Rooooooaaaaar!

These boys are the best.  We were on our way home from the grocery store and they launched into being dinosaurs.  They roared and I giggled all the way home!  My job rocks and somedays I can't believe I even get to do it everyday.  These are the days that get me through the really hard days!

Murphy's Backyard Bash!

At the end of August Kelcee and Matt had their annual backyard party.  Goodness, they throw a crazy awesome party.  The food was amazing, individual sangrias in mason jars, a carnival-like fishing game with prizes for the boys, bubbles galore, stickers, homebrew, good conversation and did I mention the food?  It was a sticky evening but we didn't care because it was so nice to soak up their beautiful backyard!  It was a great night with friends!  Thanks, Murphys!

This boy had a blast!  He was enjoying some popcorn snack...isn't that smile just awesome!

Hutchinson does this cute little thing that he is doing in the picture.  He loves giving Michael and me a hug at the same time.  He comes up to you with his arms spread way out and says "huggg!" We were thankful that our camera was handy and Cory snapped a picture for us!  Love this tiny little man and the big one too!

The Murphy's have this awesome bubble recipe and it makes ridiculously big bubbles...check out Michael's monster of a bubble!

Sign of a good party...passed out and covered in glow sticks!  He had so much fun and ran around for the entire night!  He fell asleep before we got home...doesn't he look so old!!

 

Back to School!

We headed to Finnean's Open House on August 29th.  He did a great job and didn't seem nervous at all.  He seemed like an old pro.  Walked right in and put his things away.  He talked to the teacher, which I am pretty sure he didn't do last year and looked around.  He said he really liked his new room!  Aren't the boys cute in their matching green shorts!?

 

He picked out his clothes and of course, had to wear his Thursday monster unders!



I LOVE this picture!  He looks SO happy and just so darn excited.  Not to mention how stinking old he looks!  The pilot thing is new.  We have watched this All About Airplanes video a few times (while he recovered from the tonsillitis) and it has him hooked on flying!  I just can't get over the cuteness here! 

 

He was so excited to get to school and hang out with his friends!  He didn't miss a beat with being gone the first couple days.  His teacher said that he had a great day and had a lot of fun!  I know he will do great but I just worry about him.  What will be the challenges for him this year?  In what areas will he have success?  I know we just have to help him along but it is hard to be without him each morning.  I didn't cry but goodness, my heart was definitely sad!

"Where FiFi? Where FiFi? Where FiFi"
Hutchinson was so sad that he didn't get to stay and paint with FiFi on the first day of school.  We headed to the library and he had a great time at story time.  You can definitely tell that he misses his big bro.  It will be an adjustment for all of us!  I am excited to get to spend some one on one time with little H! :)

Tonsillitis...on the first day of school!?

Sometimes things just don't go according to our plan. Finnean woke up on Sunday and was beat.  We thought he was just wiped from the day before but he slept for the entire day.  9 am to 5 pm!!  He had a little fever, so we just let him rest and then he slept all night.  Yesterday he was fine and we picnicked and then the neighbors came over for an easy dinner.  The boys played but nothing to exhausting but right before bed Finnean said that his throat hurt when he swallowed.  It hurt for good reason, Michael looked and said it looks like he has a canker sore on his throat.  I looked and his tonsils were HUGE and covered in little blisters...obviously Michael doesn't have any experience with swollen tonsils ;)  We gave him some Tylenol and he was down for the night.  We were SUPPOSED to be getting good sleep so he could go to preschool in the morning but instead we were off to Urgent Care. 

Thankfully we didn't have to wait and Finnean was seen quickly.  They did a strep test (which is THE WORST!) and confirmed it wasn't strep.  The doctor said all kinds of things can cause tonsillitis and let's try some antibiotics.  The part that is the scariest...he said Finnean is REALLY, SUPER contagious and said that about five times.   So here's to hoping we all don't get sick and to a quick recovery.  He just wants to go to school, hopefully he can go on Thursday!

Preschool Open House

Awww! Finnean starts school on Tuesday.   My brain has been struggling to process this information and I am pretty sure I am in denial.  I know it is the best move for him and that he will do great but a part of me just wants to keep him home with me all the time.  He just goes in the morning  but I will miss his sweet little grin and his crazy imagination.  We will have the afternoons to explore and I have to remind myself of the great time that Hutchinson and I will have together.   I think we are going to miss our FiFi. 

