Christmas Tree

On last Friday I took some time off in the afternoon so that we could set up our Christmas tree.  A fun time with the kids.  Below are some pictures:

Isaac and Caleb helping Mommy with the tree.

Isaac and Caleb took a break and decided they needed to brush their teeth.

Daddy helping Isaac put the star on top of the tree.

 My parents have always said that when I was a kid I used to put a bucket over my head and run around into the walls.  Well, my kids must have gotten something from me because on Monday Caleb took a bucket that holds play tools and put it on his head.  He was running around with it.  He was kinda smart because he could see through it and didn't run into any walls.  Of course Isaac had to try after Caleb was done.

Caleb with bucket on his head.

Isaac with bucket on his head.  Caleb wanted it back.

Today Regina was playing some old CDs and Isaac and Caleb were dancing.  Caleb is so funny when he dances.  He has his mouth wide open.  Isaac was dancing and playing the drums (maybe he will be a rock star someday).  Enjoy some videos below:

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we went to Regina's parent's house and spent some time with family.  Uncle Jim and Aunt Amber along with Cousins Garret and Alyssa were also there.  Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah came to dinner but didn't stay at the house, which was good because it was full enough.  Below are a few pictures from the weekend that we wanted to share with everyone.

Caleb wouldn't eat cake at his birthday last May, but he really liked Uncle Mark's birthday cake.

Daddy, Mommy, and Isaac playing a card game.

Picture with the cousins.  From left: Caleb, Alyssa, Isaac, and Garret.

 After Thanksgiving we spent a week at home and then this weekend Regina and I spent at Riverside Resort and Casino over by Iowa City.  I won the hotel stay for long drive at a golf tournament and it was a very enjoyable time.  We were ready to come back home and see the boys again though.  Below are some pictures from the last week at home.

Our artists creating with Play-Doh.

Our artist Caleb got ahold of a green highlighter while Mommy wasn't watching and he drew on his face!  Later  he lifted his shirt and he had drawn all over his tummy with a pen.

A weekend alone

November is in full swing!  Last weekend Zach's parents took the boys for the weekend so we had a weekend alone for the 1st time since Isaac was born.  It was awesome!  We had a great time doing some shopping & talking without interruption.  Saturday night we went to a John Waller concert at our church.  We really enjoyed that.  We are very excited to see the Newsboys at our church in March 2012!  Isaac & Caleb had a great time with Grandpa & Grandma and we were excited to see them on Sunday.  

There isn't a lot of interesting things to update you on.  This week is busy with meetings, shopping, & work!  Zach & I are leaving on a high school retreat Friday evening so Isaac & Caleb will be staying with my parents for the weekend.  I can't believe the next week is Thanksgiving!  Time is flying so fast!

Below are a couple of videos we have taken in the last month.  Caleb is quite the dancer & I finally got a little bit of it on video so I wanted to show you his moves.  The second one is Isaac & Zach doing "exercises" together.  Zach is exercising...I am not sure you would say Isaac is!   The funniest part is when Isaac starts shaking his arms just like daddy...daddy couldn't hold it any longer!

Halloween 2011

Last weekend was busy with Halloween activities! Grandpa & Grandma Erickson came down on Saturday morning to hang out with the boys & see their Halloween costumes. Isaac was determined to be a tiger again this year but lucky for us there was no tiger costume at the store we went to. I showed Isaac a fireman hat & he was sold on being a fireman. We then found a policeman costume for Caleb. Both boys were extremely cute & a major hit with everyone we ran into! Especially our little ham, Caleb. He milked his cuteness for all the candy he could get!

Isaac, our fireman

Caleb, our policeman

Late Saturday afternoon we went to an event at the Blank Park Zoo called Night Eyes. Kids dress up & the zoo is transformed into a not so scary Halloween. The kids trick or treat through the zoo & get candy from the different sponsors. Some of the animals are available to see but most are not. Isaac loves the lion & tigers and they were one of the few on display so that was cool to see. Caleb, cute in his policeman costume, decided that a pacifier would make the perfect accessory & got many "Oh, look how cute that policeman is." He even stopped a few times to show everyone his killer dance moves. We really enjoy Night Eyes and plan to make it a yearly event.

Isaac giving Curious George a hug

My boys in front of the Pirate ship

Isaac's favorite part of Night Eyes: the pedal tractors!

After Night Eyes it was off to Cici's pizza, which was extremely busy! Grandpa Erickson was ready to celebrate as we learned that Minnesota had beat Iowa in their football game that afternoon. After supper we came back home & watched ISU dominate in their game against Texas Tech. So we were all very happy that evening!

