Happy Birthday Allen!

Yesterday was Allen's 4th Birthday! It's hard to believe he is already 4. The years have really flown by. Granted, we have lived in 3 different states since he was born so that tends to speed up the passing time. For his birthday, Allen got to pick everything - from breakfast through bedtime. We started the day with cinnamon rolls and smoothies. Relatively healthy, right? Then we were off to World's of Fun. The weather has been amazing and it thankfully continued the trend through this weekend. The boys enjoyed the day outdoors and had a good time riding rides and exploring the park. Camp Snoopy was a big hit - we spent most of the day there. It's a really good "kids' area" and we reminded the boys that soon they would be too big for that kind of stuff so we should take advantage of it now. They agreed and had a great time!

Drew & Pirate Snoopy

Allen wasn't a fan of the big Snoopy...so he found one more his size!

Their first ride of the day...

...of course it was a train!!

They absolutely loved this little roller coaster! Especially sitting in the back row where it went faster!

They rode it twice in a row and would have kept going if we hadn't made them get off!

Monster trucks!

Another twice in a row ride...they giggled and laughed so hard!

Both boys crashed in the car on the way home but were quick to wake up when we stopped for dinner. Allen's request? Greek food...the boy can put away the pitas and hummus! They came out and sang to him in Greek. He was embarrassed but loved the "Opa!" at the end! We stopped and picked up cupcakes on the way home...just to round out a day of birthday eating on a high note! :)

For Allen's birthday party, we had a few friends over last weekend for a cookout. The kids had a great time running around the backyard, playing soccer and tag, and enjoying the great evening. The parents were even able to relax and talk which was nice! It was very low-keyed and laid back and was a great celebration. Allen chose a train theme and Patrick (home from a 2-week, 3-country trip for less than 36 hours) decorated the cake and it turned out great, as usual!

Another awesome cake by Patrick!

Allen definitely approved!

The Birthday Boy!

He got a little shy at all the attention...

The obligatory blowing out the candle photo

The cake was a chocolate pound cake - the recipe came from my grandmother. Paired with homemade buttercream frosting, it was great!

Allen got fun gifts - he loved every single one of them!

And he really has priceless responses to presents!

The best of a dozen attempts at a family photo...

It worked out that Grandma and Grandpa were in town the weekend of Allen's party. Somehow I didn't get a picture of them with the birthday boy...but they were there! (and enjoyed the cake too!)

Happy 4th Birthday to our little man. You are a joy to be around...a bundle of energy balanced with plenty of love to share. You talk a mile a minute around us but act shy around others...we're not sure why! You bring a level of excitement to everything you do. You love Maddie and give her lots of love and attention...even when she might not want it! You miss your brother, Drew, when he is at school and are always ready to play when he gets home. You love your school and wish you could go every day. I will remind you of that one day! Mommy and Daddy love you very much and we are so blessed to have you in our lives. We definitely cannot imagine a world without Allen!!

an average conversation with Allen...

On the way to soccer tonight, Allen and I had the following conversation...

Allen:  "Is Daddy on his way home now?"

Mommy:  "No, not until Friday."

Allen:  "Where is he?"

Mommy:  "England"

Allen:  "What is that?"

Mommy:  "It's a different country - across the ocean."

Allen:  "Oh.  I thought he was in a pool."

Mommy:  ...pause... "Oh! He is in Liverpool. It's a city in England."

Allen:  "That's what I thought. Is he swimming?"

Mommy:  "What?"

Allen:  "Is he swimming in that pool?"

Mommy:  giggle giggle... "No buddy...there's not really a pool there!"

 
I love how his brain works!!

A little soccer...

Both boys have started soccer this fall. We decided to put them in a "class" setting where they can learn the basics and get an idea of whether they like the sport before pursuing a real team setting. Allen's class is strictly "games" (drills) and he absolutely loves it. Drew does his drills the first half and then they scrimmage the second half. He is enjoying the drills but doesn't care much for the scrimmage yet. He doesn't "get it" yet - he just wants to score. He hasn't grasped the fact that defense is part of it or that passing it off is part too. So we'll see how it goes!
My pictures didn't turn out great this week...I'll have to take the real camera with the big flash next week and see if I can do better!

"Drew"

For school, Drew had to make...well, himself. It turned out pretty cute! He requested the bow tie...he said it made him look "grown up"!

An early surprise...

On Sunday, Patrick decided it was time to get Drew a new bike. We had over-discussed various aspects of this decision so my husband decided it was just time to get one. We went to a bike store to have him fitted as we knew he was between sizes and we didn't want one too large to manage or too small to be comfortable. They picked out a 20" with a slanted crossbar so he can touch the ground without getting off the bike. He also picked out a new helmet...because my children have big heads and keep outgrowing headgear! We spent some time that afternoon on the field at school practicing balance to get ready for the big step onto concrete. The bike is officially his birthday present (although his birthday isn't for 8 weeks!) so I promised him I would wrap up a picture of him on the bike for his present that day! :)

Just Because...

Saturday we spent a day out as a family...just because... We drove to a "train park" up near the airport (nothing like the one we had in Scottsdale, but a train to ride all the same!), had lunch at a hip, downtown burger joint, spent some time at Union Station, and drove home in a monsoon. It was a great day and we had fun just being spontaneous and letting the day lead us. We don't do that very often...I don't know why because it usually works out pretty darn well!

Ready for a train ride!

Our little engine

Love my boys!

"It's a real live steam engine bell and headlight!!"

This guy was in the shed but was so cool...

Making music at Science City

He has an electric personality...

Making fog/clouds

It's a police chopper...should I worry?!

Pull!

Help a brother out!

Back to School II

Today Allen finally got his Back to School day! He was so excited this morning to start back to preschool! He has a great teacher, Ms. Chris, and a few friends from his class last year. He already met some new friends last week at Open House and was ready to start playing with them today! I have honestly never seen a little boy so excited to get into his classroom and say goodbye to his Mommy. He was beyond ready for this day!

Love these...

I'll post more from Nana & Grandaddy's latest visit, but for now I had to get these two out there. Love these pictures! And their subjects, for that matter...

Colorado...The End...

We finished up our very busy trip to Colorado with the boys and their grandparents spending some time at the Colorado Railroad Museum. This has become a "must-do" on our trip every year. This year, Grandpa bought a family pass so if (when) we make it back before next summer, they can go again!

After their fun morning, Patrick and I took the boys into Golden for lunch and to tour Coors. Lunch was great. The tour didn't happen. Did you know people wait for hours to go in the brewery on the weekends? We know that now. And we didn't wait. So I went to get a pedicure and Patrick took his mom laptop shopping. Grandpa had grandson duty. Unfortunately, not long after we left there was some major excitement next door to their house. The neighbors' back deck, and subsequently their home, caught fire. The boys had a front row view of multiple fire trucks and firemen doing their jobs very well. They even babysat the dogs that were initially trapped in the house but thankfully survived without injury. We spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening helping with whatever was needed, including Patrick going into the house to help salvage what they could get once the fire was out. It was a sad sight, but thankfully no one was hurt and, as they kept saying, "stuff can be replaced".

In the midst of the chaos I managed to pack our stuff and load the car. We left early on Sunday morning for the drive home. The boys did great and we made it back to Maddie relatively quickly. It was a long trip but a great one!

Some photos from the train museum: