First Day of First Grade!

So, I know this is late.  I'm just not in the blogging mood lately.

This is Landon on his first day of First Grade!  I can't believe I have a first grader!!!  He is growing up so dang fast it just kills me.  He loves school so far and is so lucky that he's made friends so quickly here.  He walks to school every morning with our next door neighbor Tyler.  His teacher played for the Iowa Hawkeyes which he thinks is pretty cool too.  Notice he already has the jersey and had to wear it on the first day.

kiss-up! :)

Crocs

My kids live in their Crocs.  It's about the only thing on their feet all summer long.  They even where them to church sometimes.  I think Crocs are the best shoes for kids ever invented!  They can slip them on, they're super comfortable, they cover their toes, and you can wash them on those days when your kids trample all over in the mud.

Last night after I got the kids out of the shower I noticed some spots on Chase's feet.  At first glance I thought they were just still dirty, but quickly realized that they were tan spots from his Crocs!  He has perfect little circles from where the sun has tanned his feet through the little holes on the top of his shoes.  I guess we need to start putting sunscreen on the tops of his feet from now on, but so cute!

Happy 4th Birthday Chase!

My baby turned 4!  I can't believe Chase is 4.  He is such a fun, cute kid.  We absolutely love having Chase in our family.  He always has this look on his face that says trouble, but in a moment can turn it into the cutest smile and sweetest personality.  I have a cousin who commented on Chase at our family reunion this summer that I think describes him perfectly.  She said, "Chase reminds me of a mime, he never talks, but I can always tell what he's thinking by the look on his face."  The kid has a the best facial expressions!  You can't get enough of him.

He loves his older brother and is always trying to keep up with him and always wants to be where he is.

He is a true "momma's boy" and I love it!  He's always cuddling with me and love's to have his back and face tickled.  At the same time he has such a stubborn disposition about him.  This kid knows what he wants!  I have a hard time telling him "No" when he looks at me with that cute smile and I usually end up giving in to his demands.  

We were so blessed this year to have his Grandma Cindy and his Great Grandparents here to celebrate with us.  They drove from Illinois for the weekend to see us and celebrate Chase's birthday.  It was such a treat and we were so glad to see them!

Happy Birthday Chaser!

Iowa City Fair

Last week we went to check out the Iowa City Fair.  Admission was free, but they always get you one the rides.... $3 for one stinkin' two minute ride!  Not the mention the $3 snow cone!  Isn't a snow cone just Ice with flavor?!  The boys had a blast so I guess that makes it worth it.  The highlight was that they each got to hold a real snake.  They also enjoyed looking at all the animals.  I personally can think of a lot things I'd rather spend money on than the fair, but I'm sure we'll be back again next year.

  

 

Favorite Summer Pastime

My kids have become good friends with our next door neighbors who LOVE to play baseball.  It has made a big impact on Landon and Chase during the summer.  We are fortunate enough to live right across the street from some baseball fields so we frequently go over their to play.  Landon does pretty well, but HATES to be corrected on anything!  He is going to be so hard to coach.  Chase will do his best and is so cute while doing it.  Every time he stand up to the plate he starts moving the dirt around to adjust it for his feet.  He probably hits 1 out of every 10 pitches, but is having fun trying.

  

 

Memory Post

The Memory Post- I saw this on my friend's blog then on everyone else's and thought I would give it a try.  If you are an old friend and you are blog-stalking you better leave a comment so I know you are stalking me. For some reason, it makes me feel better knowing who is reading my blog. 

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! If we're only blogging friends, write about a post that is the most memorable for you.

2. Next, if you feel so inclined, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you...!

Sweet little Lando

I forgot to include the highlight of my birthday.  I was shopping at Hobby Lobby (Craft store) today and Landon wandered off.  When I looked around the corner to see where he had gone I noticed him lingering around the card isle.  He than told a women who was also shopping in the same isle that it was his mom's birthday today.  I noticed the two of them looking at cards together, but kept my distance.  After he was finished he came up to me and asked me if he could have $1.99.  Of course I told him he could, so I gave him $2 plus change and he went  to the cashier and purchased the card by himself.  He was so careful to keep me from seeing the purchase so the suprise wasn't spoiled.  He took the card home and wrote in it all by himself and colored it for me.  I have to say that it was better than any present I could have received that day.  Landon is so sweet and it's little things like this that make me so proud to be his mother.

" I love you mom (he signed it himself and also included Chase and Dad).

I hope you have the best birthday ever.  You are the best.

Happy Birthday."

