Eli's 5th Birthday

My baby turned 5 on November 4th. This year he got to enjoy 3 birthday parties. First was the one in Sioux Falls which all these pictures are from. We got to stay at a hotel with a small water park in it which was the perfect size for the boys cause the pool didn't get over 3 foot deep. He enjoyed a Hulk cake and even got a new bigger bike from Grandpa & Mimi Spoo. Next he had a small birthday party at our house on his actual birthday "Election Day". Nick and I felt so bad the day before we were talking about going and voting and Eli started to cry cause he thought that we were going to have to vote all day and wouldn't be able to spend his birthday with him at all. That evening we had Grandpa & Mimi Spoo and Grandpa & Grandma Hanson come out for lasagna and jello cake. He enjoyed having a small little party. That weekend his favorite present arrived. His aunt Liz flew back from Las Vegas to celebrate his birthday along with our niece Aubrey's birthday which is the 10th. Liz has always been home during Isaac's birthday in the summer and this year was the first year that Eli asked Liz why she never comes home for his birthday so it just happened that it worked out for her. Eli was so excited to get that as a present.. even Isaac said it was the best present ever even though it wasn't his birthday. Those boys have a special bond with their Aunt Lizzie they love her dearly as they do the rest of their aunt & uncles.

He was also excited that he got to celebrate his birthday with Aubrey. The boys absolutely love their cousins. They have a special bond with them too. They take such good care of Aubrey and when Imrie gets older they will enjoy her even more! It was so nice to get a chance to spend a whole weekend with the whole family! We are all looking forward to Christmas when we will all be together again!

Family Pictures

The morning after Halloween we headed out to Sioux Falls to celebrate Eli's birthday with my parents and brother and sister-in-law. We first started off eating at Chuckie Cheese per Eli's request. Then we meet my brother and sister-in-law at Falls Park so my brother could take family pictures for us. We had a great time and the boys really liked being able to climb on the rocks and the tower. They turned out great and it was so nice that my brother was able to do them. It is great to have a great photographer in the family! Thanks Joe! Here are a few samples of our pics.

Halloween

It has been a real long time since I have blogged so I thought today was a perfect day to start. Halloween was a very busy day being it on Friday. Isaac was the red power ranger and Eli was Bumblebee from Transformers. Both boys had Halloween parties and then it was time for trick or treating. We started at my parents house and then went around their neighborhood like we do every year. When we started going around we got done with 3 houses and Isaac decided that he had enough and didn't want to go any farther. So Eli & I kept going and he ended up with a lot of candy. We told Isaac it was sad that his younger brother out did him this year. After we were all done around there the boys helped my mom hand out candy at her house and then we were off to see Nick's grandma at the nursing home. She was very delighted to see us and of course spoiled the boys with LOTS of candy since not too many kids come to the nursing home to trick or treat. We then headed out to Nick's parents and again they were spoiled and we had supper with them. The boys were exhausted and in fact fell asleep on the way home.

Carving Pumpkins

Tonight we decided that we would carve our pumpkins. The boys were really excited to do it. Isaac enjoyed digging his pumpkin guts out and Eli thought it was alright at first and then he decided he wasn't too thrilled about the feel of the guts! So he went to watch Nick working on his pumpkin and I finished gutting his pumpkin. Nick and Eli carved his pumpkin and Isaac & I worked on his. The boys had a really fun time. Nick even got into it carving the third pumpkin and cutting out a snowmobile. He thought he was pretty awesome being able to do that!

Eli was checking out how their pumpkin was turning out with his dad at the knife!This is Isaac and my finished product! Isaac actually did most of the carving of this pumpkin!Eli was so very proud of his pumpkin. Him and his dad did such a great job!Here is the finished products the first being Isaac's, middle is Nick's snowmobile, & the last is Eli's pumpkin! We all had so much fun and the pumpkins stayed lit the whole night and the boys are really looking forward to trick or treating. Tomorrow I will post trick or treating pictures!!

