A Week Away...

We traveled to Bettendorf this weekend to celebrate all of our family's July birthdays!  My sister, brother, mom and dad all have birthdays within two weeks of each other so we tend to celebrate them all together!  We have also made plans for the boys to stay with Nana and Gramps for the week so we are looking forward to a week packed with adult activities and we know that the boys will have tons of fun with their Nana and Gramps!  I will miss them terribly but I love that they are able to get a week on their own with their grandparents! 

Puppet Show!

So, after some swimming, splashing, and running around outside this morning, the heat pushed us back inside where we decided that we would make some puppets!  After the boys ate and napped, they were ready to put on a puppet show!  We had to put some "curtains" up because Ben told me that they couldn't do a puppet show without curtains...  They gave it some good effort, but in the end, I think they just liked playing behind the curtains!

Saturday Morning Sales!

Well, it was bound to happen... my tv that I was so proud of in our bedroom, that I had gotten at a garage sale for $10 finally quit on us.  Its demise was assisted by our son Conner who has an insane button fetish and can't seem to keep his little hands away from any buttons whatsoever.  So, whether it was Conner who finally caused my little tv to stop working or the fact that I paid only $10 for it, the point is the same... We needed a new tv for our bedroom.  It has become a part of our morning routine.  When the boys wake up, they can come into my room, wake me up and watch a disney show while I steal a few more minutes of shut eye.  Without the tv all week, it has been brutal because they have been running around the house instead of coming in to get me first, so on Saturday morning, the priority was to get a new tv!  And yes, I wanted to get one at a garage sale so we wouldn't have to spend too much money.  I knew going into it that it might be a tad unpleasant.  Garage saling with my 2 favorite monsters didn't sound like a particularly fabulous time, but desperate times call for desperate measures...  We made it to about 4 different sales.  Conner was a rock star...  he walked into all those garages with one thing on his mind, finding a new tv!  He walked around all the tables, telling me, "No tv yet Mommy!"  But he never gave up, and it paid off because we were able to find a very nice looking tv, very similar to the one that we had lost, and the best part is that it was only $10!!!!  Success!  Ben was not too fond of our outing... I know because he whined and complained almost the entire time.  But to be fair, a lot of that was because at our very first stop, he had fallen and had skinned his knee a little.  This usually doesn't phase our little daredevil, but it sure did bother him this time.  Until, that is, I announced that after we found our new tv, we would celebrate with a trip to the park.  Miraculously, his knee felt fine after that...  So, my conclusion is that I now know that Conner could be my future garage saling buddy and that Ben, most likely, will not be.  But we'll see...  you never know...

Action Packed Thursday...

We started our day today with some "pretend school" since preschool will be starting again before we know it.  I told Ben that I would be the teacher and he told me that he really wanted the "real" Amy!  (His teacher's name is Amy too!)  The guys did a decent job of sitting and working on writing their letters and cutting out some shapes.  Ben even wrote his name all by himself...  I was beyond impressed!

After spending much of the morning doing what Mommy wanted, the boys desperately needed some outside time and the activity of choice right now is riding the new big bikes, of course!

In the evening, Daddy got out the new baseball thrower and the boys loved it! 

That was our action-packed Thursday!  Maybe not exactly action packed, but pretty busy anyway!

New Slip 'N Slide!

Nick decided to get out the slip 'n slide tonight to get the boys back outside, but give them some relief from the heat!  Aunt Peg and Uncle Brian were kind enough to get the boys a new one since their last one was destroyed!  The boys all had a great time!

  

Con is losing his trunks!

 

A nice action shot...

 

My only comment here is that it says right on the box, ages 5 - 12....

Little Mechanics...

Nick, being the excellent husband that he is, got up with the kids this morning and handled the whole breakfast chaos that occurs on a daily basis.  By the time I made it out of bed, all was quiet, so I opened up the garage door and this is what I found!  What great little mechanics in training...

I knew that Nick had wanted to change the oil in the van and, as usual, he had two very eager helpers!  They had a great time until Conner managed to spill oil on himself and made a mess on the garage floor...

A Whale of a Good Time!

So I was feeling very brave, not to mention, ambitious, and decided that I should take my kids to the library to check out some new books.  Conner has been asking to go and I thought that maybe since they ARE 5 now, they could handle it....  it was a bit of a rough trip, though we did make it out of there alive and managed to even check out a few books...  We won't be going again for a while...  so when we got home, I knew we needed something with a little more action to keep my wild ones busy.  We got out the new pool and whale slide and this appeased them for the rest of the morning!  (I admit that I have great expectations for year 5, including a little more maturity, patience, and maybe even some calmer times... apparently I need to give them  more than 3 days to even think of attaining any of these!  Oh, but I love them so...)  They loved the new pool and I loved that they loved it!

Building with Stix...

Daddy, Ben, and Conner spent the evening making a fort out of their new building stix! 

Conner and Ben show it off before they destroyed it... of course...!

Birthday Party!

The boys' party theme this year was racing and they could not have been more excited! They were much more "aware" this year that it was their birthday and their party!  They had such a great time and we loved seeing all of our families together!

Papa made Ben and Conner their very own racetrack and they absolutely loved it!  The best part is that even after the party was over, we were able to move the track into the basement so the boys can continue to enjoy it!

 

Time for presents!  This always goes pretty fast for the boys!

New Bikes!

Dinner and time for our racetrack cake!

Ben and Conner were straining so hard to say cheese because they really just wanted to just get back outside!  They were not interested in eating cake!

Gramps used the hose to fill up the boys' new super soakers!  Uncle Josh quickly made himself the target and the boys loved trying to spray him! 

We had a great party!  Thanks to our families who were able to come celebrate with us! 

5 Years...

Tomorrow my babies will be 5 years old!  I don't know how it happened, but somehow 5 years have gone by...  (way too quickly, by the way!)

How can my boys be five already?!!!!  I'm pretty sure I said the same thing last year when they turned 4!  My wish for time to slow down has not happened, so I will continue to do my best to keep up with my active little guys!  We had a great year with our two 4 year olds and I look forward to another one with our two 5 year olds, who continue to amaze me all the time! 

Fishing!

Ben and Conner got to go fishing today with Daddy and Papa and they were more than excited!  The first thing they said to me when they got back was that they wanted to go again!  And then, of course, insisted that they should go again today...  Conner told  me that I could go with them next time, but Ben told me that I couldn't go because it was against the rules...  hmmm..

Happy 4th!

The boys spent the later part of the afternoon on the slip n slide!  They had a great time.  Unfortunately, the slip n slide did not survive the activity so we will need to be replacing that soon!

In the evening, we got out the morning glories and a few other (little) fireworks that Nick had stashed somewhere!  Here's Conner...

... and Ben...

Happy 4th of July!

Playground...

We took a little ride over to the school playground today!  It lasted about 20 minutes before both boys were overheated (especially Conner!) but it was a fun time!  (Conner has the shades on... just in case you can't tell them apart!)