Monday, June 21, 2010

Wedded Bliss

IMG_0488

My youngest cousin, Andrew, got married this weekend to a wonderful girl, Ashley.  The wedding was in Andover, KS.  We left our Andrew with Scott’s parents so we could enjoy (and participate in) all of the festivities.

IMG_0430

All of the second cousins (minus two, Tristan – whose mother had the same thought we did, and Andrew) were in attendance and looking sharp!

IMG_0461

When Patrick saw the bride walk down the aisle, he whispered to me, “She looks so beautiful!”  Precious.

IMG_0485

Joe danced with my cousin Casey’s girl, Abbey almost the entire night!  They were swinging around and cutting it up on the dance floor.  Once, when Joe got a little tired, he sad down and said, “my feet can’t go anymore.”  Well, I guess they could because as soon as Abbey found him again, off they went!

IMG_0479  Mommy got to dance with two of the handsomest men there, Patrick and Luke.  That ‘dance’ didn’t last long.  Those boys are getting heavy!

IMG_0484 It’s not often all three of us are dressed up and wearing make-up!

IMG_0457

Patrick had fun dancing with Libby.  He wasn’t as gung-ho about dancing as his brother Joe was, but Libby was happy to have a partner her size.  Her favorite partner, though, would have to have been papa.  She asked him for the first dance even before the music started.

IMG_0482Scott and I were a few days short of celebrating our 7th anniversary that night.  No itching here!

IMG_0463 Even Luke got to dance with the bride.

IMG_0473 We’ll end it all with Joe ‘dipping’ Abbey.  They all had such a great time and were totally pooped by the end of the night.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Flifford!

IMG_0393

Andrew can’t quite say Clifford (the big red dog, of book and PBS Kids fame) but he was delighted to see the Clifford exhibit at Crown Center when we were home for a little vacation time.

IMG_0399 Some craft opportunities

IMG_0410The conveyor belt into Clifford’s dog bowl

IMG_0401

Joe trying to eat Clifford’s fake doggie bones

IMG_0420Patrick as Clifford and Luke as Cleo.  Seems like Luke got the raw end of that deal – Cleo is a girl dog! IMG_0422

Joe as the tough but small bulldog, T-Bone

IMG_0397  Charlie’s Dad’s store on Birdwell Island.

IMG_0413

Andrew making some music

IMG_0426A little snapshot of the craziness of lunch.

IMG_0391   Always the joker!IMG_0423 Ugh, I think my bagel tasted like dog bone.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Hello!

IMG_0249

Don’t you just want to smooch that sweet little face?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Rainy Day Out With Thomas

 IMG_0304We got to visit the beloved Thomas the Tank Engine!  We took what the boys have been calling our “summer vacation” – a day trip up to Green Bay for the Day Out With Thomas event at the National Railroad Museum.   A few weeks ago, Andrew ‘discovered’ Thomas and is now super excited whenever he sees a “choo choo.”  We thought our Thomas days were pretty much over since the bigger boys don’t play with the trains anymore.  We were wrong.  Andrew’s new interest has renewed theirs, so, therefore, the Day out with Thomas was the perfect family event!

IMG_0277

They have so many activities for the little ones at these events.  Here’s a hay maze with stamping stations and a treat for everyone who got all of the stamps.

IMG_0275

There were inflatables for a few hours when we first got there.  It was pretty wet from some rain the day before, and they were anticipating rain again, but for a short time, we explored outside.

IMG_0280

The boys got to try a hand card!  We had never seen one close up.  The poor staff guy did most of the work.  He was probably pretty sore after carting all of those kiddos all day long.

IMG_0285

We were fascinated at how big the wheels of some of the engines were – this one was almost as tall as Daddy!!!

IMG_0291On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe.  I can’t say it without singing the tune!

IMG_0287  Scott explains where the coal was shoveled into the engine to make it work.  I’m sure it wasn’t quite as scientific as it could have been.  The boys have a very short attention span!

IMG_0301

Next, we got Thomas tattoos!  Inside one of the big museum buildings, they had kids entertainment, crafts, and lots of toy trains for the kids to play with.  We even saw a boy from Patrick and Luke’s class there.

 IMG_0298 And, we met Sir Topham Hatt!  Immediately following our celebrity sighting, Andrew wandered off.  It was a crazy, scary few minutes, but he turned up.  I think we will only dress him in hunter orange when we are in big crowds form now on.

IMG_0320

The skies opened up just a few minutes before we got in line for our turn to ride the train pulled by Thomas (or rather, pushed by the big boring looking engine in the back of the train, but that’s our little secret).  We lucked out and got to ride on the top level of a double decker train car!  Super cool for a bunch of pre-schoolers!

IMG_0352

Here’s a picture of it from after we rode.  Now that I look at it, it’s not that cool looking, but you can see the windows in the green part above the yellow bottom level.

IMG_0309 Mom, Luke, Andrew and Patrick – drenched but ready for the ride!IMG_0314 Luke, Andrew, Patrick, Joseph and Dad – happy to finally be seated and out of the rain.

IMG_0318 All of my boys!

  IMG_0334  Of course, the best part of the day was watching the boys excitement over the whole event.  Andrew enjoyed looking out the window towards the front of the train to catch glimpses of Thomas as we turned left.

 

Maybe our Thomas days are not over after all.  That sweet innocence and joy in the boys makes me happy.

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Last Day of School!

 

Already.  Holy cow, that went fast!!    IMG_0240Patrick and Luke with Mrs. LaFond.  She was an aide in K3 this year, but will be Joe’s K5 teacher next year.  Luke says: “I liked her because she was like (Luke turns to me while making a big huge smile)”

IMG_0241 Luke (in blue) and Patrick with their teacher Mrs. Ebent.  Mrs. E is also the music teacher.  I didn’t realize how much the boys liked music until they went to school.  They’re always singing songs and talking about instruments.  She’s a great teacher!IMG_0237

Luke playing with Jacob.

IMG_0227So, as a treat for the K4’s at the end of the year, I came in one morning and made balloon animals for them.  I thought it would just be a few minutes, but with a little story time while I worked, we stretched it out to an hour!  The teachers seemed pretty grateful, since, as they said, not much learning was going to go on anyway that day.  Those kids were getting awfully squirrely those last few days!

IMG_0235

Joe with his K4 aide and Art teacher, Miss Sanfelippo.  She’s the one that helped them all make the flower pots that were so precious.  He loves her.  We saw her at church on Sunday and he was upset that she left before he could track her down.  I’m sorry I didn’t get a shot of Mrs. Frank and Joe.  She’s been amazing.  All of the kids got a personalized scrapbook of their year, as well as a few notebooks showing their reading progress and some art projects.  It’s so nice that I don’t have to do all of that organizing!  What a great gift for all of the parents.

IMG_0236

And, now, to completely embarrass Joe (once he knows how to read), I had to include this picture of Isabelle.  Ever since the last day of school, Joe has been talking about her.  When can we invite her over to play?  Where does she live?  Can I send her an invitation to my 7th birthday? (I reminded him that his birthday is a year away)  He has written her notes:  “Isabelle, I love you so much.  Come to my birthday party.  Love Joe.”  I had to spell ‘birthday’ for him about 15 times.  I gently suggest to him that he should tell her that she’s his good friend instead.  He didn’t seem to notice the difference, which is good.  Scott thought we should fold up that letter and mail it to her father.  Oh, Joe…