Carnival!

 Last night was the carnival at Ben and Conner's school.  A train ride was first on the agenda since the boys had been whining about going on the choo choo all day long.  They were the first ones in line.  I assumed that we would go with them since they're so little, but the conductor grabbed them, fastened their seat belt, yelled "All Aboard!" and then they were gone.  I was slightly freaking out, but they came back in one piece and smiling!

Next, we headed inside to do some activities in the gym.  The boys got to jump in this huge bouncy house for a while and they loved it!  Conner got scared about halfway through his turn and said he wanted out, but when I went to get him, he had changed his mind!  I couldn't get a very good picture of this but it was very fun to watch!

They both got to climb up the bouncy slide and go down by themselves!  (They needed a little assistance to get to the top!)  I was a little afraid that they would get up there and then be too scared to slide down, but like usual, they amazed me and just slid effortlessly down the huge slide!  We had to do this a few times!  (Ben is in the red, Conner is in the black!)

Conner wanted to ride the train again, so both boys got to go on another ride.  We got to play some games outside after their ride.  Ben was begging to do the beanbag game so we went and threw beanbags for a little while.
















As predicted, Conner had a bit of a meltdown when it was time to leave.  Ben joined in a little, but Conner really wanted to make sure we knew that he was not happy about leaving!

We had a great time at the carnival.  The boys are still talking about the choo choo this morning!

Wild Wednesday!

 We are enjoying our Wednesday even though we are stuck inside again.  After a brutal lunch (out to Zio Johnos... loved the food, hated the behavior of my sons!), and a very short nap, the guys are in great moods.  They are amped today... even more than usual!

Conner just felt like yellling!

Ben was marching in his new shoes... he loves them!  I know that because he's told me at least fifty times since he got them on Sunday!

Can you say adorable?  They are actually fighting over the phone that Conner is holding...

Ben began to pinch Conner's cheeks... I would have stopped him but Conner was giggling so much that I hated to break it up!

They decided to try and take their picture with the cell phone... it was amusing... finally Conner just grabbed it and took a picture of Ben!



It has been a wild Wednesday, but then again, most days have an element of wildness about them...  I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Randomness...

Well... the extra long nap did not happen today... about 45 minutes after the boys fell asleep, I heard Ben say "I love my new shoes!" I poked my head in his room but his head was covered with his blanket so I couldn't tell if he was actually awake or talking in his sleep.  About 15 minutes later Ben was up and running around his room.  I went to the doorway and this is how our conversation went;
Me: Ben, you were supposed to take an extra long nap today.
Ben: Why?
Me: Because we had such a busy weekend and you haven't had a nap in the last couple of days.
Ben: Oh.  Hmmm... ( hand on chin as if in deep thought)  Well, I have my Hawkeye shirt on!
Me: What does that have to do with taking a nap?
Ben: I don't know.  (huge smile)
Me: Thanks for clearing that up Ben.
Ben: You're welcome Mommy! Play now?

I love the randomness of 3 year olds!

Happy Easter!

We got to spend Easter afternoon at Aunt Peggy's and Uncle Brian's.  We had a fantastic lunch and spent the afternoon outside watching the kids hunt for Easter eggs and see how much of their jeans they could cover with grass stains!  They were pretty good at both!

Nick wanted to show off the shiner he got on Saturday night!  Conner got a little too excited while playing with his helicopter and flew it right into Daddy's eye!

Conner and Ben had lots of fun playing with Uncle Brian's nieces!

We had a wonderful Easter with our family!  The boys were completely exhausted last night!  They were asleep by 7:30 and didn't make a peep until this morning at 6 am.  They don't have school today so we went to visit Daddy and the bulk of the afternoon should be spent napping!  We shall see...

Easter Baskets!

The Easter Bunny came to our house on Sunday morning!  That bunny brought some pretty cool stuff!  The favorites were jump ropes, airplanes, battery powered cars, and Toy Story sandals that light up when you walk!

It was pretty funny to watch the boys use their jump ropes... they tried really hard!  The jumping they have no problem with, it's the jumping through the rope that's a little difficult!

The boys flew their planes inside with Daddy for a while and then they got to fly their planes outside with Gramps!

We had a very fun morning!

Great Grandmas!

On Saturday we were able to go to Cedar Falls to visit our great grandmas!  We don't get to do that nearly enough so I was very excited.  Nick had to work, so the boys and I hitched a ride with Nana and Gramps.  We had an awesome lunch at the OP with family, a mini Easter egg hunt, and then spent some time catching up on Christmas and birthday gifts!