I love this kid so much!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I turned the big 28 today.  For the most part it was a pretty uneventful day, but birthdays by now usually are.  Bryce got home from work at about 6:00 and we went out to celebrate at Texas Roadhouse (one of our favs.).  I don't really have any friends here yet, and no family so I was stuck making my own birthday cake.  I decided I would make the best birthday cake for myself ever and what better than an Ice cream cake?  The kids and I went to the store and picked out all the ingredients: Brownie mix, two different kinds of ice cream, caramel, hot fudge, and ice cream sandwiches.  Chase insisted on topping it with chocolate chips.

If I do say so myself it turned out awesome! 

Amy Wolsey, meet you new competition!

Congratulations!

So my little sis Lindsay is engaged!  We are so excited and we absolutely love her fiance Mike.  We are even more grateful that she didn't marry that looser last year so she could find someone as great as he is.  My kids absolutely love Mike and are so excited that he is going to be a member of our family.  I am so happy for Lindsay and always knew she deserved the best... she found it!  Congrats you two, we love you so much!

This is the only photo I had of the two of them,

it's from the Strawberry Days Rodeo

New Table

I have been bugging my husband about our kitchen table.  It is really old and was really looking like it.  We decided to give it a facelift this weekend and stain the top and paint the rest.  It literally took the whole weekend, but I think it was worth it.  It was fun doing a project like this together.  Neither of us had ever done anything like this so I got online and looked up instruction on how to refinish a table and we went from their.  It really up-dated it and I think it looks great without spending a lot of money.

(I don't have a picture of the table before we started the whole process.  It had a few heat rings on it from hot bowls and the old finish was completely faded.  The table was a hand me down from Bryce's parents and is about as old as he is.)

    This was after the first stripping                            After the second stripping and sanding

After staining and painting

The Final Product!

Happy 7th Landon!

Landon turned 7 today!  This was his first birthday away from family in Utah.  We tried to make his day as special as possible, being that we don't know anyone here yet and the two friends he has made are out of town for the weekend.  I took Chase with me to buy Landon's presents and tried my hardest to tell him that we had to keep them a secret.  I even bribed him with a treat from the store if he wouldn't tell.  He kept telling me that he understood and wouldn't tell Landon.  Of course, the second Chase came in contact with his brother he whispered to him that we bought him "Hulk Smashers".... but it was a secret.  I think Chase was the most excited about them because he kept asking when Landon got to open the hulk smashers so they could play.  How can you expect a 3 year old to keep a secret like that anyway?  Going along with my families tradition, Landon picked out what kind of cake he wanted on his birthday (White cake that looked like a basketball).  I tried my best at the cake and made his choice for dinner.  I think he loved all of his presents and despite only celebrating with us had a great day.  

Landon is such a great kid.  When he wants to be he is the most loving sincere boy you will ever meet.  He loves his younger brother and is great to include him.  He told me the other day that he doesn't want to start 1st grade because, "he'll be gone all day and won't have any time to play with his brother".  He is such an athlete and loves all sports.  He will sit and talk to anyone about his favorite teams and players at that time.  He's always willing to help his mom when it is time to clean up and rarely complains about it.  We love having him in our family and don't know what we would do without him.  I am so blessed to have such great boys, but particularly on this day and I am so grateful for my boy Landon.

Happy 4th of July!

We're not in St. Louis Anymore...

So since we have moved from the big city of St. Louis we have noticed a major change in our surroundings.  Instead of the busy freeway and sirens, the only thing we hear around here is lawn mowers & kids playing.  It is a very nice change.  Since arriving last week we have also seen a rabbit, a deer, this little frog, and a light show of fireflies in our backyard.  I think we're going to like it here.

 

This is one of the little boys in our coldisac, Bryce (5)

During Our Stay In Utah...

While we were in Utah we were able to do a lot of fun things.  We went up for a weekend at Zermatt with John, Tara, and Nash, Bryce did a little fly-fishing with Ryan, the "Sphincter Tones" tore up Provo City, the kids did swim lessons at riverside, they went to the Dinosaur museum with Grandma, Bryce and I went to Mexico with some friends and his family, we hit the Strawberry Days Rodeo with my fam, my little bro Bryan returned from his mission in Argentina, and the Dickinson's had their family reunion in Snowmass, Colorado.  We had a blast hanging with the Fam, but were all excited to start adjusting to our new home in Iowa.  Here are some pics from the events that took place over the last month.

Welcome Home Elder Dickinson!

My really cute little bro Bryan just got back from his mission in Argentina.  We are so happy to have him home.  He is such an awesome kid and we missed him so much while he was gone.  The first thing he said about my kids is that Chase had changed so much and Landon hadn't changed at a bit.  My kids made him a sign for the airport, but had a hard time writing the letters in paint so I quickly did it for him.  If you notice, in my hurry, I spelled "uncle" wrong.  I turned by big "L" into an "E" without even noticing until it was to late to fix.  My boys were so excited to see Bryan, it was really cute.  There were a lot of tears of joy!  Welcome home Bryan!!!