. Noah was already napping. They had been to two parks, the zoo, the flower store, and Joel had done some planting.

The Boys

I spent two hours with the boys at Concordia today trying to get a good picture of them, and all I got was frustrated. It must be time to call Ria!

Buland Park

Today was our first day without Jack and Ella. I must admit that I have been dreading this a little bit. Although I'm looking forward to warm weather, being outside, and having a little more freedom, I'm not really thrilled about trying to entertain the boys all summer. They tend to fight a lot and listen to me very little. Luckily, it was a beautiful day. We met Craig, Austin, and Katelynn at the park this morning. Eli was INSISTING that we go to "Bulard Park" with the orange fire pole and rocks to put in his shoes. I explained to him that I didn't remember how to get there (we were there once last summer, and it is on the other end of town), and I would have to look up the address. He was sure that I just had to go towards Walmart and then take a right. I told him I'd find the address so we could go there after nap. It was exactly the way he remembered it; however, it was not to the right of Walmart.

Yum

Jack and Ella walked in with 4 HUGE chocolate covered doughnuts and a little bottle of sprinkles today. As you can see, everyone enjoyed them.

Memorial Day Weekend

* played cards

* played Clue

* played in the sand and water

* pontoon ride

*Joel, Craig and Brent stayed with kids (Joel prepared spaghetti and meatballs), so the girls (and Dad) could go out for my Mom's birthday Sat. night.

* Sun. morning the guys went golfing before we all met at my cousin's graduation.

* Joel and my parents did a little fishing but didn't catch much. Katelynn and Eli planting a tree with Grandpa
7 busy kids digging in the sand

last day of preschool

We sure are going to miss our daily notes!!

Glasses update: Pair #1 = not even two days

It was Joel who did the breaking. The glasses were a little tight behind Noah's ears, so we were going to take them in to be adjusted last night. In the meantime, Joel was just going to bend them a little so they weren't bugging him so much, and they snapped. Luckily, they had the frames in stock, and they were able to cut them. The glasses fit much better now, but every once in a while, Noah still complains that they hurt his ears. Other than that, he is doing GREAT with them (much better than I anticipated)!

Guess what arrived tonight!

After a few tears and a little ice cream,

Noah kept his glasses on for a while tonight. They don't seem to be slowing him down, but I see MANY battles in our future (as if we don't have enough already). Any bets on how long pair #1 lasts???

Kicking off Summer

Unfortunately, it barely feels like Spring. Today ended up being a really nice day. We had our first fishing trip (the boys lasted about 2 minutes), our first campfire (we roasted hotdogs for supper) and our first s'mores of the year (YUM!).

Accommodative esotropia

Is the diagnosis that the eye doctor gave Noah today. It is a form of strabismus which means his eyes are misaligned and point in different directions.
Accommodative esotropia "occurs in farsighted children two years or older. When a child is young, he or she can focus the eyes to adjust for the farsightedness, but the focusing effort (accommodation) to see clearly causes the eyes to cross."

Basically, he's farsighted, and his right eye rolls in when he's trying to focus. Glasses should correct the problem.
However, the new problem will probably be trying to keep glasses on his face.

Mother's Day at the lake

Who knew one set of extra clothes wouldn't be enough?? I didn't really think anyone would actually go in the water on purpose (I was kind of banking on Noah taking an unexpected swim). Eli started with a hand dip, and then he took his sock off to put a toe in. 5 minutes later he was in his boxer shorts and up to his waist. BRRR!!

Bible School

Katelynn and Eli spent their evenings at Bible School this week (which they LOVED!). Tonight they had a little performance. What a difference a year makes! Katelynn is in the back row, third from the left in the pink shirt. Eli is in the back row in the middle with a gray shirt on, and yes, they are both doing the actions! Katelynn sang too, but Eli just concentrated on his moves.

Thank you Auntie Krista!

Noah's blankie got left behind over the weekend. Krista sent it in the mail, and it arrived just in time for nap today.
What happened to his face??? Oh, just another day being Noah. Somehow he managed to hit it while pushing the Little People bus.

weekend

I took the boys to Krista's for a couple of days. Drew and Noah (mostly Noah) kept us very busy, but we had a lot of fun. Krista and I even made it to a movie Sat. night. (Thanks Brent!)

Eli and Noah could not get enough of the treehouse!

Guess who

was making "gates" using "bandaids".

This child...

is really testing me, and I'm failing!!!!! Today, he went sprinting out of the playroom with two hands FULL of blue fingerpaint. He ran into the family room (with me chasing him and yelling), went behind the big chair (there's about 12 inches between the chair and the wall), and finally fell on his stomach as I was grabbing for him. Maybe I should've been celebrating his coordination as he kept his hands in the air and somehow only got a little bit of paint on the carpet, but instead, I was thinking that perhaps I have never been so angry.