Just glad it wasn't a pocket full of bugs.

Here's the contents of Aiden's pockets when he emptied them out before bathtime:
A super hero mask,
Flashlight,
Spy code reader,
Mini skateboard,
Star wars toy disc launcher,
Transformer.

Couldn't be any more boy if he tried.

The Great Midwest Balloon Fest

With all of June and July consisting of 100 degree sweltering "dog days" of summer, we've really been aching for some nice weather and some fun, outdoor activities.  This weekend we were blessed with some amazing weather- warm and dry days and crisp, cool nights.  What a welcome change!  We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go visit the Midwest Balloon Festival.  I had never been and kept seeing ads for it and people talking about it, so I was pretty excited.  I wanted to make sure we were there at dusk, so that we could be there for the Balloon Glow.  This is where all the balloons are inflated on the launch field, and they use their afterburners to illuminate the balloons.  It was really cool!  We were a little disappointed that they didn't actually launch any, but it was still a cool sight!  The boys had a good time and were really well behaved, especially considering the dense crowds and the fact that they didn't get to do a whole lot of activities because there were just too many people.  Cole settled for some face painting and time in the Arts and Crafts tent, and Aiden chose to wait in line to get to climb into real military tanks!  Overall, we had a really great evening.

Dr Cole

"you need a check up. Pwease don't touch my otoscope, it is fwagile."

My Own Personal Photographer

My dear friend, Rachel, is a disgustingly creative person and a wonderful photographer!  She has made beautiful hand crafted invitations and birth announcements for every event I've ever hosted; everyone always wants to know where I get the beautiful stationery.  Her perfectly coordinated kids' outfits, beautifully decorated home and wonderful photos are enough to make me a teensy bit jealous.  So, rather than allowing myself to get green with envy, I just hang out with her all the time so that she'll get awesome pics of my kids!  Rach, can you just follow my family everywhere and capture our life in photos?  Here's a post from her blog that yet again features our kiddos playing.  Thank you, Rach, for the wonderful photos!

                                                      http://oursweetsweetlife.blogspot.com/

A Trip to Kansas City's SeaLife Aquarium

Hey ya'll, I'm still alive!  Been taking a break from the ol' bloggity blog, but I'm back at it for your viewing pleasure.  So, the hubs and I took a few days off of work with the intention of going out of town kid-free for a night or two.  That sorta fell through, so we opted for a kids day-o-fun today, and an adults day out tomorrow.  Today, we loaded up and took the munchkins to the new aquarium experience in Kansas City called Sea Life.  Being a California girl who frequented the Monterey Bay Aquarium alot, I was curious to see what this place had to offer.  When I told the boys that we were going to the aquarium, Aiden exclaimed, "woohoo!  We're going to the beach!"  I know he remembers our trip to California when he was only 2 years old.  I had to break the news that we weren't actually going to the beach, but they were excited just the same.  The boys had a great time checking out all the sea critters, answering all the questions on their scratch off sheet and winning a prize, excavating shells and fossils from the sand table, and climbing and playing in the play gym at the end.  What a fun day!

 My cute lil' ColeCole waiting outside to get in.

                                                       Sayin hi to the fishies.

                                                                  Starfish!

Working together to get another clue for their scratch card.

                                             

 

                                                            Sting rays.

'Twas the night before Christmas

Christmas Eve began some wonderful traditions for our family.  We spent the evening at Granma, Papa, and Nana's house.  The boys enjoyed making their own homemade pizzas and snacking on Christmas goodies.  We watched Frosty the Snowman, and Granma read 'twas the night before Christmas' to Aiden.  He has always loved being read to, and he sat at rapt attention, soaking in every word.  As they do every year, the boys got to open their gifts from Nana on Christmas Eve, which always includes some new jammies and an ornament.  As we got ready to leave, they put on their new pj's and got a little surprise to take home- reindeer food!  The tag on each little tube instructed them to sprinkle the food all over the yard and then go straight to bed.  The reindeer can smell the food from 100 miles away and will come straight to your house, so you better be asleep!  We piled into the car, and the boys held tightly to their reindeer food, excited to get their job done!  When we got home, they dutifully showered the yard in the sparkly, sweet reindeer food (which appeared to be glitter, oats and sugar).

After the reindeer food was done, it was time to get the cookies ready for Santa!  We had made some sugar cookies earlier that day, and had gotten a brand new special plate from Granma, just for Santa's cookies.  They were so proud of themselves, and Aiden was very careful and particular about setting it in just the right place on the fireplace.

As soon as they had finished all of their Christmas Eve duties, they went straight to bed, trying hard to contain their excitement.  Aiden told me multiple times that day that he was so excited, and couldn't wait.  It was so sweet and fun to watch them get so excited about all the fun little things we did.  They both went to sleep easily, squeezing their eyes shut and waiting patiently for sleep to come.  Once they were asleep, Santa visited our house!

On Christmas morning, Jonny and I both woke up at 5:00 am and couldn't fall back asleep!  I think we were as excited as they were.  I just couldn't wait to see their faces.  Over an hour later, they finally started to stir.  Suddenly, Aiden popped up and the grogginess was gone when he realized it was finally Christmas morning.  We tried to get him to wait for Cole, but he ran out and yelled that Santa had come!  That got Cole moving in no time!  They were greeted by a new train table with a huge, red bow, and stockings stuffed to the brim.  Cole was literally jumping up and down in excitement.  Santa worked so hard to get Aiden THE toy of the year- a Leap Pad!  He was thrilled.  Cole, who is not so much into electronics, got a big, metal, yellow Tonka dump drunk.  He loves to pile all of his Toy Story 3 charactes in the back and drive around, just like the movie!  We opened gifts slowly and enjoyed playing with each toy as it was opened.  It was such a nice, relaxing morning. 

The rest of the day was spent at Granma's house, and Uncle Kenny, Aunt Courtney, and cousins Neely and Nolan joined us.  The day could not have been more perfect!  We all enjoyed a big brunch of sausage and egg quiche, an amazing french toast casserole, fresh fruit and mimosas.  The kids played like a dream, and the weather was sunny and gorgeous!  After gifts and playtime, everyone in the house took an amazing 2 hour nap.  Refreshed, we enjoyed a beautiful dinner and the kids just played and played.  Everyone was so relaxed and pleasant, it was the calmest holiday we've ever had with all of the kids together!  We ended the night with jammies and a  movie.  Christmas this year lived up to everything we all had hoped for!