Little Tikes.

Last night Adler went to his 1st

movie on the BIG screen.

Dad got him a large bag of M&M's & popcorn.

And Adler had to bring his 'Cars' themed juice box,

because he was going to see Cars 2.

He was so excited.

Luke also informed me that he ate the

WHOLE bag of LARGE M&M's.

It was the first night he did not ask for 

something to eat before bed!

While they were gone

it was Brock & Mommy time.

He took full advantage of Adler being gone

& decided he wanted to play with all the toys that

Adler likes to restrict from Brockie.

Brock rode Adler's bike.

He played with Adler's tractors.

And had the biggest smile on his face.

He knew exactly what he was doing!

Then I decided we should do something fun.

Just Brock & I.

So I cut his hair!

I LOVED his long hair,

but it's summer & he probably wanted 

a nice 'cool' cut

(since he's always sweating!).

Today turned out to be a Little Tikes day.

I decided it was time to clean some of the toys we have

in our garage.

So I hauled out a few things 

& got scrubbing.

The best part about this picture......

I only paid $10 for the wagon & $5 for the sand/water truck.

The rest was FREE!

That's why we have so much stuff (Luke might use a different word besides 'stuff'!)

Then the boys woke up from their nap and noticed the driveway was full of toys.

They ran like they'd never seen them before

& started playing!

Here's a shot at some of the somewhat finished landscaping.

Luke made our driveway some pillars.

And they look GREAT!

More haircut shots!

Spud Fest.

It was our hometown days this weekend.

Good 'Ol Spud Fest!

Yes, we grow lots & lots of potatoes 

or should I say 'spuds' around here.

We went to the parade, carnival, 

& the highlight was the pedal tractor pull today.

The boys said they wanted to wear their John Deere shirts 

to the parade.

How lucky they were to see some

John Deere's!

Later that afternoon G & G Herdina

came to visit for the afternoon.

Adler was so happy to finish his 100 piece Thomas puzzle

he got from the neighbors.

I really can't believe him.

100 pieces!!!! Holy cats!

Brockie needed a little G & G love too!

Enjoying the Carnie rides!

Tonight we finally got all of our bikes pumped up with air

& we went for our first family ride of the summer.

It was great.

UNTIL Olivia went crazy & jumped all over Brock in the bike trailer.

Poor kid.

We keep telling her we're going to leave her home if she does that crap!

And Adler is old enough this year to ride his own bike.

Luke just realized tonight that Adler's tires were almost FLAT.

Poor kid too.

So dad pumped them up & he rode like the wind!

(in our pj's of course b/c it was getting late)

Happy Spud Fest & Happy Birthday to my dad yesterday!

This little one.

He just makes me smile.

And this is how he woke up from his nap the other day!

This is why he makes me smile & laugh really hard! haha

Don't you just love sunscreened hair?

It never fully comes out and makes hair look like this.

Cars.

Adler is still whippin out puzzles

& putting them together all by himself!

As soon as I sit at the puzzle table & start putting mine together,

he does the same.

Makes a momma proud! 

(and it makes dad shake his head! haha)

I recently DVR'd Cars on the Disney channel

so needless to say we have been watching it quite a bit.

Adler loves it so much that dad is going to take him to Cars 2

sometime this weekend.

It will be Adler's first time at the theater! 

Should be interesting & lots of fun.

I asked Adler if he was going to get candy or popcorn.

He told me.....BOTH!

hahaha

Here's the boys watching Cars this morning already.

Piston Cup here we come! 

p.s. Luke brought Brock to the Dr. for some x-rays & labs 

because he has been limping on his foot for the last 2 weeks.

We found out he has a fracture in his foot!

Poor little Gimpy!

We just love dad.

Luke has had a couple pretty special days this week.

Father's Day was full of hugs & kisses,

home-made cards & gifts.

Adler was so excited to give dad his new tape measure!

Happy Father's Day to our dads (they're so wonderful!)

& to my honey!

What a great dad you are.

The boys asked dad if they could go see the tractors.

So Luke walked them to the field to check it out.

They were gone for quite awhile.

I can only imagine the things they talked about.

Tractors, tractors, tractors.

Luke also turned 31 this week.  

