Jetco Christmas Party

Friday night we had Nick's Christmas party for Jetco! We got to have dinner at Prairie Meadows and then went out with some of his co-workers in Bondurant. It was a fun time as usual! :) - - We are so grateful that Nick has a job that he loves!! :)

We had Aunt Kim and the girls over to watch the boys for us... and according to the boys they had a GREAT time! - - THANK YOU Aunt Kim!!! - - It's our turn to watch the girls so you and Dan can have a night out!! :)

Here are a couple of pics of us semi-dressed up for the night! :) - - not the best photos!

Tucker Time...

The boys are loving having a new puppy around to play with... Nick and I aren't so sure yet! :) We love him but WOW... puppies are a TON of work! - - I think we forgot just how much! :) Oh well... as long as he gets trained before baby #3 and he is a good boy we will be happy! :)

The other day when it was nice out the boys had fun playing with Tucker outside and I snapped a few pictures.... and thought I would share!

Christmas Lights 2009

We got all of our decorations up this past weekend... which is always a chore but fun to see the finished produt! :)... here are a few pictures!

Entryway...

Here is our living room...

This is our balcony area... this is our "FAMILY" tree! The boys get to help with this one every year and LOVE it!! We had lots of fun this year putting it up! :)

Lastly... here is the outside lights! We were just heading out to go look at lights ourselves! :)

and... the backyard! The boys got snowmen lights from Nina and Papa Hamann the year before last and this year they wanted to put them up out back so Tucker could see at night to go potty! hehehe! :) So thoughtful!! Here is their fancy work!!! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving this year was not our favorite holiday... we had grumpy boys!! :( Even though they were not so good... it was still fun to get together with family! :) And to top it all off... it was Nick's birthday - - poor Nick!!!! We went back to Ida Grove Thursday morning and spent some time at my Mom's and then headed to the Hamann's for a YUMMY Thanksgiving dinner! Each year Nina and Papa get us ornaments for our "FAMILY" tree and this year the boys were SOO excited... so excited in fact they BROKE their ornaments... both of them! ughh! Thank God for super glue! :) Here are a few pictures of our day at the Hamann's! :)

Some fun ones... (loved the girls' outfits!!! - - so cute!! :))

Here are the boys with their ornaments!!! - before they were broke! :)

The only one we got of Nick was taken by one of the boys... it was of him digging into his dinner! :) I had to include him though! :)

Then on Friday we celebrated with my Mom and brother. My Mom made a delicious meal... and just like the day before - - we were STUFFED! :) We even got to take home the leftovers... THANKS Mom!! :) Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures on Friday... but the boys (even Nick) were wearing their hawkeye clothes... so there was no need to take more photos of that!! :) hehehe! :)

Hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving... we are hoping for a better one with the boys next year (no fighting hopefully)!! :)

Happy BIRTHDAY Nicker... we love you!!! :)

One More Present...

Although we had originally planned to wait until summer to get another puppy... our sad little boy (Parker) made us change our mind! We went and picked up this new little guy in Altoona... for Parker's birthday! :) Parker and Owen had the final choice in his name... and they picked TUCKER!

Tucker is 9 weeks old and is a cock-a-poo! He will be about 18-25 lbs when he is full-grown but is only 7lbs right now! Other than some accidents (that are already driving me crazy but at least not on the carpet)... we are already falling in love with this little guy! :) Welcome to our crazy family Tucker... good luck to you! :)

Parker tells me 2 secrets everyday........... "Mom, I miss Ralph so much" and "Mom, I love Tucker"... so hopefully Tucker will be Parker's new best bud... cause we know how much he misses Ralph and it breaks my heart that he is hurting so bad!!

Here he is with Uncle Dan, Aunt Kim and Caroline at Parker's party!
















Just a few other photos... I will be sure to post some with the boys when I have more time! :)

Happy 6th Birthday PARKER!!!

Our little Parker turned 6 YEARS OLD on Friday! I am still in denial that this all can be happening... it seems like yesterday we brought this beautiful baby boy home from the hospital and here we are 6 years later... time has sure flown by! We are so proud of the little boy he has become... he makes us so proud!

