Its not very often.....

but it does happen.....

they all sleep at the same time:)

Bloombury Farm 2011

Our annual trip to Bloombury Farm.

One of our favorite things to do in Iowa:)

Every year, it makes me pause and wonder....

why would we ever leave....

We like country music, the boys love tractors, there are few things as gorgeous as a farm in the fall.

The big boys helped Rhett stand...not too sturdy yet:)

Quint and Russell look on with excitement

barrel ride...a boys favorite 

Rhett's first barrel ride

 Rhett and Dad check out the animals

Big boys pump water

They really have pig races:)

with grand stands to watch

 Playing in the dried corn

BK wants to build one of these on our fake farm

There is corn in my toes......

Burying Russell....in the corn?

 The wagon ride is Momma and Daddy's fav....

The pumpkin cannon is seriously cool

Russell was a bit scared of the cannon, he covered his eyes:)

Quint was finally big enough for the pedal go-carts.

He LOVED it, and made up for lost time in years past.

 Round, round and round he went.....

And we could not miss the corn maze.

Future Picasso?

Recently Quint has been asking for paints...

It is a bit surprising since the boys have never been big craft people...

but, maybe I have a future Picasso....

who am I to prevent famous art?

I thought it would be a good special treat for (Daddy at drill) weekend....

Here are our artists in action....

Flashback Friday

Recently a few of our good friends have had their first babies...

its awesome...

I caught myself flashing back to our beginning as parents...

I remember...

wishing people had shared with me more of the messy details of birth...

yet understanding why they didn't (smile)....

trying so hard to learn a completely new role...

and feeling completely unprepared and overwhelmed...

(I still feel this way often)

BK and I stressing about every little detail....

Keeping stock of gas drops, because we were sure every time Quint cried it was gas....

reaching a new level of emotion I never knew was possible...

love, fear, anxiety, more love, guilt, joy, exhaustion, and more love....

realizing our life had been completely changed...

A flash back to us as new parents....

Christmas 2006 (Quint 1.5 months)

Embracing his role...

Big Brother and Little Brother

My typically "too busy to smile for the camera" son....

asked me to take pictures of him with Rhett.

I am amazed how he has embraced being a big brother to Rhett.

With Russell he was too young to understand.

I think because they are so close in age he perceives Russell more as a peer.

With Rhett he knows he is bigger.

Honestly I am surprised how much I trust him with Rhett.

He is gentle, and he has never hurt him.

I often find him talking to him,

and showing him toys.

He tells me "go away mommy I am talking to Rhett".

How he interacts with him was not something I expected, but

its really cool.

Ice Pops

Today it is 10 degrees. It is the middle of Winter so it is to be expected. What is unexpected is my boys desire to eat ice pops. They could not get it out of their mind today, so we made some. Here are my silly guys eating ice pops in winter.

The Mail

Going to the mailbox is a man activity in our home. I could care less about checking the mail and BK is really into it. The boys have taken to the tradition and nearly every night they make the trek down the hallway of our building to get the mail. They love it, and it is something special to do with Daddy. I love it, because it is 5 minutes of total silence during a hectic dinner hour:)

Tonight the boys decided that Rett should come too. I love that they already want to include him on man adventures. Here are some pics of Daddy and his little men on their trip to the get the mail.

Kids day at Kinnick

BK heard about kids day at the stadium. They let families in to Kinnick to watch practice! We were a little late because we didn't want to disrupt nap time, but it was a hot one so it worked out great. It is an amazing stadium and Iowa fans are die hard. It was fun to see the atmosphere and look for our old neighbors who play for the Hawkeyes. We walked there, well, BK walked, I waddled, and the boys ran:) It was fun. We are excited to be in Iowa in the fall. It is the best time in my opinion.

Daddy, Russ, and Quint walking into Kinnick

Mommy, Quint, and Russell checking out the view from the stands

Hawkeyes practicing

Russell running on the way home

It was a fun memory:)

He ran to us:)

This weekend BK was able to come see us!! It was a total God thing. He realized he was on call Thursday night which means he would get out early on Friday so he can sleep. It also meant he could make an airplane. It all worked out for him at the hospital, but I didn't think we could get a good ticket. I looked and it was pricey, but some frequent flyer miles did the trick!! I could not believe it!! He had a flight out of Cedar Rapids to Rochester (which we can never afford normally). Plenty of time to get there too.

Well, in the grand O'hare style he was delayed in CR....and delayed....and delayed. Finally he got out of CR but it was going to be close. Then he landed in O'hare and there were no gates! Seriously. I was dying waiting for text message updates. He was going to have to run if he was going to make it. Finally he got off the plane, and HE RAN.

HE RAN to the shuttle to the next terminal, and then HE RAN to the other end the terminal to his gate. The Rochester flight was delayed too, and they had waited an additional five minutes and we still don't know why...or do we:)

HE RAN TO US!

When BK was running through o'hare I kept thinking, BK is really fast, he has long legs, he will make it. And he did. I picked him up at the airport at 130 AM....the middle of the night for us, but it was soooo worth it! I did not tell the boys, because I knew flying is unpredictable. Their expressions were priceless when they saw Daddy and played with him over the weekend.

We had 40 hours together, which was far too short, and went way to fast, but it was amazing to be a complete family again. BK could have easily said it was too much to fly. He sacrificed a lot of sleep, and post-poned a lot of work he has to complete in the next two weeks to run to us. I am so so grateful he jumped at the chance to see us, and that he is a fast runner:)

I didn't stop smiling all weekend!

My hubby was home!

Russell and Daddy bonding

Lots of hugs for Daddy

And kisses

Even leg hugs:)