Last night we delivered school supplies and checked out his room.  He is so excited to be a "big kid" at school now.  He thinks his teacher is pretty cool too! I can't wait to see what this year brings for our little Finnean!

Iowa State Fair!!

 

 We just had just returned from Dubuque and we were plum pooped but Grandma and Poppa were heading to the fair the next day and we couldn't pass up a day at the Iowa State Fair with them!  I am so glad that we made it work and the boys had SO much fun!  I think Grandma and Poppa did too!  I took the boys to the Capitol and we rode the bus from there.  It only cost a $1 for us to ride.  Thankfully, a nice man that worked for DART helped me get the stroller on the bus and we were on our way!!

 

Finnean was most fascinated by the HUGE red tractor that was one of the very first things he laid eyes on when we arrived.  He admired it while we waited for Grandma and Poppa to meet up.  He actually didn't want to leave, we had to convince him that there was so much more to see!  We finally got on our way and checked out the "I Milked a Cow" schedule-that was really the only thing on our list of "things to do!"  We grabbed some yummy lunch and then we headed over to Little Hands on the Farm and didn't have to wait in line.  In past years, there was always a long line, so the boys have never been through it before.  I am so glad that they went this year!  They had so much fun and really enjoyed helping them along on the "farm."  If you don't know what I am talking about, let me share a bit.  It is a farm experience from start to finish.  You have to plant and pick your veggies.  Feed the cows and sheep.  Drive the tractor to feed the cows, milk a cow and then take your goods to the farmers market to sell.  After you "sell" your goods, you get a "dollar" and get to buy something in the grocery store!  They had all kinds of goodies.  The boys both picked fruit snacks to buy.  It is such a neat experience!  Next, we had to stop in and see all of the baby animals in the big animal building.  It is so cute to see the little chicks that have just hatched and the tiny baby pigs were a hit!   After we had our animal fix we headed to milk a cow!  Finnean was so excited!  There was a bit of a line, so we had JR Donuts and a lemonade to help pass the time!

Finnean was so brave!! He marched right up there and milked that cow!  He told me that it felt kind of bumpy and a little shaky when the cow moved.  Finnean also said that it was his favorite part of the day!  By this time, it started to warm up a little (the weather was amazingly beautiful), so we hit the splashers and Finnean got soaked!  Hutchinson was more interested in just running around the water and not getting wet!  We posed for a few more pictures (Finnean did NOT want to be in the picture with Grandma, Poppa and Hutchy) and then headed back on the bus.  There was not anyone to help get the stroller on, so I was feeling like quite the super hero that I made it back on the bus with two boys that missed a nap without any trouble at all!  I am so thankful that we had the chance to do the Iowa State Fair with Grandma and Poppa!  What a great day for making memories!

 

This is what Hutchy looked like after a long day at the fair...I had to wake him up a little after 5 so he would sleep that night!

Round Two of the Iowa State Fair!

Our goal was get to the fair bright and early and get out before the boys got crabby.  We did!  We found a parking spot down on the East Side and headed in.  We were enjoying the beautiful morning and waiting in line (yes, Little Hands on the Farm was so cool-we waited in line) for the farm and our morning got a little exciting.  I heard Hutchinson say, "Momma" and I looked at him just in time to see him throw up.  For real, son.  We JUST got here and you throw up.  Poor little fellow.  We are pretty sure that he got car sick.  Michael was bobbing and weaving to get us a good parking spot and it must have been too much for little H.  Within minutes he was fine and begging to go into the farm with Daddy...so we cleaned him up and started our day.  It is never dull with boys!!

 



It was fun for the boys to explore the farm again and show Michael around.  They LOVE showing him around.  Finnean decided on a Bomb Pop at the store and had that for snack at 9:30 in the morning!  Only at the State Fair, right!? 

