Unknown prairie flowers

One of the exciting things about growing our native prairie is finding the new plants that come up each year. This year, with a second-year prairie planting in bloom, is no exception. Allow me to introduce...the two newest mystery plants. 

This red-orange flower is on a tall spike with tiny leaves. 

This short purple flower is connected to the awesome 9-loved leaves below. 

Pollinator Paradise

I love our backyard prairie. 

And speaking of Popsicles...

You can't see how red his shorts and legs were...

Summer is...

Summer is...

Skinned knees

Popsicles

Dirty feet

Sticky fingers 

Stained shorts

Ice cream cones

Sandals

Baseball games

And it's only the second week of summer vacation!

Two fishes

This picture is just so typical of my two older boys. Taken while waiting for swim lessons to start, Nate was eager to smile for the camera and Nile tried to pretend it wasn't there.

Steamy Kansas City

A few weeks ago we took the two older boys to Kansas City for their first Major League baseball game.

Did I mention it's been hot this summer? For this game it was 101 degrees. Luckily it wasn't a sellout, and we were able to move up from our sunny seats to some in the shade. It wasn't too humid so it was actually bearable. The Royals lost, but we still had fun.

One other highlight of the trip? Opting for ice cream for dinner instead of real food, and feeding the sparrows bits of waffle cone.

How to stay cool in 100+ degrees...

I was told on Wednesday that I needed to update the blog.

So here are a few pictures from the last two weeks. It's been crazy hot, over 90 degrees and often over 100.

So we have spent a lot of time indoors, sadly. But here are some ways we have tried to enjoy the heat wave.

Popsicles are always good!
Swimming in the baby pool.
Playing "firefighter."

St. Louis Zoo

On Sunday, we got up early and headed to the St. Louis zoo. It was a much cooler day than the day before, but the area had a round of thunderstorms go through the night before, so it was really humid. In the end, it was still pretty hot and sticky!

This zoo is also free - in fact, almost completely free! They did also charge $11 for parking - but many people had parked along the road leading up to the zoo. I didn't mind $11 for parking, considering what we were getting in return. We also had to buy $5 train tickets or we would have had a mutiny on our hands.

Of course, the first thing we had to do was ride the train. This train is excellent - it is a long train, goes through several tunnels, and actually has four stations. For your $5 ticket, you get four "station-to-station" rides - so you can get off at a station and then get back on and ride again. We rode twice, letting the boys ride through a station stop each time.

Here is Nate, watching the train go by shortly after we got off it the first time.

This zoo is amazing - huge, and amazing. We were there two hours (that's about all that the little feet could stand) and we probably didn't see half of it. By far, the highlight had to be the penguins. There was an outdoor penguin exhibit first...

Then we went indoors to a very well-air-conditioned area where the "cold-weather" penguins live. The boys really love penguins, and enjoyed watching them dive and swim.

The other highlight? Seeing the Nile Hippopotamus. Nile was so excited to see an animal that had "his name." The fact that they were huge and right up next to the glass was a bonus too.

Although we don't often buy "souvenir" stuffed animals, we did indulge the boys this time. Nate picked out a rhino, and Nile picked out his own Nile Hippo. They also bought the baby a small stuffed elephant.

You're gonna love it at...

Sometimes it's nice to go back home. For the Fourth of July weekend, we did just that (for me at least). I was impressed by the things I did remember about how to get around Des Moines. I can't remember the last time I was downtown...

We had planned to go back for the I-Cubs game and fireworks on July 4, then stay downtown and hit Adventureland on the way home on Monday, July 5. Slight change of plans - it rained, and rained, and rained on July 4. So...no baseball game for us. The boys swam in the hotel pool and we went out to dinner.

But, we did hit Adventureland! These are a few of the better pictures I took, and I know Tom probably has some even better ones (probably some with me in them too), and some videos, which I may add later.

Of course we hit the teacups first, then the boys had to fly the planes.