Nature Walk

The other night my friend Tara had invited us to go with her and her family to the Emmet County Nature Center which was hosting a Creatures of the Night Nature Walk. It was pretty cold and rainy but we decided to brave it out and go anyway cause we knew the boys would think it was pretty interesting. So our walk was scheduled for 6:25. We meet Tara and her family there and waited for our turn to go on the walk. You started and meet your group at a bonfire and they gave all the kids glow sticks. We then walked into the woods and learned about different animals.

Our first stop we learned about the horned owl and got a chance to feel its wings and hold an owl foot. The boys were a little unsure at first about touching it they left their gloves on to touch. After the lady was done telling us about the owl we moved on further into the woods and our next stop we learned about the white tailed deer. The boys got to touch antlers and deer jaws. This time they took their gloves off to actually take a feel. They thought that was pretty awesome. They got to hear the sounds of a fawn, doe, & buck and what it sounds like when to bucks are fighting and hitting their antlers together. They were impressed. The third stop we learned about raccoons. The kids thought that stop was hilarious and laughed and are still talking about what the people talked about while pretending to be raccoons. They liked how they were going to have dessert at the trash can! Our last stop was a bat stop. The two guys we up in a tree and at that point it was really dark so we could only see small lights in the tree and barely the outline of the gentlemen. They found that interesting too but still the raccoon stop was their favorite.

We then walked out of the woods and back to the bonfire to end our journey. It was then time for us to go. The 4 of us got back in the with shoes covered in mud and coats wet from rain but decided it was all worth it. The boys had so much fun and actually learned and remember what they were taught.

Nascar Experience

Nick & I were fortunate enough to get to finally go to a Nascar race. We got tickets this past weekend and went off for a great weekend with our friends Dan & Amber. The weekend was perfect. The weather was fantastic in the upper 80's and we had so much fun! We got to Kansas City on Friday nite around midnight. We were all excited we got to sleep in on Saturday morning but we were at the race track by 10:00 that morning. We spent the whole day there and left the speedway around 6:00. We then went to a dirt track race were we meet a guy who sponsered the race that nite and he took us in the pits and we meet some of those drivers and saw there rigs and what a hauler really looks like inside. We even saw Carl Edwards brother and Kenny Wallace. We left before Carl Edwards made is presence there. We left the dirt track around 9:30 and headed for supper. We made it back to the hotel around 11 and headed to bed cause we had to be up and at um early to get to the track for the big race by 8:30.

We had a lot of fun walking around by the speedway and having fun tailgating a little. We went into the speedway in time to see driver introductions and seeing the guys drive by in convertibles and actually getting to see Dale Jr. and the other guys up close!!! The race was awesome and we had tons of fun.. Watching it on t.v. and watching it live is a totally different experience. The only thing I missed about watching it on t.v. was the instant replay, other than that live is so much cooler :). We left the track around 5ish and made it to Paullina around 11 to drop off Dan & Amber and then we treked it home. Nick and I finally got home and into bed around 1:00am Monday. We had tons of fun, in fact we are already looking at going to the Las Vegas race in March to experience it all over again!



Amber and I on our way to Kansas City on Friday nite. We finally arrived at our hotel around midnight. The ride down was fun and went by really fast. Probably helped to be able to chat all the way down there with a best friend :)

This is a picture of the Nationwide cars waiting to start the race on Saturday. It was really neat to get to see how it all goes on race day!
Amber & I during the Nationwide race!!!
You guessed it... the boy in white is none other than the man, Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was so awesome to get to see him that close! Now if I would have only gotten the chance to actually meet him the weekend would have been absolutely perfect. Maybe next time :)
Here is a picture of all the cars lined up getting ready to start their engines.

Here is Dale Jr. just pulling off of pit road getting ready to start!

Boogity, Boogity, Boogity Boys Lets Go Racing!!!

Amber & I on our way home from Kansas City on Sunday. We were all exhausted but we had such a great time! We ended up arriving back to Estherville and in our beds at 1:00am Monday morning. Lets just say Monday at preschool and all day was a real struggle. But let me tell you it was completely worth it and I would do it again in a heart beat!

