Weekend...

It was awesome to see Brecken, Piper, Marley, Benjamin, and Conner all together!  The older three definitely keep each other entertained!  I really enjoyed seeing Brecken again and he is such a sweet baby!  I can't believe that Piper is already 1 year old and that was the real reason for our trip to Bettendorf!  The boys enjoyed playing pool and some Wii with Gramps!  Piper was not very interested in her birthday cake, but Marley was happy to help her out with it!  Another great trip to Nana and Gramps' house!  Thank you!

Getting Ready...

Dad had to go out of town for work this weekend and the boys and I were heading to Bettendorf for a birthday party for our niece Piper!  Here are the boys "getting ready!"

More Snow...

At this point, it seems that there will be no end to this winter!  Dad was blowing snow (again) and Ben was pretending to blow snow with his mower for a while!  Conner just played in the snow.  The piles are so big now, it's hard to walk, so it was funny to watch Conner trying to fill up his pail with snow and carry it to another part of the yard!  Then, Ben got his shovel out and tried to block the snow that Dad was blowing with the snow blower!  The one good thing about all this snow is that the boys are having great fun playing in it!

Dad was tuckered out after dinner, so the boys decided they would read him some "Captain Underpants" chapters!

Saturday Fun...

Saturday was one of those days that we couldn't really settle on one activity for too long!  The glow-in-the-dark hats were a hit for a while!  After lots of coloring, crafting, reading, and lunching, the boys did take a little nap.  When Dad got home, all the boys went outside and enjoyed the snow!  We even saved some pirate masks for the evening.  It was a great Saturday!

 

Happy Valentine's Day!

The boys had their Valentine parties yesterday since there is no school today.  Here they are holding some of their valentines!  Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Don't Cross the Line...

There are nights when I am cooking and the boys get a little too rambunctious for the kitchen so we made an invisible line that they can't cross when I am cooking on the stove.  Tonight, Ben felt the need to make that invisible line visible!  He made a line of blocks and then he even arranged the kitchen chairs and stools so that no one could enter the kitchen.  Then he decided that he needed to be the guard so he sat on the chair guarding the kitchen while I cooked!

Birthday...

We celebrated my birthday a little more on Sunday, when Nick's parents came and they even brought cupcakes! The boys had been worried about there being no birthday cake so we appreciated those yummy cupcakes from Mama and Papa very much!  After a very fun weekend, my birthday officially came on Monday.  The boys gave me their cards and gifts and then we went out for dinner together.  At 36, I am still a very lucky lady!  Thank you Nick, Ben, and Conner for a wonderful birthday!

Date Night...

On Saturday, Nick had a great surprise for me... He came home from work early (with flowers) and told me that the two of us would be having a date night, and that he had taken care of everything.  And he had.  He got my aunt and uncle to babysit, made dinner for the kids, helped clean the house, and gave me time to get ready to go out!  Dinner and drinks with my husband (and only my husband) hasn't happened for a long time!  We had so much fun!  It was the best birthday present I could ever ask for!

Staple Free

Today, I took Ben back to the hospital to get the staples out of his little head.  He did absolutely amazing! The doctor asked me if we were okay with her taking the staples out without numbing Ben up first.  After some discussion, we decided to go ahead and try...  Ben was awesome.  He sat still the whole time and even held the staples in his hand as the doctor pulled them out.  He started shaking a little bit by the time the doctor got to the fourth staple, but he held it together and we were able to get out of there pretty quick!  So now that the metal is all out of Ben's head, let's hope to keep it that way!  That kid is a rock star and he was very proud of himself for being so brave!!!