{sunbeams}

i have been so impressed with nolan's sunbeam teachers.  they have the best ideas for the kids to keep them paying attention to the lesson.  there isn't a week that goes by that nolan doesn't come home with something cool like this....

the lesson was on being a good friend so they made super hero crafts.  nolan's mask says Super Friend!

i love his teachers!!  they really try hard to make church fun for these kids.  nolan is always talking about how much he loves jesus and he loves going to church.  

a few weeks ago he learned about when jesus was crucified and he came out saying, "they threw rocks at him and put nails in his hands and feet.  that is not nice mom!  we should put them in timeout!"  he was so serious when he told me this.  too cute.  he is really taking in the lessons and learning so much about our savior.  thank you teachers!!!

{doing some work}

i've been feeling slightly better, meaning that i have more good days than bad now with this pregnancy.  so i've been diving in to my refinishing furniture.  we have lived here for 4 months and i finally painted our tv stand.

i found this beauty on craigslist for $40.  a total steal.  i know you are all thinking to yourself how can i make this amazing......

with the help of annie sloan's chalk paint.  this stuff is amazing!  you don't have to sand or prime your work.  and it sticks for everything.  

isn't the difference amazing?!  i did two coats of annie sloans old white.  i bit of sanding and some new hardware.  i'm so in love with it.  

with it finally painted i feel like the living room is slowly coming together.  i've found a rug.  (just need to save up)  and i'm on the hunt to figure out what to do for drapes.  i love the feel of our room now.  with our grey walls and white accents it is so calming and relaxing to be in.  

we are in the works of finishing our kitchen.  we have a dozen different paint samples on the wall and we are half way through painting our kitchen nook.  here's a sneak peak. 

i know you can't see the different paints on the wall but the contrast will look great.  we are also putting in a back splash too.  so many fun things to help our place feel like home. 

{salem lutheran pre school}

it's official!  nolan is a big boy and has started pre school.  we found this fantastic school that nolan fell in love with.  jake took him around to different ones to help him feel comfortable and boy is he loving this school.  i think the big perk was they had a train set, just saying.

here he is in all his glory.  nolan is obsessed with green.  and we continue to cater to his love by getting him green shoes and shirts.

he has his super cool "fire backpack".  he picked it out all by himself.

and we can't leave mr. lukester out.  he got one too.  and he also thought he was going to school with nolan.

i couldn't believe how excited he was to go this year!  look, he's running to the door.  that is a far cry from last year when we did the joy school.  such improvement.  

he has his own hook for his backpack.

i know this ones a little blurry but i love his face.  he's a bit worried but still wants to go in.  i'm so glad he loves his teachers.  they are wonderful.  nolan has already shown a different side.  he is coming out of his shy little shell.  we love it!

and poor luke was so sad that he didn't get to go in with nolan.  i literally had to drag him out of the class crying.  it has gotten better.  now lukie just likes to take nolan and yell by at the door.  and he is so excited to pick nolan up every time.  he runs to him and gives him a hug.  i can't get enough of their bond and friendship.  

this is such a fun time for all of us.  nolan is learning so much and is coming home with great ideas and fun crafts that he's made.  he can write his name so well and in lower case letters.  we are so proud of his improvement and passion to learn.  and lukie can't wait to go when he's 4.  i'm so in love with these boys. 

{two cute boys}

nolan's pre school needed a picture of nolan to hang up in their class room.  i decided to take a new one of him "hopefully" smiling.  turns out that nolan does know how to give us a cute smile every now and again.  this is how the pic turned out. (know that i am not a photographer nor do i care how bad my pictures are)

i thought the picture turned out so cute.  nolan is such a sweet little boy and is really coming in to his own.

since nolan was getting his picture lukie asked to take his.  i wish i would have taken the time to put the sippy down, wipe his face, and make him smile.  maybe next time.

such a goober.

{taste of peoria}

we didn't do much this summer but we did manage to hit taste of peoria.  it was so much fun!  we went down to the riverfront and they had all the different restaurants around peoria giving small portions of their meals.  this is a super cheap way to get a small taste of different types of food.  

when we first walked in there was a fun fountain that the boys got in to later.

i seriously have some handsome men in my life.  

lukie was entertained by the games that we didn't pay for.

nolan got a balloon airplane made.  luke wasn't able to get one because you have to be 3.  maybe next year buddy.

the night was so much fun.  i had the best pulled pork sandwhich.  jake got some yummy ribs.  the boys ate a mini cheeseburger with fries.  and we topped it off with some delicious smoothies since it was so hot!!!!  

after we ate the boys ran around in the fountain but of course i hadn't charged the battery and i wasn't able to document their enjoyment.  hopefully we can relive this tradition next year, that is if jake isn't too busy.

{life flight}

jake was scheduled to do a life flight rotation for his emergency medicine training.  only ED residents get this opportunity.  jake was pretty stoked about it.  he worked in this helicopter for two weeks.  they were called to some pretty crazy accidents.  jake even came home with some serious blood on his uniform.  it was great training for him and he learned so much.  i, however, i didn't love that he was flying around in a very small aircraft. 

all of the crew that jake worked with were nice enough to let us come down and check out the choppers.  the boys were so excited.  nolan didn't even know what to think.

the boys got to climb in the helicopter and look around.  

not the best picture but lukie sat in the front controlling the aircraft.  

while lukie was still sitting in the helicopter nolan wanted to check out the entire machine.  he was so concerned that the helicopter was going to start and take off.  he is pretty scared of loud noises.  so he very hesitantly walked around the chopper with daddy.

a sorry attempt of a family picture.  luke decided to hide while we took it.  he is in there.

thanks daddy for letting us come and visit you at work.  we are so lucky to have jake working so hard for us.  he is learning so much here in peoria.  we are so lucky!

{summer has come and gone}

summer really slipped by us this year.  me being sick didn't help with the boys living it up.  i will have to make up for it next year.  because of me not being able to do much we did a lot of this....

the boys spent hours running through the sprinkler.  and with it being 100 degrees pretty much the whole month of july i was totally fine letting them waste the day away.

nolan likes to sport the underwear look.  he looks so old in this picture to me.  

even though i was totally a bum this summer the boys were good to me and let me sit there without any complaint.

i still can't believe we are going to have another one of these crazies.  i know he'll be just as handsome as the other two.