His birthday was complete with a beach themed party 

with just the 4 of us!

My cousin & another friend came over to babysit the boys

while Luke & I went to Maple Grove for an afternoon

with NO kids!

It was SO wonderful.  

We shopped with no tantrums,

time limits,

request for snacks, drinks

or anything else.

We didn't know what to do with ourselves!

We later went out to eat at P.F. Changs.

It was Luke's first time there

& he enjoyed their chicken lettuce wraps.

As anyone does when they go there!

We're still talking about what a great day it was!

Happy 31st!

p.s. Adler informed him that he was 'old'! haha

Walk n' Roll

Every year Monticello puts on this great event

called Walk n' Roll.

The event starts with

paying $3.00(!) and selecting a brand new helmet

for your little ones for the year.

What a deal!

Adler said he wanted a John Deere one,

or Lightening McQueen,

or Buzz Lightyear.

He settled for one with bugs on it! haha

The kids bring their bikes & bike along the Mississippi River Road.
They have games & tons of candy & lots of giveaways
once you reach the park.
Dad & Gabe joined us this year
& had a blast.

The boys having a little McD's at the park.
(Don't you just love their expressions?)

This one's a little better...but not much!

Then we ventured over to Buffalo for the parade.

I was a little disappointed to see that Litch was not marching,

then the rain started (AGAIN!)

so we left.

(It was so humid outside that my camera would not defog!)

What a busy day.

And Friday night I realized I was missing Ice Cream Days in Le Mars.

I was a little upset,

but maybe next year, or some year I hope?!

Things that make me grin.

Where else are you going to see something like this

but at a house with little boys.

I went into the bathroom (of course it has to be parked in the bathroom!)

& found this gem in the stroller!

When a baby just won't do, grab a tractor.

Then the other day I saw a husky girl 

(maybe around 12 or so) 

ride her bike (with a helmet- that was too small of course)

by our house to deliver this letter!

Ohh I laughed SO hard.

When the ghost was clear & she was farther down the road 

I ran out to see what she dropped off.

Then I laughed even harder!

The effort of her letter was that of a 4-H-er.

And how would I know?

because it's like something I would have come up with,

well maybe more like my sister would have come up with,

but it was way too cute.

Little does she know Olivia would want to eat her alive,

(or the other dogs that she tries to pair Olivia up with during their walk)

but I'm sending a $5 spot her way anyway.....

because it's just too darn funny not to!

(and maybe it'll encourage her to get some more much needed exercise...poor thing!)

I know the pic is sideways, but I couldn't figure out how to change it,

so turn your computer, because you got to read this thing!

Having fun with the boys.

We recently took a trip to Como Zoo.

It was the best day.

Nice & warm & not busy.

Trying to wake the lion!

Our lovely family photo!

Tip toe through the tulips...

Then there was this beauty,

glistening in the sun.

Shortly after this picture 

we all felt a little nauseous!

That glorious attraction at the zoo

lasted for quite some time,

went around and round

and at a pretty good pace!

Needless to say we were happy when it stopped,

but will do it again next year I'm sure.

Then we enjoyed a few rides at Como Park

& loved the splash pad.

(next year we'll remember our swimsuits & towel!)

On the couple hot days we had

the boys also had fun with our little splash pad at home.

It's that time of the year for Wednesday's at the park.

The boys get so excited to go.

They dance & jump around to the singing silly grandpas 

that try to make a buck during the summer

& we enjoy a picnic lunch together.

We love summer. 

(our picnic lunch that day consisted of McD's!)

A quick update on our landscaping backyard project...

we thought we would be done for awhile after the 

retaining wall project.

But then we found an awesome deal 

(on craigslist of course)

for some large limestone pavers.

It was exactly what I wanted.

So what did my dad & Luke do....

drove 3 hours to pick them up.

Now my hubby is busy laying a new patio under our deck.

It looks so good!

Trying to regrow grass will be our next and final challenge.

(the worst part!)

Ricky had his graduation party this past weekend

and it was in Big Lake.

Which means we didn't have to drive anywhere.

It is great to see him take his next step in life,

but who the heck am I going to watch play bball next year?

Here's the boys enjoying their favorite graduation food - M&M's!