Sun Fun...

More fun outside today!

Pool...

We opted for the pool today and spent much of our afternoon lounging around in it! Conner and I were done in the water, but Ben stayed in a while longer so I snapped a picture of him! 

Remote Control Car!

Conner chose to take some of his birthday money and get a new remote control car! He spent some time today on the deck and out front driving it around. Conner and Nick made a little ramp for it. Conner was very happy with his purchase!

Briefcase!

Ben has wanted a briefcase for a long time... not sure exactly why, but he is definitely a kid who likes to have something to put things in! He took some birthday money and bought himself a brief case and it arrived today! He is pretty happy and has been carrying it with him wherever he goes!

More Fishing...

We made the short trip over to the lake in Palo today to do more fishing. Ben caught two bluegills today, so that was fun! 

Birthday Concert...

Today we traveled to Ankeny to celebrate my sister's 40th birthday! We also celebrated all of our family's July birthdays, including Ben, Conner, Cari, Josh, Nana, and Gramps. There is a musical group that lives in Des Moines and has been doing driveway concerts in the area, and Cari was able to have them play at her house! It was such a great performance and the boys had so much fun dancing!!!

Fish and Sun...

We spent our day fishing in the sunshine. What a gorgeous day to be on the lake! 😎

Pizza!

Another birthday dinner tonight... Zoey's pizza with Dad's homemade cheeses curds while we watched the Nascar race! The boys had so much fun camping out in the basement last night, they are going to do it again tonight! 

Happy 13th Birthday!

Today is the day! Conner and Ben are 13 years old!!! Unbelievable! We started the day with breakfast sandwiches, courtesy of Dad. The boys opened some gifts from us. The big surprise was new bikes!(which were not easy to find, by the way!) We took the bikes outside and the boys jumped on and immediately loved them! Mama, Papa, and Great Grandpa were able to come and enjoy the afternoon with us. Nick smoked ribs, which were amazing, and the guys got to open more presents! Conner and Ben wanted ice cream lasagna for their second cake! For dinner, we were all quite full, so we decided to let the boys have dessert for dinner and made giant chocolate chip cookies with ice cream and whipped cream. We had to sing and blow out candles just one more time for these super special birthday boys! They wanted to camp out in the basement tonight, so we put some mattresses downstairs and the boys had a great time watching movies and ultimately sleeping downstairs! They said it was the best birthday! I still can't believe they are 13, but I am so proud of both of our boys. It has been a tough several months, but they have persevered and done so well at home. Despite the uncertainty of our reality, we have enjoyed the extra time together. Conner and Ben, you are everything to us. We love you so much! Happy Birthday, my loves!

Steak and Shrimp!

The guys started the day with some archery practice! They are really getting good! Conner had requested steak and Ben wanted some shrimp for dinner, so we had a special steak and shrimp dinner tonight to celebrate the night before they turn 13!