We headed up to the top of hill via the tractor shuttle that Finnean wanted to ride.  We stumbled upon the Wine Experience and decided that we should stomp grapes.  Finnean was curious and excited.  He said he would do it with me!  So we signed up and then waited for our stomping debut!  We found out that you need a "mucker" or someone to help get the juice out of the barrel.  Michael volunteered his mucking services and we were set...until Finnean backed out about 30 seconds in.  The grapes were FREEZING.  So cold that it hurt your feet to smoosh them.  So I got to squish juice out of 18 lbs. of green and purple (Finnean picked them out) for 3 minutes.  After the three minutes were up, we had to use our hands to get as much juice out as possible.  I was not aware of this step when I signed up.  I really dislike getting my hands icky, but I powered through and our team squeezed 14.6 cm of juice out!  We did take third out of three in our heat but we had fun!  We got a ribbon, which Finnean was super pumped about and tells everyone about!  I do have to say that we only ha 2 cm less than the other teams and only one grape stomper, they all had two!  Michael thinks that next year we can take home the blue ribbon!!  Win or lose, we had a lot of laughs and it was fun! 

After we got cleaned up from the stomping, we headed down for some lunch.  Finnean declared that he wanted a corn dog and we had some fruit cups under the shade tree that we always sit under.  We checked out the miniature train museum and the boys LOVED it.  Finnean is still talking about it.  Hutchinson found a tractor that he thought was pretty darn neat.  We decided that we have not seen him smile like this before.  He was a happy camper!

We stopped for one last snack before we headed home...a Fair Square!  We tried one of each and decided that the plain was the best!  A facebook friend pointed out how we are all smiling and Hutchinson is just eyeing down the treat!!  It was such a fun day at the fair and I am so glad that this is a family tradition for us.  Finnean just asked me if we could go back next year.  Absolutely, buddy, absolutely!

{One of the best things about this trip to the fair...we did it on a budget!  We scored free tickets from a friend and parking was free (we paid the price in throw up, I guess).  We didn't over eat!  We had corn dogs and fruit for lunch and Fair Squares ($6 for 3) for our treat.  Of course we packed snacks and pb and j for the littles and lots of water!  I think eliminating drink costs is the easiest way to save money.  Our final total was $20.50.  I can tell you that we aren't always this budget friendly at the fair but we did prove to ourselves that it doesn't have to be super expensive to go.  We also knew that we were going back to the fair without the kids later that night...we were saving our money for that!}

Love without conditions.

"And still, after all this time, the Sun has never said to the Earth, "You owe me."  Look what happens with love like that.  It lights up the sky." -Rumi 

My sweet cousin shared this quote on her instagram today and I just needed to hear it.  I swear that we have some sort of unwritten knowledge of each other's heart.  I am not sure what Rumi intended it to mean but to me it says that love that is unconditional is so great.  My sweet, sassy, back talking, not listening four and half year old tested  my unconditional love today.  He was so disrespectful to me today that I lost it and yelled like crazy at him.  I HATE when I lose it.  Nothing makes me feel worse as a parent.  My patience was out the window and I had no ability to get control over my emotions.  He was screaming at me and I could only take it for so long.  He would not go away from me when I told him I needed a break---escalating both of us even more.  Poor, sweet Hutchinson just sat and played Legos and then read books.  He probably thought we were freaking crazy.  I thought we were freaking crazy.  Nothing makes my heart hurt more than the regret I have after yelling at him.  I know that I am not a perfect parent but goodness, I don't like that I made him feel so crappy.  Ahhh, the guilt.  We were able to talk to Michael and that calmed us both down and we both promptly fell asleep.  Thank goodness, we obviously needed some rest!

I had a friend tell me once that opportunities like today, give us a chance to show our children how to apologize and be humbled.  So, today I had that opportunity to tell Finnean how I felt and how I was sorry and that I know it must have made him feel really yucky.  Sometimes I dislike that I am so emotional and that I wear my heart on my sleeve but I really wouldn't want to change that for anything.  Sure, it brings it's challenge and especially brings challenges when it comes to parenting an emotional child but I wouldn't trade it for the way I get to see the world.  For me, I love walking through this life, soaking up all the details with my crazy emotions.  It makes it interesting and I am always learning how to be a good emotional parent.  I want him to know that it is okay to cry
 and that it is okay to be angry.  We are always working on how we can get centered when we feel that way.  We are working that yelling doesn't help and that we have to work as a team.  We are working on it.

As much as I don't like him being disrespectful and as much as I don't like me yelling at him, it gave me a chance to show him my unconditional love.  I was able to tell him how much I love him and no matter what or how mad he makes me...I will always love him.  Who knows if he understands at all or if he just knows that I yelled at him.  Either way, I was able to show him that we make mistakes and it is okay to say you are sorry and that I love him always, without conditions.

Go Cubbies!

