Fun at the Park!

Yesterday we had fun day! Part of the day was spent going to the park....the boys' favorite thing to do! We decided yesterday to go to "Shelby's Park", as Logan calls it (it's a park in memory of a 2-year old girl named Shelby Duis who died as a result of child abuse). It's a nice little park for kids Logan and Landon's ages and there's a neat nature trail that you can walk that takes you down to a public dock on the lake. I always get nervous to take the boys on the dock, but they LOVE it! We left the park a little sooner than expected because as we were out on the dock, we heard the tornado sirens go off...I had a heart attack! We ran back to the car and turned on the radio only to find out they were just testing the sirens...whew!!! It was a very windy day, so I took things seriously!

Today we went to the Spencer Flag Fest parade and had a good time. We've never been there before, but Jeff was riding his motorcycle in the parade to help advertise for Spencer Motor Sports where he bought it (plus he has become good friends with the owner). I didn't tell the boys that Daddy would be in the parade, so the looks on their faces were priceless when they saw him! Tomorrow we are going to try the air show! All kinds of fun going on around here!!!

Grandpa Needs His OWN 4-Wheeler!

I thought some of you would get a kick out of this picture! Wednesday night we were having a get-together for my Mom's birthday, and Grandpa Mick decided he needed to ride the 4-wheeler with Landon...quite hilarious! I'm surprised it didn't break (and he's lucky it didn't). They made it about half way around the yard and then the 4-wheeler decided it couldn't lug the both of them. I think Grandpa needs to get his OWN 4-wheeler that's his size!

Logan Goes Fishing

What a day for Logan! We promised him that once he was wearing underwear and keeping them dry that Jeff would take him to buy his first fishing pole and take him fishing...well, Logan kept his end of the promise, so we did too! This morning he got to go to Stan's Bait Shop to shop for a fishing pole. He picked out a cool "Cars" pole. This afternoon after nap, Jeff took him fishing at Center Lake and he caught his first fish, with some help from Dad of course! I can't believe how FAST he and his brother are growing, but we are so glad to have at least one boy potty trained...and now Daddy has a new fishing buddy, that is unless Logan decides since he got his fishing trip in now he's done peeing and pooping in the "big boy" potty! Of course, Jeff can't wait until both boys are old enough to go fishing and hunting with him, but for now, Landon enjoys some alone time with Mommy while Logan goes and does his thing with Daddy. :)

Landon Looks Like Big Sister Brooke

I had to include these two pictures to show you all how much Landon looks like his big sister (at least I think there is quite a resemblance)! When I went in to check on him the other night, I couldn't resist taking his picture because I felt like I was looking at a bigger version of Brooke! Landon knows how to get his way like Brooke did, too!! :)

Our First Day of Summer Break!!!

Happy Summer!! Today was my first day off work for the summer, so the boys and I had a fun day today while Daddy still had to go to work! We slept in, ate lunch at McDonald's with Grandma Umscheid, played outside a ton, and after Landon went to bed, Logan got to help mow the lawn...one of his favorite things to do! We really have to compliment Logan. Last night I decided it was time for Logan to begin a potty training boot camp, so I put him in big boy underwear. While he had 2 accidents last night, he only had one today (early this morning) and has been doing GREAT the rest of the day!!!! We will keep our fingers crossed that he will continue to do so well!

Cool Dudes!

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everybody! The weather here is kind of crazy this weekend. Yesterday was rainy and very cold. Today is hot and humid. Who knows what tomorrow will be like?! Typical Memorial Day weather for Iowa.

I had to post some pictures of the boys trying to be cool dudes. Landon loves to wear Daddy's hat and Logan thinks he's tough stuff wearing the do-rag (I have no idea how to spell that)! Jeff got him hooked on wearing them because "motorcycle guys wear them." Oh my...like father, like son...kind of scary!

Bath Time Fun!

Bath time is always exciting at the Duvall house! I have to change my clothes when I'm done, because no one even near the bathroom can escape the water splashes made by these two boys! Of course then I also get the pleasure of cleaning up the puddles as well as all of the bathtub crayon written everywhere...at least they enjoy taking a bath! After bathtime, they both have a blast running around the house in their towels. Usually after a few minutes in the towels, they decide to just run naked until I MAKE them get their PJs on!

As far as the rest of our day goes, it was a pretty typical Saturday for me and the boys...lots of playing, a little shopping (time to buy flowers to plant...hope Landon doesn't pick them all), and out to eat. Landon got to try his first ice cream cone today when we ate at Dairy Queen with Grandma and Grandpa Umscheid...what a mess, but he loved it! He is our sweet-tooth child. Logan ate his ice cream cone, but was more interested in the french fries. Jeff has been busy all day with his motorcycle club. They went on a ride to who-knows-where and then had a benefit supper and activities for the Shayla Bee Foundation. I don't know a lot about the charity, but I know that when this little Shayla passed away, her parents couldn't afford a headstone, so these people with the foundation (I think her grandparents) raise money to help people, who can't afford headstones, with some of the expense involved in getting one. Being in the club keeps him busy, but it is a good group of guys!

Another Beautiful Day!

The weather has been wonderful today, so it was a great day to play outside! Logan figured out that our tree in the front yard is small enough for him to climb on and hang from and now he is giving little brother Landon ideas, too. I hope we don't have any broken bones in our near future! My mom and I also decided that beautiful flower gardens are out of the question this year too because Landon enjoys picking the flowers. Not that that will be a worry around my house (I can't keep any type of flower or plant alive), but my mom has tons of flowers....hopefully some firm "no-nos" will do the trick, but have I told you how stubborn my boys are? Anyhow, hope we have more of this nice weather in store so we can enjoy more time outside! I've decided, not only do I love being outside playing with the boys, but the more we can be outside, the less clean up work for me to do in the house...a win-win situation!

Happy Mother's Day!

After battling a kidney stone for a few days, I was able to have a great Mother's Day today! Logan and Landon actually started Mother's Day last night by calling Grandma Duvall to wish her a happy day (we hope to get to spend some time with her next weekend)! Then today, Uncle Ben and Grandma and Grandpa Umscheid came over for lunch. We (I should say Jeff and Ben) grilled some excellent steaks that Uncle Ben brought over. We ate ourselves silly and then topped the meal off with some Snickers cake! There's always room for cake, right?! The rest of the day was spent just hanging out together which was the best. We took the boys out to the cemetary to help get "Angel Brooke's place" looking good for Memorial Day and summer - I always like to go there on Mother's Day to feel like she's included. After a drive around the lake and some time spent playing outside, we're pretty much ready to call it a day...back to reality (work) tomorrow! The pictures included with this post are me with each of the boys, the pretty hanging flower basket Jeff and the boys got for me, and my mom with Landon (since Logan didn't cooperate for any of the pictures). We'd like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers reading this, but especially to my mom and Jeff's mom for being so wonderful!

Training Him Early!

Do you think 3 is too young to make Logan mow the lawn? Jeff was brave and let Logan take the lawn mower for a spin around the back yard (don't worry, there was no blade) and he actually does really well. We don't think we'll make it his job just yet however, because we're not sure how straight the lines would be...I think Jeff or I will continue with the job for now!