Visit to Iowa August 2013

At the beginning of August, Eric, the boys and I spent a week in Iowa visiting family.  We couldn't have asked for better weather either. I don't think it got above 85 degrees! We had lots of fun at Aunt Amy's house- especially terrorizing Banjo, her cat, and playing in her huge yard!

We went to the Iowa State Fair and got to see lots of pigs, cows and other farm animals. Caiden got to work in the Little Hands on the Farm section.

And of course, we had to see the famous butter cow.

then we left Des Moines and went to Gilmore City to visit Eric's grandparents. The boys loved picking vegetables in the garden. And Caiden wanted to learn how to climb their big tree.

Other days we spent with Grandpa Doug and Grandma LeAnn.  They took us fishing. Caleb wasn't so sure about the life jacket, but I was sure he'd try to jump in the water!

Another day they took us to a lake for a boat ride, some swimming and playing in the sand.

The boys had so much fun spending about 90% of the day outside.

We were spoiled all week with great food. Fair food, Adam's grilled steaks, Marv & Georgia's huge lunches, and Doug & LeAnn's yummy meals. I enjoyed not havign to cook for a whole week!  And we even conviced Caiden to try some new things- like the sweet corn that he picked himself.

Father's Day 2013

Eric wanted to celebrate Father's Day by taking the boys to the Dove Spray Park. We all had lots of fun splashing around!  I'm so thankful to have Eric as a wonderful father to my children!

 

Wedded Bliss

May 31 Eric and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary!  I can't believe how the time flies!  Since we've been married, we have experienced MANY wonderful blessings.

• we moved to another state,
• both got our Masters degrees,
• travelled to 4 countries and many cities in the US
• bought a house
• bought 2 cars (not at the same time)
• grew our family, adding 2 beautiful boys

Those are just the major things, but we thank God daily for all the blessings he has bestowed on us, our marriage and our family!

 

 

 

And of course, Eric just had to surprise me (after saying "no gifts") with an anniversary band.

Trip to Sea World

The first week of April we took a family vacation down to San Antonio for a few days. Our Destination: Sea World!  Overall the boys did so well on the trip. We ended up driving and they took the car ride like champs. We had been worried how they would do in a hotel, but I think they ended up getting more sleep than me or Eric :)  Caiden slept with Eric and tossed and turned, kicking and headbutting him all night. I was up quite a bit with Caleb, because he kept waking up and we didn't want to let him cry like we do at home. But... we drank some coffee and survived :)

The weather was a bit cooler than we would have liked, so we had to bundle up a bit. But it warmed up nicely in the afternoon. We ended up spending 2 full days at the park.

Caiden's favorite part was feeding the dolphins. Mine too! Even as an adult, it was REALLY cool to be able to touch a dolphin! One tip for anyone planning a trip: Feed the dolphins very first! It is the best time, because it gets very crowded later! Here's some pics of that:

Of course, we had to see the Shamu show. I took a ton of pictures, but here are a few.

Caiden and Eric had fun playing in the Sesame Street Bay of Play area (although it was too cold for the spray park).

Caleb and I got to meet Bert & Ernie. Caiden didn't want to get close though :)

We saw the sea lion show, but I didn't take pictures because I was holding Caleb while he was napping. Here's Caiden after the show.

At the end of the first day, Caiden decided he wanted a stuffed dolphin for his souvenir.

 On the second day, Eric and I took turns on some rides. Eric is in the next-to-last car, last row.

And we spent some time with the penguins.

It was such a fun trip and I wouldn't mind going back again soon!

Happy Birthday Eric!

Eric's birthday was last Thursday (January 31st) so we got to split up the celebration a little. The Saturday before his birthday, we got a sitter and went on a date!  It was so nice to get out of the house for a bit! We went to  and went to see Argo at the theater. Before the movie started, we had a little fun in the arcade playing air hockey (Eric won) and getting our pictures taken in the photo booth.

On Eric got home from work on his birthday, Caiden couldn't wait to show daddy his "birthday party" (the package he had gotten). Caleb wanted in on the action as well.

Caiden had also picked out a Mickey Mouse balloon for him too.

After dinner, we sung Happy Birthday and ate yummy homemade Key Lime Cheesecake!

Eric's team hadn't known it was his birthday on Thursday, but found out later that day, so when Eric arrived at work on Friday, they were blowing up 350 balloons for his cube!

Hope he has a wonderful year! I'm so thankful to have him as my husband and father of my boys! Love you Eric!