He asked for a Hawkeye birthday (no surprises here) so we started the festivities on Friday morning before school and gave him his new Hawkeye (white) jersey so of course he had to change!! :)

Then on Saturday instead of having a big party this year (with all of our drama with H1N1 and Ralph) we decided to just invite 1 friend and go to Incredible Pizza for an afternoon of fun! - - and we had a GREAT time!! :) Parker picked his friend Nathan from school and the boys all had a great time as so did we! :) Here are a few pictures of our day!

Later that night we had our "FAMILY" celebration at our house! Nina & Papa Hamann, Nina Wilson, Uncle Dan, Aunt Kim, Grace and Caroline, Uncle Bubba (Matt) and our family were all there to celebrate with Parker! He got some GREAT gifts... he was so excited! THANK YOU everyone!! :) Here are some pictures from the night.

The Cake...
I made the cake... and chose to do the jersey in yellow (since it is Parker's favorite color and I thought it would look nicer than ALL black or white) and I got in trouble... Parker and Nick informed me that their jersey's are NOT yellow (like I don't know that!) - - Oh well, it looked cuter being yellow! :)

We had a great day celebrating Parker's 6th birthday!

Happy Birthday Parker Matthew... we LOVE you so much!!

Let's Go Bucs!

We took the boys out to the Bucs game last weekend... our first this season! As usual we had a great time! The Bucs played the Sioux City Musketeers and unfortantely the Bucs lost in O.T.! - - what an exciting game it was!! :)

We just snapped a quick picture of each of the boys in their jersies! (Parker looks happy, huh?)

Parker's Drawing

Parker has been missing Ralph... we got him a stuffed basset hound for him to hug whenever he thinks of Ralph and he loves it... he takes it everywhere and sleeps with it too! The other day at school he decided to draw a picture of Ralph and he asked me to put it on the blog! :)

One last day

Today was the last day we would ever get to hug, cuddle and kiss our Ralphy. He has been in so much pain and we had to make that horrible, dreaded choice to end his suffering. We hated to do it... but it is so hard to watch your dog (who has been so loyal, loving, gentle and kind) suffering. The medication wasn't working... he wasn't eating.... and was vomitting, crying, sleeping all day, having trouble walking and shaking.

This has been such a hard decision... Parker is so attached to Ralph and my heart aches even more watching his little heart break into pieces. The first thing he said this morning is "Mom, is Ralph going to die today?" Unfortunately I had to tell him yes and the tears just poured out for both of us. He cried and cried and told me he doesn't want another puppy... he just wants Ralph! - - I wish that it were that easy.... I would rather have Ralph too! I stopped into school today to check on Parker at lunch and he was holding up... I had sent his teacher and email about everything... and she said that it was the first thing that Parker said to her this morning! :( - - she asked Parker if he wanted to talk to the guidance counsler about his dog today and he did... I am sure talking about it will make it a little easier for him.

Owen doesn't really understand... he knows Ralph went to "Doggie Heaven" today, but not sure he understands that he won't be coming back! :(

Nick and I have been a wreck since this whole pancreatitis started (I more than him with the increased hormones)! We have talked and talked... and cried and cried about what to do and when today came.... it ripped our hearts apart! Ralph has been a part of our lives for 8-1/2 years... and never... NEVER had any issues... he wasn't obese (like many bassets), he had no health concerns (other than his arthritis in his leg - but not severe), and even our vet thought he would live a long life since he was so fit and healthy.

We are sad...... our hearts ache! This is a new experience for me... and one I definitely was not prepared for.

Here are a photos from Ralph's last day with us. We love you Ralphy!!!

Ralph (a.k.a. Ralphy/Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) Hamann
May 14, 2001-November 16, 2009

Ralph Update

Our Ralphy isn't doing better... he is getting worse. We took him to the vet last week and they confirmed he had pancreatitis and put him on antibiotics, stomach calming pills and pain killers. We have had a terrible time getting him to not only take the medicine but keeping it down too. His symptoms are getting worse and he is getting weaker everyday. He was down 3lbs when we went in.

We took him back into the vet yesterday (one week later) and he had lost 5 more lbs, so a total of 8lbs. and was still experiencing all of the symptoms. They did x-rays, a rectal exam and gave him injections of medicine to help calm his stomach. They were able to get him to eat a little at the clinic and he didn't vomit so they said he could come home and we should watch him over the weekend and try to get him to eat.