Next it was the bumper cars. I don't have pictures of that. Of course, at 6 months pregnant I couldn't ride too many rides anyway. I do miss the roller coasters (not that I'd have been going on one with these two boys anyway!). The bumper cars were a stretch, but Nile needed someone to drive and steer. I just barely fit behind the bar with my belly. Then I spent a good part of the time in the bumper car worried that someone would hit me and it would hurt the baby. Fun times!

The boys enjoyed feeding the fish.

And riding the "kiddie boats."

Tom and Nile, waiting for the train to arrive.

The carousel. Nile was pretty proud of himself for riding the "biggest horse."

Faithful Feet

This morning the boys and I went to the Faithful Feet 5k in Geneseo. The race was hosted by the local Catholic church, and the proceeds from the race went to the food pantry. Since Tom was golfing, I didn't run, but I signed up the boys for the kids' race.

Nile decided that he didn't want to run, so Nate had to do the race solo. I was a little nervous, as it was a half-mile race, and it took him around the middle school so I wouldn't be able to see him. I had to stay back with Nile, so I was worried that Nate would tire out, fall, or something, and I wouldn't be there. Yeah, I know, I'm a paranoid parent.

Turns out he ran the whole thing in under 5 minutes, didn't have a single problem, and finished beaming. He also proudly told me "I passed like eight kids, Mom!"

I'm really proud of him.

After the race we went to the park and the farmers' market. It was a good morning.

Here are the boys before the race.

Here is Nile, a moment before this he was looking so pensive, but I didn't catch it.

Nate after the race - showing off his medal as he enjoys a bagel and some juice.

Last day of preschool

Next fall my little baby boy (sob) will go to Kindergarten. So I had to capture his last day of preschool, and I had to try and make it special.

Here he is with his last show-and-tell (his stuffed horse from Germany).

We went out for donuts before preschool as a special treat. I found out later from my mom that Dad used to take Becky and I out to the donut shop in Grimes for special occasions. I had forgotten that, but it must have been stuck in my memory somewhere since it seemed like such a great idea. We hadn't been there for a year, since last summer.

Of course, since we went out for breakfast we were forced to waste time before school started. For some reason the boys REALLY wanted to go to church and wait there for school to start.

Here's Nile checking to see if the sign was green - they have a sign they hang in the window that is red until 5 minutes before class when they flip it over to announce that you can come in.

And two goofballs marching around.

Summer Already?

It's still May - not yet Memorial Day. And yet, it's hot out already (the heat index right now is 98 degrees). Nate got a new sprinkler for his birthday - and with the heat, we let him use it on Sunday. He absolutely loved it, and ran around in it for at least an hour. (Thanks Andrew and Alex!)



Nile did not like it nearly as much. So, today when Nate asked for the sprinkler again, I dug out the old baby pool and filled it up for Nile. Of course then Nate had to join in too.
We've also learned we must have a lot of iron in our water - you might be able to notice the orange "ring around the pool" we have in the above photo. The boys' swimsuits and bodies are orange too. Either it's the water or it's the sunscreen we're using - or a combination of the two.

Brewery tours

The best thing about touring a brewery? The sample room, of course!
(it's soda, people, so don't freak out!)

Future engineer

We are on a family overnight trip to Wisconsin with Tom's family and
the boys. We arrived at the hotel in New Glarus a little while ago
after a fun afternoon in Monroe touring a brewery.

Less than five minutes in the hotel room and Nile has already turned
on the speakerphone, the clock radio, and turned off the A/C. Then he
was down on the floor starting on the old baseboard heater before we
stopped him.

I guess I should prepare myself for 16 more years of tinkering!

Nate running the Bark in the Park

Here is Nate running in Tudi's Bark in the Park.

racing the numbers

Yesterday we let both boys run in the kids' race at Tudi's Bark in the Park, a race that I helped organize. Since I was working, I didn't get any photos or videos of the race, but I know Tom did. I may share them later.

