Carver at Carver

The boys got to make their first official trip to Carver Hawkeye Arena this past weekend. They went to see a women's basketball game as one of Chris's friends was coaching the opposing team. I spent the day with some old teaching friends and had a great time catching up but of course missed my boys. Here are a couple of pictures of their trip. Daddy couldn't get too many with 2 very active little boys running around, I don't blame him, they can be a handful. Thanks for taking us to Carver daddy!

P.S. This blog post is dedicated to a very special Godmother of both of our boys that we are very thankful for. We miss you and love you Aunt Katy!

Thankful

So thankful this Thanksgiving for my wonderful family and for all that we are blessed with.

We are so lucky to get to spend tomorrow with so many of our family members and to enjoy a wonderful meal together.

Just finished making the 10 pies that I made for tomorrow. It will be early to rise to cook, cook, cook but I love it!! I spend enough time in the kitchen during the holidays to make up for my lack of cooking the rest of the year. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wordless Wednesday: Playroom Reveal!

Go Hawks, Go!!

After hearing during every Hawkeye game this season, "Dad, I was really mad that you went to the Hawkeye game without me, I want to go!" Chris bundled Carver up and off they went last weekend to meet Uncle Josh to go to Kinnick Stadium for the Iowa vs. Purdue game. It was about 35 degrees and a little windy so we weren't sure how Carver would do but he seemed to love it. And they were able to stay into the 4th quarter! I think Carver's favorite part was the hot chocolate, pizza, peanuts, and whatever else the guys got ahold of for him, and he really enjoyed watching the big scoreboard screens but hey, he had fun and that's all that matters!

So, now Carver can say he has been to Kinnick Stadium and been to a Hawkeye football game. One more thing to add to his list of adventures!

Uncle Josh giving Carver a ride.

Goofing around in the rec. building trying to stay warm before the game. :)

Daddy and Carver outside of Kinnick Stadium.

Carver cheering on the Hawkeyes with all of the faithful Hawkeye fans!

Daddy and Carver inside of Kinnick, looks like everyone had a great time!

Thanks Daddy for bringing the camera and getting some great pictures of Carver's first trip to Kinnick Stadium.

This weekend Carver gets to make his first official trip to his namesake Carver Hawkeye Arena for a Women's Basketball game. What a life, huh?!?! :)

Wow!! Has it really been a week and a half?

We've been busy, busy, busy!! Here are some pictures to hold you over until I get around to doing a full update.

This is what happens after a long day of playing, preschool, and then running practically the whole 2 miles home from school. Tired boy!


Kayden and Daddy playing cars and sharing some quality time together. :)



And, guess what we made today?!?! Drumroll please...............................






Cinnamon Rolls!! I love making my Grandma's recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls but it has gotten even more fun now that both of my boys can help. And having them wake up from nap asking "Can we have cinnamon rolls now?" doesn't hurt either!

I used to only make them around Christmas time but they have become so popular that I have to start early and make several batches for the holidays now. This batch is for Uncle Josh. He'll be heading back to Colorado soon and we couldn't send him home without some yummy cinnamon rolls!

Carver and Daddy are heading to Iowa City tomorrow for Carver's first Hawkeye game at Kinnick Stadium. You know I'll be sending the camera so look forward to some pictures. Coming soon!

Family Pictures

Proud to be an American

And proud to be able to teach our boys how lucky we are to live in a democracy and to have the opportunity to vote!

The Simple Life

So, after all of the hustle and bustle of Halloween we were really looking forward to a fun day at Hoffman farms on Saturday. It is like being in another world when we are there. Time goes by so slowly. It is so quiet and peaceful, and the boys have such a great time running around in the fresh air, getting dirty, driving tractors and otherwise just doing lots of things that they could never do at home.

Uncle Josh is Kayden's Godfather and the boys are so lucky to have him in their lives. He is back helping his family on the farm and we always enjoy visiting when he is there. Josh's dad even invited us back when it is time to plant in the spring and Carver is beyond thrilled at that opportunity.

