Catching everyone up!

Alright, I understand that I have been down right HORRIBLE about keeping up on this blog. I am really REALLY going to make an honest attempt at getting on here more. I will give you the lowdown on the summer happenings. The first week of summer. . . we laid low, spent some time outside, got together with Cindy and Zeke for some playtime. . . Nothing much. Second week, I had to Grade ICAM's The hids got to go back and visit Steph for 2 days. . .I think that is the last time they both ate at the same meal. . . and both took naps for that matter. . .We went to Blank Park Zoo with Nick and Barb on the 31st. . .The kids enjoyed it and the zoo is still small enough that we made it through the whole thing without loosing the kid's interest. . .Last week, I took my time cleaning the house. The kids seem to mess it up as fast as I can clean stuff up. . .I did have it fairly picked up for this last weekend when Shae was back for a baby shower. We had a get together here on Sunday. It was a small gathering but fun all the same . . .Monday, I went into Des Moines with Cindy and Zeke. Cindy needed to get her car serviced. Plus it was a good excuse to go into DM. . . Like we need an excuse. . . ANYWAY. The kids did an OK job of behaving. Ian fell off the wagon at about 5. Good thing Eric gets off then, he was willing to take both kids off my hands for the rest of the evening. I enjoyed my alone time, it was much needed. THANKYOU ERIC! Tuesday we headed back to Omaha to drop off Shae. . .The kids were NOT as good this trip. I think there comes a time when there's been just too much time away from home. I think Yesterday was it. Today, we laid low. Ventured down to Katie and Mat's for dinner. . . and just relaxed. . .

My $5, $75 Transformer!

I have to brag about my find today! I was up in Ankeny at the Me and Mommy-to-Be shop, looking for good deals on clothes and I found this.

I, being the all knowing mom that I am, saw this and immediately swiped it up, knowing that the Transformers cost a pretty penny! The little ones that Ian has already run from $8-13, the Optimus Prime he wants is $40, this was alot more complicated than that one. After returning home, Eric and Ian spent 2 1/2 hours learning how to unlock the Transformer. Later this evening we priced our new find. They ran anywhere from $40-$150. I am

pretty proud of my find :) Ian is excited! (So is Eric)

This is the Transformed Version. The legs are backwards.

Eric Figured out that that it is supposed to light up. I have a feeling he will be making a trip to Target for some batteries tomorrow. :)

Summer is in full Swing!

Summer is now in full swing. We made it official, yesterday with a trip to the Des moines Zoo. It was a nice outting, not too big not too small. This was Maren's first trip to the zoo and she really seemed to enjoy it. We went with Grandma and Grandpa Hoffmann. At first Maren was so excited that she shook everytime we saw an animal, it was funny. . .by the end of the visit, she just made sure to point out the important things.

Last week was the official first days of summer. We 

started things with a visit from Cindy and Zeke. . . we went to nurseries and found things to beautify our yard. Most of them a

re now planted. . . . MOST. . . not all. . I really need to finish that. . . . On Friday, the kids and I just hung out

 around home. . . we had Ice Cream, worked on cleaning the house, played outside, and had Greg and Dana over for dinner. It was a nice visit and a good end to the week.

Today it is raining :( Maren is taking her morning nap, Ian is watching Bon the Builder, and I have decided that I really need to get a post up on the BLOG. Now that my computer is back up and running, I really have no excuse not to write on here. For some reason I am still unable to hook the camera to the laptop, but Eric installed a Compact Flash reader in the desktop. Now I can write here and add pictures on the other one. . . My goal for the summer is to get something up at least once a week. . .