SNOW DAY!

It's that time of year...where I get so behind...but these are too cute to not post...so I'll catch up sometime...

It's a SNOW DAY! After some crazy storms overnight with rain, lightning, hail, sleet and finally snow, the boys woke up to a snow day! They were sad at first to miss their last day of school before winter break, but they got over that pretty quickly. Then it was time to PLAY!

Look at Drew!!

Hopefully the video works...Drew can ride his bike! BIG NEWS!!

He wasn't totally left out...

Drew wasn't completely left out of the grandparent time! They were able to watch him at soccer practice one evening and went to school one afternoon for lunch, to meet his teacher, and see his classroom. He loved it!

And, of course, Nana comes to town with fun presents from her travels. This time it was gifts from Grand Central Station in New York City! Both boys got subway trains they can use on their wooden tracks. Plus Legos specific to NYC (the Statue of Liberty and a yellow taxi) as well as books about NYC and trains in general. They were so excited!

I Am A Robot...I Am A Robot...

For MONTHS Allen collected items to build a robot. And by collected I mean he literally dug through our recycle bin pulling out random items saying "This would be perfect for my robot!" and then taking said item and stashing it away. When Nana & Grandaddy came to visit, we (meaning I) decided it was a good time to build his robot. They finished it and he is awesome! Now if I could only figure out where to put the darn thing...

Happy Birthday Allen!

Oh how time does get away from me...

Our younger son...you know, the one that is full of life, energy, and the pursuit of all things fun? Yes, Allen. He turned FIVE this month. It is so hard to believe! In some ways, as a stay-at-home mom, you feel this day will never come. That your children are perpetually toddlers and not growing up. At all. But then you blink and your youngest child is 5 years old. I mean, he's practically a teenager!

We celebrated Allen's birthday a few days early at a "bouncy place" where he and his friends could run and jump to their hearts' content. It was wonderful and they all had a great time. We lucked out and had a party hostess who actually did her job. She helped me with the room set-up and decorating, she played with the kids (including manning the zip line...I do dislike that job!), and she was there throughout the entire party. It really made for a much more relaxing time for us! Allen chose Jake and the Neverland Pirates as his party theme and requested a Bucky cake. Bucky, for those of you not embedded in Disney Junior, is Jake and his crew's ship. Mommy & Daddy came through again with the dream cake. And I promptly told Allen next year either needed to be a more basic theme or it would be store-bought!!

On the morning of Allen's big day, he awoke to the one present he had asked his Grandaddy for...his Nana & Grandaddy at his house! They arrived late the night before and were waiting for him when he woke up that morning. He was so excited! I was thankful my parents' travel schedule allowed for the surprise visit. But I warned them they have set a very dangerous precedent in fulfilling crazy birthday wishes! Allen had school that afternoon and took cupcakes to his friends. That evening we had dinner at his favorite pizza place and then finally cut into Bucky. It was a good day to be FIVE!

That grin...the one that shows sheer joy and happiness? That one made all the hours of work worth it!

Trying to get a group photo...crazy kids!





The other "one thing" he asked his Grandaddy for...the Lego Star Wars Pod Racers

It's super handy to have a big brother who can read!

"Mommy! You got it?!"

An Audi Shop...for the self-proclaimed "Audi Fan"

Total shock and happiness combined into one!

The completed Pod Racers!

"Mommy I'm going to have a real Audi R8 when I grow up!" OK sweetie...as long as it's on your own dime!

Happy Birthday Little Man! We love you so much and we can't wait to see what the next year brings for you!!

Bread Recipe

Walking home from school the other day, we passed a neighbor's garden full of various plants, fruits and vegetables. Allen exclaimed "We need to have a garden next year! We can grown lots of foods. And then we can make our own bread!". When I asked him how to make bread, he said: "Well, we need wheat, eggs, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes and syrup!"
I'm not sure how I feel about that bread recipe...

Oh...that's just Allen...

{tthhhhbbbbbtttttt....}
"Allen, was that your mouth or your bottom?"
{giggle} "That was my mouth! My mouth fahted!"
{thbbttt...}
"There it is again!"
{thbbttt...}
"That's another one!"
{lots of giggles}
"My mouth can't stop fahting!"
{more giggles...lots more giggles}

Up Up and Away!

I love this time of year...the temperatures are finally starting to cool off and the changes in weather allow for hot air balloon flights around town! It is so fun to look out our back windows and see balloons flying high!

Go Vols!

Last Friday we all wore our Orange to support the Vols...even though we are far from Tennessee!

GO BIG ORANGE!!

It's Allen's Turn!!

Allen finally got his turn at back-to-school this week with the start of Pre-Kindergarten! He was so excited and so ready to be back in school. He has the same teacher Drew had when we moved here in early 2011. Allen was excited to finally be in the Pre-K class with the big kids of the school! He has class 4 half days each week and does extended care on 2 days as well. He wants to go full-time like Kindergarten. I told him he has plenty of time for full-time school...a couple of decades at least!

The best thing...

...about a big brother who can read? Having him read your favorite stories to you any time!

Tee Ball!

This summer, Allen joined the world of organized sports with his first tee ball season! He had a blast playing "his" new sport...except when the temps got above 100 degrees...then he was much more interested in sitting and drinking out of his water bottle! He made new friends and enjoyed spending time with kids his own age with the focus on them and not their siblings. He was led by the awesome Coach Brad who also coached Drew's team this year. That made Allen feel that much bigger! Patrick was an assistant coach and it was fun to see him in that role and back on the baseball field where he spent so much time as a kid. It was a great experience all the way around.

Legoland Discovery Center

The Legoland Discovery Center in KC opened in May to serious fanfare...and insane crowds! We tried to visit twice over the summer only to turn away at the sight of the lines down the sidewalk and around the corner just to get inside. Thankfully the crowds have started to die down and we were able to visit a couple of weeks ago. The trick is to go late in the evening...the last admission is 2 hours prior to closing and the place was virtually empty! It's a decent attraction - nothing to jump up and down about but a fun diversion every now and then. The boys enjoyed the two rides and building the Lego racers. Patrick and I thought the scale models of KC landmarks were very impressive! There is a 4D movie theater that shows multiple movies so we can see something different each time. And there is a room where you can build a mini-set with a Master Builder and then buy the set to take home. We passed on the build this trip but will do it on another outing for sure. It was a good adventure and the perfect family evening to close out the summer!