A few weeks ago we headed to the I Cubs game with two families from our neighborhood.  It was SO fun!  I have always dreamed of having fun neighbors.  Between the three families, we have 5 little boys 6 or under.  It was a hoot!  The weather was perfect, you know where it gets just a little chilling and you need something on your arms at night?  Yes, that kind of perfect!  We attempted to stay for fireworks but our boys just got too tired.  We hadn't had any meltdowns or issues, so we decided to leave while we were ahead!  We found out later that the I Cubs did end up winning!  We bought a Groupon earlier in the year-so we had cheap tickets and our friends snagged some awesome seats for us.  We packed tons of snacks and (illegally) brought them into the game.  You would have thought that the boys hadn't had anything to eat in days.  We all shared snacks and tons of laughs.  All of the boys did great and it was such a fun night.  Here are a few pictures from our adventure! 

Hutchinson knows that you always need more cowbell!  A rare Finnean and Mom picture-sometimes he is just too cool for the camera!  Hutchinson was happy and loved the game!  Michael snapped this neat picture of the city and Finnean when they went to stretch their legs!

We have had an excess of family adventures this August.  Our schedule has been packed-just trying to sneak in as much fun as possible before we head back to school and back to a bedtime routine.  These kids have been up late more in the past few months than ever before but it has been SO FUN!  We have made so many memories and we are excited to catch another I Cubs game on Wednesday night!

Dubuque {family fun on a budget}

A few weeks ago we headed to Dubuque for a mini family getaway.  Our goal was to soak up each other and have tons of fun...on a budget!  We got a Groupon for the The Grand Harbor Resort a few months back and booked our room right away.  It saved us money on our hotel stay for sure!  The hotel was not fancy but it was clean and the boys LOVED it!  We packed food for picnic lunches and snacks on the go.  We packed healthy things and sweet treats to satisfy our sweet tooth.  The boys helped make the cookies and the banana muffins that we took for breakfast.  We took a lot of stuff for a short amount of time but you just never know what you might need with two wild boys!  We had so much fun...I hope this post makes you want to visit Dubuque---it is such a great town!

This is Hutchinson all snuggled in for the three and half hour drive that we had ahead of us.  Don't let his cuteness fool you, he only slept for about a half hour.  :)  We stopped for a picnic in Independence before getting to the hotel around 2 pm.

As soon as we got to the room, the boys started checking out the view of the Mighty Mississippi!  They thought it was so cool to see the river right out our window and of course, it had boats!  They even saw a river boat!  After a quick snack, we headed straight for the waterpark.  They LOVED it.  It was so awesome to see them be so brave and try new things.  It was a great lesson is risk taking.  You want to push them just a little so they try new things but you don't want to terrify them either!  Once Finnean tried the slides, he couldn't get enough.  Michael and I took turns going down with him.  Hutchinson liked the lazy river and shooting hoops a little more than the slides.  The boys cheered while Michael or I went down the super fast tube slide.  It was so cute to look down and see the three of them SO excited that I was going down the slide by myself. 

After our time at the pool it was time for dinner.  Our Groupon included $25 to the restaurant in the hotel.  It was PERFECT!  We ordered it to go and had a picnic in the hotel.  The boys thought it was awesome and enjoyed running along the beautiful river walk while we waited for our food.  Getting take out was the best idea-we only spent $3 on dinner...if we would have dined in, it would have been way more.  The boys ate some of the food we packed for the trip to complete their dinner of saucy chicken bites.  It was great AND we didn't have to deal with squirmy kids at a restaurant ;) After we let our food settle we headed BACK to the pool for some more fun in the water.  It was a perfect way to spend the evening.

After the second two hours at the pool, we were all pretty tired.  I gave the boys baths and Michael ran over to Wisconsin to get some of our favorite beer, New Glarus!  {Our treat for surviving three and a half hours in the car with two kids and then four hours at a waterpark!} Everything was going along fine and I got the boys out of the bath to dry off.  I thought that I smelled something but I just chalked it up to being in a hotel bathroom.  Then I told Hutchinson to go in the other room so I could get his diaper on, when he ran away there was a pile of POOP on the floor.  He had been sitting there all wrap up in his towel...going potty.  I HATE poop.  I was instantly grossed out and gagging uncontrollably.  Needless to say, Michael got a good laugh out of my little adventure while he was gone.  It was gross I tell you, just plain gross.  Anyway... I had to share because I definitely will not be forgetting that it happened anytime soon! :)