Friday night he ate a 1/2 of a can of dog food (for stomach and digestive health) and then shortly after vomited. Again today we were able to get him to eat a little and he vomited again. :(

He sleeps all day and moans and cries... it is so heartbreaking to watch him in so much pain. It breaks our hearts.

We talked with the boys today about what might happen if Ralph continues to not improve and Parker is pretty upset.

Ralph has been a part of our family for 8-1/2 years... and although I am biased, he is the best dog ever. He is so good with the kids... even when they beat up on him and he is a great listener... Nick and I say better than the boys! :) We just hope that Ralph can come through this... it is hard watching your animal suffer.

We will finish out the weekend and then talk with the vet again on Monday about the next step for Ralph.

Happy Halloween

This Halloween was not a happy one for us... with all the sickness, I had to miss out on the festivities and Parker was only allowed to go out for a bit sonce he was feeling a little better. Parker was a Hawkeye football player and Owen was black spiderman.

Nina and Papa Hamann, the Edsen's and Nick and the boys all went to Valley West Mall since the weather was rainy and chilly... they had a good time and got a few pictures for me to post!

Out in our neighborhood... this didn't last long tho!

A few shots of Parker getting ready to go out! He was so excited to be a Hawkeye!! :) THANK YOU Candi for the decals for his helmet too!! - he was on cloud nine! :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone!! :)

SICK SICK SICK

Sorry for such a long delay in the posts... we have had our fair share of sickness at the Hamann house! Parker and I both had H1N1... he was out of school for a week (he had to miss his leader day and his Halloween party - so he was really bummed) and I was down for about 2 weeks and had a hospital stay too! It was a LONG recovery... but we are both well and luckily Nick and Owen steered clear!

Now our dog, Ralph is sick too... we took him to the vet and he has pancreatitis. He is having a really tough time and seems to be getting worse... we will keep you updated on what we find out. Please say a little prayer for our favorite furry friend... he has been a part of our likfe for 8-1/2 years and we love him very much!

School Fire Dept. Visit

Last week the Kindergarten class got a visit from the fire department! Parker came home and told us all about it and then his teacher emailed us this picture so I thought I would share! :) If you can't spot Parker he is the one who looks like he is try to fly in the back!!! hehehe! :)

Early Halloween Surprises...

from Nina and Papa Hamann! They stopped by for a quick visit a few weeks ago and brought the boys their Halloween presents early! The boys were super excited... here are a few pictures! Thanks Nina and Papa Hamann!!! :)

Patch's Pumpkin Patch

We took advantage of the beautiful weather today and decided to take a trip to a pumpkin patch... we debated where to go... we thought about going to Winterset, Cumming, Deal's Apple Orchard, Mitchellville, Cambridge, and the list goes on! We decided to stick close to home today instead of travelling and headed over to Adel to Patch's Pumpkin Patch! We were pleasantly surprised... and had such a good time! Last year we went to Winterset to the Red Rooster... and loved it... so our expectations were high... and Patch's met them! :)

There were hay rides, bounce houses, a tractor pulling carts for the kids, horse rides, a little petting zoo, yummy snacks, and so on! Definitely a great place to visit for all the locals! :)

Here are a few pictures of our day...

The kids on their tractor pulled ride!! :)

A look at their patch! :)

The kids' favorite place! :)

In the maze... the boys and I did this... and it was so cute to watch them make their way through! :)

Our silly boys...

Fall Festival at Point of Grace

This past Saturday was our annual FALL FESTIVAL at our church! Candi, Carmel and the girls all joined us again this year for some candy, face painting, games and bouce houses! Parker was a Hawkeye Football player and Owen wanted to be the black Spiderman! Candi's girls were ADORABLE as usual... I didn't get great pics, but included the few I got! Little miss Piper was a butterfly, no a moth, no wait... she was tinkerbell! :) hehehe! We had a good time... and of course the kids were excited about all the candy and fun!

Parker taking on a CYCLONE fan in the bungy game... unfortunately Parker lost - maybe it had something to do with the fact that the other kids was like 12 years old!?!?! Anyways... it was fun for him!! :)

Wanted to include these... but some are super hard to see... I need a new camera badly! :)

Jumping in the bounce house! (again another bad one... my settings don't work well!)