Eli's First Day of Preschool!!!

Well today Eli finally got to start preschool for the year. Eli's day started with an early morning at 6:00am having to get up and head to my mom's. Nick had to leave around 5:45 this morning and I wanted to be at the preschool at around 6:30 to make sure everything was all set and ready to go before the children got there at 8. So I wrapped him in a blanket and took him into my moms. He got to enjoy a bath and then breakfast with Mimi and Isaac! Mimi & Isaac actually got to bring him to school today and he seemed to like the fact that he got his picture taken with his big brother on his first day of school!!! This is Eli's second year of preschool so he knew the ropes and the preschool very well. Last year he was in a class of 7 ad this year he is in a class of 16. So needless to say he was a little shocked when he walked into the preschool and saw all the children. He had a great day and did so well despite being tired from the concert the night before! he meet a lot of knew friends and enjoyed the day. I say he has the best teacher in the world... since he has me :)!!!

Isaac & Eli's First Concert Experience!!

Well last night we decided to take the boys to a concert at the Clay County Fair. When they had announced who was going to be performing there this year and said that Jason Aldean was going to be there I knew I had to buy tickets since that is Isaac's favorite artist. So Nick, Isaac, Eli, my mom and myself all got tickets. We started off the day walking around the fair while Nick worked at the Garst booth. We finished the night off with the concert. It was so much fun and the boys absolutely loved it. We were lucky enough to see Shawn Mayer from Nashville Star and May City, IA native sing the National Anthem. Then Eric Church opened up the night. He was a very good entertainer and really go the crowd into it. Then came the big performer. Jason Aldean stepped onto the stage and the boys' faces lite up. They were really into the concert. Eli made it until about 9:30 and then decided he couldn't take it anymore and feel asleep in Nick's arms. Isaac was a trooper though. I knew it was time when I looked over at him about 10:15 and he was standing on his seat between mom and me and he was dancing and all of a sudden he closed his eyes and almost fell out of his seat! This morning we were all dragging and we still are and heading to bed very early!! In fact the boys are already sleeping while I am writing this!

Eric Church performing!

Mom & Isaac between set change!

Nick & Eli between set change..

Both pics above are of Jason Aldean!!! He was great!!!

1st Grade Can You Believe It!!!

Well today was the first day of school here in Estherville for the public schools. So Isaac started 1st grade today. It's hard to believe my guy is already in 1st grade. It makes me really sad to think that he is really getting that old. Last year for kindergarten he was very hesitant on going and he struggled for the first couple of weeks but did finally adjust very well. This year was a completely different story. He was so ready to go to school and see his friends. Yesterday we had the privilege to go meet his teacher for the first time. He was pretty excited to meet him. It is very nice he has a male teacher this year and he seems very nice.

The day started off with Isaac getting out of bed this morning all excited and ready to go. He sat down and had some breakfast with his little brother and then it was off to meet his friends at school. He was such a big guy and didn't even need mom to walk him all the way to his locker. I did walk him in a little since he is in the new addition of the elementary school and I wanted to make sure he got to the right place. He didn't need me to but "mom" needed to!

Eli was pretty sad to see his brother go since he doesn't start school until Monday the 8th. He didn't quite understand why Isaac got to go and he didn't. He got to spend the morning at his new daycare and he loved it. Luckily he gets to go to one of my best friends daycare and he knows her and enjoys it there. All day Eli was asking if it was time to pick Isaac up from school yet. As you can see he was very happy to have his brother back and ready to play with him up in there room.

Night Out With Friends!!!

Well why the boys were gone Nick and I took advantage of our free time. Last Saturday night we got the chance to go out with some of our best friends Dan & Amber. We started the evening off on Lake Okoboji in the Schreck's boat. We had so much fun. We started off going to the Barefoot Bar and enjoying some drinks and appetizers. We had so much fun just sitting and talking over some drinks with lots of laughs. We decided to go for a little ride around the lake. It was such a nice night out. So much better than the last time we tried to do that together and we got poured on! :) We ended our night docking at Bracco's and enjoying a nice supper and a few more drinks. After a wonderful night with our friends we headed home. We had such a wonderful time as we always do when we are with the Schreck's. It is so nice to be able to get away, let you guard down and just have fun! Thanks Dan & Amber for a wonderful night!!!!

