Chuck E Cheese!

Conner was feeling pretty good tonight so we decided to take him over to Chuck E Cheese for dinner.  He has been asking for a while to go, and we have avoided it... until now...  Conner had such a great time so it was worth it!  It was nice for him to get out of the house and have some fun after his surgeries!

 

Ben will be coming home tomorrow and we are looking forward to having us all together!  Conner hasn't decided if he misses Ben or not!  Every time I ask him, I get a different answer, but Conner sure acts different when our wild Ben isn't around!  Thank you to Nana and Gramps for taking care of Ben so we could make sure that Conner had some quiet time to feel better! 

Surgery...

We spent the morning at the surgery center where Conner had surgery on his tongue, got new ear tubes, and got his adenoids removed.  He didn't fully understand what was going to happen, so he was still looking pretty happy even when we had to put the hospital pajamas on him!  He was ready to go!

 

Surgery went quick and when they brought our boy back to us, he was pretty out of it.

We had to go get some meds on the way home, and that was a little hard since poor Conner just wanted to get home! 

Luckily, the surgery went well and we are home!  Conner has been resting.  His tongue is pretty sore but hopefully that will just keep getting better!  It has been hard for him to drink and he refuses to eat so we will try again later!  Ben stayed at Nana and Gramps' house so he is having fun over there while we baby Conner a bit today and get him to feeling better!

Christmas in July!

After a great party on Saturday night and a full morning on Sunday to (kinda) recover we still had some more celebrating to do.  My sister, brother, mom and dad all have birthdays in July within days of each other so we gathered for a little gift giving. 

 

 

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating all of our July birthdays!  It is so fun when we are all together!  Thanks to our family for a great time!!!

60th Birthday Party!

Our Saturday was spent celebrating my parents' 60th birthdays!  We had a great party with lots of friends and celebrated into the wee hours of the night (or morning)!  Thanks to everyone who helped make the party such a great time!  Happy Birthday to the best parents a "kid" could ask for!

 

Balloon Drama...

We had a great surprise tonight... we thought Dad was going to have to work late, but he got home in time for dinner so we decided to go out.  We decided on Red Robin and had a pretty great dinner.  The boys got balloons as we left, which always brings drama in one way or another!  When we got home, the boys were running around outside with their balloons and Ben popped his somewhere in the backyard.  As if that wasn't traumatic enough, about a minute later Conner lost his to the sky.  They both sat in the driveway and pouted for a while!

 

 

Pretend Fishing...

This afternoon, the boys showed us just how much they want to go fishing!  They both grabbed their tackle boxes and some fishing poles and headed to the end of the driveway!  (I talked them into moving their pond up closer to the house....)  It was very funny to watch them pretend to fish!  About every 30 seconds or so, we would  hear, "It's a bass!"

Books...

This afternoon, we ventured to the library to find some good books to read.  As usual, the trip did not go exactly as I had planned!  They love to read, but pretty much rely on me to pick out all the books!  After the short trip to the library, we got home, and Ben asked me if he could run around the house a few times!  It is amazing how much our Ben needs some kind of physical activity all the time!  After being "cooped up" in the library, he needed to expel some energy!  When it was time to start dinner, I looked over and they were both laying on the couch, in full superhero gear so I snapped a quick picture!

Discovery Express!

The boys got a new train for their birthday, so we spent the afternoon putting the train together!  Once we had it together (there is a reason the instructions recommended 2 adults to assemble...) the boys really just wanted to play inside and pretend to be train conductors!  Eventually they were interested in coloring it, too!  The boys love it and had a great time tonight going into and out of the train as many times as they could.  Each time, they would come over to us and give us kisses before they left for the train station!

 

 

Slippin and Slidin...

We got the boys a new slip n' slide for their birthday and with the weather being so brutally hot, it seemed like the perfect day to give it a shot!  It always takes them a little while to get the hang of it again!  Always fun to watch!

Squirt Gun Fun!

The boys wanted to try out their new squirt guns tonight!  Yep, they work pretty good!  But so does the hose!  The best thing about the whole night is that long after the water stopped flowing and all the wet clothes were hung up to dry, Ben, Conner, and Nick were still talking about how much fun they had! 

 

IPTV at the Library!

This afternoon, Iowa Public Television had a little story time at our library so we headed over to check it out.  The boys really enjoyed it!  I got a shot of them walking out of the library with their new flashlights that were handed out! 

Happy Birthday!

Happy 6th Birthday Benjamin and Conner!  We saved our presents for their actual birthday today!  Conner had found some of these gifts earlier in the week so he knew he still had some "Spiderman" presents left.  (Stinker...I put some under our bed and he almost immediately found them!)  So, this morning the boys opened some more gifts and we celebrated their turning 6 years old!!!  Doesn't even seem possible that they are 6!

 

We spent the afternoon and evening opening and playing with every toy that we possibly could!  We got out their new planes and the boys really enjoyed those.  Unfortunately, it didn't take too long for both planes to be grounded for repairs!

 Ben and Conner also enjoyed some rocket launching!

I love this picture of our little Spiderman.  Conner looks pretty serious about it! 

Ben flew his "Bat" everywhere he could and was thrilled to discover that Batman actually shoots out of it!

So, now their 6th birthdays have come and gone.  Another birthday, another year, another moment that is now over.  We had a wonderful year full of so many awesome memories.  As usual, I am sad to see that another year has gone by so fast, but I am very excited to see what Year 6 will bring us... 

Happy Birthday to our Ben and Conner, the two most loved little boys that ever were!

Superhero Birthday Party!

Today is the day of our superhero party!  Can't believe that these two are going to be six, but I suppose it's time...  We were very blessed to have our families join us to make the day extra special.  The boys definitely love all the attention!!!  After playing outside for a little while, we jumped right into the gift opening portion of the party!  After the boys had opened everything, we enjoyed a superhero supper and lots of good times with our wonderful family!

 

We decided to do two separate cakes this year and I think both kids appreciated it!  Ben had a Batman cake and was pretty pumped about it! 

Conner had a Spiderman cake, of course!  He was thrilled and he had been asking for his Spiderman cake since we ordered it.

Happy Birthday party to my two boys!!!  We got through it and I have just been able to block out the fact that they are (almost) 6 now...  After the kids went to bed, the adults kept the party going with a warm fire and great company!

Josh and Nick tried their new pipes, handed down from my late grandpa.  The guys chose to take them from my grandma's house when we were cleaning some things out, and I must say that it was kind of a cool moment to see them with my grandpa's pipes. 

Thank you to everyone for a great party for our amazing boys!  Conner and Ben had a great time and that's all that matters to us!!!  Tomorrow they will officially be 6 years old....

Last Baseball Game!

This morning we had the boys' last baseball game!  They both had good hits and Nana and Gramps even came to watch so that was pretty awesome!  I do love watching them play baseball!  They're still so little so it's a bit tough sometimes to keep their batting helmets on while they are running the bases!  They both really enjoyed baseball and had a great season!  Good job Conner and Ben!!!