The other day we were in the car and I looked back and saw this. 

My sweet baby.. having a picnic. 

 Before Luke's and my wedding my mom and I talked with Luke and his dad about the possibility of a branch in this massive tree falling during the ceremony.  There was a very large dead branch stuck up in the top of it.  Haha they had said, it's been there for years! No worries.  Well, there were no worries that day, thank goodness.  But a branch in our beloved tree has fallen.  It must have happened since we've had some rain after the long drought this summer.  It just snapped and is still connected to the tree, but also lying on the ground now.  Not sure what's going to happen with it.  :( 

Pinterest Project - Easel

Luke had this art easel from his childhood that we had intended to make into a painting station for the boys but it just wasn't set up well for that.  So after it sat around for a year, we finally decided to get some chalkboard paint and make it into a chalkboard.  They absolutely love it!

 

Pre-Kindergarten

Will was so excited to get back to school.  His teacher from pre-school moved away over the summer, and the assistant teacher has moved into the main teaching position.  We liked his old teacher, but we are so excited about this change - we LOVE the new teacher.  Mrs. Lester has a sweet spot for Will and a passion for teaching preschoolers.  He picked out his new backpack and got some brand new (tie!) "fast shoes" for this new school year.

Of course brother wanted to take his backpack along as well...so he packed his blankie and sippy cup for the day at Chas'.  Each year brings along new schedule changes.  This year they go to their babysitter's house on Mondays and Wednesdays while I work (I drop off Dane there, Will at school, then head to work)  Chas picks him up - which has been a difficult adjustment for me since I feel like I'm really a "stay-at-home mom" and should do those things myself. I miss seeing him run to me, excited about his day.  Hearing what he did, even though it's usually "nothing" or "I can't remember". :)  We have Tuesdays "off" and usually do a play date for lunch.  Thursdays I work in the afternoon, so Presli comes to watch the boys at our house.  Then on Fridays I take Will to school and pick him up.  Next year will change again...and a big change it will be....

Sweet Bedtime

I haven't been posting like I usually do and I even took a whole week off of the computer last week.  Didn't even get on it when I was home - plus we've been really busy lately getting into our new school/work routine.  I decided to set aside last night to do a few posts and catch up a little.  Of course I fought with our computer all night and then our internet.  Things seem to be working now so I'll  try again.

I worked another show this past weekend.  I think the hardest part of doing them is being away from all my boys.  If I work all weekend, I don't see Luke for more than a couple of hours over a week and a half.  Not easy.  But it was a good show, and it was worth it.  Last night was the first night I was back home to tuck in the boys for bed after missing 4 nights.  I missed it so much - they were so sweet.  Hearing this....
Will: "Night Dane, I love you buddy."
Dane: "Night bru-er, wove you!"
...and then this......

These boys absolutely fill my heart.

Misc..

Our friends the Dunscombes started a new business called Rec X.  Their first event was a back to school pool party.  Toward the end of it a huge downpour came out of nowhere.  The boys huddled together in a towel.  I thought this was so cute!

Last night I opened the door to the garage and it smashed into my big toenail. It hurt so bad; I looked down and my toenail was sticking up!  I pushed it back down - I'll skip over the rest of the details but it's been quite painful and just a nasty injury.  I hope I don't lose my toenail - hard to tell at this point.  But right now I'm just looking forward to it feeling better and for the throbbing to stop.  And I'm so nervous Rosco or one of the boys is going to step on it or drop something on it. :(   I had two furbabies who were very happy that I was taking some time on the couch with my toe propped up. 

What A Weekend!

My sweet husband is not the easiest person to shop for.  Even though he would disagree, he's a tough one.  We alternate years for Christmas - one year he shops for me, the next, I for him.  Last year was his year so I got the idea to get him a skydive jump - something he's said he would like to do someday.  It was a hit - he loved it.  So this past weekend he redeemed his voucher and we had a blast of a weekend!  We dropped off the boys to my mom and Chuck (thank you!!!) and drove to Middletown, Ohio to Start Skydiving.  It was a gorgeous day, but as we got there and finished filling out all the paperwork the clouds rolled in.   When you jump tandem (with someone else) you aren't allowed to jump through clouds.  So we were on a weather hold.  We waited.  And waited.  And waited.  For 4 hours..  I wasn't sure if he was going to be able to jump.  During the whole wait his name wasn't even on the screen of flight lineups.  We weren't sure if it was going to happen. At least we got to wait together- we thought we might be separated once the process started, but the place was really cool and everyone was great and we were together literally until he walked to the plane.

