Bell Ringers...

Today was the last day of swimming lessons for the boys. They both were able to move up another level! Caught Conner just after he rang the bell on Thursday. Today Ben rang the bell, so (thank goodness) they are once again in the same level!

Pancakes...

Dad made Mickey Mouse pancakes this morning, so the ears had to come out, too!

Multiplication...

Ben passed the multiplication part of one of the online programs that we do at home! He was one proud boy!!!

Cars 3...

We had wanted to do some fishing today, but with the cooler temperature and wind, we decided to ask the boys what else they would like to do today. They both said they wanted to go see Cars 3, so that's exactly what we did! The boys both really liked the movie!

Improv Show...

The boys wanted to make a video, so I told them to go ahead... this is what they came up with!

Ring the Bell...

When they move up a level in swimming lessons, kids get to ring the bell. Both Conner and Ben got to ring the bell today! They were very proud and excited!

Swimming Lessons...

We are trying something new this summer with swimming lessons at the Aquatic Center by the high school. I thought the boys did very well today, so I'm hoping this is a good change! They got a lot more individual attention, so I was pretty happy, and they had a great time!

After lunch, it seemed to be time for some backyard shenanigans... this is my favorite part of summer!

Happy Father's Day!

Nick had to work on Father's Day morning, so the boys and I decided to go see him and pick up some groceries while we were there. Conner had the idea to wear his "work clothes" and Ben agreed that it needed to be done. So, this was the scene at HyVee...  While we were shopping the boys told several people that they were acting like "gentlemen" today and Conner even asked people if he could help them with anything!

When Nick got home from work, he opened some presents and we all spent some time together. I asked Nick what else he wanted to do today and he said "smoke some ribs and drink some beer!" So, that is exactly what we did! We watched the kids play outside while enjoying some cool beverages and enjoyed a wonderful dinner that Nick made!

Happy Father's Day to you Nick! The boys and I are so grateful for you and everything that you do for us! We love you beyond words. You are the best daddy!!! And, Happy Father's Day to Gramps and Papa! We hope you all enjoyed a wonderful day!

Castle...

After a tiring baseball game last night, the boys were ready for another one on Saturday morning! I just love them in their uniforms! Nana and Gramps came to watch the game, too!

Ben thought he would try to make the castle at the Magic Kingdom! I thought it was pretty sweet that this is what he chose to do with some of his free time tonight!

Sun and Slide...

On Friday, we decided that after having a semi relaxing morning, we would spend some of the afternoon outside since the weather was so beautiful. In between loads of laundry we all enjoyed the sunshine and the slip n slide!

Time to Go...

We got up at 4am so we could be in the lobby by 5am which is when a bus was supposed to come get us to take us to the airport. While we waited for the bus, the boys played some bags!

The plane rides were a bit rougher today with turbulence, but everything went smoothly again and we made it back to Des Moines to get our van and head home to Marion. We got home about 3:30ish? We were exhausted, but also so happy because we had such a great time!

Conner and Ben showed off their new sharks and their cars from Test Track! The rest of the day was spent unpacking and we had a little time to relax and appreciate being home again!

This was truly the trip of a lifetime for us! The four of us had so much fun and so many new experiences. We will be talking about this trip for a long time. The boys cannot wait to tell everyone about it. We did so much that it's hard to describe it all in one conversation. We are so thankful that we were able to do this and that everything turned out so great. Watching our boys' faces light up so many times every single day was amazing! It was an awesome vacation for our family!!!

Magic Kingdom Day 2!

Today was our last day at the parks, so we went back to Magic Kingdom. We were able to do everything in Tomorrowland that we hadn't done yet like Buzz's Space Ranger Spin, the People Mover, and the Carousel of Progress. Then came Space Mountain... Nick and Conner loved it. Ben and I were not big fans, but we did it! Next was the Tomorrowland Speedway that the boys had been looking forward to. We were able to do this twice in a row with our fast passes.

We did the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor where Conner got to talk in front of everyone! Then I was excited to be able to catch the Move It Shake It Parade where the boys got to go dancing in the street with some characters! The boys loved that! We had a late lunch at Tony's Town Square that was really good. The restaurant had a Lady and the Tramp theme so the boys enjoyed their spaghetti and meatballs and we had more awesome desserts!

By mid afternoon, we were full and we had done everything we could at the parks so we headed back to our resort to pack up our room and get ready for another early morning to the airport!

Epcot!

On Tuesday, we spent the day at Epcot. We had a quick breakfast at the resort and we were at the park by 8:45am. The first thing we had to do was Test Track. This is the one that the boys have been looking forward to for months! They got to design their own car on a computer screen and then take a ride that went up to 60 mph. It was pretty fun. This is one that would have been nice to have been able to do again, but it was so busy that we never got the chance. After the ride was over, you got to do some other activities before you got to the inevitable gift shop, so we spent a good amount of time at this one attraction! Then, we did Spaceship Earth which takes you through some history. Funny thing is that I rode with Ben and before I even got seated he had selected German as our language, so the whole attraction was told to us in German. We walked through Project Tomorrow and did the Seas with Nemo that exited into a room full of aquariums. The boys spent a lot of time there just watching the fish and looking for sharks! We had a quick lunch at Electric Umbrella.

After lunch we did Journey into Imagination with Figment, Living with the Land, and then we walked around to all of the countries in the World Showcase for the rest of the afternoon (in the rain!) Before dinner we were able to do Soarin which is the ride that feels like you're on a hang glider flying over the world. We did Living with the Land again so Nick could see all the produce again, and then we got to eat at the Garden Grill. This was the best meal we had all week!  The boys got to meet Chip and Dale and Pluto while we ate. The restaurant actually rotated so our view was always changing so it was pretty cool!

After dinner we did the Turtle Talk show where the kids got to ask questions to some of Nemo's friends. Ben got to talk in front of everyone! We did Spaceship Earth again (so I could hear it in English) and then it was time for the Illuminations fireworks show! Another great way to end the night!