Anyway, they must have enjoyed it, because they spent a half hour this morning running races around the yard. Each race had a number. I kid you not. First, they ran the "number 2" race. Then they would start the "number 5" race, or the "number 7" race, or maybe the "number 11." I never did figure out the difference between any of them.

On your mark...get set...

Go!

I have to admit I really enjoyed watching them run.

froggy

Today the boys were playing outside and had emptied the toy box. They found a new friend inside.

well, at least it smells good...

You know that saying that you know there's a problem when the kids are too quiet?

Today I had to take a call from work, so I asked Nate and Nile to play quietly for a few minutes. 5 minutes later, I get off the phone and the two boys are quietly playing in Nate's room. I call out to Nate from the kitchen and tell him thank you for playing quietly.

A minute or so later I hear this tapping noise. Odd, but not unusual. Nate likes to "fix" things with his play hammer, so I assumed he was repairing a truck or something.

Next thing I know, Nate comes in to talk to me. "Mom, I have something to show you! All my toys are going to smell great!"

My first thought? "Oh, no...what did you do?"

We had moved an odor absorber into his room (because it smelled like a dead mouse - the joys of living in an old farmhouse). "No way," I thought, "No way did he get that stuff out."

"Nate, did you open the air freshener?"

"No..."

"Nate, are you sure? Show me what you did."

"I don't want to."

"Nate, you're not in trouble. Just show me."

"Okay."

Somehow he had turned the odor absorber upside down and gotten the gel inside to break into tiny pieces, then he had covered all his toys with the stuff. This stuff is the consistency of deodorant, so when trying to clean it off, it smashes down and smears all over. Luckily it does vacuum up fairly well...

Here is a small sampling of what his room looked like.

"See, Mom? Now they smell great!"

The source.

I'll give him credit for TRYING to clean...

nightswimming

This morning I went in to wake Nate. He was still asleep at 6:20, probably because he had been up until 9 pm the night before, not my choice, but I digress.

He woke up so happy, and so glad to see me. It was such a wonderful moment, as he realized I was sitting there and his face broke into a smile.

As I got his clothes out for him to wear today, he told me, "Mommy, did you know you can solve problems in your dreams?"

I said "Really? Did you solve a problem in your dreams last night?"

Nate: "Yep, I sure did!"

I couldn't get him to tell me what problem he had been working on all night.

We have had some issues with swimming the last few days. Nate has been terrified of the pool, crying and refusing to get in. Add to this that we started swim lessons this week, and so this crying and fighting has occurred in a very public setting. We have been very frustrated. Monday was the worst, then on Tuesday I was able to convince him to get in, but sat on the edge of the pool and basically worked alone with him (he would not interact with the teachers or his class). Since we had made progress, I was hoping that by the end of the week he'd be back playing in the pool like he had last year.

Today Tom took Nate to his friend Andrew's birthday party at a small pool in East Moline and worked with him, they had a great time. So I was optimistic for swim lessons, even though Nate was exhausted, hadn't eaten any dinner, and should have been a terror.

Skip forward to tonight's swim lessons. To my amazement, Nate got in the pool and did EVERYTHING the class did. He listened to the teachers, and I was able to sit several feet away in a pool chair and watch the class. He was a totally different child from the last two nights of swim lessons. I was so happy and excited for him.

Tom and I were both so proud of him, and how well he did. He was pretty proud of himself too, practically dancing out of the pool.

Nate: "My brain was telling me that swimming was scary, but now I decided that I am going to LIKE swimming! I solved the problem!"

Me (as a light goes off in my head): "Nate, was the problem you solved in your dreams about swimming?"

Nate: "Yep!"

This was the problem he solved in his sleep last night.

excuses

Earlier today we are playing at the park when Nile stops halfway down the spiral slide and calls me over.

Nile: "Did I burp or toot?"
Me: "What?"
Nile: "Did I burp or toot?"
Me: (trying not to laugh) "Well, which end did it come out of?"
Nile: "My bottom!"
Me: "Then you tooted."
Nile: "Excuse me Mommy!"

At least he's polite...