And Then There Were 3: Summer 2012 recap…

I can’t honestly believe that it has been 3 months since I last updated. We have seriously been on the go all summer long and now I think I had best recap the summer events before Christmas is here. We aren’t slowing down anytime soon so I better get this done! You know its sad when you have to go through all your Facebook pictures to remind yourself of what you actually did…man I’m getting old!

Well before the pictures start I will say that our summer started out with a BANG….literally!Coming home from a Memorial Day party at about 12:30 in the morning we hit a deer just a few miles south of Ames which put a slew of bad luck in motion. Mind you we had just purchased a camper using our vehicle replacement fund after a lengthy discussion about how well our van had been treating us so we could spare the 6K we had saved to buy a camper. BLASTED DEER!!!!! Thankfully everyone was safe and actually the boys slept through it! Thankfully Seann and Wendy came to our rescue yet again and saved our family of 5 from being stranded on I-35!

Not to mention our bathroom was under a complete remodel…and by complete remodel I mean Adam stripped it to the studs/barebones. So now we are without a bathroom AND a van and then while trying to hook up a hitch to our Explorer Adam had a minor accident with an angle grinder and his ankle requiring 5 stitches in his ankle! I didn’t think we would be able to catch a break!

But thankfully the summer went much smoother after this rough patch!

My goddaughter Jaimee came and lived with us this summer to be our live-in nanny and the boys had a blast! It was really nice having someone around who could help not only with the boys but with Braden as well. She really wants to be a nurse when she grows up and she proved that with how well she takes care of B! She feeds him,burps him, suctions him AND changes his trache. Not bad for a 14 year old! We sure do miss having her around!

This summer marked a lot of firsts for the boys! We all went camping, went to the zoo, went to Adventureland, saw the National Balloon classic, went to the State Fair, first boat ride at the Boesen reunion, first I-Cubs game as a family,Evan rode his very first RAGBRAI, and Braden made his first trips to Wal-Mart, Hy-Vee, and went swimming for the first time! Like I said, we have been on the go all summer long.

Before I get to the pics tho I with give a quick run-down on each of the boys!

Evan-Evan has had a great summer this year! He loves riding his bike, “swimming” as much as possible (as long as he can touch the bottom), loves camping and hanging out by the fire, has mastered playing Super Mario brothers on Wii (he kicks my butt every time), and loves riding anything that makes him dizzy at Adventureland! He has been a great helper around the house but we seem to have issues with the concept of keeping our hands to ourselves…this is a definite work in progress! He starts pre-school right after Labor Day and he can’t wait! I can’t believe my baby is old enough for school! We are super lucky too because our good friend from college, Miss Justine, will be his teacher so we know he is going to have a great year! Tonight, in response to him growing up and going to school, we started a “Evans Big Helper Chart” that he and I developed. Things like “brush teeth, clean up the table, share toys, Listen to mom and dad, go to bed without crying, etc.” If he gets 50 stickers in 1 week he gets to go out for ice cream, if he gets 51-60 stickers he gets to go to a movie, and if he gets more than 65 stickers he gets to do BOTH! Hes pretty excited so I hope it sticks!

Jacob-Jacob’s vocabulary has expanded exponentially this summer and it seemed to have happened overnight. He loves being outside. So much so that I have to lock the door if I’m busy in the house because he will just wonder out on his own! He wants so desperately to keep up with Evan and gets very upset when he cant do the same thing that Evan does (like ride RAGBRAI!) He LOVES tormenting his older brother and reminds me everyday that I am his best friend :) He loves animals and bugs and loves to pretend that he is riding a motorcycle around the house. He also is almost as tall as Evan now. So much so that people constantly ask me if him and Evan are the twins!

Braden-where do I begin??? Braden is growing leaps and bounds! He rolls all over the place, knows more than 50 signs and uses them non-stop to communicate with us, has gone more than 8 hours OFF THE VENT!!!!, loves swinging outside and walking in his mini-pacer, and went swimming this summer!!! Also, big news? His top teeth FINALLY came in! In therapy they are working very hard on helping him to crawl and I think it will be only a matter of time before that happens. He never ceases to amaze me with all the things he does and how he doesn’t let his situation define him. He inspires us daily and we will continue to give him the best life experiences!!!

I’m sure there is so much more that I am missing but what should I expect when its been this long between posts! Anyway I promise to be better this fall at keeping this up to date!

Now-on to pictures (sort of in order of events)

FIRST TRIPS TO STORE/RESTAURANT