Serious Soccer...

Soccer practice started this week for the AYSO team.  This is new to us this year so it will be interesting.  It's a much more serious team, with a lot more rules and a lot more practices!  Unfortunately, it has started the same week as school, so we have had some long evenings!  The boys are enjoying it though and that's all that matters!!!

First Day...

First Day of Second Grade... (sigh)

We all had a great first day!  We will all be extra tired this week!  Can't wait to see what second grade brings for our guys!

Soccer Gear!

We got some new soccer gear today.  Conner and Ben start soccer in a youth league next week and they had to have shin guards and cleats...  They are "real" soccer players now!

Golfing!

Ben, Conner, and Nick all got to go golfing today!  They all raved about how fun it was!!!

Bass Pro Shop...

On Tuesday, it was time to head home, but we had to stop at Bass Pro Shop!

Tomorrow, I will be off to work again and Nick will have a few days with the boys at home! Summer Break is officially over for us...  it went by so fast, I can't even believe it!

Living History...

We had Monday afternoon open and we knew that Tuesday was supposed to be rainy, so we decided to head over to the Living History Farms.  The boys had a great time walking around the different farms and the town.

We visited 3 different farms from different periods in history and then we got to explore the town from 1900.  The boys really liked seeing the schoolhouse and both wanted to pretend to be the teacher!

We all enjoyed the afternoon exploring!  The boys also really liked seeing the blacksmith and the old mansion.  When we got back to the hotel, the boys enjoyed some rock candy and we spent the evening swimming!

At the Zoo!

On Monday, we spent the morning at the Blank Park Zoo!  

After walking through the entire zoo, we decided to ride the train for one more look at the animals!

We all had a blast seeing the animals!  It was a great morning!

Boone Train...

One thing I wanted to do this summer was go to Boone and ride the train with the boys, so we decided to head over on Sunday and give it a shot.  The boys loved the idea of riding a real train!  They boarded the train, chose their seats, and enjoyed the ride!

It was a great ride!  We left Boone and went to Des Moines to spend a couple of nights and enjoy the mini water park at the hotel.

One More Race...

Nick wanted to fit in one more race with the boys before school starts, so the three of them headed to Farley tonight for a guys night! 

Last Days of Summer...

We are trying to enjoy our last days of freedom!!!  The weather has been so nice, so we have spent most of it outside.  We wandered over to the school playground this morning!  We have been coming to this park/school for 5 years now.  I can remember how steep the slide seemed, how high the swings were, how dangerous the sliding pole seemed, and how the boys couldn't imagine ever being able to go across on the rings...  we have gotten over all of that now, but it seems like yesterday...  

Ben requested to eat lunch outside...

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine... well, I enjoyed the sunshine. The boys ran around like hyperactive 8 year olds who know that their free afternoons are coming to an end!