We have had a very busy week!  Brian will be starting back to work on July 10th so we have been trying to figure out where the kids will go for daycare and how we will juggle all of the changes coming up in the near future.  We have a few more avenues to explore and then hopefully we will have everything decided by Monday!  We are looking at an in home daycare provider for Colton.  Austin will be starting preschool in the fall at St. Pat's!  The preschool also priovides childcare before and after class, so for now we are thinking this will be the best fit for Austin.  I'm sad to seperate the boys for their days but I think they will both continue to grow and thrive once they are on their own.  I have also been quite emotional about all of this (I know that's probably not hard to believe).  I cannot believe Austin is going to preschool this August!  He is growing up so fast, way to fast!

Funny thing that happened this week:  Wednesday afternoon Brian took the boys to the park and as they walked up to the park they saw a girl pushing a stroller.  Austin said, "Daddy, that looks like Baby Keller".  Brian said, "it probably isn't baby Keller, it's just another baby".  Austin again says, "Daddy that baby really looks like baby Keller".  The girl pushing the stroller says, "Well, that's because it IS baby Keller!"  Brian was so surprised!  It was Baby Keller and his babysitter.  Brian didn't recognize the babysitter so he just assumed that wasn't baby Keller.  Good thing he has Austin to help him out! 

We have been going to the pool as often as possible and last night we went to Jeff, Jamie and Baby Keller's house.  They have a swimming pool in their backyard so we spent about an hour swimming and then had a bbq.  The pool was so nice and the food was delicious!  Austin and Colton have no fear of the water, which can be a little scary for Brian and I.  Colton will run across the deck and just jump in the water!  He has to keep up with his brother and since Austin jumps right in, Colton does too.  I'd say the water is about 4 feet deep so neither one of the boys can touch . . . they definitely kept us on our toes last night around the pool.  Colton also loves their dog Tito and spent some time trying to feed him pieces of his hot dog bun and wanted to sit next to him on the deck.  Tito is a good dog and lets Colton pet him, sit real close, and of course Tito is always up for eating whatever Colton will share.  They are a funny little pair!

Sturgis Falls!

 This weekend was Sturgis Falls and it was a great time!  We went down to Overman Park on Friday night and we stood in line for balloon animals . . . both boys got red swords.  We watched a childrens parade and listened to a band for a little bit.  Annie and Papa were visiting for the weekend and we all headed down to the parade on Saturday morning.  It was a lot of fun watching the marching bands and seeing all the big trucks and tractors.  There was also plenty of candy to go around for both little guys!  After the parade we went to the carnival so Austin could ride rides.  The above picture is Austin and Zoey on the roller coaster.  They were first in line and chose the front car!

 This picture cracks me up.  Austin loved this race car ride, the car would drive around the track and really whip around the corners.  So, whenever it came to the corner, Austin would throw his arms up in the air and smile and laugh.  He loved it!

 Colton was pretty worn out by the time we got to the carnival rides.  He sat up on the merry-go-round and didn't start smiling until his turn was almost over.  He was very serious about his horsey ride.

 They had a huge slide that was "taller than a giant" at the carnival.  Austin had to haul a potato sack up all of the steps and then he got to slide down.  This is a quick shot of Austin about half way down.  He was starting to look a little panicked because he was airborne from the waist down.  It was an extremely fast slide, of course when he got to the bottom he wanted to go again!

They had hot wheel race tracks set up at the park and Austin and Papa spent some time playing with the race cars.  Austin built a project out of wood and glue.  Papa bought a bag of fesh mini donuts that went over great with everyone!  ;)  There was tons of food and great music to just hang out and listen to.  We had a great time down at the park.

 This is just a picture of Colton being silly.  He has his swim goggles on and a tootsie roll in his mouth!  He is definitely an entertainer and loves to have people laughing with him!!

