PRIDE!

Ben and Conner were honored today with the PRIDE award at school. The award recognized students that have shown perseverance (P), respect (R), integrity(I), determination (D), and empathy (E). Out of 640 seniors, a committee chose 24 students that were nominated by teachers and peers for this award. We were overjoyed that both of our sons were chosen. We are beyond proud that Ben and Conner were both recognized for these important character traits! 

 

Goodbye For Now...

Nick's grandpa passed away on Easter, April 5. Today was the funeral for our grandpa. We knew it would be a hard day, but we did enjoy seeing our family. We have so many wonderful memories of our Great Papa. He will be greatly missed.

 

Motocross Shirt!

Conner has been talking about his love for motocross at school and a teacher happened to have a family member that used to race. Conner was gifted this motocross racing shirt. Conner was very excited for this "real racing shirt!"

 

Empty!

The guys and I headed back to Bettendorf today to help clean and take the last loads over to the new  house. It definitely felt weird seeing the house so empty. I took a few pictures of the empty spaces that our family filled for so many years. It is bitter sweet, but we are definitely looking forward to making new memories in my parents' awesome new house!

 

40 years...

Leaving a house after 40 years is such a huge task! Good thing the new house is amazing!!!

 

Last Gathering...

We all gathered in Bettendorf to help Mom and Dad get some more stuff over to the new house! This is the last time we will all stay together in the old house!

 

Announcements!

 Graduation announcements were delivered! This is getting real!

State!

Today is the day that the boys go to State for Esports Rocket League! Despite having to get up at 5AM, they were both so excited to attend the competition. Linn Mar was eliminated after the second round, but they still had so much fun. Ben's eyes lit up when he talked about the big screens and all the computers there! 

 

Job Shadow...

Conner and Ben were able to participate in a job shadow today at Alliant Energy. Peg and Brian helped us out by providing the transportation! The guys had a really good time, although neither one seemed to think they would like a job there. They said it was interesting and got to see a demonstration of what happens when a squirrel gets into a transformer. Ben said it was very loud!

 

College Visit...

 The guys were able to go to Marshalltown Community College today with their Rocket League team to explore the college and the Esports program they have there. Ben was impressed with the lunchroom food because there was such a huge variety of things to eat. Conner and Ben both sent us a message saying they wanted to attend college there! We reminded them that college also has classes to attend and homework to do... not just Esports! Conner asked if we could schedule another visit when I could go with them, so we might be making another trip to MCC again soon.

New...

We went to Bettendorf this weekend to see my parents new house and help move a few things over. It felt strange pulling up to a different house! But this house is amazing and will be great to spend time in! There is a small room in the basement and the kids all laid down in it to ponder what that space could be used for! The kitchen is absolutely amazing! After exploring the new place and making several trips back and forth, we spent the evening at their current home and celebrated my birthday along with our niece Piper's!

 

Team Shirts!

Ben and Conner are on the Esports Rocket League team at school. They think the team will qualify for State this year, so the team decided they needed a team shirt. The guys received them today and they were pretty excited. I especially like that their names are on the back!

Birthday...

Today is my birthday and after a long day at work, we made time to go out to eat and open a few presents! I love spending that time with my guys especially since we have all been so busy lately. It was nice to enjoy a meal out and just relax and laugh together. It was a wonderful night to celebrate Year 48!

 

Drawing!

Ben is in a drawing class at school and he is really enjoying it. He drew this picture of himself based on the photograph they took at school. I thought he did amazing and he was very dedicated to his art while he was working! Very impressive!

 

New Favorite...

Conner found a new favorite drink! Iced coffee... Conner and I went shopping today and grabbed some new snack items that he wanted to try and he decided he would like to drink coffee and settled on this cold brew. He really liked it!