Camping

Our first camping of the summer. We went out to Cherry Glenn, a campground on Saylorville Lake on Friday night. We couldn't have asked for a better evening, the weather was perfect, no bugs, the boys had fun playing with friends and we enjoyed brats and smores by the fire. My parents were in town and we were happy that they could enjoy the evening with us.

The world is Cale's urinal. I really don't know what else to say, other than yes, I should take him to the bathroom, no, Eric and I should not be laughing at him and yes- his older brother thinks that is disgusting and I did say no later in the day when Cale had to go to the bathroom and Eric was inside getting us food at Taco Johns and when we got out of the van and there was some grass and Cale told me he could just pee here- a teachable moment- we only pee outside the camper when your parents are too lazy to get your shoes on and their shoes on to take you to the bathroom.

Smores- you just got to love them!

Life just doesn't get any better than this- watching tv, eating Doritos and picking your nose.

They love to camp- many reasons I suppose like we all sleep close together, routines thrown out the window, snacks are close at hand, they have mom and dads attention and it's just fun to sleep outside.

Rain or shine, cold or hot- we love a parade!

On Saturday, we went to the Scandinavian Day parade in Story City. We weren't sure if we would be under umbrellas the whole time, but other than a little chilly, it was a great parade. The boys took back a big bag of candy and as always we enjoyed the company of Zach's biological family. We had a special guest visit with us during the parade, the famous Ronald McDonald- I am not sure who was more excited the kids or mom.:)

The boys watching/marching with the band.

Here comes the parade!

After awhile, Cale decides to take a break from catching candy and decides it's time to eat his candy. A side note: last month- Cale got a bad case of the stomach flu, lots of throwing up in the bucket, by coincidence the day before his flu was May Day and the neighborhood kids exchange May baskets with a lot of candy in them and he ate a lot the day before, so he now asks, "If I eat too much candy will I have to spit in the bucket" Of course, we say yes and it has sure helped slow his sweet tooth down.

First grade here I come

Friday was Zach's last day of Kindergarten. Wow did that year go by fast! Kindergarten started kind of rough, not wanting to go, crying in the morning, me crying in front of the teacher. A mere 10 months later- Zach loves school, reading at a second grade level and so much personal growth.

Tomorrow he starts back at Mercy daycare in the school agers program. Cale is excited to have his big brother ride with him in the morning and to see him on the playground. Zach is looking forward to seeing his friends he had went to daycare with before he started school. Zach will get to go swimming daily, take swimming lessons, go on some field trips and of course play. We have it worked out that the boys will be only going to daycare 3 days a week during the summer. Eric's mom will watch the boys every Wed. and between Eric and I and my parents we will have the boys another day.

My world will change a bit. My mornings have started at 5:15, getting ready by myself, leaving the house before anyone arouses, quiet drive in all so I could work and be home before Zach got off the bus in the afternoon. Tomorrow morning, both boys will be with me, I will be doing the pick up and drop off at daycare ( most other days, Eric will be with us too). Eric has done such a great job in the morning with boys, I hope I can do the same, but I am not much of a morning person, so it should be interesting.

Las Vegas Trip

Eric and I returned from out trip yesterday. What a relaxing and fun time! It was the perfect amount of time to recharge, have some fun, spend time together and relax. I could always use another day, but we were both excited to get home to see Zach and Cale. They both seemed to do fine while we were away- enjoyed being able to get that individual attention. Cale stayed with my mom and dad and my sister Sherri and Zach stayed with Eric's parents. Today was tough, back to reality and routine, but looking forward to a fun summer ahead!

Eric and I stayed at a resort at the south end of the strip. It was a great place. One afternoon, we floated for a couple hours on the lazy river, we discussed life and enjoyed some drinks.

The resort also had a very large pool. The temperature was in the 90's, so being able to put your chair in the pool was awesome. We both were able to enjoy and complete the books we brought along. Eric learned more about investing and I read a Jodi Piccoult book that I loved until the ending!

"Come on Down, you are the next contestant on the Price's Right." Except they didn't call our names. It was a fun show to watch and they made it entertaining, however, it would have been even more fun if we could have said we won something on the big wheel, maybe next time.

I can't have a trip to Vegas without watching the Fountains at Bellagio. I don't why I like this so much- I think maybe because it's so calming for me. Vegas is a busy place, but when you watch this it seems so peaceful.

