Little Drummer Boy

Future band member of the Sphincter Tones.

He even has his shirt off like a real rock star.

Lando's 10th Birthday!!!

What?!  Is he really 10 years old?!

Hard for me to believe, but it's true.  Landon turned 10 this summer.

Landon is so full of it.  Really.  He can talk trash with the best of them, the best being all of his uncles.  He knows exactly what to say to get them all worked up and he feeds off of it.

He is a sports fanatic!  You can ask him just about anything and he'll have the answer.  Bryce and I are pretty sure he is a doppelganger of my little brother Bryan.

He can be the sweetest of my boys and the one that drives me the most crazy.

He is a good big brother.  Or at least has his moments. :)

He is super social and loves the be the center of attention.

He is an awesome student and his teachers have nothing but good things to say about him.

He is a perfectionist, just like me.  Good thing and bad thing.

He knows who he is, what he likes, and what he doesn't and isn't afraid to stand up for himself or what he believes in.

We love you Landon!

This picture captures his personality so well, I love it!

 

I told him I was going to get him a Barbie for his Birthday and he didn't believe me...

It was pretty funny.

 Yes, in the above picture, Brady is wearing his older brother's baseball cleats...

in only his onesie...

eating a waffle...

Welcome to our life.

 Landon has a slight obsession with sports trading cards.

He loves to scatter them all over the floor and organize them in his folders according to whatever he feels like categorizing them as at that particular moment.

It drives me crazy!!!

 The baseball cake I attempted for him and his face after being shoved in it after blowing out his candles from his father.

The kid has very little chance.

 

Happy Birthday Lando, We love you!!!

4th of July Celebrations

What would the 4th of July be without a parade in the hot, humid sun?

According to Bryce, it would be awesome!  :)

I did manage to talk him into the parade this year and it didn't disappoint.  It was hot, humid and everyone was ready to go 30 minutes into it.

 

 Walking in to find a spot the boys found one of Landon's good friends, Ben, so they decided the hang with him instead of us and collect their candy together.

We were right across the street. :)

Doesn't my husband look happy to be there?!

What are the odds we'll have a repeat parade experience next year?

We finished the day off with a BBQ with some friends and fireworks.  None of which I took pictures of, but I'm sure most of you can imagine since you were probably doing the same.

My Boys and Grandma Cindy

My mom came to visit for a couple days while she was out visiting her parents in Illinois.

I love having my family come and see us!  It was so nice of her to drive from Illinois to spend a couple days with me and the kids.

We decide to last minute try and get a picture of the the kids for Father's Day.  It was truly last minute so I know they are completely blown out for taking them mid-afternoon, but they're my boys and they look cute no matter what!

 Seriously,  isn't he so cute!  Even with his father's ears!

You can imagine all the girls at school who have a crush on this one!

  

Chase is so shy sometimes, but he's finally starting to come out of his shell a little.

I love this kid so much!

 This one is TROUBLE.  :)

 

I'm pretty lucky...

Baseball Season 2011

I could seriously do at least 10 different posts just on our baseball season with as many pictures as I have documenting the boys seasons!  Let's just say that baseball pretty much ruled our lives all spring and summer long!  It was so fun and the boys got to play on teams with a lot of their good friends so they really had a blast, but was I glad when it ended!  I can only take so many days of sitting through 3 or sometimes even 4 baseball games in a day!
Here are some of the highlights...

 Brady was the team mascot and a player in training all season long.

He was such a good sport during those long hot days and wants to be like all the older boys!

Someone should start by teaching him how to put the helmet on the right way...

 

Chase had a great season in Rookie ball and was lucky enough to get placed on the same team as two of his best friends.

He wasn't sure he wanted to play at the beginning of the season, but when I told him he was on Owen's and Kyle's team he was so excited!  Chase does not like new things and especially new things with new people so having friends involved is always a plus.

  

 

 

 

Owen, Chase, and Kyle

The crew with their medals after the last game.

I was so happy they got to play together!

I had to force them to take the above picture...

The one below is them in their usual demeanor.

 

 When I say baseball ruled our lives over the spring and summer what I really mean is LANDON'S baseball really ruled our lives!

He was invited to play on a competitive team this year and it was really a commitment for him and for us!  They take baseball seriously here and that includes the 10u teams!

His team was called the North Liberty Knights and it was full of his friends from school so needless to say, he had fun.

Landon mostly played short-stop and second base and improved so much throughout the season.

They had a great season and Landon made some really good friends that he may not have met otherwise so despite the long, hot, humid days in the sun watching game after game I think we'll consider the experience a huge success.

 

 

These three all have older brother who played on the Knights.

Thank goodness they had each other for entertainment!

 

 

 

Towards the end of the season the team had the opportunity to practice with some players from the Iowa Kernels AAA team.

You would have thought they were practicing with the major leagues they were so excited!

They all got autographs from the players and the guys were so great with all the kids it was nice of them to come out and take the time.

 To end the season the team had a big party at the local pool.

These kids got along so well throughout the season and it was so great to see them end the year having such a good time together.

Papa Tom Comes to Visit

What can I say...

We look forward to this time of year EVERY year!  The time when we get some visitors, and in this particular visit, my dad.  A.K.A.  Papa Tom

He is always so nice to take time out of his very busy schedule to come and see my kids, doing the things they do in IOWA, their friends, and watch their baseball games.

My boys love it when Papa Tom comes to play, and play he did!  There is almost always a cul-de-sac baseball game going on in the summer that consist of all the kids on the street plus some kids from surrounding neighborhoods.   My dad is such a good sport and played and pitched and even suffered some injuries in the process which I didn't manage to get a picture of.  Let's just say I'm pretty positive his elbows are scarred for life, no joke!

 

  

I love this picture of my dad laughing and having a good time.

This is how I always think of him.

 We start them young around here!

 Love you Dad, you really are one of a kind!