MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND 2012

We had such a great, busy Memorial Day Weekend spent with family and friends! 

We headed to Iowa City right after work on Friday.  We spent the night hanging out at my mom's house.  Saturday morning, my mom's friends and our aunts put on a bridal shower for Liz.  It was such a nice shower and so good to see everyone!  I'm sure Liz enjoyed putting all of her new kitchen items away over the weekend.  I can't wait for their wedding!

Grandma, Mom, Liz, and myself.

Don't these cake pops look amazing!

This is my cousin's little boy, Kellan.  Adorable!

My mom kept all of Josh's He-Man, Master's of the Universe, toys.  We did many fun things over the weekend, but Tyler's favorite thing about the whole weekend was playing with all of these guys.  He also loved it that he could play with Josh and ask him everyone's names and if they were a 'good guy' or 'bad guy.'  I can see what this year's birthday and Christmas will be bringing!

Saturday afternoon we went to meet little Bennett.  Congratulations to Katie, Mike, and Taylor on the new addition to the family.  He fits right in, as he looks just like Mike (and Taylor!)

We left my mom's house Sunday morning.  We made a quick trip in Williamsburg to do some speed shopping.  While shopping, I got a call from our friends who wanted us to meet them at Red Rock Lake to play on the beach and go out on the boat.  We drove the rest of the drive home, fed the kids a quick lunch, unpacked the van and then re-packed it with beach and boat necessities.  We met them on the beach and had a wonderful afternoon!

Brady playing on the beach.

Going for a boat ride!  Tyler, Cody, and Caden.

Brady and myself cuddling on the boat.

Caden, Cody, and Tyler going tubing.  They had a great time!

I love this picture!  This is Brady and Camryn watching their big brothers take a tube ride.

Brady got to take a ride on the tube with me.

And Tyler took another ride with his Dad this time.

After a busy day on Sunday we should have gotten a pretty sound sleep Sunday night.  However, both boys had a cough/cold that woke them both up throughout the night.  :(

We woke up Monday morning and joined 3 other families over at the Klein's house for Breakfast and play.
It was a delicious breakfast and made for a really nice morning.  The kids played the entire morning outside! 

Here's a few of the kids eating their breakfast out on the deck.

Brady and Henry taking a ride in the Jeep.

Tyler's riding the fire truck.

After the busy, fun morning, we came back home for lunch and naps.  After they woke up from naps, still with terrible coughs/colds, we spent the afternoon playing outside in the pool, water table, and running through the sprinkler.

Here's Brady relaxing in the pool.

Tyler filling up his squirt gun.

This picture makes me laugh!

They love squirt guns!

We couldn't have asked for a better Memorial Day Weekend!

SESAME STREET LIVE 2012

We took the boys to Sesame Street Live this past Sunday.  This was something that we were looking forward to and it turned out to be a wonderful afternoon!  The kids loved every minute of it!

They couldn't take their eyes off the show and sat so good throughout the whole hour and a half performance.   There were many "favorites" from the day, but I'm pretty sure that Cookie Monster was at the top of the list for both of the boys.  Our seats were great--we were down on the floor and on the aisle.  The characters would walk the aisle and shake hands, so the boys were able to shake hands with a few of them, but most importantly Cookie Monster. 

I don't think Lee really knew what to expect.  However, I do think that he walked away pleasantly surprised.  He loved seeing how happy the boys were and how engaged they were with the whole performance.  It's so great to sit there and watch the boys' faces while they are watching the show.  You can see the happiness all over their face, which makes every penny spent on those tickets, worth it!

This was Tyler's second time being to a Sesame Street Live performance and Brady's first.  I took Tyler to the show when he was two.  It is such a fun event to go to and look forward to.

After the show we enjoyed a great dinner out at Jethro's BBQ.  Yum! 

 The boys running up to the building.  They were SO excited!

 Enjoying some snacks and drink before the show began.

 They got up and danced along to a couple songs. 

 Highlight of the day:  Shaking hands with Cookie Monster! 

We were all wiped out by the end of the day.  Even though the day was great and they were so happy, this was, and always is, MY favorite part of the day!  Cuddle time on the couch with my kids.  

SPRING SOCCER HAS COME TO AN END

Well, Tyler and Lee had their last soccer game this past Saturday.  I am so glad that I signed Tyler up for soccer this spring.  He enjoyed every practice and every game and always looked forward to the next practice time or game time.  He really didn't get into the action a whole lot, but he ran, ran, and ran some more and always had a smile on his face while doing it.  He did improve throughout the season, and started to go more towards the ball and get a kick in every once in while.  Improvement!  That's all we ask for!  We will now look forward to fall soccer and possibly fall flag football!