Face painting...

Thanks again Candi for joining us this year... we had a great time... and hope you all did too! :)

Our Keokuk Trip...

This past weekend we went to Keokuk to visit the Wilson family! We try to go down at least twice a year... in the fall and in the spring since my grandparents winter in Texas. As usual we had a good time visiting with everyone! This trip I didn't get a chance to catch up with any old friends... so hopefully next trip there will be more time for this.

Owen and Parker were taking pictures...

Here are some cute ones and some silly ones with the boys and their great-grandparents and Nina.

My poor Grandma... :)

Aunt Marlene taught the boys how to play hot/cold hide-n-seek! She would hide a toy from them and then allow them to come in the room and would tell them if they were hot or cold! It was hilarious... the toy even got hid on Grandma's head!! hehehe! They loved it! :) Thanks for playing with them Aunt Marlene! :)

And.... there isn't a trip to Grandma & Grandpa's house without their famous STRAWBERRIES! As usual... they were delicious!!! We even got pictures of Owen to prove it...

and finally... the "HAPPY COUPLE" - :) We love these 2... they are the best grandparents!!!

Lunch Date...

Today my Mom was in town so I asked her if she would watch Owen for about an hour while I went to Waukee Elementary to have a "SPECIAL" lunch date with my little Parker! :) I was SO GLAD I did this... he was super excited to have me come and all of his little friends were excited as well... asking me lots of questions and wanting to play with me at recess afterwards! It was so nice to get to meet some of the friends Parker has been telling me about! The visit was absolutely PRICELESS! :) I hope to schedule many more trips to school for lunch with my favorite kindergartener! :) Of course I didn't take my camera... I thought I would look a little crazy taking pictures at lunch!~ hehehe!

Our Weekend

This was a busy weekend for us. We wanted to do more than we did... but couldn't get it all in - as you can guess... it was because I felt horrible most of the weekend. I did however for the first time in a long time join Nick and the boys for the grocery shopping today! :) Here is the rundown of the weekend...

The boys hung out Saturday and watched the big game...

While I got a new haircut!!! You can't tell well from the photos... but I have highlights and lowlights and it is one of the BEST colors I have had in a LONG time! I was super excited since it has been FOREVER since I got my hair done! Unfortunately... it took 3 hours to get it done... my hair wasn't taking the color real well this time and was orangy so she had to fix it! - oh well, I considered it a nice break! :)

The rest of the day/night for me was spent in the tub and in bed! Ughh!

Sunday morning after church Nick and I volunteered to serve/volunteer in the 4th/5th grade room during the second service at church and we had a really good time. We both were a little nervous, but it went well and the kids were a lot of fun! :) It makes me smile to see such young kids wanting to learn about Jesus - it is amazing!

This weekend we also took the boys to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs! It was a 3D movie... which the boys thought was pretty neat! We all enjoyed it... it was a fun family movie! Even Uncle Bubba (Matt, my brother) joined us for the show! Other than spending $50 to go (ticket price $28 for all of us - for a matinee, popcorn, pop for Nick, bottled water for myself and each of the boys) it was a great family outing! When did going out for an afternoon movie get SOOOO pricey??? Oh well, it's not like we go very often - - it was worth it, I am just cheap! :)


We spent the rest of Sunday running errands, grocery shopping, and the boys playing outside and riding their bikes! We wanted to hit up the pumpkin patch since the weather was so great, but didn't have the time today! Hopefully we will get to do that soon with Ryan & Candi and the girls!! :)

Here are ALL of my boys tonight on the couch................ :)

GAME DAY...

The Hawkeyes won today... but according to Nick it wasn't their best game! :) The boys all wore their Hawk-wear with pride tho... here are the boys taking a coloring break during the game! :) Nick wouldn't let me get his pic but he was decked out too!

Iowa City Trip

I am a bit slow on posting this... but wanted to share our little trip to Iowa City! We went last weekend with my Mom and brother and met up with my Uncle Merlin & Debbie and Justin and Emilia. We went down Friday afternoon and got a hotel so the kids could swim - they think it is SOOO NEAT to get to swim when it is cold out!! :) We spent Friday evening swimming and then back to our room to watch tv before heading to bed. Then on Saturday we met up with the family for breakfast and then spent the day shopping, had lunch together, and did some visiting! We had a great time and were so glad to get to see everyone!! The boys were extra excited because they got to get HAWKEYE jerseys!!! :) - and Nick his HAWKEYE house flag! :) I didn't get a lot of pictures... it was so dark in the pool area and none of the pictures turned out very good... but here are the few I got.

