Another Flat Tire...

Nick took the boys for a bike ride this afternoon and ended up with a flat tire on his bike.  When the boys all got back home, Ben walked in and said, "Mom, Dad has a flat tire on his bike, so I need to fix that.  I need to get my tools."  I said okay and he disappeared to the basement to gather a few tools.  A couple of minutes later, he came back upstairs with a full toolbox, some work goggles, and his tool belt!  I went outside to snap a picture and Conner had the goggles on and both were intensely "working" on the bike!  Apparently, along with Hot Wheels, Band-aids, and pudding cups, this household needs to invest in bike tires as well!  At least Nick's tire lasted a decade, not like Ben's which lasted a little over a month!

Our Very Own Volcanoes...

We made our own volcanoes this morning!  We just dropped some colored vinegar on a little pile of baking soda and watched it fizz up.  The boys were pretty impressed.  Then we made one big volcano in a cup of baking soda, poured the vinegar over the top of it and watched the cup overflow.  Conner and Ben love volcanoes so they thought this was pretty fun!

 

 

Movie Night!

Conner and Ben are ready for movie night!

 

Sick Daddy...

Daddy was not feeling too well tonight so he laid on the couch for a while.  Ben and Conner ran to get their blankets and wanted to lay down with him so he would feel better.  I told them that they couldn't lay on Daddy, so they made a little bed on the floor by the couch.  They didn't lay here for too long but I thought it was very sweet that they still wanted to be just like Dad!

Grown Up...

With the season changing, some new clothes were on my list this morning, so the boys wanted to try them on this afternoon.  (They actually love new clothes!)  Maybe it's just the fact that I haven't seen them in long pants and shirts for a while, but I was struck by how grown up they look all of sudden. (sigh...) 

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday was Nick's 35th birthday!  The boys spent the weekend with Mama and Papa so we did some serious celebrating last night and got to enjoy sleeping in past 6am this morning. (Which proved to be absolutely necessary!)  Since the boys weren't home yesterday, we decided to wait until today for Nick to open his birthday presents!  We met Mama and Papa for lunch and the boys both fell asleep in the car on the way home!  When we got home, they stayed asleep, so after a little nap, we were ready to open those presents!

 

We have had such a great week with Nick being on vacation!  The boys absolutely love it when Dad is home and it will be hard on them tomorrow when it's just Mom taking them to school again!  Thank you to Mama and Papa for taking the boys this weekend so we could enjoy a little adult time!  We greatly appreciated it!  Lastly, Happy Birthday Nick... you have made this last week so much fun and I love that we all got to spend so much time together!  I love you so much!!!!  Happy 35th!!!

Soccer!

Soccer is definitely the game of choice right now in the Hedlund household!  Ben always kicks with his left foot and Conner usually uses his right foot.  (Still trying to determine handedness!)

Pregame...

We are ready for the Hawkeye game today... all the way down to our doughnuts!!!

 

We picked up a new soccer ball this morning so when we got home, the boys wanted to play some soccer right away.  Every now and then, they would stop kicking the ball to each other and Conner would yell, "Huddle Up!"  Then they would crouch down together, whisper a few things to each other, and then yell, "Break!" when they stood up again!  It was pretty funny to watch!

















Lunch, nap, and then it's game time!!!

To the ER...

About 40 minutes after we got home from our Omaha trip, we had to make another little trip... to the ER!  I was unpacking and Nick called to tell me that Conner had fallen off his bike and would need help getting home.  (They were riding around the football field at the high school!)  So I drove over to see how our little guy was.  When I got close enough to see Conner, I could see that his face was covered in blood and he was crying so I got him loaded up in the van and we headed home to survey the damage.  When I got his face cleaned up a little, we could tell that the cut by his eye was going to need more than a band-aid and a kiss from Mommy to make it better.  Of course, with it being Labor Day and all, the Urgent Cares were all closed.  (Apparently you are not supposed to get sick or injured on a holiday...)  So, our only option was to make the trip over to St. Lukes to see if our little ConMan was going to need some stitches.  As is usually the case, we had to wait forever to be seen, but when we were able to see the doctor, he thought that he would be able to close the wound with some glue and that it would not require any stitches.  I was beyond relieved.  Since we had been there, Conner had kept asking me "no owies, right?"  I tried not to answer because I was really concerned that he would need stitches, but finally I could say "Nope, no owies!!!"  So the first picture is in the ER when they were trying to stop the bleeding and dry everything up so they could put the glue and bandages on!  The second picture was taken Tuesday morning and the third was taken this morning.  He definitely has a nice black eye forming today!  So, despite all the drama, we were just thankful that Conner didn't need any stitches!!!

 

The Omaha Zoo!

We were able to join some friends on a nice weekend getaway and we all loved it!  We went to the zoo in Omaha on Sunday and, as expected, the kids had an absolutely awesome time!  I took lots of pictures so I'll just share the highlights for now!  Here they are, ready to go!!!

We started with the petting zoo and carousel and then a nice train ride around the zoo to look at a lot of the animals.  I think the train ride was definitely the boys' favorite thing!

After seeing most of the outdoor animals, we spent the rest of the afternoon watching the penguins, walking around the aquarium, and finding our way through the jungle!

The zoo was such a great time.  Although it was soooo hot, we still had an incredible time!  The boys loved seeing all the different animals and I always love seeing them so excited!  After the zoo, it was definitely time for a nap and the boys put up no resistance!!!

We had plenty of time to go swimming at the hotel and the guys loved going down the slides and playing in the water with everyone!

It was so much fun to see all the kids having so much fun together all weekend.  And it was equally as fun for Nick and I to be able to spend some time with our friends, the Beeghlys, and enjoy some adult time!!! 

The trip home was long and annoying, but Ben was quite content with his new map!  We had a great weekend!  It was so great to get away for a couple of days and spend some time with friends and do something so cool for the kids all at the same time!



Packed!

We are traveling over to Omaha this weekend to meet up with friends and go to the zoo!  So, this morning, this is what I woke up to.  Ben and Conner informed me that they were packed and ready to go (at 6 a.m.)!  They are obviously very excited to get going!