Headed out around the neighborhood

Done with the 1st house

Sunday night was Beggars Night in Indianola so we dressed the kids up again & went out around the neighborhood. Believe it or not but this is actually the first year we've done this. Every other year it's been too cold or we've had small babies that wouldn't get to eat the candy anyway. We went for an hour & only got down one street & our cul-de-sac. Mostly because both kids were walking and as the night went on they got slower! Caleb once again milked all his cuteness for all the candy he could get. At many houses he walked away with 2-3 handfuls of candy & only stopped because I told him no more! Once again the pacifier was in his mouth! I think Isaac really enjoyed going to our neighbors & trick-or-treating.

Omaha- A trip down memory lane

On Saturday before we headed back home we headed west to see where Zach lived from 4th-6th grade. First we saw the Country Club where his dad was superintendent. How interesting that the golf course is still there but it is completely run down. It's not open for business & the fairways & holes have been allowed to grow freely. It was a little sad.

The club house

The pool where Zach spent a lot of time

After seeing the golf course we drove by the house that Zach's family lived in. Not much had changed except the colors. Zach was impressed to see the basketball hoop still up in the driveway. He told me he spent many hours on that court!

Finally we drove by the elementary school & the middle school that Zach attended. A lot of the area is commercialized now and looked completely different. It was still fun to go back & see.

Omaha- Henry Doorly Zoo

On Friday we took in the Henry Doorly Zoo. We got there shortly after it opened & we ended up staying until a half hour before it closed. We really enjoy the monkeys & apes. In the ape exhibit there was a informational sign saying that the male apes often charge the glass windows not because they are angry but because they want to scare the zoo goers. We witnessed this & had we not read the sign already, we would have been pretty frightened. Isaac & Caleb loved the monkeys & the apes. Caleb fell asleep in the desert dome

Isaac & daddy in front of the monkeys Isaac & Caleb (after waking up) looking at the big ape

Another favorite was the aquarium. Inside the aquarium is a tunnel where you walk underneath all the fish, sharks, turtles, etc. Zach got some very cool pictures.

Isaac loved the lions, tigers, & bears (the Roar's, as he calls them). We were going to check them out in the morning but lunch crept up on us too quickly so after the aquarium we took the train across the zoo, walked up some MAJOR hills to get to the exhibit, then walked back to the train and finished our tour of the rest of the zoo. By the time we finished the train, both boys were tuckered out & ready to leave.

Daddy & Caleb on the train

Mommy & Isaac on the train

Mommy & her boys waiting for the train to come back.

Omaha-Children's Museum

We went to Omaha August 18-20th to take in the Children's Museum & the zoo. We also took a drive down memory lane as Zach spent a couple years living there as a child.

We drove into town on Thursday afternoon & took in the museum first. The first thing we did was play in the toddler play ground. There was a playhouse, firehouse, a big fire engine, a place to play in some water, & a mini grocery store where kids could pick out their food & then scan it at a checkout. Isaac immediately sat in the big John Deere tractor. Then they moved over to the fire engine. Caleb, immediately found the water & would not be moved.

Isaac & Caleb in the John Deere tractor

Caleb's 1st choice to play: the water

Isaac in the fire engine all dressed up!

Daddy & his boys

Eventually both boys found the mini grocery store & had fun shopping & scanning their items. Caleb loved throwing food in his own cart & in other strangers carts too.

Both boys loading their carts

Caleb loved the Manwich cans. He emptied the shelf into his cart.

Isaac in the dairy aisle
Caleb needed some more food

Off to the check out

Yummy carrot!

After we were done in the playground we headed over to a room with balls. There were all sorts of tubes running throughout the room & when you stuck your ball into a tube it would shoot up through the tubes to the container in the middle of the ceiling. Every so often the container would drop all the balls out onto the floor again & the kids got to do it all over again. Isaac loved putting his ball in all the holes but Caleb just loved throwing the balls everywhere. He was extremely disappointed when all the balls were in the middle & hadn't been released yet!

Isaac watching his ball go through the tube & into the middle
Isaac waiting for the balls to be released again

Caleb decided not to wait on the balls to drop again & found something else to play with

The final thing we did at the Children's Museum was to see the dinosaur exhibit. When we walked in Isaac got scared & wouldn't move. Zach told him the dinosaurs weren't real but Isaac said "yes they are". We finally convinced him to go in & he had a blast! We got to dig for dinosaur bones in the sand which was pretty cool! Outside the exhibit was a play area with slides and such for kids to play on as well.

The dinosaur that Isaac thought was real!
Digging for fossils

Isaac sliding down the elephant

Caleb in the eye of an alligator, ready to crawl out!