At the play area in the mall...

Meet Hamann Baby #3

We got to see our little teeny tiny peanut today!! :) I have to admit... it was a bit emotional for me! It is so exciting to see a little life growing inside you... it makes it all a reality! Owen got to come with Nick and I and he even thought it was pretty special! The ultrasound tech was awesome... she got the baby with his/her hand up and she showed Owen and told him the baby was waving at him! - - he thought that was so cool! Then she printed extra pictures of that pose and gave one to Owen and sent one home for Parker so they could see the baby waving at them and keep it until they get to meet him or her! So sweet! :) She also said everything looked great and the baby looked healthy (we are so grateful)! The baby is measuring 13 weeks and one day... which is 2 days ahead of schedule! :)

So here is our little one...

















































the baby waving!!! :)

Dr. Appt

No pictures to post... but wanted to let everyone know that I had my 12 week dr. appt this morning and the baby's heartbeat was strong... about 165 she said! :) She scheduled an ultrasound for next week and said I will still have one mid-pregnancy as well. I lost 3 pounds... which I am sure is a combo of feeling so sick all of the time and losing my friend Julie... but nothing to be concerned with she said.

Julie

I am posting with a heavy heart this morning... my courageous friend Julie has lost her battle with cancer at only 38 years old. She passed away early this morning at Methodist Hospital. We were able to visit her last night (which I am so grateful for) and now this morning she has went on to be with God. Please pray for her family and friends as they struggle with acceptance and moving forward without her here. She was loved by so many and her memory will be forever in our hearts. I am a better person for having known her. - - I love you Julie!

Parker's Play Date...

Today was the day Parker had been waiting for!!! Early out at school and most importantly a play date with his favorite friend from school... Aarav! Aarav lives in our development and also rides the same bus as Parker!! So today Aarav just got off with Parker at our bus stop and came to spend the afternoon with Parker! The boys had so much fun together... they dressed up in costumes, played every toy imaginable, played upstairs, downstairs and outside! They played hockey, baseball, on the swingset, basketball and the list goes on and on and on! :)

It was so fun watching them play... Aarav didn't want to go home! As soon as he left we had to run out for some errands and Parker fell asleep in the car... now to me, that's a sign of a good play date! :)

Here are a few pictures!

John & Niki's Wedding

After the BIG game on Saturday... we took a nap and then got up and ready for John and Niki's wedding in Newton! John is Nick's boss (for those of you who don't know). We had a great time at the wedding... Niki looked beautiful!!! Here are some pictures from our night.

Parker took these of Nick and I :)











The HAPPY Couple...
















The boys dancing the night away...








































Our boys looking handsome to go to the wedding! :)

Hawkeyes vs. Cyclones - Game Day

Last Saturday was the BIG game... the Hawkeyes vs. the Cyclones... and the Hawks won!!! - 35-3!! Needless to say we had some happy campers at our table!! :) We met Robyn and Damion out for lunch to watch the game at Buffalo Wild Wings and had a GREAT time with them! The boys were a little wild... but we still had fun!! :) - right guys??? :)

Here are some pictures from our lunch out...

Parker's Photography...













Owen's Photography...


































































Nick and I did actually take a few photos too... :)

Owen's FIRST Day of Preschool!

Some silly pictures... Owen is always being goofy!! :)

We walk Parker to the corner each morning to catch the bus and this morning was too cute... look at these boys... :)

And finally... when I went to pick him up from school... :) He was ALL SMILES!!! This boy is SOOO excited to get to be in school! :) He was just precious telling me about his day -- melts my heart! - I love him so much! :)

Guess What???

