Pumpkins!

We were in Leesburg last weekend to have the one & only Priscilla Kammerer take our annual family pictures. We had a fun weekend with the family and the weather was fantastic! Fall is definitely here! On the way back home we stopped at the Smoker Farm in Wanatah, IN to grab some pumpkins. We will definitely be hitting up some local farms later in October, but this was a good teaser for the boys to have some fall fun. 

Sleepy Monkey

What happens when one little monkey decides to skip his nap for a day? He starts falling asleep at dinner and trying to lay down in his booster seat. And what do his parents do? They video tape it of course, while laughing hysterically!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
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Summer Wrap Up

Because life is so chaotic and I truly am just trying to keep up, I am a bit too overwhelmed to do a true post. Instead, I am going to post all of my favorite pictures from summer that haven't been posted!

All my boys...

 Our bf's came for a cookout. 

 A pee pee in the potty treat! Thankfully you cannot tell that he has nothing on his bottom half!

 Heading off to water play camp in the chilly July weather!

 I love the way they are looking at each other on Kale's first day of school.

 Such manly men in their pink bike helmets!

Kale's First Day

Kale started school on Tuesday...technically not school but Mom's Morning Out. It's the same program we put Dane in at Kale's age...Tuesday & Thursday from 9:15 to 11:15am. He waltzed in like he had been going there for 2 years. I guess he kind of has been - he was 6 months old when Dane started. Dane is just down the hall and last year when we would drop Dane off at school, Kale would throw an absolute fit because he wanted to stay! He did great!

Unfortunately, you cannot read the sign in the picture...not that it's anything too exciting, but it looks like he's holding a black board for no reason at all!

Mr. Smooth heading out the door...

 This was all them, I did not even request that they held hands walking into school. Best friends, on a new adventure together!

 And Mr. Kale, making himself quite at home in his new classroom.

Everyone says it, but it's oh so true! These boys are growing up way too fast and I'm just trying to keep up! As a very wise man once said "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you might miss it." - Ferris Bueller

A Quiet House

As I sit here in my quiet house, it just dawned on me that this is the beginning of the end. The end of having both boys every day, all day. Both boys are in school now. Granted, Kale is only in school 4 hours per week but it's the beginning. The beginning of independence for my youngest. The beginning of cutting the apron strings. The beginning of letting go. How did we get here so fast? Dane is in school 5 mornings a week and Kale is in school 2 mornings per week. I am getting that "me" time that I have dreamed of for the past couple years but now I am wondering if I really want it. On days like today, when the house is eerily quiet, I would give up my "me" time to hear the giggles and even the bickering that filled the house just a couple weeks ago.

I remember so well the day they were each placed in my arms. Dane...we hoped for, prayed for, longed for, "shot up" for...3 years in the making with much heartbreak along the way. And here we are, 4 years later. Don't blink. Our goofy wild child. Loves John Deere tractors and all things farming related, loves to dance and sing and LOVES to boss Kale around.

And Kale...our baby. We weren't sure how things would go trying to get pregnant after Dane. Thankfully, in no time at all we were expecting our second. And here we are, 2 years later. Don't blink. Our silly love bug. Loves to play with "Day" and anything involving water, loves choo choo trains and throwing sand and getting messy.

The boys had the opportunity to be in water play camp together for one full week at the end of July. It was so great that they got to be together in a new environment. They loved it and I had a pretty productive week...9am to noon for 5 days left me with quite a bit of free time to get some things on the "to do" list checked off. But again...the house took on a strange feel not having them here. Unfortunately I know that strange feel is going to become more and more common as the years go by.
Don't blink.

So today I am feeling a bit nostalgic, but very thankful. Thankful that God chose me to be the momma of these 2 monkeys. Thankful that I have a husband who works so hard that it afforded me the luxury of my dream job...stay at home mom. Thankful that even though my boys head off to new adventures, I have been able to spend almost every waking minute with them since birth. Thankful that even when I am not with my boys,
God is.

Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Finishing Up a Busy Summer

I have been really lax on keeping up on the blog....I am hoping to remedy that since school is starting and life is (hopefully) slowing down a bit. We have had a great, very busy summer. We didn't get back to Leesburg as much as we did last summer, but we were able to make it last week for a long visit. We finally had the opportunity to take advantage of Jeff & Christy's new pool...such fun! We celebrated Presley's birthday and surprised my mom for her 60th. We got to catch up with family, hold baby piggies, play in the fields, but somehow there is still never enough time to catch up with everyone or do all that you want! Seems that as the boys get older, conversations will be easier and I can actually sit and chat instead of chase!

A few weeks ago we took the boys to a Cubs game. The fun thing about Sundays at the ball park is that you can get a wrist band if you have kiddos and they get the opportunity to run the bases after the game is over!

And they're off!

 Here's Dane between 2nd & 3rd...

And Kale between 2nd & 3rd, kind of lost in the kid shuffle... 

 Dane crossing home plate (didn't get a pic of Kale because they were shuffling the parents to the pick up area).

Here's a video clip:

Next up...our trip to Leesburg. We had the opportunity to spend some time at the lake with Grandpa and Pam. The boys got to go tubing for the first time! Dane loved it, Kale lasted about 5 minutes!

Cameron with Kale & Dane, Andon & Presley on the other side.

 Kale opted out pretty quickly!

 Kale helping Grandpa navigate the boat.

Bouncing along in the tube!

We celebrated Presley's birthday....

 We got to hold baby piggies, thanks to Aunt Kay!

And we swam!

A lot!

It's amazing how fearless the boys became in 2 short days! They've always loved the water, but usually they wanted someone to catch them if they were going to jump in. Not anymore!

No fear!

We've had an amazing summer...I am sorry to see it coming to an end, but we have a lot to look forward to this fall! We will soon be heading to Disney World with Jeff, Christy and Barrett! And I will actually be in Florida 3 times in a month...our Disney trip, celebrating Cameron's cousin's engagement and her mom's 60th birthday and also to attend a wedding!