Silver Dollar City!

We went to Silver Dollar City the past weekend with some friends and had such a great time! It's nice to just get away for a weekend sometimes! Conner LOVES the rides!

A serious competion of checkers

Me and my boys

Okay, don't laugh, but those frogs really jumped high! I can't imagine what my face looked like every time it leaped and I am thankful that Chris didn't catch it on camera!

The boys even got a little ride, too. Isn't it sweet of us wives to watch the kids so they can play? (Those of you who know me very well know I wouldn't be caught dead on something like that!)

Happy Easter From The King's

Okay...so how long has it been since I last did a blog update?!!! Was Gage even born yet?? Let's not get into too many statistics just yet. I'll just try to update you all on things. As always, things are super busy. The only reason I am able to even post this is because the boys are BOTH taking a late nap. I know I will regret the lateness later tonight, but I am basking in the greatness of free time right now.

Some fun things in our life:

-Easter is almost here and Conner keeps getting into my Easter drawer in the basement and saying "Yep, the Easter stuff is still here, Mom." (i think it's a hint). I am trying to get the point across that Easter is not about bunnies, eggs, and cute little duckies, but I also have to remember I have a 3-yr-old and 8-mo-old and these concepts are hard to grasp...but I'm still going to try!!

-It's been so nice outside!!!! We love working in the flower garden and Conner's been discing away on our veggie garden...it's going to be so fun to start planting everything!!

-We are already thinking about our little family vacation (with all the Brunk's) to Branson...it's all the way in July!!! We are really needing to pace ourselves.

-I swear I heard Gage say ";alskdjf;alkjsdfa;dlkfjNER" this morning (which of course means Conner to a proud momma)

-Conner is starting letter recognition and is doing great every day!!

-Chris and I are taking Dave Ramsey classes at our church so for Christmas you can get us some rice and beans, beans and rice. Someday we will live like no one else lives.

Some not-so-fun things:

-Conner had his first couple of cavities. He did great, though and we now LOVE our dentist in KC!!! He was awesome and very highly recommended!

-We have a really busy weekend because I evidentally like to sign up for everything under the sun...pray that we get through this!!!!

Here are a few pictures I took of the boys the other day. I thought they turned out pretty cute!

New News From the King's!

We haven't blogged for quite some time, so I figured we were due for an update on our two little boys. Our biggest new: Gage can roll over!! Our somewhat disappointing news: He's only done it four times...and still hasn't shown off to his Dad!!!! Our challenging news: Conner is in the process of being potty trained. UGH!!!!! How in the world do parents and children everywhere get through this?? Conner is doing really good...he has only had two accidents in two days. But, we have run into a little problem. He is only very consistent when he has no pants on. So, unless you want to see us running around Walmart with a half naked boy, we have to figure something out! Here are some recent pictures. Say a prayer or two this week for my patience (and sanity) and Conner's willingness to finally be out of diapers!!!!! We are having a big potty party at House of Bounce when we go a whole day of being dry!!! I will fill you in later...hopefully with pictures of the much anticipated party.

Chris got his Christmas present early and Conner loves it!! Don't bother asking what it is...it has to do with duck hunting....our family's passion in life right now. ;)

Branson Vacation

We haven't taken a family vacation for a LONG time, so we decided to go to Branson this past weekend! We had a BLAST!!! Although we were a little worried about Gage+the long car ride, we packed up the good ole van and headed south. Gage did really well and Conner had so much fun everywhere we went...I think the vacation was mainly pointed toward things Conner liked to do and things Gage liked watching Conner do. (That is basically how we spend every day...Conner being busy and Gage watching wishing he could do the things his big brother does.) Don't grow up too fast, Gage!! Here are so pics of our fun trip:

Picking out the very best pumpkin with Dad

One of my favorite pumpkins!

...And the other one!

Riding on the hayrack ride...Conner was super excited that we rode behind an Allis Chalmers tractor...he couldn't wait to get back home to tell Grandpa!

My sweet, happy boy

Waving from the TALL, TALL slide!

I must say, out of all the fun stuff we did and all the places we have gone, my favorite moments are moments like these. The moments where you stop after a long day, lay down on an unmade, messy hotel bed and watch your little ones play together...no toys, no fancy distractions, just the two of them having fun together. I also love how Gage had to crank his neck way around just to watch what Conner is doing. (after these pictures i did turn him around so he could see conner better...i'm not a mean mom!!)

So, it's been an interesting three months. I have realized that adding just one member to the family makes things much more...well....interesting!! We have all been having a ball with our little Gage and he is starting to do those fun things like giggle, smile, and say "Goo" to everything he thinks is fun. We are still trying to get that nap thing down (he enjoys taking five 10-minute naps every day). Chris and I don't really want to mess with that too much, though because he does sleep all the way through the night and we don't really want to give that up!! Here are a few recent pictures of the boys....

What a ham!!

Gage and I each have jobs to help Conner farm every day. Gage usually gets to drive the tractor and I drive the semi truck. Conner is always in charge of the combining. I wonder what will happen when Gage actually has a preference and voice in things?!!!

My sweet, smiling boy

The best picture I have of them and they are on a wrinkled, un-made bed....perfect example of our lives...sometimes messy, but always fun!

I almost forgot about our other addition....Conner's new kitty cat, Oreo!!

Okay, so I'm feeling bad for not updating my little blog for a really long time. At first, I think to myself "You have kids...there's no time to keep everyone informed on what's going on in their lives." Then I look at my friend's pages who have kids and they have like a million posts (thanks, jill). So, if they can do it, I should too...right? (we'll see if i make it through this post without my baby waking up, though) So, before he does wake up, I'll post my pictures (because that's all anyone really wants to see, right?) and get out of here. Gage is now a whopping 15 lbs and 24 inches long at 2 months. (that would be the 95th percentile) Yikes! Here are some recent pictures of the "little" guy who is desperately trying to catch up with Conner...

Don't you love when they first start to smile?!!!

Laughing?...in a funny looking way (still makes me smile)

Lift that head up!!! One of Gage's favorite things to do.

Sleeping on Dadda while Conner and Addy rode rides at Kiddie Land..I love that little belly sticking out like it does in every shirt that isn't a onesie.

Our New Addition

Well, we now need to figure out a new title for our blog because there are four of us now! Gage Timothy was born on Tuesday, July 7th at 11:35 a.m. My c-section went fine...minus the fact that they couldn't get the spinal in and had to do it twice. *ouch* I won't even try to describe the pain because the end result is this...
Conner is doing great and is going to be the best big brother! He loves talking to Gage, but can't really understand why Gage doesn't talk back to him ("He's not listening to me.") and why Gage can't play with him. The playing with him isn't that big of a deal to him because Conner has gotten to play with Gage's tractor Grandpa bought him ever since we got home....Gage did tell Conner it was okay for him to play with it. So, my new little helper helps me pick up things off the floor (I still can't quite get down that far), pours the formula in bottles, "changes" diapers, and explains to Gage how to fish, farm, and talk Mom and Dad into going outside.
We are so happy to be home and are fitting into our life as a family of four pretty well. Gage is sleeping three to four hours at a time (I know, we're a little spoiled) and we hope that keeps up for a while!! We already can't imagine our lives without our Baby Gage and thank everyone for their prayers. We are truly blessed beyond words.