Camping at Indian Cave State Park

Will, Grant and Gage

Hannah, Emma and Will

We took the kids camping last weekend with some other friends who have campers. It was Max's first experience in the camper and since I forgot the pack-n-play, it did not go as well as planned. There were no naps and the only way he went to sleep at night was if I laid with him until he fell asleep. I then barricaded the bed with stuff so he couldn't roll off! He can't walk so I held him a lot since I couldn't put him down outside. He also went on a lot of stroller rides and red car rides.

Jack, Will and Hannah had a blast and of course never want to leave. They all had someone to play with, slingshots to shoot and bikes to ride. We brought a little pool and they had a great time soaking each other. It was HOT so the water came in handy. We also drove around to find the cave. Jack was excited because he thought he was going to uncover ancient ruins but was disappointed when we arrived at the cave to find that it was blocked off so you could only get so close. It was still pretty impressive. I did not bring the camera up with me since I had to carry Max, it was a lot of steps and hot! I now wish I would have!

It is nice to be able to see the kids have so much fun doing the simple things that the outdoors has to offer. Lots of dirt, rocks, mud and secret hide-outs.

Adventureland

Will hated this ride. He was crying as it ended.

On our way to the water park

All aboard the train!

As you can see, Jack did not want to take a picture with me!

Will had to ride with dad. He couldn't quite reach the pedals!

A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to Adventureland. They had been there for the past 3 years and always look forward to it. We left Max at home this year but I think next year he would enjoy it.

Darren took Jack and Will on the roller coaster (The Dragon) not knowing it was the fastest one with 2 upside-down circles. Darren said that Will cried the entire ride screaming for it to be over. Jack was also terrified. They both looked very pale as they got off and said that they would not be trying the other 2 roller coasters. Darren asked them multiple times throughout the remainder of the day if they wanted to try it again and he was turned down over and over!

By far everyone liked the bumper cars the best and the lines were not bad at all so we were able to ride everything as much as we wanted. The weather was also perfect at about 80 degrees! We really lucked out!

We spent about 2 hours at the water park portion and the kids loved the lazy river.

(Jack is very good at avoiding pictures at 9 years old so that is why he is not in many. Will and Hannah still jump at the chance to have their picture taken so there are more of them!)

1st Day of School

Will right before we left for school!
Everyone wanted to take a picture with Max

Jack right before we left for school!

I am not sure why this turned out fuzzy but it was the only picture I got with Jack and his teacher

Will and his teacher

The letter Will's teacher gave us as we dropped him off

Will's Kindergarten letter

Something cute Jack's teacher put together for them. This paper was in a bag with everything listed in Bold

Will started his 1st day of Kindergarten today and Jack entered 3rd grade!

I kept asking Will if he was going to miss me and he said "not even a little". I don't think he meant it! On the way to Will's class, we could not even keep up with him he was so excited. He walked right in, found his name and got to work on his paper without even looking up. He has been ready for so long that it made it easier to let go of him. When I picked him up, he couldn't stop talking about every detail of his day. The only complaint he had was the kindergartners are not allowed to go on the high monkey bars! He didn't understand that rule at all!

We went to drop Jack off at his classroom and he was nervous but did great! He has a couple of friends in his class and has the teacher he wanted so we was excited too. When I picked him up, he had nothing to say as usual and I have learned that the more questions I ask, the less info I get. If I just give him time, by the end of the evening, he will talk about his day. He did tell me about how he wrote 2 stories and gym was boring listening to all of the rules. His only complaint was that they could not play on the field at recess because there was some construction going on. The common theme for the boys seems to be a love of recess! It sounds like they are taking afte their dad!

When Hannah, Max, and I returned home it was REALLY quiet. I went to pick up Max to take him upstairs for a nap and Hannah says "no, don't take him, I have no one left to play with". She seems kind of lost right now without Will and just wanders around but she will find her way. She keeps asking me when her school starts. I told her 19 days. She asked me if that was Christmas time!

Royals Baseball game

I took Jack, Will and Hannah to a Royal's game last weekend when the heat index was 105 degrees. Darren stayed home with Max. Good choice on his part! Will had never been to a game and Noah was throwing out the 1st pitch so Jeff, Olivia and Grandma also came. It was so hot you could barley breathe. Miserable wasn't even the word to describe it!

Jack was at a game earlier this summer so he was excited to go to another one. Will was impressed with the large stadium and the mascott.

(In the picture with Will bent over, he is not throwing up, he is eating an icee that is melting all over him faster than he can keep up!)

We only stayed 2 innings because we thought we were going to die. Next year I would like to take them to a college World Series game.

Spending Max's Birthday at the Zoo

1st Carousel Ride
50th Carousel ride

The last post about Max's Birthday! We took Max to the zoo on his birthday and it was rather hot. We stuck with some indoor exhibits including the gorillas. Max did not care for the gorillas too much unless they were far away from the glass. He also had her 1st carousel ride. Jack said that riding the carousel was babyish so he watched. We only stayed a couple of hours and then went to McDonald's for an ice cream cone.

Max's 1st Birthday Party

Will after 1 too many Reeces Peanut Butter Cups!

I told the girls to "strike a pose"

Livvy helping Max

Hannah took this picture of Max and I!

Mary and Max

We had a 1st Birthday party for Max a couple of weeks ago and he had to have a great time! We didn't really have a theme but he loves dogs (Avery) so I kind of had a dog theme I guess!

The family was there and he enjoyed all of the attention. When it came time for the cake, Max dug in slowly and Darren had to help him. Darren began to feed a little to him and then he started to enjoy it. He did not want to open presents because he did not want to stay in one place. He was much more interested in scooting around.

Jack, Will and Hannah were very excited for Max and could hardly wait for 5pm to arrive. Hannah and Will were glad that he was finally a year old because they did not understand why I would tell Max Happy Birthday at 6 months, 7 months ect. They also made sure that he was given cake for breakfast for 3 days after his party!