We brought along Cars for the boys to watch after baths.  They snuggled up in Finnean's bed and had a blast.  It just melted my heart to see them laughing together and just snuggling with each other.  It was a queen bed and they were all cuddled up on one side.  Of course, they both had to bring their Georgie and stripe blanket.  After we watched a little Cars, they were so tired.  Hutchinson slept in the pack and play and was out in less the 30 seconds.  He didn't make a peep.  He looked SO big in that tiny pack and play.  It is amazing how much he has grown.  Finnean did a great job and settled right down and was asleep in 15 minutes.  We chalked that up to a huge victory, cracked a beer and snuggled up to watch a movie on the iPad.  It was the perfect end to a super fun day!

The next morning we packed up everything and headed over to The Mississippi River Museum.  We luckily had two free kid's admission tickets and asked our hotel if they had any coupons...that saved us a couple bucks off the adult admission.  The museum is in the parking lot of the hotel, so just a few minutes after check out...we were off on our next adventure. 

They had a saltwater tank that the boys loved.  I love the bottom picture of the two boys.  Finnean up close checking it out and little Hutchinson standing back, soaking it all in!

After exploring some history, we headed up to the Wet and Wild room.  It was a fun place for the boys to check out how river works.  They really enjoyed building their own boats and floating them in the river.  They could have stayed there for a while!  We left that building and headed outside for some more exploring...

The boys of course loved the train tracks.  They also had big steam engines sitting in this courtyard...they were pretty cool too!

We headed to an old river dredging boat and got to take a tour of it.  It was nice because after a short history of the boat from the volunteer, we could walk around on our own.  They boys loved the captain's quarters and being up so high on the decks.  Hutchinson found this anchor that he really wanted to move.  Even with his big muscles (that he is showing in the top left picture), he couldn't make it move.  He called in reinforcements from big bro but even with two Wagler boys, they just couldn't get it to budge! :)

The boys spotted a train and they thought it was pretty cool to see it so close.  I enjoyed the river views from the other side of the boat.  Obviously, so did Hutchinson, as he isn't looking at the camera.  The bottom picture is all of us in the captain's deck of the boat.  It was such a neat experience!

  

After the boat tour, we headed for a snack break.  We relaxed on this pretty walk way and listen to a calliope.  You can see it in the lower left picture that Hutchinson is in.  It was loud but played very beautiful music.  I love this family picture of us-those boys have my heart!

After snack we headed into the last building of the museum.  This building focused more on the river and turtles.  They have this amazing collection of turtles.  They even had a turtle shell that you could try on.  Hutchinson was having trouble waiting his turn! :)  We explored all kinds of turtles and learned a few things for sure.  They also had different rooms of river boat in the old train depot building.  The boys loved exploring!



After we finished up at the museum we headed to a beautiful park in downtown Dubuque for a picnic lunch.  Packing food and picnicking was the easiest way to save money on our trip.  The boys ate because it was food they like and it was a perfect opportunity to run around a little bit.  We had lots of giggles under a big shady tree at lunch that day.  We were gearing up for our trip on the Fenelon Place Elevator.  If you go to Dubuque, you must do this!  It was only $6 (the boys were free) and the view was amazing.  The ride itself was so cool.  We were surprised about how quiet it was.  If you were standing in the dark, you wouldn't even know it was coming!  The boys thought it was awesome...so did Michael and I!

Views from the top!

Finnean is quite the photographer these days! I love this picture!

 

After a quick pit stop to go potty, we headed back to the center of our great state.  It didn't take long for the back seat to look like this!  It was a fast trip to Dubuque but filled with tons of family memories.  I absolutely love exploring with these boys and seeing the world through their eyes.   I should mention that the quiet did not last for too long but the boys were happy.  They weren't crabby or anything they were just demanding!!  Can I have a snack?  Could I get another book please?  Do we have any water?  What time will we be there?  Where is the Truck Book?  Do you have any more cars?  I want Lighting. (McQueen-from Cars) Oh. My Goodness.  I was exhausted.  I actually asked Michael if I could drive and I HATE driving.  I guess that is what we get for not introducing a DVD player in the car.  We are holding out until we REALLY need!  I shouldn't complain, they did awesome on the ride...they just needed me to help keep them entertained!

