Iowa

We have returned from another great trip to Iowa! The five of us flew in last Friday & John headed on to Canada Saturday morning to meet his fishing crew. I relaxed while my parents took care of the boys. This was our first time to stay at the lake & we were so impressed with all the work my parents have done & really enjoyed our time out there. Most of our days were not swimming weather, so we can't wait to get back when we can spend more time in the water. We were able to introduce Grant to a lot of good friends & family and made a lot of fun memories!
Grant taking it easy at Papa & Meme's house.

Filson working on his Lincoln Log masterpiece

The boys anxiously waiting for Smore's Saturday night.

Sunday morning fishing on the dock

The big catch

Grant must be telling funny stories to Papa

Hannah & Grant

Filson & Hannah at Story Hour Monday afternoon

Blank Park Zoo brought animals down for the program & Filson is petting the alligator

Grant met Grandma Beymer on this trip, I believe he is her 17th great-grandchildThe boys on one of the benches at Fogle Lake that are in memory of my Grandpa Beymer
Wednesday morning we met Uncle Pat & Aunt Brenda at Donald & Helen's farm to see their miniature ponies. One of our favorites was this little guy who was about 3 wks old

Ian's turn to pet him

Grant getting some love from Stella
Filson & Porter, they look ornery like their Papa Steve & Papa Jay ; )

Lunch on the deck, the boys loved checking the pasture every day to see where the horses were

Playing ball with Grandma Nancy

Little Grant

Grant cuddling with Aunt Patti (Grandma Roe's sister)

Cowboy Boo

On our trip to Des Moines, Ian thinks about sitting still to watch a DVD. That lasted about 2 minutes!

We spent Friday night at a hotel in Des Moines with an indoor waterpark. The boys had a blast!

Filson with his head in the water showing Papa what he learned in swim lessons

Grant & Meme

The boys bellied up to the Tiki Bar with Papa

Friends of mine from college, Melissa & Mitch, brought their cute kids & stayed at the waterpark too. Here are Nolan, Filson, Ada & Ian digging into their snacks.

Dad & John relaxing at the lake Sunday afternoon

We had a lot of fun exploring on the 4 wheeler. I'm sure John has now added one of those to his wish list : )

Thumbs up to a fun trip!

Boo's TWO!

Little Boo turned 2 Saturday. He must have known that his big day was coming, as he awoke at 4:30am. So the entire family kicked off the weekend at that time, which made for a LONG day!
He (with a lot of help from his big brother) opened some new dinosaurs, a book, chalk & rain boots, ate pancakes, then we packed up & headed out on the boat.

Out on the beach at Mason Inlet. They are taking care of a crab & some little fish in the blue bucket.

We came back in after lunch & had cake before a much needed afternoon nap.

We thought Filson was going to explode having to wait through the Birthday Song before getting his own piece!
Where's my cake?

After naps, we headed up the street for our friend's high school graduation party. We always have a good time hanging out in the 'hood.

Ian with the styling rain boots/swim trunks combo.
Yesterday morning we threw our suits back on & spent the day at our friend's birthday party. The boys spent a lot of time in the pool & their were a lot of their friends around to play with. We grabbed dinner with another family before heading home, where the boys crashed hard for the night. It was an action-packed weekend. After all the partying, I am happy the boys & I can relax & lounge around the house today!

Filson shaking those hips

3 Months Old

Grant has now been with us for 3 months! His big trick this month is rolling over. He goes both ways now, so when we set him down, he is never in the same place when we return. He watches his brothers very intently & gives them lots of coos & smiles when they give him attention. He's a keeper!

Splash Pad

Ian & Filson cooled off today at the Splash Pad, a free water play area connected to one of the city's public pools. Today was Filson's last day of Speech for this school year & our summer has officially begun!
This week I've noticed Grant sucking his fingers a lot. He must have figured out a way to help himself after getting tired of waiting on someone to stick a paci back in his mouth : )

Little Swimmer

Today was a fun one on the beach. Filson finished up his 2 wks of swim school yesterday & was excited to get out in the water & swim around. We were very impressed with the course & it was fun to see him get so excited about swimming.