So here goes, our day on the farm.......

Carver got to drive this tractor (with Uncle Josh's help of course!). I have been taking him to John Deere Commons a lot lately but he was so excited to actually be in a moving tractor and to get to steer himself. Plus, Uncle Josh was able to tell him what all of the buttons do. He always asks me and I usually don't have a clue so it was cool that he got to learn all about a real, working tractor.

The boys were ready to check out the corn fields after Carver's tractor ride.

They even picked some corn. I don't know if they really knew that corn doesn't just come from a can. :)

Kayden really thought the corn was neat. I think he even tried to eat it!

Next, it was off to feed the cows. Carver just wanted to feed them all day. He found corn and apples to throw to them.

K-Man decided that he would rather eat an apple than feed it to the cows.

For lunch, Josh's grandma made us a wonderful meal and we enjoyed it in a cabin that they have on their property. This cabin was rebuilt as an exact replica to the original cabin that was on the farm when the Hoffman family (Josh's ancestors) first settled the land. I think the original was built in 1855 but don't hold me to that. Anyway, it was pretty amazing to see this history and to imagine that 8 people lived in this tiny little cabin.

The boys even explored the sleeping loft of the cabin. They thought it was pretty cool.

Of course, what would a day at the farm be without Carver and Daddy's favorite activity, a ride on the 4 wheeler right? Carver wanted Daddy to go faster, faster!

Uncle Josh gave Kayden a lift, they make a pretty cute pair!

So, this was the highlight of this trip to the farm. Uncle Josh's dad had the combine out in the field harvesting and he let the boys come along for a ride and he even let Carver drive! I cannot even explain to you how excited Carver was about this. Unbelievable!!

Carver even got to push the button to release the corn into the grain bins!

After all of that he had to see where all of that corn went so Uncle Josh took him up in the bins to play in the corn for a while.

They had lots of fun jumping in and swimming around in the corn.

Oh, the simple life. Daddy and Uncle Josh walking through the fields with the boys.

The first time that we visited the farm, Chris came home saying he wanted to be a farmer. I thought it was just so that he could ride a 4 wheeler around all day, which probably isn't entirely untrue. But, after our most recent trip to the farm, I started to understand the appeal of farm life a little better. Everything is so simple. Everything is so quiet. I realize that farming is a whole lot more work than we can ever know, but it sure is a fun escape!

Trick Or Treat

Well, Halloween is over, but what a great time we had while it was here! The boys were in their costumes literally for two days straight. They woke up the last couple of mornings asking if they got to wear their costumes again. They had lots of fun being a monkey and a police officer. Oh, and they did pretty well on the candy front as well.

Thursday Carver had his Halloween party at preschool and then we got to spend Thursday night Trick or Treating with all of the boys little buddies. Then on Friday we visited Grandma Kathy's office and Daddy's office and visited Great Grandpa Howard at the nursing home. I know you probably won't believe this about my boys but they really enjoyed all of the attention that they got and they really loved hearing how cute they were all day long. Friday night we Trick or Treated in our neighborhood and the boys finally got to enjoy some of their candy. They were pretty psyched about that!

Carver with his teacher Mrs. Roman

Carver enjoying his treats at his preschool Halloween party.

Hey, hey, the gangs all here! I love this picture because when we started our little playgroup it was just Carver and Alex (the bumble bee) and it has slowly grown over the last few years with added friends and siblings. Aren't they a pretty cute bunch?

Trick or Treat smell my feet!

The boys getting ready to trick or treat in our neighborhood, sitting with their pumpkins and luminaries.

Your under arrest!

The boys with our neighbor girls. They love these girls and they all have so much fun playing together. What a great looking group!

Kayden was pretty thrilled with his treats!

The boys sorting through all their loot. Anyone want some candy? Stop by, it's all yours!! :)