Luke waiting........

Alas, the clouds cleared.  So exciting!  Here he is getting all his gear on.    

Boarding the plane!

Here's the hangar where we spent the day.

So he went up (and up and up) in the plane.  I tried to follow the plane so I could see when he jumped, but they went up 11,000 feet, so I lost them.  There was also a helicopter that had been taking more experienced jumpers up all day so when we saw parachutes coming down, we weren't sure which group it was.  In the group before Luke's a woman landed (an experienced jumper!!) and didn't get up.  People ran over to her and she ended up being put in a back brace and taken away in an ambulance.  That did absolutely nothing to calm my nerves about Luke having a safe landing.  (I'm not sure why this picture won't rotate)

 

But, he landed safely and had a HUGE smile on his face.  He doesn't get excited about much, but he loved it. He free fell for 50 seconds!!!!  And how fulfilling to get this man a present that he loved.  :)   

Here's the video I took of his landing.

   

BUT....we had this girl Mel (who came recommended) do a video of his jump as well.  She did and AWESOME job.  I'll try to post the link here.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=TN-sTFRylXc

So we decided to make a weekend of it.  We treated ourselves to a night at the Hilton in Cincinnati.  Great view!  

The next day we went to King's Island.  Luke and I have never been to an amusement park together, so we were excited to go.  We only had 5 hours, so we paid a small fortune for the Fast Pass or whatever it's called.  It allows you to walk right up and hop on the rides.  We agreed we were absolutely spoiled rotten and will probably never be able to go back and wait in those long lines.  We rode rides over and over.  The longest line we waited in was to get a slice of pizza for lunch.  It was great!  We had so much fun.  I didn't take my phone in, so I don't have any pics.  But it was an awesome day.  I wasn't sure if I would still like the rides.  Things change quite a bit after 2 babies.  But, I loved them just as much.  We can't wait to go back and do it again.  It was such a fun weekend!!  And the boys had a great time too - swimming, tubing, fishing, playing in the dirt.....Thanks Nana and Grandpa Chut!!!!  :)  I think the best part about the weekend was just having such fun with Luke.  Life with two small kids and Luke working out of town - it can get pretty hectic, and just fly by so quickly.  But the two of us....laughing, really enjoying each other, having such a good time together.  Knowing he's my partner in life and loving him so much, I'm so grateful.   Life is Good.   God is Good. 

Fair Fun

The boys got to have fun at the Morgan County Fair, but I was working it so I couldn't do anything with them.  So I decided to take them to the State Fair to have some fun of our own.  I had never been, so we packed up and spent the day there.  We had a blast!

 

 Fishing

Face painting!  My little Spidermen~

Horseback Riding...

 Tractor Lift!  It was so neat - if a farmer is disabled or has an injury and can't walk, he can get a lift installed on his tractor.  I thought it was pretty cool.  And of course the boys loved getting to try it out.

Will milked a real cow!   

Dane was pooped - asleep about 4 minutes after we got to the car.  So sweet..

Bye Bye Paci

I keep forgetting, and want to document.  Dane quit his paci cold turkey at the end of June.  He did a fantastic job - and only asked for it a few times, and no breakdowns.  When he stopped using it his front teeth weren't touching by quite a bit, which worried me.  Now less than two months later they are.  Crazy how fast things can change. 

My Brit

In true Olympic spirit Will has taken on some British sayings.  Tonight he said that he'd "like to take his bath straightaway."   I have no idea where he heard that word, but he is using it quite often, and correctly. 

Shes Nut's

I've been working at the fair all week. More on that later,  but tonight Will and Dane stayed w Aunt Terri and Uncle Mike and came out for some fun. They got their faces painted like Batman.  So funny, and I'm shocked Dane sat there and let them paint his face!  Even though this week has been hard on me physically and emotionally (not hardly seeing the boys) they've had a grand old time!  Hanging out with Aunt Terri, Uncle Mike, Nana and Grandpa Chut, extra time with Daddy.  They're having a blast! 

...but I miss my boys. :(  2 more days to go...