Legoland

The boys were out of school today, so we decided to celebrate the first school holiday with a trip to LEGOLAND and Crown Center!  Though we've had Legoland in KC for awhile now, we were waiting for the crowds to die down a little before we went.  And, today turned out to be a perfect day for it!  Lots of other kids were still in school, so there wasn't much of a crowd at all!

The boys loved everything about it!  But, their favorite parts were the huge pools of Legos that you could take your shoes off and just sit down in and play!  Followed by the area with race tracks and huge tubs of Lego parts for building cars.  After you build a car (or 10), you can race them down different tracks and against other kids.  This was a huge hit with the boys!

Building with "electronic legos" on IPads.  Here are the both boys' creations.

Downtown KC built entirely out of Legos.  Not the best picture, but Cole had to find just the right angle and just the right lighting.  This shot probably took 10 minutes!  :)

Cole in one of the Lego pits.

Chase looking for all the parts to build his airplane.

Chase is working hard!

Getty comfy.  He could have stayed here all day!

Lego motorcycle boy!

 After we finally left LEGOLAND in the early afternoon, we decided to look around Crown Center a bit before heading home.  We found lots of cool stuff along the way, including the fudge shop where you can watch them making fudge right in front of you.  That also means samples and licking the paddles!  We bought some fudge too,  and rested our tired feet while we re-fueled with more sugar.  And, as we were nearing the exit, we stumbled on a Curious George exhibit!  Oh, Chase was a happy boy!!!!!

Yea!  We found George!

Chase and his monkey!

We had a great day, but boy were we beat after all that playing!  We'll come back to Crown Center and visit again some time! 

First Day of School!

The summer has officially ended, and the boys went back to school today.  Cole will be a big 4th grader and will finish his time at the Elementary School this year.  (How is this possible?)  He will be in a co-teacher classroom with his main teacher, Mrs. Voorhees and his SpEd teacher, Mrs. Armstrong. 

Chase will be a 1st grader and has our favorite 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Pickett.  His classroom is the only 1st grade iPad classroom.  Woo Hoo!

As you'll see from the pictures, some of us were more excited about school than others...  :)

Chase and Cole...getting ready to walk to the bus stop on the first day of school.  Notice Mr. Sports Kid is totally happy and excited while Chase...not so much.  I love the way his lunch box is dragging the ground!  LOL!

Close-up of the face!  He looks like he might cry at any minute.

Pondering how he can get out of this.

Pacing....back and forth down the road.

Here comes the bus!  Is that almost a smile on Chase's face?

Here they go...

The boys and their bus driver, Jerry, pose for a quick pic!  

 Even though Chase had a bit of a rough start to the morning, by that afternoon, both boys came bounding off that bus with smiles from ear to ear!  They loved their teachers and had a great day!  Let's hope the rest of the school year is as good!

Oil change

The boys love going to the shop to see MomMom, Big Grandad ("Biggie") and Little Grandad.  But, even more, they love going there to work...pushing the broom around, using tools, and just generally getting greasy and dirty.

But as they've gotten older and into school, they don't really get to visit like they used to.  So, I was sure that I got my oil changed this summer at a time when Chase could go.  (Cole was busy playing at the Gymnastics Factory.)  Chase was thrilled!

In fact, he was having such an awesome time that he would not even consider leaving when it was time.  So, I ended up making a run to Trader Joe's for some groceries, which gave him an extra hour or so to stay and play!

Here is a cute pic I took of Chase and his buddy, Biggie!  :)

Weeblos Camp

This year, Cole was finally able attend Scout Camp since this will be first year as a Weeblo.  It was also his first real scouting adventure away from home.  He was soooo excited to go!  Not that you could tell by THIS face...?!?!?

Daddy went to camp, along with Cole.  And, he emailed me a few pics along the way.  All in all, I think they both had fun....even if the tents were filled with bugs and spiders...and raccoons.  And, even if it did rain turn the campground into huge mud puddle. And, even if Cole did leave his boots outside in the rain.  :)

David and Cole - bunk mates and best buddies!

The tent Chris shared with Randy....aka McGyver wanna-be!

 This was day 3.  Look how tired by boy looks! 

 They may have come home tired, bug-bitten, and muddy, but Cole had the time of his life and can't wait to go back again next summer!

Sneak Peek: Family Pictures

Today we got our family pictures taken!  Turned out to be a beautiful late summer day.  Not too hot, even!  We've been talking about getting family pictures taken for several years, but it just never seemed to work out.  But, this time Daddy made all the arrangements with a super-awesome photographer at his office. And, here are a few to enjoy!

Mr. Handsome!

Look at those baby blues.

Chris driving his old truck.

Two cuties!

 And, here were a few pics that we took as we were hanging out on the deck afterward.