 Annie and the boys made banana bread.  Them helping is always entertaining!  Annie let them each peel one of the bananas and put it in the bowl.  Austin peeled his and put it in the bowl.  Colton peeled his, put half in the bowl and ate the other half.  Austin dumped in the flour and Colton was in charge of stirring.  The above picture is Austin saying, "Great job Colton.  You are a good helper Colt."  The below picture is Austin tasting the flour and telling us, "I don't LIKE flour it is not good."

 Through everything Colton just wanted to stir.  The banana bread turned out great and the boys were amazing helpers!  We spent a lot of time outside on Sunday and went to the pool Sunday afternoon.  It was a great weekend and so nice to get to spend it with Annie and Papa!

It's a Mystery.

So at about 10 o'clock this morning Austin, Colton and I were standing on the deck while they ate popsicles.  I went in the house to do something and a minute or so later Austin ran in to find me . . .
Austin - "Mommy, there is a piece of mine popsicle in our swimming pool" 
Me - "Well how did it get there?"
Austin - "I don't know Mommy . . . probably maybe when I frowed it up into the air off of the deck.  It maybe broked into two piece and one probably went in the pool maybe."
Me - "Sounds like a good guess."
Austin - "Yeah, I'm a good guess . . . "

Austin's blessings last night:

"Mine first blessings is this delicious dinner that daddy made for us.  My second favorite blessing is going to Old McDonald's all the time (he hasn't been there in about 3 weeks!), My furd favorite blessing is going swimming and my fourth favorite blessing is Colton"

Loving this happy guy!!  Colton has some tickle spots and he loves getting kisses below his chin!!

Austin has swimmers ear.  We went to the Dr. so they would give us some drops.  Poor little guy is in pain but doesn't want to tell us because he doesn't want anything to do with the drops.  We are going to take a couple days off from the pool and hopefully this will help him get better quicker.  We are pretty sure he got swimmers ear when we were on the Cedar River a couple weeks ago.  He started complaining "Mine ear hurts" last Wednesday when he was taking off his shirt.  Poor little guy . . . good news is that we have the drops and it is only supposed to take a few days to clear up. 

Last night I took the boys to the waterpark for about an hour . . . while both boys were playing in the water, Austin comes over by me, throws his arms in the air and says "Mommy, this is the best summer ever!!"  Adorable.

Great Fathers Day weekend!

Austin had his last night of swimlessons on Friday!  He passed, which was no surprise to us after the great two weeks he had there.  At the end of their last day Miss Kelsey asked if the kids would like to go down the great big waterslide.  Of course they all wanted to do that!  So, Austin led the way over to the slide . . . Colton wasn't far behind the line once he realized where they were headed.  The kids in his class all climbed the steps to the top.  Colton stepped on the first step and then I had to intervene.  Colton was sad for just a second and then he stood patiently while we waited for Ausitn to get down.  Austin was the last one to go down and he was the ONLY one who went all by himself!  He asked if he could and she said yes.  So, he was very chatty on our way home . . . telling us all about the slide.  "The waterslide there is taller than a giant!"  "I did it all by myself."  I also told him he did a great job at swimming lessons to which he replied, "I know mommy, I was awesome at swimming lessons"  So, the swim lessons were a major success.  His little certification card says that he is very strong and he should move on to the next level.  She also noted that he can do the back float he just needs to trust himself a little more while he is laid back in the water.  Great job Austin!!!  Mommy, Daddy and Colton couldn't be prouder!!

Aaron and Becca came to visit on Saturday.  They got here around 10:30.  We had some lunch and then spent most of the afternoon at the water park.  Boys had a great time playing with them.  We were there for over three hours (which wore everyone out)!  We went in the lazy river quite a few times.  The boys loved the waterfalls in the lazy river.

 This is the little elephant slide in the kid area.  It is the perfect size for Austin and Colton to really get going fast.  There is also water spraying all over at everyone and they love that as well.