 

About the time we made it to Ames, we were all getting pretty restless.  We had to pick up Jerry at Uncle Trav's house, so we decided that Hickory Park was a good idea.  We were hungry from our adventures and their ice cream always makes everything better!  Michael, Hutchinson and I split a Smores Sundae.  It is one of my favorite things on the planet.  It is just so tasty and Finnean had a scoop of strawberry. I should mention that their BBQ is pretty darn good too!  Now that was a perfect way to end our awesome little getaway. 

{Side note: HP is an awesome place to eat on a budget-the kids split a meal because the portions are huge and it comes with a scoop of ice cream and a milk (sometimes they don't).  Michael and I got water to drink...$24 with a tip and that even included that yummy Smores Sundae for dessert!}

 

Happy Birthday, Michael Wagler

 

Michael had to be at a conference on his birthday so we celebrated a little early this year.  I usually get "birthday week" so I thought Michael should probably get one too!  We started off birthday week with a fun day at the fair with the boys (more on that later) and then I arranged for Jim and Marcia to watch the boys that evening so we could go BACK to the fair without the kids.  We always went to the fair when we were first dating and actually have always been to the fair since we have been together.  A fun fact about Michael, he has never missed an Iowa State Fair.  Ever.  That is a lot of JR donuts! :)  So we headed out the fair like young kids do and had an awesome time.  We laughed, we ate and we drank.  Oh, and we walked and walked and people watched too.  It was so fun and one of the best dates we have been on in a long time.  Here is a little recap of what we did...

We rode the bus to fair from the Capitol and of course got stopped by a train.  We giggled because if the boys were with us, they would have been freaking out.  Instead we sat "patiently" in our seats for the train to pass by!  We talked about how many things we would see that night that would remind us of the boys.  There are A LOT of things that remind us of those sweet boys.  We definitely didn't talk about them the whole time but it is fun to see the world through their eyes. 

After we made it to the fair grounds, we headed straight for the Cattleman's Beef Quarters for the best steak sandwich ever.  We found a curb to sit on and started our people watching and eating.  Michael got a DOUBLE steak sandwich (for free)...we decided it was birthday luck and I was only a little jealous.  Have you had one of these sandwiches?  Oh my,  definitely my favorite food at the fair!    (Michael said later that he couldn't sit on the curb again, it hurt is back...we are getting old!)

We stopped by the Craft Beer Tent and picked up a beer package.  We got to sample a few and then made an informed decision of what we wanted.  We hit the ISU booth and got matching wrist tattoos (that I had to get off before we went to church the next day) and then headed to the Bud Tent to see some old state fair friends and check out Standing Hampton.  Thankfully, they went on break right when we got there because it was SO LOUD!  Yes, I just said that out loud.  We are officially old BUT we did get to get up on stage with Doug and rock out a little bit.  I took the lead on the guitar and Michael hit the keyboard and vocals.  :)

We noticed the sun was dropping fast, so we sprinted up the hill the catch the sun setting on the city while riding the Sky Glider (another fair fav).  It was beautiful and I just love snuggling close to Michael, taking it all in.  We got to see the butter cow and walked down Midway, vowing not to take the boys down there for a LONG time.  Talk about overload...wowza. 

We also stopped by to see if our hometown bacon made the top of the ranks...it was up there along with all of the other meats.  If you haven't had Hastings bacon, you haven' t had bacon.  Seriously.   We did the giant slide and then we finished up our night with a nightcap.  Michael had a yummy beer from an Okoboji  brewery and I had THEE BEST LEMONADE EVER.  It was so good-perfect amount of sweet and lemons.  MMMM...I wish I had one right now!! 

The bus dropped us off at this beauty.  Isn't she grand?
After this view, we heading down to the East Village to walk around off some of the food we had!  It was a perfect way to end the night!


 

 Birthday week continued with birthday lunch at Michael's office on Tuesday.  I picked up one of our favorite lunch spots, Gazolis and packed the boys a picnic.  We had fun being loud at Daddy's office and then headed for a walk on the river walk. 

This might be one of my most favorite pictures ever.  Ever.  Michael is such an amazing Daddy  to these boys and I feel like this picture captures his crazy love for them. 

