Papa's new toy

...or it is Grandma's? ...or the grandsons?

The four boys had a heyday on Thanksgiving testing out their driving skills with the new gator at the cabin.  I think Papa might have endured a little whiplash courtesy of the boys, but they sure did have fun riding around outside on such a beautiful day.

Everybody got to take a couple of turns driving.  This picture scares me though as it is only a few shorts months before Austin can get his permit.  Oh heavens!  That is going to be an experience...for Ace :)  I think I'm going to steer clear of that one for a bit.  My superior driving skills really shouldn't be shared!

Switching it up

You can see from many of the previous posts that our fall consists of football: high school games on Friday nights, ISU games on Saturdays, and the boys playing on Sunday afternoons.  Now we've moved from the football field to the gym.  Yep, it's basketball season!

Last Saturday Carter played in a 3 on 3 Turkey Trot.  Let me tell you, he sure got in some great conditioning and worked off whatever turkey he ate!  His 5th grade team ended up playing their first 3 games against 6th graders and won 2 of the 3 which put them in a tie for second.  They were pretty proud of themselves for that showing!  

Because of the number of teams involved, the top team was able to select which 2nd place team they went against to finish off the tourney.  They choose the other 2nd place team, so Carter's team played one more game against 5th graders to finish off the tourney.  He sure was dragging by the time we left the facility.

There are many more tourneys in the upcoming weeks that will keep us quite busy.

It's the little things

Little things in life that make you smile #40~

Laundry that is completely done and all put away

Rarely does this amazing event occur at our house.  However, thanks to basketball getting finished at a decent time on Saturday and a fairly free Sunday afternoon with cooperative children and husband, mission accomplished!  Woo Hoo!

Happy Thanksgiving

What else we've been up to

Not only did we spend our weekends at the boys' football games and take in a Vikings game, but we've also spent a great deal of time at the home Iowa State football games.  Ace tells me scrapbooking is my "getaway" time and ISU football and tailgating is his!  Needless to say he takes advantage of every moment of ISU football.

Tailgating is a necessity according to Ace, no matter what the weather is.  Needless to say, I'm a dainty thing made of sugar that could melt in cold, wind or rain and don't always agree with him.  Our usual tailgating hangout is the Blue Bus, but we manage to move around and check in with quite a few friends in different places before game time.  Neighbor Q is quite the chef at the bus taking care of anyone and everyone who shows up.

Austin and Carter absolutely love tailgating.  They are a lot like their father and hate to miss out on any action that could be happening!  Usually they are playing football with someone or hanging out with their friends.  Every now and then it's a game of bags that has them occupied.

Yes, that's Carter, the rogue Panther fan at an ISU tailgate!  It must have been the day of the Iowa v UNI game.  Leave it to him to be okay standing out in a crowd!

We love having seats next to Nate and Kelly.  It's a great time to catch up with them as well as get time with Dan and Rachel.  This year our boys have started to ditch us to hang out on the hill with their friends and socialize.  I guess we are hitting those teenage years in which mom and dad just aren't cool to hang around with anymore. Thankfully I have many spies who know the boys belong to me, which as of now prevents them from doing anything they shouldn't be doing!  It also helps that they LOVE football and actually watch the game.

There's only one more home game to go.  My dad gets to use my ticket that day as it's on Black Friday. Mom and I have some shopping to do and I'm sure it'll be cold and I would be miserable!   Go State!

It's the little things

Little things in life that make us smile #39~

Spending some one-on-one time with my mom

For the past couple of years Mom and I have been taking card making classes at Memory Bound Scrapbook store in Ankeny.  It's become "our thing" and I absolutely love it.  We have a ton of fun, laugh a lot and come away with a pretty cool set of handmade cards that we use all year long.  We had the opportunity to take a Christmas card making class Sunday afternoon and once again had a blast together.  I absolutely cherish the time I get to spend with my mom!

Here's a few of our creations from yesterday. (courtesy of the creative brains of Janet Petersma and Katie Belding)

Road Trip

After an extremely busy fall, we decided a little getaway was necessary before basketball season got into full swing.  Little did we know, it would interfere with basketball anyway.  Oh well!  I had no idea how desperately I needed to get away for a bit until we were pulling out of the driveway.  I could feel the stress being left behind and a weekend of no responsibilities, just fun, ahead of us!

Of course with a man driving, the van veered off to Cabela's as our first stop. Since Papa and Grandma Di joined us in our adventure, the boys were in hog heaven following Papa around the hunting area like two little puppy dogs!  We then headed to our hotel followed up by the Mall of America.  While the adults were up for a little shopping, the boys preferred to simply hang out at Nickelodeon Universe riding rides the entire time.  Thankfully the Rain Forest Cafe was enticing enough for a time out for them to eat!

Even though the adults were whippled out and ready to head back to the hotel, the boys couldn't get enough of riding the rides and we closed the place down.  What I wouldn't give to have a little dose of the energy the boys have.

On Saturday, we took a suggestion from a friend of Aaron's to head to an amazing outlet mall in Albertville and experience eating eat at Space Aliens.  The outlet is unbelievable, probably close to 4 times the size of the Williamsburg Outlet.  Needless to say, we helped out the economy as everyone walked away with a few new things to make us happy!  

Sunday brought the Vikings game.  We love being able to take advantage of our UNI Alumni opportunity for cheap tickets once a year.  Even though we aren't die hard Vikings fans, it sure is fun to take in an NFL game.  Carter loved being able to wear his UNI overalls - thanks Grandma Ween!  He LOVES them and has only had one other opportunity to wear them so far.  

Oh what a blessing it was to get away from work and the normal everyday responsibilities of running a household!  I definitely felt rejuvenated coming back to work on Monday.

I'm back

According to my hubby, it's been awhile since I've blogged.  Somehow, life simply got extremely busy and in the way.  I could barely manage to get myself to work, kids to all the bazillion places they need to be and a meal on the table for awhile.  Thanks to a Friday off, I'm getting caught up around the house a bit and taking time to catch you up on what we've been up to, albeit in installments.

Football season came to an end for Austin and Carter.  I absolutely LOVE watching them play, but the 3-4 night a week practices criss-crossing town for nearly 3 months sent me over the edge towards the end of the season.  It's true what many moms with older kids have told me...I am now simply a taxi service for my kids for the next several years! Here's a few photo highlights of the boys' season...

Austin - #65

Carter - #56

Even though the scoreboard may not have reflected what the boys had hoped for this season, it was still a great season in which they learned a lot about teamwork, dedication and determination.  Aaron and I are so proud of them!