 After the waterpark, we came home and had bubble baths and made dinner.  This picture is of Colton truly enjoying his chips and dip!  Once he saw the dip, he didn't want his chips to be without it and he really liked the dip!  There was always a huge scoop of dip on his chip (as you can see not all the dip made it into his mouth)!  He also sticks his entire hand in the dip and ends up with fingers full of it!  Colton must have inherited the family addiction to chips and dip.  We are so proud. So cute and such a great Saturday!!

Sunday morning, after Aaron and Becca went home, we drove over to Clear Lake to go boating with Sarah, Jake, Zoey and Charlee.  Such a fun day!  We got up there and went swimming in the pool.  It was really nice because all the kids wore life jackts.  Austin and Zoey could pretty much play with eachother and life jackets made it really fun for them.  They could jump in over and over and over and swim over to the side to get back out all by themselves!  Colton loved the water but again he didn't love the life jacket!  Charlee loved her life jacket but didn't want anything to do with the water!  She is such a doll . . . they call her "Lifeguard Charlee" because she is content just walking the side of the pool with no interest of getting in! 

Brian and Jake went jet skiing and then we all went on a boat ride. This was the boys' first time on a speed boat.  They liked it!  Austin got really comfortable on one of the chairs and fell asleep.  Charlee and Colton enjoyed pointing out at all the other boats that they could see.  The two little ones wanted to sit right by eachother, which we found out soon enough that Charlee had ulterior motives . . . she moved in for a couple of kisses!  At first Colton and her just stared eachother down but then that turned into smiles and giggles and they had a great time.

Brian requested OP Pizza for Fathers Day so that was what we had!  It was a great weekend with some great family and friends.

Dinner with friends!

 Last night we went over to Zoey and Charlee's for dinner and play time!  Charlee and Colton sat outside at Charlee's little table.  They were adorable together . . . again!  As soon as we got there Colton walked right over to Charlee and they grinned "ear to ear" at eachother.  They did a pretty good job eating dinner but they were in a hurry to start playing in the back yard.

 This is the homemade water slide in their backyard!  The kids love it because it goes super fast.  At the bottom Zoey would jump up and run, Austin would slide on his bottom about 2 feet in the grass and Colton had help from daddy so he would always land safely.  All three of them loved the water slide.  Charlee decided to spend the entire time swinging . . . that little lady sure loves to swing!

 Here is Colton testing the temperature when he first sat down and then trying to get a drink out of the hose!  He figured out he could try to spray daddy too!

 After we got done with the water slide we all went inside to watch a cartoon and have popcorn.  Sarah added some m&m's to the popcorn so they were very happy when they got to the bottom of their bowls.  Austin, however, dug to the bottom of his bowl immediately and ate those first! 

 Colton has been walking around at home in mommy's shoes and here he found some of Zoey's dress up shoes.  He gets them on all by himself (most times) and walks around the house!  Super cute because he is so proud of himself for figuring it out!! 

 This picture I'm including only because Austin wanted to take some pictures too.  The below self portait is one that Austin took all by himself!  Obviously his photography skills leave something to be desired but he did manage to center it fairly well!  The evening was really fun and the boys were completely EXHAUSTED when we got home.  Austin didn't want to leave Zoey's house of course but both of them fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows. 

 These pictures are from last night at swim lessons.  Above is Colton and his friend Berkley.  They both paid close attention to what their siblings were learning last night.  She is a few months older than Colton and she likes to call Colton "the baby".  Colton just likes to chase her around . . . so he doesn't seem to mind the title!

 Austin is doing so great at his lessons.  The below picture is him being a goofball while he is waiting for his turn.

 He is learning to use his arms while he kicks.  And he loves going under water too. His favorite part of swim lessons last night was the hot tub again.  They only get to sit in it for 2-3 minutes at the end, but it seems to have become the highlight of his day!

