Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

For Father's Day this year we started our tour of all the baseball parks. Our goal is to go to at least one each year. This year's trip was to Wrigley Field in Chicago with a Reds v. Cubs game in August.



This one is a little better... at least part of the sign made it into the picture!




True to form, we dressed for a hot August day and froze our tails off! I'll never understand Wrigley weather.




And the Reds win!


Our exhausted crew on the way to Grandma and Papa's :) Love how Ben threw Raffey over his face!

The Avengers + Elmo

Halloween was chilly and rainy this year, but the boys still managed to make it out trick-or-treating. Jake went for the first time and quickly got the hang of it :) He was excited about being Elmo this year, and the only one of the three to pick his costume and stick with it. Ben and Matt went back and forth for weeks before we finally nailed them down on Hulk and Iron Man. They had a blast being superheroes!











Big thanks to Grandma, Papa, and Gammy for helping out this year!

Ho Ho Ho!

Ahhh, yes, it's that time of year. Time for the Wetzel family picture with Santa :) Aside from 2007 when they were too little to protest, I think Shawn and I have been in the picture with Santa EVERY YEAR SINCE. This year, though, we are so very proud of Ben for sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what he wanted for Christmas. Shawn and I got to see glimpses of it through the other two children clinging to us and Jake's "No Santa, NO SANTA!".

My How You Have Grown

5 years ago this evening we learned that tomorrow was the big day. The 9 weeks of bedrest were over, the 8 months of being pregnant with twins was over, and Oct. 4 would be when we got to meet our little boys. Hard to believe 5 years have gone by since then. They were so tiny when they were born and now I can barely pick them up. I'm not entirely unsure Ben won't be taller than me in the next couple years. They are the most amazing little boys and we're so excited to wish them a very happy 5th birthday!

Ben, I love the passion you bring to life. When you feel a certain way, it radiates throughout you. Your excitement is contagious and your creativity inspiring. We can often find you lost in a book, working on an art project, or running through the house dressed up and in the middle of your own little superhero world. We love you so much!

Matt, your determination and perseverance inspire me and remind me not to give up too easily. I am so impressed that you have learned how to snap your fingers and how you stuck with it until you got it. You've never met a ball you didn't like, and it's exciting to see you really excel in soccer this year. I love how observant you are and how tapped in to other people you can be. You always seem to know just when I need a hug and your hugs are the best! Love you!

Jake Inhales His First Coney

Um, Jake......you've got a thing......right there....no on the left......no your left.

He Did It

I'll be honest. I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'm pretty sure Jake is trying to convince me its Duncan's fault.

My, what big feet you have my dear!

We All Scream For Ice Cream!

In July, we took Jake to get his first ice cream cone.




And he loved it!





He did pretty well with it too - who do you think was the messiest? :)

New Car Seats

This is another one that got lost in the shuffle last spring... Jake's move to a front-facing car seat and Ben's move to a booster seat with a seat belt. As you can probably guess, Jake LOVED being forward-facing, and in the video picks right up on what his brothers like to do in the car - read!

Threshing Bee

When we were in Rochelle in August, we all ventured to our first Threshing Bee (a fair of sorts to commemorate harvesting grain?)

There were huge piles of straw the kids had fun playing in...







...steam-powered machines...







...and fun things to ride on!

Cousins are a Blast!

Between a weekend back in Rochelle and a visit from Mike, Shannon, Audrey, and Tommy, the boys got lots of playtime with their cousins this past month. They had so much fun together. Matt said recently, "I'm going to marry Audrey because she's my favorite girl!"

Dance Moves!

Jake shows off his new dance moves!

1st Day of School

Matt and Ben started their first day at St. Ursula Villa on Aug. 22. Now that they have their first full week under their belt, they really seem to be liking it. They've made some new friends, really enjoy their specials (art, library, etc...), and are super-excited about their superhero lunchboxes :)

You don't mind if I crash in your room, do you?

We woke up this past Thursday morning to find Matthew asleep on our floor. Not sure when during the night he came in... or how many trips he made to bring most of his bed with him :)

Catching Up - Take Two

Yes, that would be snow... the one and only snow we got last winter! Not even enough in most years to justify the putting on of all the snow gear and playing in it. But this past winter, we went all out and had a lot of fun in it!



Jake didn't want to be left out of all the fun!