Land that I love!

Well I pretty much have decided I am terrible at blogging. Im just really slow at it so pretty much I am way behind. Another problem I am having, not that Im complaining about it is that Tyler is always around now. For the last two years he has been studying every night and that has been my blogging, editing and crafting time....now that he is just home at night and not studying and im not sure where to fit it all in? Oh well I guess there is a season for everything right? Anyways on to trying to catch up. I guess Ill start with the 4th of July. It turns out this 4th of July was our first 4th just as our own little family. Every year so far we have  been with one or the others family. I thought for a little bit I might be a little sad or feel like we were missing the party but honestly I loved it. We really did have a great 4th of July. Much more layed back then when you have a big crowd, it was kind of nice. We went to one of our favorite parks, Racoon River Park, and played on the beach and went swimming in the morning. We actually ended up running into friends there which made it even better. In our family we LOVE swimming, any day, so all were happy:)

After lots of playing in the sand and soaking up some sun....oh ya and Elle Rae getting taken out by a beach umbrella.....kinda crazy. We headed home and all tooks naps:) Naps on the 4th???? Yes it was so nice! After naps we headed out to a BBQ with some good friends and as usual on any holiday ate WAY too much food. Nellena Rae had a ball playing with all the "Big" girls.

She loves playing with kids that are older than her and trying to be big like them. She tries so hard! One day right! Right now Im ok with her not being big:)

Our Corn baby:)

Yes she tried to climb in there with her...

Nothing like a root beer float on a hot day!

That night we went back to Raccon River Park for the firework show. And I must say it was THE LAMEST firework show ever.....no music and they literally shot them off One. At. A. Time. and it was an hour long.

If it hadnt been for Elle Rae I dont think we would have made it. She was ecstatic!  All of her ooo's and aahh's and giggles and cheering made it the best show ever!

Everyone around us was entertained by her. Now you ask did I get all that cuteness on camera?! NOPE! Dumb mom moment. I read all these blogs  beforehand and was all excited to finally get nice pictures of fireworks. So the whole time she was being cute here I am taking my pictures and missing the real moment:( Dumb. Live and learn I guess. And as you can see my pictures didnt even turn out that great, what a waste! We also thought Elle Rae would for sure pass out on the way home....not a chance. She laughed the whole way home so the fireworks were a success that girl was not even a little bit scared. So other than the no video thing I couldnt have been happier with our 4th turned out!

God Bless America!

The end:)

Time For Therapy.

It all started when we finally got our long awaited spring break...although it was mostly like a winter break for how cold it was. Last year in Iowa the winter really wasn't too bad but this year has just been a whole different animal. So after pretty much having to scrap our spring break wish list of places and things to do....we decided it was time for some therapy. Where can you get palm trees and humidity in the dead of winter in the midwest?? Hmm....the Botanical Gardens:) Ahh....it was so nice. We didnt really know we were in for a therapy session but lets just say it was the best five bucks we have spent in a long time! Another plus, I got to really bust out my camera for the first time....and I went a little crazy:)

I dont know why but I have this thing for little delicate flowers, I just love them.

Look at all that green and those smiles...we really needed this!

There was the prettiest little river that ran all through the gardens and we found us some friends...

Im not sure why I was so excited about this little orange tree but it really was probably my favorite part.

Ran into this big guy on our way up the stairs...really, you had to duck to get around it.

The stairs have become a new adventure for us lately...you really learn to slow down when you have a toddler but it really is the best:)

Success! Made it to the bottom.

What a model right! haha its almost impossible these days to get a picture of her smiling or making a normal face.

She loves being goofy with Daddy.

It really was so nice....and dont judge my pictures too hard like I said this was pretty much my first rodeo:)

One Fine Day

And when I say that I literally mean ONE FINE DAY...cause all the rest of our days have been yuck! I guess we are just getting the wrath of Iowa this year because this same time last year I specifically remember being outside in shorts and a T-shirt, not so much this year. Anyways, I saw on the forecast that it was going to be near 60 one day and I said to myself we are getting outside no matter what! And we did and it was SO fabulous. Nellena Rae did not even know what to do with herself so I will warn you ahead of time both her and her friend Austin were far too busy to have anytime to look at the camera....oh well! We even got to play on the playground, although I didnt get any pictures of that. If you have ever played with a one year old on the playground you know it is a race to see how fast they can get to the slide and almost kill their self...so there is no time for pictures:)

One of my favorite...and least favorite things about toddlers is all the things they like to explore. This patio for example, I have no idea who it belongs to but oh well, they made their selves right at home playing peek a boo with each other.

Then they decided to try out the hill...so up and down they went, over and over...

After that, Nellena Rae made her way over to another patio belonging to someone else we dont know to do the very important job of moving cinder blocks.

After all her hard work, where one toddler goes the other must follow:) on to more adventures! 

Their findings were sweet:) Who doesnt love splashing through puddles!? Well I quickly learned how much Elle Rae does....she has done this many times since also. Needless to say I think some rain boots are in order:)

And Austin found himself a Tractor...all little boys heaven:)

It really was one fine day:)