Bedtime buddies

Colton has always had a special place in his heart for his light blue puppy dog.  He received this puppy dog as a gift from Jamie and Jeff when he was just a baby.  Now this "baby" as Colton calls him has to be with him for story time and bed time.  This started a few months back and he has continued to add to his collection of "babies".  He has been known to rotate out one baby for another baby but lately he has just been adding on.  He also has to have a blanket with him, preferably his green one but any blanket seems to work just fine.  So last night Brian was going to lay Colton down for the night and they walked in to say good night to Austin and I.  Brian is carrying Colton.  Colton is carrying his blue puppy, his green blanket, 'Ellie' his stuffed elephant, his stuffed owl, his stuffed monkey and his new stuffed bald eagle!  Colton sleeps soundly but he sure likes a cozy crib! 

Colton went to swim lessons last night to watch Austin and did a great job!  He sits patiently watching everything that Austin is doing.  He also likes to play with the drinking fountain and he has a new little friend that he chases around as well!  So, at least the jealousy has died down.  Colton is very observant and always has one eye on whatever Austin is doing!

Austin's blessings last night:  "My first favorite blessing is going in the hot tub at swim lessons.  My next favorite blessing is jumping on my bed before dinner.  My next favorite blessings is the two sandwiches that mommy and daddy made me for dinner.  My fourth blessing is Colton."  Very sweet.

We had a great weekend!  Saturday we spent the afternoon at the Waterpark and it was a lot of fun.  We met up with a few other kiddos so Austin was very excited to play with everyone.  Austin swam like a fish for almost three hours.  He showed off his back floating skills as well!  Those swim lessons are definitely paying off.  Colton stood on his tip toes and walked all around in the pool.  He loved splashing us and himself!  Charlee and Colton walked around together splashing eachother and trying to hold hands.  The hand holding didn't work so well since they were just barely keeping their heads above water!  It was cute though. . . again, Colton and Charlee just followed eachother around for almost an hour in the water.  Both boys loved the waterpark and we will definitely be spending a lot of time there this summer!

Sunday we went boating with Jana, Corey, Macy and Tate.  The kids are all close in age and had fun building sand castles and "driving" the boat around!  Austin had no fear of the water and continually told me how much fun he was having!  Colton had a big life jacket on and he could lay his head back on the life jacket without getting his head wet.  He held on to my fingers and laid his head back over and over again.  Each time he laid his head back he would kick his legs, making big splashes and giggles!  He is definitely a water lover! 

After building sandcastles and swimming we had lunch on the boat.  All the kids were looking a little tired but we went swimming again after lunch too.  Austin started a shell collection, which he unfortunately left on the beach.  We buried Colton's legs in the sand and would then ask him where his toes are, which he giggled about every time his toes popped up. 

 Colton only wore his hat for a short time but he did wear these pink sunglasses for quite a while.  They were Macy's so please don't worry that I bought Colton pink shades!  Both boys loved jumping off of the boat into the water . . . over and over again.  They also loved standing up front, no matter how fast we were going.  As you can see in this picture from their hair that they were not afraid of the wind blowing in their faces!!  Colton's hair is getting long and was pretty hilarious to see blowing in the wind!

Austin got to drive the boat for a little bit and he was a very fast driver!  When he sat down with Corey to drive he announced:  "All aboard the SS Austin!  I'm the captain now!"  Not sure where he picked up this phrase but he used it perfectly!!

A fun picture of Austin and I from Memorial Day weekend.  A friend just sent this to me and Austin has a nice smile.  He is always making funny faces lately so I thought I would post this one!!  He was "helping" us make napkins into bowties!! 

From Swim Lessons to Super Heroes!

So, yesterday Austin had swim lessons and Colton went too.  They both did a great job!  When we got there I told Austin to take off his shoes and shirt so Colton also leaned over and unvelcroed his sandals and tried to get his shirt off too!  Colton watched patiently from the sidelines for half of the lesson and then he sat on my lap for a bit.  He also made a new friend, Berkley, and played with her for the last part of the lesson.  Austin is getting really comfortable with the back float, of course the teacher is right there with him but he is looking much more relaxed than he did the first couple of days.  He is still very excited to get there and get started, which is great.  His favorite part about the lesson was "Jumping In!"  At the end of the lesson she lets each kid jump in twice!  Austin is the only kid that gets really into it; he steps back a couple steps to get a running start and he tucks his knees!  He's a little fish when it comes to the water.

