Birthdays

On my birthday Mom, Dad, Josh, Kendra, Lydia, and Kurt joined us for church and spent the afternoon enjoying fiesta, Prince Caspian, and chocolate cake (which Ben REALLY liked!)

On the following Tuesday, me and the boys headed for St. Charles for some much needed Grandma and Grandpa bonding time. They decided to invite everyone over for pizza and cake to celebrate Luke's birthday.

There was a certain theme to the evening. Luke got a storm trooper outfit...

A Star Wars tent (spaceship)...

And a blaster to complete all Luke's Star Wars needs.

Ben was more than content to get in a lot of Paw Paw cuddling.

And we talked to Daddy before bed cause we were sad he couldn't travel with us.

The baby doll spent a lot of time with Ben while we were visiting. Apparently he doesn't see a lot of them at his house.

Jenny and Adam Kader

We had a wonderful anniversary. Mom and Dad, Chad and Erin, and Scott and I were able to attend Adam Kader's wedding. It was at a beautiful Catholic church in Chicago and the reception was on the 66th floor of the Sears (Willis) Tower. Mary Ann even had the DJ dedicate a song to Scott and I for our 6th anniversary. It was very sweet. We had a great time!

Playing Outside

The Luke and Ben Show

Life has cranked into high gear and we just keep going and going. Lately we've been filling our days and nights being entertained by our sons. Here's a look at what we've been up to.
With the colder weather we decided to get out our old coats to see who would need new ones. Consistent with the fact that our boys are squirts, they both fit into their coats from last winter.

Here's Ben lounging in his coat while still in his pjs.

Daddy came up with a truck rolling game in the hallway.

Tickle, tickle, Luke!

Ready, Set, Go!

Yes, those are his pajama pants.

Me and the boys traveled to Wisconsin for Grandpa J's birthday. We had a great day relaxing with the family. Right before bed Luke and Uncle Ben did some football training.

Um, facemask, Uncle Ben!

The boys also got to sit and watch movies with their cousins, Emma and Maddie.

This is the damage Ben can do with an oreo.

Digging for rocks

The crew.

Too cute for the construction site if you ask me.

Luke and Daddy's football lessons.

And our favorite Storm Trooper Bobble Head!

Luke's Wa Wa Park Party

The hotel we were at for Jenny's wedding had a waterpark so Sunday morning Luke and his uncles and "aunt" and cousins got to play around for a couple of hours.

Luke loved floating in the lazy river with Scott. He especially liked the whirlpool in the middle.

And all Maddie wanted was to relax in the kids' hot tub with her dad.

Then we all decesended on Grandma and Grandpa Bickel's house. The grandkids and great grands headed straight for the channel.

Uncle Kurt helped Luke try to catch some fish.

Aunts and Uncles, Nieces and Nephews, everyone loves being by the channel.

Luke got to celebrate his birthday with all kinds of family around. So we ate some pizza and then opened presents.

This is the next book in Luke's collection of Narina. He loves hearing the lion books and now he'll get to watch the second movie!

"Thank You"

Aunt Kendra outdid herself and got Luke the ultimate gift...a storm trooper helmet.

It went well with his Star Wars cake. (complete with star candles...thank you Grandma!)

There's Luke Trooper

And Daddy Trooper

And Brother Trooper

And even Grandpa Trooper (doesn't his mom look proud!)

The boys headed for the front yard to play some wiffle ball. Even Great Grandpa got a few swings in. Apparently this shot was just before Grandpa hit a line drive at Chad's head. Go Grandpa!

The playing field.

And Ben and Luke on defense (which is a new word in his vocab, thanks to coaches/uncles!)

One of the coolest things about the evening was Luke got to celebrate a birthday with 3 of his great grandparents (and an adopted Great Grandma!). It's a lot of fun to watch these generations interact with each other.

And my personal favorite....

Great Grandpa Trooper!

Jenny's wedding

Labor Day Weekend was filled with a trip to Michigan to celebrate a wedding for my cousin Jenny. It was a great way to spend my last "free" weekend until May. The ceremony was beautiful. Afterwards we went and checked into our hotel. The whole fam managed to fit into three hotel rooms and we spent the afternoon relaxing.

"Go Mizzou!"

Scott trying to teach Ben the finer points of Missouri football.

The Bens doing a little Cha Cha

Cheese!

Hard to believe their mothers used to dress them in matching outfits!

Thanks go to Lydia for giving us a kid free end to the evening. We actually got to enjoy some time on the dance floor without crying boys. Josh even got in on the action!

Maddie doing the Cha Cha

Lilly chillin with Grandpa

Uncle Ben and the future Aunt Christina

Luke insisted on drinking everything out of his coffee cup. And we had to clink glasses everytime he took a drink.

And Emma needed to use the champagne glass (don't worry it's just sugar water)

The wedding reception was very kid friendly, which we loved. And the open bar made it very grown up friendly too! Thanks for a great time, Jenny and Alan! Blessings on your future together!