 

Speaking of crazy...these boys.  I LOVE their expressive faces, their crazy actions and I just  love them.  They are so full of energy and love...I am so thankful that we get to "do life" with them in it.  On a side note, Ellie mentioned that in the top right picture, Hutchinson has some Donald Trump hair going on...I think she is spot on with this analysis!

We had a party for Michael at home that night.  Finnean drew a picture and we made a top ten list of the reasons of why we love him so much, well Finnean told me what to write.  It was  pretty darn cute.  Michael loves spaghetti and homemade meatballs, so we made that for dinner and of course, we had to have birthday treats.  Finnean helped make them and we had to taste test them first. :) Ohhh...I just love the smiles in this picture.  I think they sum up how much fun we had celebrating Michael this week.  Here's to another year full of love and adventures.  We love you, Michael Wagler...thank you for being so good to us!

 

Lego Genius

I am sure that I am not biased at all but little Hutchinson can build some pretty cool stuff with Legos.  He gets frustrated sometimes and forgets to ask for help (he just yells at the Legos).  It is so fun to watch his little mind work. 

This is him working yesterday... while his brother threw a temper tantrum from hell.  I handled it okay for about 20 minutes and then lost my cool and then regain my composure and finished up the tantrum about 25 minutes later.  It was a long morning but at least Hutchinson got in some quality fine motor skill practice!!

A visit from Finnean's teacher!

Oh how one year of preschool under your belt can change you or me, anyway.  Last year I scrubbed the house from top to bottom and cleaned the bathrooms and made sure everything was just right.  Today I just shut the bedroom door, Michael gave the bathroom a quick wipe down and lit a candle and we barely got the floor vacuumed!  There were even dirty dishes in the sink...GASP!

I am so thankful that I have learned to relax (most of the time!) over the past year and even more so in the past 4 1/2 years.  I think that would be my advice to first time moms: relax.  It is going to be okay.  Everything doesn't have to be perfect and that sweet babe of yours is going to be okay. Anyway...I got a bit side tracked there.  Bottom-line...just relax!

Okay-back to the teacher visit.   Everything went great.  We got to visit with his teacher and Finnean asked her a few questions.  He didn't even act TOO crazy, like he sometimes does when new people are at our house.  It was just great.  Just as Ms. Margaret was about to leave Finnean said "Hey, I want a snack.  Can I have a green apple?"  It was like I paid him to say that...see my kid eats healthy! :)  For some reason, she went to help Finnean get it out of the refrigerator and of course, Hutchinson comes trotting along to get in on the action too but decided to rattle the wine bottles in the door.  Three half-empty wine bottles plus a bottle of strawberry beer from our favorite brewery.  To top it all off, we just stocked up on New Glarus beer when we went to Dubuque (you can only get it in Wisconsin) and we had two six-packs on the shelf too.  I am sure she didn't think anything of it but goodness, it just seemed like a lot of booze for two people!  In my mind, she wrote in her notes..."See if Finnean's mom smells like booze at preschool drop-off!"  Again, I am totally over thinking it but the home visit kind of seem like they are checking you out, making sure you are "normal" and then we have Hutch rattling wine bottles while she is here. 

It is never dull.  Never.  

PS-Michael didn't think as much of it as I did and said maybe she knows how good New Glarus is and completely understands! :)

Today's work.

Today we headed to Valley Junction to do a little volunteering.  It was a beautiful day and the perfect day for delivering papers to some businesses.  Finnean LOVED "working" and kept asking..."Do we have more work to do?"  Michael met us down there for lunch...a day is always better when Dad can lunch with us!  It is always fun to help them out but I wish we lived closer!!! Maybe someday :)

They look so little in the office of Historic City hall.

Volunteering is exhausting!

In other news today...we met Patty at Raccoon River Park Beach and it was awesome!  It was chilly this morning, so we bundled up and the boys scooped sand for an hour while we chatted.  The highlight was the air show that the fighter jets put on for us.  They took off and did flips and rolls and then quickly disappear.  We thought they flew somewhere else, maybe Omaha and then headed back for more practice.  We don't know what they were doing but it was SO neat to see them shoot straight up in the air and then disappear before coming back again.  We also saw a few other planes...it was so fun to listen to Finnean compare each plane with the others.  His attention to detail is amazing!  Hutchinson loved all of the planes and got so excited when he would see one.  His facial expressions were very intense today and was easily excited by the seagulls and the train horn that we could hear in the distance.  It was a great way to spend the morning!  Thanks, Patty!