And later on last night . . .
Austin:  "Mommy, me and Colton are going to be Super Heroes when we get bigger."
Mommy:  "Sounds great . . . what kind of super powers will you have?"
Austin:  "Moooommy. (He says mommy as if I am asking a question I should already know the answer too!)   First me and Colton need to eat Super Hero food so we can get bigger and stronger and get our Super Hero super powers."
Mommy:  "What is Super Hero food?"
Austin:  "Moooommy.  Super Hero food is like carrots, cooocumbers, hot dogs and milk."
Mommy:  "Well those are your favorite foods this week so you should be a Super Hero in no time!"
Austin:  "Yeah.  Then me and Colton will be able to fly and rescue people."  - This last part was said with a little gleam in his eye as he's looking at Colton.  Those two are in for some great adventures!!

Swing batter, swing!

   Colton and I went on a walk while Austin and Daddy went to swim lessons last night.  After our walk with Jamie and Baby Keller we had some hitting practice.  Colton knows right what to do with the bat and even grunted when he swung and made contact with the ball!  So cute!  He made a big swing and the below picture shows how far the ball went.  He really loves anything that has to do with a ball lately!! 

I'm a Big Boy Now!

 Austin has been working really hard on potty training.  Well, we all have!  We have tried almost everything to get him to use the potty and we think this time it is going to stick.  He has only had 2 accidents in the last two weeks!!  We are very proud of him and part of his motivation was a trip to Chuckee Cheese's if he didn't have an accident for 7 days in a row.  Well, he made it and we went to Chuckee Cheese's the very next evening.  He wanted pepperoni pizza, lemonade and to play all the games!  Here are a few shots of the boys enjoying a couple hours of game playing.

 Austin also loves climbing in the tunnels and the slide that they have.  There weren't very many kids there while we were there so Austin had the climbing thing all to himself.  In the below picture, Colton looked everywhere but at me!  He was too busy enjoying the ride.  :)  He rode in the two cars they had there about 5 times each.  He loves the cars!! 

Swim Lessons

 Last night was Austin's first swim lessons class!  He was very excited and he did very well.  He loves the water so we weren't worried about him being nervous.  He had to sit on the blue kickboard while the other kids had their turn and sitting still on the kickboard proved to be the biggest challenge for Austin as he wanted to be playing in the water the entire time.  His teachers name is Kelsey and she is great with him.  He used his kickboard to swim out in the water, he put his face in the water and practiced blowing bubbles, he dunked underneath the water to pick up the blue eggs that were at the bottom of the pool (2'6") and he attempted the back float.  Every time he did something new he would turn around and tell Brian and I what he had just done.  He was very excited and we were all very proud of him.

 This is Austin diving for eggs.  He was just about to go under to get an egg in this one.  There was a little toy turtle in one of the eggs . . . went over great with Austin and the other little boy in his class.

 Austin just got done blowing bubbles!  He had to put the front of his face on the water and blow bubbles, which was no problem for him. 

 Colton came along to watch which proved to be pretty entertaining as well.  Colton was very unhappy that he could not get in the water with his brother.  He was pretty upset the first part of the class and then he camled down and stood by the railing the rest of the class.  He was very interested in what Austin was doing and was trying his best to be as sad as possible (so Brian and I would feel bad for him, we think!)

 Colton is leaning over to see what is in the eggs that Austin is opening. 

 In this one Colton was swinging his leg back and forth and just looking sad and cute at the same time.  (Notice Brian in the background of this one watching over both boys.)

In this one I thought he was going to try to climb under the railing but he didn't.  He just sat down and watched the last couple minutes like this.  Brian and I decided we won't put Colton through this again so only one of us will go with Austin and the other one will stay home with Colton.  That way Colton doesn't have to be sad about this every time there is a swim lesson that he can't participate in.  He just wants to do everything his brother is doing, they are a great pair!