Cousins, Courage, and Corn

Recently, we had the privilege of watching our nephews. It happened to fall on the same weekend as the well-known 'Tiffinfest'. It was genius timing! Tiffinfest is held in the park next to where we live. They had a petting zoo, a man making balloon animals and hats, a fossil dig, and much much more. In the evening there was a monster truck with a demo derby, followed by fireworks. We made 'make your own pizzas' and then Jason took the boys, sans Jude, to the Monstor Truck Rally. They LOVED it! Micah stayed up the latest yet, due to the fact that the fireworks were set off less than 200 yards from our home and we knew he'd wake up. We all had a blast! The best part, they were so tired, that the boys didn't make a peep when we put them all to bed in Micah's bunk bed.

This is my sad attempt to get all 4 boys in the picture. As you can see, it worked quite well ;) My oldest sister bought the boys matching outfits for Easter. Unfortunately it was 50degrees on Easter Sunday, so they didn't wear them. They've all gotten a lot of good out of the outfits, but hadn't worn them all together yet. Don't they look cute?!?!

Seth and Grady are a few years older than our boys, but are great with them! Seth and Micah are both good at cuddling. This picture is precious, but don't let it fool you. They were bouncing off of the walls most of the time!

This picture was taken after they all got baloon hats. Grady's was a 'lighting rod', Micah's was a crown, and Seth's was a Jester hat. The guy was really talented, and the boys loved the hats!

That's more what it life looked like those 2 days!

Switching gears a little. The other day I walked into our bedroom to find that Jude had turned over the laundry basked on our bed and had climbed up on it.

He then proceeded to stand...and then bounce up and down! This little boy is so much like his namesake, my dad, he has no fear...not even a healthy amount! This can come in handy, but not from a mother's perspective!

Once again, changing subjects...

I LOVE sweet corn. It's a symbol of Iowa summertime. Growing up on a farm, I was spoiled. Most years we had an abundance of sweet corn, and we ate to our hearts desire. Now that I'm older I know what a treat it is, and how store-bought sweet corn really does no justice. Needless to say, I was quite excited when it became apparent just how much Micah really likes corn. I think he may love it just as much as I do!

In true quirky-toddler-fashion, he insists on holding it with a paper towel, though. I'm not sure why, maybe the butter and salt get on his hands? Who knows!

Jude even chewed on the end of one ear. Don't worry, he didn't eat this whole ear. I gave him the end of mine...and I moved onto another ear ;)

"It's yummy good!"

Today the boys and I went down to my parent's house. My mom, sister, and I froze 28 quart bags and 7, 3-cup bags...that's over 7 gallons of sweet corn awaiting us in the freezer! I'm enjoying the bounty of the summer, and testing the capacity of our freezer!