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

This year Nick's company got season tickets to the I-Cubs for their employees to take advantage of! Lucky for us we found a weekend that worked for us all and we loaded up and headed to the game! :) Dan, Kim and the girls were able to join us as well! Other than forgetting sweatshirts... it was a fun game! Poor Parker was waiting all night to "catch the ball"! He was convinced that one would come our way and wouldn't even go to the bathroom without being sure that I would catch it for him if it came our way when he was gone. :) - - he is too funny! The girls did great... they even outlasted the boys! :) Thanks for joining us Edsen's... we had a great time! :)

A little pre-game fun! :)




























The game...


































and.... last but not least we went to the I-Cub store to get Parker his baseball since we never caught one... and who did we get to meet? CUBBIE!!! :)

Team Spirit!

Right now our boys are ALL about the Hawkeyes... and ALL about the Waukee Warriors! It is a bit ridiculous... but they are committed fans and who am I to discourage their team spirit! Here are their latest ways of showing their support for their teams! :)

More Picnic Pictures with Julie...

Julie's friend took tons of pictures and sent them to us all!!! So here are a few more... she had so many people come out to support her!

A Picnic with Julie

If you remember from earlier posts... my friend Julie was diagnosed with breast cancer last year.... since then she was doing great and the cancer was gone... then she went in for her 3 month scans and was told she had cancer in her liver, lungs, bones, brain and skull. She is such a fighter... and she is once again fighting this horrible disease at age 37! Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Saturday Julie invited everyone to go to Ledges State Park in Boone for a picnic! I haven't gotten to see Julie in a while so we loaded up the family and headed over! It was a GORGEOUS day... we put on our "team" shirts (per Julie's request), grabbed subs at subway and joined in the fun! It was great getting to catch up with Julie and other friends! Julie had a friend there taking lots of photos for her for her photo albums. It was nice just getting to spend time together and to see all of the people there to show Julie their support and to let her know we are all there for her. As usual... Julie looked great! I am so glad she invited us all out while she is still feeling good and can enjoy the company. She started her chemo Friday. Here are a few photos we took.

Julie and I...

Jessica, her boys Hayden and Hunter and Julie...












Me, Julie, Sue and Julie B...

Nick's Uncle Greg...

We wanted to update you about Nick's Uncle Greg... and ask for prayers. He has spent the last 3 months in the hospital fighting cancer. He was able to go home the other day and is now back in the hospital again. He has been through so much and we are praying for God's strength through it all for him and his family! Lots of prayers and love are being sent their way.

State Fair 2009

As usual we made our annual trip to the State Fair with Dawn and Andy... this year Tim and Jen came along too! It was so great to not be walking around sweating this year... it was in the 70's for a change and it was nice! :) We had our share of grease on a stick... and like years past, it was great! I never did get my banana on a stick that I wanted tho. :( Every year we have to make a visit to the tractors... the boys love it and secretly I think Nick and Andy do too! :) I didn't get a ton of pictures... but here are a few!

The boys at the ARMY booth... checking out the hummer!
























Tractor time...

The guys...

Dawn & Jen...

More MACHINE fun...

Parker's FAVORITE part of the fair... getting his IOWA Hawkeye shirt/hat and a picture with Herky!!! :) He is a bit of a nut for the hawkeyes these days... it's kinda funny! He was pretty bummed that they were out of posters and tatoos!

Our Visitors...

We got some suprise visitors the other night... Brenton and Alicia stopped by to bring the boys (and me) the movie Madagascar 1 to borrow! We have seen Madagascar2 and LOVE IT so she thought we had better see the first one too! THANK YOU ALICIA!! :) I promise we will get it back to you soon... I have only seen parts so far and I have to see it all! :) Anyways... during their visit the boys were in a silly mood and they got a little crazy with the camera and with the ink pen! Poor Brenton had tattoos all over his arm when Parker was done with him! - - hope it wasn't too hard to get off! At least it wasn't a sharpie, right! :)

THANKS for stopping by guys... as always it was great to see you! :)

this was just the beginning... :)

Parker's First Day CONTINUED :)

Forgot to add the image of when he got home! :) This was the BEST part of the whole day!! Parker was home and coloring and Owen woke up and saw he was home, yelled "Parker" and ran to him and hugged him! It melted my heart... and of course I made them stay in the position so I could grab my camera! :) I LOVE these moments! :)