Conner tries to figure out how to get all his eggs into his pockets...

Ben and Conner got new drums!

Marley had to try the new drums as well!

We had such a fun time!  Nana and Gramps stayed Saturday night at our house so we could celebrate Easter on Sunday.  The boys loved having Nana and Gramps here.  It is always amazing how kids just know that when their grandparents are around,  they can get away with practically anything!!! Very cute to watch!

Easter Eggs!

Easter is coming and this year we decided to let the boys dye some eggs.  We knew this would be a challenging task, but sometimes you just gotta do it... ya know?! They were very excited but a little confused as to why Mom made them take their shirts off!  They put the eggs into the dye cups and were very impressed when they changed colors.  Mom and Dad had to explain we all needed to be careful with the eggs or the shells would crack.  Of course, the guys didn't take my word for it and ended up slamming the first couple of eggs down on the table to test this theory.  To their shock, Mom was right...  Conner and Ben both liked putting stickers on the eggs after they dried a bit!  By the end, we had dye all over the table, but no clothes or skin changed colors so we considered the activity a success!  The boys loved it and that's all that matters!

Conner and Ben show off their finished eggs!

Puff Corn...

Our favorite snack (right now) is cheesy puff corn!  Ben goes crazy for it! 

Conner wanted to share his with his giraffe friend who is visiting us from school while the kids learn about Africa!

"Tote"ally Fun!

In preparation of our "new house hunting" we have been trying to organize and get rid of some stuff around here!  Every time I go on a Target run, I pick up a couple more totes.  Ben is very appreciative because in case you didn't already know, it is very fun to play with the empty totes!



Easter Bunny!

Ben and Conner got to go see the Easter Bunny today!  We weren't sure if the bunny would make it to Hy-Vee because of all the snow this morning, but we lucked out.  Ben had a moment of fear, but he got over it and we got a pretty good picture!

Remembering....

I was remembering when....

• I was convinced that the boys were never going to walk by themselves!  They were so shaky for so long!  Now I can't get them to stop running around the house.  They love taking walks outside with Daddy.  They don't like to be carried because they really want to walk "by self!"
• We showed the boys how it was fun to play in the bathtub and splash around!  Now we would give anything to get them to STOP splashing!  They have even been to sentenced to separate bath times for a while!
• I could keep all of their attention during meal times because I was the one feeding them.  Now I still do more than my fair share of feeding them but for behavior reasons, not because they're just not coordinated enough yet!
• I marveled at how tiny their fingers and toes were.
• They would snuggle with me forever, or so it seemed.  Now I'm lucky to get a few moments in a row!
• They relied on me for every single little thing.  They become more independent everyday and frequently tell me when I move to help them, "no Mommy, I do self."
• I would leave the room and know that they would roll around safely on the floor.  The second I leave the room now, I have two followers who will go anywhere I lead them!
• We would have movie night and the guys would just play quietly around us.  Now they run around stealing our pizza and yelling at the tv when it gets to a loud part!
• They believed everything I said... for example, if a toy wasn't working I would tell them that it was broken and Mommy or Daddy would have to fix it later.  Now I say something is broken and they immediately ask if it needs new batteries!  Then they get out their own tools to fix it!
• I was nervous about starting them in school so young, now I'm a little worried about them NOT having school this summer!

It is always fun to look back... and so amazing and exciting to look forward! 

Glimpse...

Here is a brief glimpse of our evening!

Great Hubby!

Have I mentioned lately what a great husband I have?!  I wasn't feeling well yesterday so I laid down while the boys napped.  Unfortunately the boys decided that an hour was long enough for them... I obviously disagreed.  While I was lying in bed trying to decide whether to ignore the little "I'm done, Mommy" whines Nick came in from outside.  He gathered the little boys and headed outside with them!  I got to rest for another hour!  And then, after dinner, Nick took the guys for a walk.  This is their new favorite thing to do... no stroller, no wagon, just their own little feet!  So I enjoyed some quiet time by myself.  It really feels good when someone takes such good care of you!!!  Thank you Nick...

Cupcake!

This is what Conner looks like after he devours a cupcake.  Just in case you were wondering... I actually felt a little sorry for the cupcake!

Outside!

The word of the day yesterday was definitely "OUTSIDE!"  There is nothing our boys love more than being outside in the sunshine. 

Daddy worked hard while the little boys played hard!  A wonderfully productive day!