Boys trip to Duluth

Well its been awhile since I have blogged so I thought I would get on here. This past week the boys had the opportunity to go with Grandpa & Mimi Spoo to Duluth for a mini-vacation. They left on Thursday and came back Saturday evening. They had tons of fun while they were gone. They stayed at a hotel right on Lake Superior, in fact their deck looked onto the lake. The boys got to see many ships and thought they were all just "AWESOME". The Duluth Shipping website has a web cam that points right out at the harbor. It was so neat the first night they were there waiting for this ship to go through which it is the biggest ship on Lake Superior Nick and I actually got to watch the same ship go through at the same time. In fact the boys and my mom and dad went in front of the web cam a couple times so we got to see them live. We even got a wave out of all of them. The two pictures below are the 4 of them from the web cam the first is just the picture and the next has them circled out. This courtesy of my brother for sending me these 2 pictures over email as he was watching at the same time.

The boys also got there first chance at going into a lighthouse. They really liked it but Eli was a little scared to climb up into it! But they thought it was pretty cool. The did a lot of picnicking which the boys love to do!

They took a bunch of beautiful pictures which was great since Nick & I weren't along for the ride. They all had so much fun and they love to go on trips. The 4 of them have decided that they might be making the Duluth trip an annual trip every year. I am so grateful that my parents love to take the boys on trips. They get to experience so many things because of it!

Trip to the ER

Well our camping trip ended with a bang. Nick and I had come home to take care of our dogs and get things done and the boys and Steve & Karen stayed at the campground for the day! Right before they all headed home the boys went to the park and were swinging. Eli was swinging on his stomach and Isaac was swinging normal. Eli decided to get off his swing and walked right into Isaac's path. Isaac still swinging came down and ran right into Eli sending him flying. Poor Grandma Hanson had to witness it all and couldn't do anything it happened so fast.

The phone rang and Karen was calling telling us that the boys had a little accident and Eli was complaining of shoulder pain. Well she brought the boys home and Eli cried a lot and couldn't move his arm at all. After a couple of hours we decided we better get him into the ER and see if anything was broke.

After 1 1/2 hours at the hospital we found out nothing is broke thank goodness. Monday came and he was getting worse so I took him back to the doctor cause his collar bone was swollen and his pain was worse. The doctor didn't help us much and sent us home. Finally today Eli is starting to move his arm & shoulder but it still hurts. The ironic thing about it is Eli hurt his right shoulder just like me. I guess he wants to be just like his mom :). I was just hoping he didn't hurt his rotator cuff just like me. We might have both been heading to the orthopedic surgeon on Monday!!!

Camping Trip

Well it's been awhile since I have been able to write with my arm injury. This past weekend we went on a wonderful camping trip with Nick's parents. We were planning on going up to New Ulm, MN but they were full so we decided to just head over to the lakes at camp at Gull Pointe. We had a lot of fun! We went out to eat one nite and then headed to Arnolds Park for some miniature golfing. That was quite a challenge for me golfing one handed and it being my left. Although I was the only one to get a hole in one :)

We spent most of the days swimming and just relaxing. We wished we would have gotten more chances to go camping more this summer but we have been so busy we were just glad we got the chance to go this time. It was so nice getting to go on a mini vacation with Nick's parents especially since it doesn't happen very often. Hopefully we will get a chance to do it more often next summer!

110% Effort

On Sundays I get the chance to get away for a bit and go play softball in Wallingford. Well this Sunday my team had to play back to back games and it was like 95 degrees out. The game started great and our team was doing wonderful! Well in about the 5th inning while playing first base I decided I was going to put 110% into the game and went after a foul ball. Well the ball was going straight toward the fence. So what did I do, I put my glove up and went after it right into the fence. Well I put my right arm up to help stop myself from actually running into the fence but it didn't quite work. As I hit the fence my right shoulder popped and I was in instant pain. Well after about 5 minutes of laying on the ground in extreme pain my arm started to come to again. So since the team would have been short players if I would have sat out and since I play first and figured I wouldn't have to throw the ball much I would be alright. Well stupid me continued to play the rest of the game and the next. My arm was in extreme pain the rest of the day.

