Baseball Boy

Evan hitting the ball

Evan running to first base

Evan is in the field with his glove up. He is ready....the kid on the far left cracks me up. He isn't even watching the game.

Evan has decided that t-ball is his favorite sport. He has come a long ways from last year....they are still so funny to watch. I help coach and it just cracks me up. They all think that they are professional baseball players and take it so seriously!

A day at the Park

It cracks me up how these two can be brothers....Isaac is so dark and Eli is so light. It is just funny to see them right next to each other!


Fun on the slide....

Blogging

I have written about 15 blogs in my head....I just can't find the time or energy to get them typed. The house is always loud, chaotic and crazy with all the kids and by the time it is quiet, I have to get things organized for the next day. 

We are back to school now. The kids come tomorrow. Evan can't wait, he loves school. Isaac is very worried. We had his preschool visit on Monday night. We took him up to the school for his visit since it is hard to do a home visit without a finished home. We thought going up to the school would calm some of his nerves. He did better than I expected. He was shy and quiet at first, but he warmed up. He is so quiet in those situations and totally a different child than Evan. I am so worried about him going to school. I feel much more anxious about him going. I am worried they won't understand him. I understand him...I know why he does the things he does. I am scared they won't get him. He just "works" different than others. He is very emotional and doesn't always know what to do with all of his emotions...sometimes he cries, sometimes he screams, sometimes he hits, sometimes he laughs. I just hope his teachers understand him. I am supposed to be working on my stuff today...but this is all I can think about. 

I am sad that summer is over. It has been a very rough summer, but we have had many great times. 

--Our vacation to the train in Boone and the Omaha zoo.

--Spending so much time with Sarah and Jacob. They have been here for 5 weeks and leave on Friday. It has added more stress having more kids around, but it has been wonderful having them here. I love it that we have the opportunity to get to know them so well. I love it that the kids get to know each other so well. Unfortunately, with their visit brought another change. We (Ben, Evan, Isaac, Eli and I) are all in one room! The kids had to give up their "room" and now sleep on the air matress on our floor. It has been interesting. It leaves Ben and I no where to go to relax and watch tv or a movie. We can't get to our clothes at night or in the morning until everyone is up so the air matress can be put on our bed. It is frustrating, but it is just for a short time. We keep trying to tell ourselves that it will all be worth it in the end. 

--Getting to live at Grandma and Grandpa's house...Grandma hugs and kisses everyday and a giant MidAmerican truck to look at everyday...and listen to it back up and go beep, beep, beep...the highlight of Isaac's day. 

--Ben and my vacation to Chicago without any kids!

--Eli having tubes in his ears and wanting to eat EVERYTHING in sight! What a relief. He is still teething something fierce, but doing very well with the ears and eating. He is finally putting some meat on his bones. 

--Living in GC for a while during the flooding. Getting to wake up at Grandma's house with mommy there too....unlike the past three summers of me being at grad school, taking care of Sydney the beagle (Evan's favorite) and making cookies with Grandma (Isaac's favorite). 

--Watching our house be built before our eyes. Making major house decisions, right down to where the doorbell should be put and what color to have the outlet and switch colors. 

I really better get busy, just needed to get a few things off of my mind. I should be working....the kids are coming tomorrow and I am not ready. The big boys have their physicals tonight so I have to leave right after school so I have to get going. I have had all summer to get them taken care of and of course I wait until the very last day!!! I think Isaac has a shot today, so that will be rough. 

On a house note....

The drywallers and plumbers are there today. We are on track to paint this weekend! Our carpet is being laid Sept. 2-4. We will hopefully be done shortly after that. We are very anxious! 

Our Cave Adventure

On Sunday, we took a day trip to the Maquoteka caves. The boys had a blast and Ben and I had fun too. It's funny how when we walk to the library in Grundy Center, I always end up carrying Isaac home and on Sunday we walked for 3 hours or more and he didn't complain of being tired once! Evan and Isaac had so much fun going through the creeks, hiking through nature and climbing in the caves. We bought them their own flashlights and they had a blast exploring the caves.

By the time the we left to come home...we were FILTHY! I was embarrassed when we went to eat because we were all covered in dirt and mud...even Eli. I wonder what people thought when they saw us! The boys were in heaven...they played and hiked all day long...and they got to get dirty with no consequences...every boy's dream!



It was a much needed and very fun family day. It has been a while since we have spent time with just us....

PICKY

Eli hates to eat. He is the pickiest eater I have ever seen...actually, picky isn't even the word to describe it. He just flat our refuses to eat anything other than Gerber Puffs or toast. He is eating is bottle well, but any other food he just hates. He has started making the most pathetic face when he eats. Today, he was trying to eat grilled cheese sandwich and watermelon. Who doesn't love watermelon in the summer???? He does a little better if he picks it up and puts it in his own mouth, which is why I am trying to introduce more finger foods. It is a nightmare to get him to eat jarred baby food. We both end up covered in it!


Here are some funny pictures from lunch when we were torturing him with food!














Evan and Isaac thought today was a perfect day to wash their bikes. After swimming for a while, they shined their bikes all up.

Today...

Things are moving right along with the house. They have had great weather and have been able to get a lot done. Ben is hoping that with some good weather this weekend, he should be able to get the shingle done. As of yesterday, they had most of the siding up. On the front of the house where there is no siding, there will be brick. The boys have a blast there playing in the dirt. We finally decided that since they get dirty everytime we go up there that we might as well get their big Tonka trucks and let them play in the dirt. This is hours of entertainment for them. On Sunday they had a garage built out of rocks and packed sand. They have quite the imagination and are definitely ALL boy!

We meet with the cabinet people next Wednesday to put in our order. We haven't asked when the projected completion date is. Originally, our contractor said that if we sold our house in the Spring, we could start in May and be in before school...not sure if that is still the plan or not. We haven't asked lately, but we are hoping to be able to move in August or early September. It doesn't seem like anything has been holding them up other than a week of bad rain and flooding.

We have had awesome weather lately. Today the boys played in the pool for a bit after lunch. Eli got to go swimming for the first time and absolutely loved it. He cried when I made him get out. His lips were turning purple! He splashed and squealed the whole time. He had a hard time understanding that he couldnt' crawl/army crawl in it!