My middle man is 5.

Brock had his 5th birthday.

He was waiting for a long time for his special day to come.

When he woke up he was so excited,

that he told me he wanted his party to be a breakfast party

so he could open up his gifts right away! haha

Smart boy.

He also told me that he wanted to wear his Vikings shirt & pants!

He got a drill & binoculars, flashlight, & camera set from dad & mom.

Adler gave him a puzzle.

And we all made him homemade cards

that were waiting for him in the mailbox! 

Since Brock did not have preschool on his birthday,

he decided he wanted to surprise Adler at school

& eat lunch with him. 

I packed up some cupcakes & we marched into school with happy meals in hand!

Grandma Yvonne came over after work to wish Brock a Happy Birthday.

He loved getting all the birthday calls from family,

but he really loved his visit from grandma.

She showed up with more gifts...a big toolbox & a boonie hat! 

We sang Happy Birthday to this boy 

& he even got to play a heated game of UNO (his favorite)! 

Happy 5th Birthday buddy.

You are loving, caring, thoughtful, and funny.

We are so lucky to have you as a son! 

Vance=trouble.

(Apparently there were a few posts that I forgot to hit the official 'publish' button.

Therefore they are old posts, but fun to see how much has changed

with Vance in a few months!)

Always helping dad when tools are involved.

Sitting on the lawnmowers at Runnings

& then having a tantrum when they have to get off.

Ohh the training you have to do with a 2 year old!

Having fun in the basement.

He's always wearing the Vikings helmet.

It's funny to see that just a few short months ago he was still in his crib.

Since then he transitioned into a twin bed,

and just recently he moved into his brothers room!

He's sure growing up fast!

Becker school fun night.

Sleeping in his big bed.

He loved moving out of his crib.

And this is how we'd find him sleeping most nights.

Riding his tractor down the hill to check out the status of

the lawnmower in the shed.

Always making sure if the lawnmower was out, that he would be on it!

Riding the ranger with grandpa.

Spare time.

Fall is here
& so is the cooler weather,
which means we're spending our spare time
doing more things inside.

Putting puzzles together.
It is officially puzzle season!
p.s. one big advantage to the weather change.

Grandma stopped by after work one night.

The boys were telling her about some of their 'birthday wish list' items.

So later that night she took the boys to Runnings.

They got to pick out new sturdy shovels that they have had their eyes on

for about a year & grandma even got them each a pair of work gloves.

They were absolutely in heaven

& so thankful for early birthday presents!

On weekends when we have nothing going on

we tend to rent movies & enjoy the indoors.

This particular night I surprised the boys & rented Rio 2

and made a big assortment of goodies to eat during movie night!

I loved it just as much as the boys.

I can't wait for another movie night filled with popcorn, sugar & pop!

p.s. I don't think baby liked it too much though...my heartburn was terrible.

The Browns stopped over one evening to enjoy a little bonfire

& it was also Marcus' birthday.

So we were lucky enough to eat some Coldstone creamery cake.

Katie & little Win also stopped by one morning.

The boys loved having a baby in the house to play with

& I loved just sitting & talking to my good friend!

 Last weekend we rode the trolley into Nelson Farm

& took a fun ride through the woods.

It was a little chilly, but the boys didn't care.

They had a full afternoon of fun! 

Mom with the team. 

We all took our turn on the zipline too.

We can't wait to install one in our backyard! 

Luke went first.

Erin second. 

& myself third! 

Our idea of fun.

So this is what was going on at our house tonight.
Well really, this is what goes on just about every night.
Poor dad
&
lucky mom! haha

And this is what went on at our house a couple weeks ago.
But now that the weather is getting cooler,
I have a feeling Luke is going to be very busy wrestling inside!

Here's our latest garage sale freebie find.
The battery did not work, but I knew Luke could rig something up.
And he did!

Vance fits in it perfectly & he loves chasing after his brothers with it!

Enjoying the last few days of warmer weather!

Still trying to figure out this whole bike thing!

Just trying to be like his older brothers.

We took the boys to the Big Lake Block Party at Mc Pete's

& they tried mini golf for the 1st time and loved it.

Vance decided he was going to try the obstacle course,

then he never stopped!

We did some free bowling that day too.

Bye Summer, hello Fall.

Moving on up.

Well the time has come to make a couple changes...again.

I feel like we have been in constant change mode

since we moved into our home 6 years ago.

But I guess that is what happens when your family keeps getting bigger!

The time has come for Vance to shift rooms

and for us to start getting the baby room back in place.

For that to happen, Luke had to make a trundle bed

so Vance can be part of the 'big boy' room.

The new trundle, ready to go.

Yes, 3 boys in 1 little room!

We found Vance asleep on his floor one night before we went to bed.

We decided it was time to move him in with his brothers

and he was very excited! 

 1st night with his brothers!

I read books & explained the 'rules' of sleeping in the big brother room.

(p.s. a couple weeks later & we're still working on the kinks) 

This little man is sure a ham! 

Here's a view of the boys' closet with Vance's clothes now in there!

Let's just say I need to keep it as organized as possible

or we're going to quickly run into a problem. 

And this is what the baby room looks like!

Ready for ALL the baby stuff to be brought back up stairs.

one. last. time. 

So we think anyway...but then 

Adler proceeded to tell us at the dinner table tonight that God gets to choose

how many kids we have, not dad & I.  (What a kid!) 

The end to a new beginning....coming in 3 months!