Colton's 11th Birthday

 Colton's 11th Birthday was extra exciting because this year, he shared his birthday with his cousin Olive's baptism day so it was a busy day but with the bonus of getting to see lots of extra family for his special day!  We woke up in the morning at our house and opened presents and took some pictures.   Colton got lots of Jurassic World Dominion themed presents that he was pretty excited about.  After present opening we all got ready and got in the car for the 3 hour drive up to Rochester, MN.  We got there about lunch time and grandma helped us by picking up Colton's choice- Jimmy Johns- for lunch!  Cousins came over and we had lunch together and birthday cake and ice cream.  Uncle Mark's family even gave Colton another Jurassic World Dominion lego set that he didn't have yet and was completely thrilled about!  We spent the afternoon playing and hanging out and that night we went to Olive's baptism and spent time celebrating her and enjoying time with family!  The next day was Saturday and we got to spend the day playing and hanging out with family and even going swimming at a fun pool!  We had a great time spending the weekend in MN with family and Colton was a great sport about sharing his bday weekend!

The next weekend we had Colton's bday party.  I told Colton that we were done doing big parties after his 10th but that he could pick 2-3 friends to go do something fun with!  He invited Cason Day, Oliver Merrick, and Chase Hemesath and we went to the arcade at the B&B.  The boys blew through their arcade money WAY faster than I planned on but they all had a great time.  On the way home we picked up pizza and treats and came back to our house for dinner and donuts!  It was a fun time for Colton and his friends!

At 11 Colton continues to be completely enthralled by dinosaurs and all things Jurassic World.  He was SO excited for the new movie Jurassic World Dominion to come out this summer and had a countdown going and made decorations for "Dominion Day" and everything.  He got to go with he buddies on opening day for his friend Oliver's birthday the month before his own and was SUPER excited about it.  He said over and over that it was EPIC!  (Jon and I thought it was mediocre but we didn't tell him that :) )

Colton is incredibly smart, especially in math and spacial reasoning skills.  He is extremely good with legos and building things.  He loves legos, crafts, creating things with cardboard, snap circuits, and more.  He is learning and growing each year and learning to deal with the challenges he faces.  He is a pretty awesome kid and makes us better parents.  

FAVORITES:

Favorite Food:  Burger King Cheeseburgers (plain :) )

Favorite Treat:  Sour Patch Kids

Favorite Color:  Blue

Favorite Movie/Show:  Jurassic World Dominion, Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, Youtube Swrv (Jurassic Stuff), Youtube Jacob Federer (animals)

Favorite Book/Book Series:  Jurassic Park, I Survived books

Favorite Subject in School:  Art

When he grows up:  He wants to be an actor 

Galveston Trip June 2022

 Jon and I took advantage of our neighbor, Megan, being home from college and available to nanny again this summer and went on a quick little weekend trip to Galveston, TX.    We literally picked it based on the cheapest flight from Des Moines with a beach location but it ended up pretty fun!  We got a hotel on the beach and enjoyed many hours just reading by the pool or on the beach and cooling off in the water.  We also enjoyed going for walks along the beach in the evenings and looking out at the ocean during our dinners.  We ate at one shack right on the beach that was beautiful scenery but the food took FOREVER and was mediocre at best.  Another restaurant, Saltgrass Steakhouse, looked out over the ocean but was on the other side of the street and enclosed.  It was DELICIOUS though!  We even went a second time for lunch the next day!

We went on a dolphin watching boat tour and actually got to see several dolphins swimming around us, which was really cool!  I loved it!  We also saw an old shipwreck and the boat ride in general was pretty enjoyable.   Another day we rented a pedal golf cart thing.  It was actually kind of difficult and it was crazy hot outside but we got some exercise in and enjoyed biking down the seawall!  

It's been so fun the last two years to finally be able to take some couples trips together!  We love our kiddos but spending that time one on one is really so important and always helps us connect and feel stronger together!