Parker's First Day of Kindergarten

Wednesday was Parker's first day of Kindergarten! All morning he was pretty excited... he felt pretty special having his daycare friends here to see him off for school! He was anxiously awaiting his bus ride! :) Nick stayed home in the morning so he c0uld see him off as well! It was raining so we drove to the corner and all waited in the van for the bus! Once the bus got here we took some final pictures and gave our hugs and kisses and waved goodbye... then we got in the van and the crying continued for me... all morning I was really nervous for him and sad to see him go! We were told that the parents usually go up to the school to say their final goodbyes so we too headed to the school. SO GLAD we did... all of the parents were there... and poor Parker would have been heart broken if he didn't see his parents there! :) They lined up with their teachers and then walked on in to their classroom! Poor Parker had such a frightened look on his face and I felt so bad leaving him there. - - he doesn't know anyone in his class either! So... we left (me more sad than before) and Nick went to work and I began my day without Parker. It was definitely different not having him here.

When I went to meet him on the bus after school he was quiet. I asked him about his day and he said he had SQUARE PIZZA! :) - - hehehehe... this was too cute! He was pretty excited about the pizza. Then he showed me he had a bandaid on his knee. Aparently a little boy punched another little boy and that boy went running to tell the teacher and knocked Parker down on his way. He scraped both knees and his hands too! poor guy! :( - - - at least he still wanted to go back the next day! :) All in all it went well and he says he really likes his teacher! :) - - oh and the best part... Nina Wilson called him and asked if he made any new friends... Parker said yes, two of them! Nina said, "what are their names?" and Parker said, "Ummmm.... I forgot the first one.... and I forgot the second one." That made us all laugh! He is so funny! :)

Here are lots of pics from this memorable day!

Our Past Week

This past week has been maybe the best all summer! :) We spent most of the week RELAXING! We hung out at home almost every night and were in bed early too! We needed this... with Parker starting school and us having a super busy summer, it was time for a little SLOW DOWN! I worked on a few screen orders and had some errands here and there... which in the midst of all that Nick and I got this sofa table on craigslist that we are sanding and refinishing to add to our family room so we are excited about that! - - $30! I love a good buy! The boys have spent some time in the pool and on their bikes before summer ends... but other than that not a lot to blog on. Unfortunately I have no pictures to post, but if there were pictures, you can bet we would all be SMILING! :)

Tomorrow is Parker's FIRST day of kindergarten! Nick is working from home in the morning so we can both see our baby off! Hard to believe this day is here already. - - I will post pics tomorrow... wish him and us luck! :)

Pool Party

We had an eventful weekend last weekend! We did Adventureland on Friday, school shopping on Saturday (some great deals too!!) and then headed over to Ryan & Candi's for their pool party Saturday evening! Kim/Craig & family (Candi's friends from Davenport area), Jodi/Adam & family, Candi/Ryan & family and our family were all there for the fun! The guys got their fair share of cannonballs in while us girls got in all of our talking and kitchen time! :) It was so much fun! The kids all had a great time swimming and playing... and the food was AWESOME! :) These are the best get-togethers!!

Here are a few pictures from our fun day!

Adventureland

Today we took the boys to Adventureland!! We weren't sure if we were going to be able to go as it was raining this morning... but fortunately it cleared up around 10 or 11 and we headed out! The boys had never been there before so they had the time of their lives!! :) Nick and I even thought it was lots of fun!! The boys went on tons of rides and then we headed over to Kokomo Cove (the water park portion) for some water fun! The boys loved this... Owen calls it "kokoka mocca" hehehe! :) Parker loved the waterslides... of course and Owen only wanted to go down the smaller slide but was happy to just do that!! :) We ate some of the famous "greasy" food and then headed home around 7pm! We had a fun-filled day and both boys were wore out... Owen fell asleep on the way home and Parker as soon as he got into bed he was out! Here are a few pictures from our family day out!

Kokomo Cove...

The ride home... I (yes I) won the boys their Herkey's!! :) - - they were so proud of Mom! :)

Need a Lift Anyone???

Oh those boys of ours can be quite creative at times! Here is Owen giving Abby a ride in his Jeep the other day! - - Parker had to join in the fun too! :) - - poor Abby!

Indianola Balloon Classic

Friday night we picked up Alicia & Brenton and headed to the Indianola Balloon Classic! This was our second annual trip with Alicia & Brenton!! :) hehehe! We were afraid we got there too late but to our surprise we were just in time for all the fun! We got to see balloons take off, the boys got to play on all of the rides, we had great food, saw the balloons land and finally the night glow! It couldn't have been a more perfect night! Thanks for coming with us again Alicia & Brenton and THANK YOU (sarcasm) for the cotton candy too!!!! :) We had a great time and will have to plan another trip next year!!