Well Monday morning I got up and it hurt just the same so I figured I better call the doctor. After being at the doctor for 2 1/2 hours I found out it wasn't broke. But the doctor said I either pulled or tore my rotater cuff. Now I am waiting to hear from physical therapy to set up an appointment. I am suppose to try that and if that doesn't work it is off to the orthopedic surgeon and possibly shoulder surgery. Sitting here thinking I almost wish it would have been broke especially if I have to go through surgery. So as it sits I am done playing softball for the rest of the summer. If Nick has his way it will be my last time playing forever!

Canoeing

On Sunday we decided to head out in Nick's dad's canoe. Nick, Liz, & I had taken it out when she was back from Vegas and the boys have wanted to try it out every since. Since it rained earlier on Sunday and my softball game was rained out, after it cleared up we decided to take the boys out. As you see with the picture I think maybe Eli was a little concerned about how it was all going to go since the canoe is a little tipsy when u first get in it.

The trip went very well and the boys really enjoyed themselves. They were very good at using their oars. They did get tired quickly so the trip only lasted about 30-45 mins which was pretty good for their first time and oaring the whole time! The last picture is when we got back to the truck before they got out of the canoe. We made it back safely and they are asking when we will go again!!

Mom & Boys Day Out!!!

On Thursday, the boys and I took a day and had a mom & boys day out. This summer we have been spending a lot of time swimming in our pool and everything but we decided to actually leave our house and go somewhere. We headed over to Treasure Village Children's Theatre and watched Jack & the Beanstalk. The play was very good and the boys really liked it and laughed a tons during it. As you can see with the picture the boys also got to enjoy popcorn and water while they watched it!

After the play we got to play 27 holes of mini golf. The boys did very good and even had a couple hole-in-one's. I started off playing with them but trying to take pictures and keeping up didn't work out too well. So after about the third hole I decided to just take pictures and let the boys do all the golfing.

By the time we got done with all that it was almost past lunch time. We decided to just go through the Burger King drive-thru and eat on the way home. We all had such a good time that we decided we are going to head back next week to watch the Wizard of Oz. It is always nice to take these moments when I can.

Fun at the Dells!!!

We were very fortunate to get to take a trip a week ago to the Wisconsin Dells with my mom & dad also referred to as Grandpa & Mimi Spoo. We stayed at the lovely Wilderness Resort for 2 nites. Our resort had 3 indoor water parks & 4 outdoor water parks. Nick and I had a chance late winter to check this place out to make sure that it was a good place for children Isaac & Eli's age. It was a little chilly and rained a bit but with all the indoor water parks it turned out fine.

The boys all seemed to take a liking to the huge wave pool in one of the water parks and ended up spending lots of time there. It was kind of nice Isaac & my dad hung out and Nick & Eli partnered up so my mom and I got the chance to venture out and go down water slides together. Mom and I really enjoyed the outdoor water slides the best.

When Nick and I went I was a little more gutsy and went down the Black Hole which is like a toilet bowl ride.. This time I wasn't so daring.. in fact everyone kept calling me a chicken cause they all went down the ride called the hurricane except the boys they weren't quite tall enough and really enjoyed it.. I let my mind get the best of me and didn't do it. Maybe next time :)

We ended up doing a lot in the two days we had. We started the one day off by going miniature golfing at a really nice course and we all had a blast. We then went on the "Original Ducks" which is a military type vehicle that goes on land & water. That was pretty cool but the boys Isaac especially was pretty unsure and HATED being in the water on it. Our guide was very funny and made the trip even more enjoyable.

We had a great time and ate at some really good places. We have decided that we will definitely be going back to the Dells maybe even next year we will have to see.