My motivation for a summer diet. Thank goodness I could crop out my legs- to spare you all from the thunder that is my thighs! But, I am lucky enough to be sitting on the lap of a hot guy who I had the most fabulous time with.

Why Las Vegas Again?

Our first trip to Las Vegas was in 1999, our sisters, Sherri and Lynne went with us.

When we went in 2003, I couldn't bear the fact of leaving Zach behind, so Zach went with us along with my parents.

Next week Eric and I are going to Las Vegas the 7th time in our 10 years of marriage. I am really looking forward to it, even though I start to get a little sick feeling in my stomach because I will miss the boys, but breaks are good and I always come back recharged.

Las Vegas again, why you may ask? Well first of all I am first to admit that Las Vegas is not for everyone and they don’t call it “sin city” for no reason. But, once you look past all the gambling, the little men handing out baseball sized cards of mostly naked girls to ‘call for a good time’ and the half naked girls walking around, Eric and I have found a place we enjoy going back to and here are our some of our reasons.

-Flying and staying in Vegas is relatively reasonable and convenient. We leave from DM, arrive in LV within 3 hours and take a cab to our motel. We don’t have to have a rental car, we like the direct flight and they are always running great air/motel specials.
- You can enjoy Vegas without gambling. However, we do spend a couple of hours gambling each time we are out there. Eric will play black jack and I will play nickel video poker. They have never received very much money from us, we usual break even or up or down a few dollars. To us, it’s playing games, something we love to do.
- The weather has always been perfect for us. We usually go in May or Sept, I hope I am not jinxing us, but I have never seen it rain there. 90’s in the day- no humidity- perfect pool weather and 70’s in the evenings. We pick our motel based on if it has a fun pool, we spend a significant amount of time there- reading our books and enjoying the sun.
-. I love walking up and down the strip there, we go by things that are replica’s of the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, Venetian Water ways, pyramids, castles, volcanoes, etc. It makes a couple mile walk go very fast, not to mention all the people watching we can do.
- There is always something to do: we have our favorite things like hanging out at one of the dueling piano bars. There is some really talented musician there and they play a lot of music we both like, it’s really fun to watch and did I mention it’s free. The other thing we do almost every time and that’s stop by a local grocery store, pick up something to drink, put it in our backpack and hang out by the Bellagio fountains and watch these beautiful fountains dance to music about every 15 minutes. We watch the fountains, have our drinks and have heart to heart talks- I love this.
- Each time we do try something different and there is always something new. We have gone to Cirque de Soleil show, comedians, magicians and ride the roller coaster on top of the Stratosphere. This time we are going to the live stage version of “The Price’s Right”- I will let you know when we get back how that goes.

- At the last reason, on why Vegas, I will be honest I would love to go on a cruise or to the Caribbean, but I just can't be away from my little buddies too long, so this is a compromise- a few days of R and R, warm weather, fun times and then back to what I love the most.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! First, I want to start by thanking my mom. Thanks mom- I really got lucky to be the daughter of such a wonderful lady! My mom is one of the hardest working, organized, friendly and busy person I know. She has set a wonderful example for me to live up to, I am thankful I get to see her about once a month, we talk a couple times of week and email each other almost everyday. I love you mom!

I also got really lucky in the mother-in-law department. You really can't meet a nicer women or a more giving grandma. Every Wed. she gets up early and drives to Ankeny to spend the day with Cale and Zach. I am also so thankful that she raised such a wonderful son! I love you Dianne!

And for me, I thank God almost daily that I got to be the mom of these two terrific boys. It was 7 years ago and Mother's Day wasn't so easy for me, in fact, I am pretty sure I skipped church, felt pretty sorry for myself and I am sure I shed tears and was wondering why I wasn't a mom yet. It was a few months later that we got picked to be Zach's parents and then a few years later another wonderful miracle- Cale.

Back then, I thought about how I would be the perfect mom and had these dreams of perfect little kids that did exactly what I wanted. Wow was I wrong! This is hard work! Full of sleepless nights, never alone in the bathroom, endless days of worry and I am only just beginning. I love the challenge and would not trade it for the world. I already wish I would have done some things different with the boys. However, it's taking me a few years to realize that each kid is who they are and they are full of their own personality and energy. They're not perfect and I am a super long ways from being that perfect mom I thought I would be, but we are all in love with each other and that is the most important thing!