Brady was always entertained by Colton, who is an older brother of one of Tyler's teammates.  Thank heavens for Colton!  He was great with Brady!

Father and son on the soccer field for their last game of their first ever soccer season.  Tyler chose to wear his shades for the last game.

Caden and Tyler's soccer skills are pretty similar.  They both run a lot and enjoy doing it.  They both grin from ear to ear the entire time they are on the field.

Tyler taking a break with Caden's big brother, Cody.

Tyler and Caden coming back into the game from break.  I'm sure their coach wanted them to "hustle" onto the field, however, they both look pretty content getting there at their own happy pace.

And checking out each other's shades.

These games were very entertaining to watch.  We died laughing at each game.  It was a great way to start our Saturdays this spring!  I'm going to miss it!

Grandma came for Tyler's last game--she's one of his biggest fans!  Brady got a snack from Grandma at the end of the game.  It looks like Brady's going to share his snack with Grandma, however, in order for him to get his snack from Grandma's hands, he had to "cheese" for the camera.

  I am really looking forward to your next season, Tyler!  I loved being your biggest fan and cheering you on each Saturday morning.  I loved watching you grow and improve as a soccer player and loved watching you make new friends on your team.  I am so very proud of you, big guy!

Go Hawks!

MOTHER'S DAY

It was a wonderful Mother's Day this past Sunday.  We spent most of the day at my Grandma's house visiting with my Grandma, mom, Josh and Liz, Aunts and Uncles, and a couple of cousins.  It was such a gorgeous day which made it so much more relaxing!

I am so very lucky to have the most amazing mom.  She has taught me how to be such a great mom and she is someone who I will look up to and learn from every day until the end.

I am also so very lucky to have two little kids of my own.  Both Tyler and Brady bring happiness to every moment of my day--even through the frustrating moments when I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs.

Tyler is such a smart four year old.  He has an outstanding memory.  He loves to learn.  He follows the rules and does what we ask (for the most part.)  He is a very sensitive little boy.  He is such a sweetheart.  He really loves his little brother, although he may not always show it.  He gets very excited about the little things!  He is so happy with life!  There are many things that Tyler does that Lee and I say are exactly what I would do, however, I feel like Tyler is going to be just like his dad when he grows up.

Brady is a crazy man!  He is the second child, second boy, and crazy as ever!  He is stubborn.  He knows how to have fun.  He does a great job at playing on his own.  He is such a cuddler.  He tells me over and over throughout the day, "I love you, Mommy."  Brady really looks up to his older brother and always tries to do exactly what Tyler is doing.  Brady is a very smart 2 year old.  He gets very proud of himself when he does things all by himself, without my help.  He also gets proud of himself when he does something that I have asked him to do and he does it after I have asked him only once....not five times!  Lee sees nothing of himself in Brady.  This child is all mine!  Second child...Crazy child...Just like me!  Oh no!

I am so very blessed to be the mom of these two little boys!  They are wonderful!!!

Myself, Grandma Kriz, and Mom

The boys got me some silly string for Mother's Day.  As soon as we got to Grandma Kriz's house, we had a silly string fight.  Brady did not like it so much, but Tyler absolutely loved it!  It was a mess!

 Tyler didn't look as bad as me.

 The boys got me good!

 This dog is Ruby.  She belongs to my Aunt and Uncle.  They got her Easter weekend, and we saw her on Easter, the day after they got her.  She is the sweetest little puppy.  Both Tyler and Brady thought that they were going to take her home with us. 

 We had a great time playing outdoor games.  Croquet and bags were played.

 My Aunt Judy, Uncle Kendall, Josh, and I played Croquet.  It was fun!  Judy and Kendall are pros and Judy was pretty sure she remembered all the rules from years ago.

 My cousin's little girl, Ava, owns two rabbits, Hannah and Princess.  The boys loved the bunny rabbits!

 Grandma checking out the rabbits.

 There was some confusion over the rules of Croquet, so Lee looked up the directions on his phone and taught everyone the "correct" way to play.  Here are his students sitting and listening to each and every word that he had to say.  :

 Tyler, Brady, and Ava with Hannah and Princess.

Tyler and Uncle Kendall hanging out.

WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL MOTHER'S DAY!