Night glow...













Our little goofball...









Our dancing boys... (they were our entertainment) - :)

The gang...

Carnival rides...

Family Fun Night - July

Tuesday night was Family Fun Night at Valley West Mall! They have it on the last Tuesday of every month and this month we went out to take advantage of all of the fun! They always have great blow-up toys, crafts, coloring, face painting and characters come to meet the kids.... the boys LOVE it! This month we were soooo lucky... BATMAN and CLIFFORD were there - - what a treat! Here are a few photos of our night.

NEW Shirts...

My brother Matt is doing great with his weight loss still... he has lost 50+ lbs now! We are very excited that he is doing well and hope the pounds continue to come off! He decided to get the boys some shirts to wear in honor of his qwest for a better life! They proudly displayed them the other day... :)

You can follow his progress on his website at:

www. passionate2loseweight.com or click the link on the right side.

Keep up the good work Matt! :)

Nina and Parker's NEW Best Friend...

ABBY!!! Nina got a new puppy! Abby is a little TOY POODLE and is absolutely ADORABLE! :) She is a little over 1 lb and will get up to around 5 lbs! (Peanut) She is an apricot colored toy poodle... and the boys (especially Parker) just adore her! When Mom got her they told us that for every 20 minutes of play she needed 1 hour of rest! - - hehehehe... can you imagine?? This concept was foreign to me considering I rarely get even 6-7 hours of sleep a night! :) She is a good girl and is doing great at potty training! The boys miss her so much and can't wait for Nina to come visit again next week! Here are some pictures of our newest family member...

WELCOME to the family Abby... we all already love you!!! :)

VBS and Taste of Hope

Last week Parker went to Vacation Bible School again... this time at Lutheran Church of HOPE in West Des Moines! He went with his friends Cooper and Corbin (and even Braxton went too this year)! The kids had a blast!!! I included a photo of his shirt... I thought they were pretty fun!

Then on Sunday the entire family went to Taste of Hope! This was the first time we ever went... and it was a great time! They served FREE food, had games, fireworks and blow up toys for the kids... and TONS of people! - - Seriously, TONS of PEOPLE! The lines were ridiculously long!
I love taking our family to these things... but I can not handle the lines. We waited 20 minutes at least for 1 ride! CRAZY! So we left after 2 rides... but promised the boys we would take them to Family Fun Night this week... so we will hopefully get some great pictures from there to post!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

What wonderful family and friends we have!!! Phone calls, cards, gifts, visitors, a meal and more came pouring into our home when Parker returned from surgery on the 17th! What a lucky little boy he is! He is just in heaven with all of his new gifts.... THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! everyone! :) Here is a look at Parker's wonderland....

More on Parker....

Surgery is complete.... it went well!!! A little over an hour! He was in recovery for a while and we are now discharged (around 10:30 ish) heading back home!!! The cyst did have some blood in it so they are sending it to pathology to be sure all is well - the dr is not too concerned! We thought our team was EXCELLENT - our dr was GREAT! He is a little sick to his stomach and is on pain meds! We are GRATEFUL! Thanks for the prayers!
He will be sore for about a week... then in about 3 weeks he will be back to normal activities. In two months we will go in for another x-ray to be sure that the bone is regrowing in the area where the cyst was.
We are home (got home around 1:30ish) and he is resting and coloring up a storm. He has pain and isn't able to bear weight too much. They did say that he may not walk on it today but should be able to tomorrow. He hates his pain meds (great!) and fights us everytime we have to give him some. - poor little guy. He has been eating graham crackers only for now.

I am adding some pictures from the hospital! Parker was a little trooper! After he realized surgery was over he said to Daddy... "Daddy I was tough!" :) - - oh we love that little boy! :)

In recovery... Parker got juice and a popsicle! Of course Owen wanted one too and the nurse got him one too! :)

Parker Update....

Parker is in surgery! They estimate 2 hours or less... he was pretty loopy before he went in since they gave him medicine to put him out. He was a little scared... but really not too bad! We are praying!! :)