MARIPOSA

I took the boys out to Mariposa State Park on Friday, August 8th to enjoy the morning outside.  They played on the playground, we went for a walk, they watched (and chased) the ducks, and we had a great picnic lunch.

Like I’ve said a million times before, I am so lucky and thankful to have these moments in the summer with my kids!

Brady going after the ducks.

My boys by the lake.

Play, play, play!

They had no idea what this was, so I taught them about water pumps.

Taking a walk with my boys.

I LOVE his dimples!

I think he had some lunch packed into those cheeks.

Oh, brothers!  They will someday be best buds!

HERKY HUNT

I took my boys to Iowa City to stay with my mom for a few days in the middle of the week at the beginning of August.  We had a great time as always and did a little Herky hunting while we were out and about.

Tuesday night we went out to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and then to Orange Leaf for some frozen yogurt.  The first Herky of the trip was in front of Orange Leaf.

Brady found it humorous that there was a turtle on Herky’s behind.

Enjoying some Fro-Yo.

On the way back to Grandma’s, we stopped at the Farmer Herky.

After Frozen Yogurt we stopped at Scheels to get a couple things and found Camo Herky.

On Wednesday, Grandma took the boys to the Planes: Fire and Rescue movie.  While they were in the movie, I did some shopping in the mall.  After the movie, we went and found all the Herky’s in the mall.

We found Bat Man.

The Iowa Wrestler.

The Wizard.

America Needs Farmers Herky.

Faces of Herky.

Wednesday evening we took a bike ride down to the park to play.

Thursday morning Grandma had to go to work and we had to get ready to leave so that we could make it to the boys’ last swim lessons.  Before we took off we made one last stop at the mall to see Grandma and to ride a few rides.

It was a great few days in Iowa City!

SPLASH PARK ADVENTURE

At the beginning of August I took the boys to a splash park in Des Moines.  It was actually a full day of running errands in Des Moines and the boys got the Splash Park as a reward for their awesome behavior during all the stops that we needed to make.  It was a hot, beautiful day, so the water felt great and they had a good time!

After cooling down in the water, they played at the park for awhile.

I absolutely love being able to do these kind of things and having these kind of days with my kids during the summer months!  I hope they love it as much as I do!

TOO FUNNY!

Oh how our Brady makes us laugh!

One night at the beginning of August we put the boys to bed and came back downstairs.  Lately Brady has been finding things that he absolutely needs to tell us just so that he can come downstairs and put off going to bed just a little bit longer.  I actually think it’s kinda cute because I usually get an additional hug and kiss out of the whole thing.  Lee doesn’t think it’s as cute.

Well, on this night, he came downstairs and had a band-aid on his forehead.

I said, “Hey buddy, what happened?”

Brady: My head hurts.

Me:  Oh, buddy, I’m sorry.  Is the band-aid making it feel better?  (I’m saying all this to him with working so hard at keeping my laughter in!)

Brady: Well, my head hurts, I have to go poop, and my finger is orange.

Me:  Okay, bud, let’s go upstairs and go to the bathroom, wash your finger, and I’ll get you medicine.

I have no idea where the orange came from on his finger, but before we went upstairs, I did say, “before we go upstairs, go show your daddy that your head hurts.”  It was just too cute!

So, we went upstairs, got him on the pot, gave him medicine, and washed his finger.  And the band-aid came off first thing in the morning!

A picture of his three “problems” that night.  Had to go the bathroom, orange finger, and had a headache.

CHUCK E. CHEESE

While we were in Cedar Falls to help Josh and Liz move, we decided to take a break and take the kids to Chuck E. Cheese to play.  They love that place!

And instead of staying at Chuck E. Cheese for dinner, we ordered and picked up some delicious pizza from The O.P. to take back to Josh and Liz’s new house.

It was a good weekend in Cedar Falls and it was fun helping Josh and Liz get into their new HOME!

This picture is FUN!  Tyler and Brady on the ‘rollercoaster’ ride, with Grandma and Josh watching, and Lee in the background playing a game on his own.  :)

Both boys really enjoyed their time running around and playing games at Chuck E. Cheese!

And of course we walked out with some goodies!  Tyler used his tickets for some toys that I’m sure have already made it into the garbage can and Brady used his tickets on this very large lollipop that we kept and he ate for 2 weeks!

DELANEY’S READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!

We went and helped Josh and Liz move at the beginning of August.  While we were there, I was able to give Delaney her new football outfit!  She looked adorable in it!!!

I had to get her ready for football season in the Freese household and ready to “Watch ESPN with her Daddy.”

BAKING WITH MY BOYS

A Sunday spent baking with my boys!

I love getting them up onto the counter to help me mix when baking.  I love giving them the mixers and watching them lick off all the yumminess!  For now these are amazing Sundays that I will make happen as much as I can, because soon they will be great memories that I will keep with me forever!