Dog Party!

Mitzi's 1st birthday was October 7th, so the kids talked me into baking some cupcakes and having the neighbor kids over for a little party!

cheese before cake!
more cheese!

the boys played a little playstation

the birthday girl!!

Truly amazing!

Breckyn is sitting right next to a handful of cheese puffs, and she chose the cantaloupe! Wish I had her willpower! ;)

Day at the Zoo

Monday the kids were out of school for teacher inservice, so we decided to pack up a picnic lunch and head to one of our favorite spots - the Zoo! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the animals were especially entertaining. We even went through the Australia/South America exhibit which we usually skip, and it happened to be bird feeding time. It was a special thrill for the kids to see the big rats that they feed the vultures and the tiny hairless mice, mealworms, and small fish that the other birds get. MMM! ;)

Fun on the Farm

A couple weeks ago, we went to my grandparents' house in Attica and had some of my Grandma's yummy homecooking! After lunch, we headed to my aunt and uncle's pond a few miles away. Memaw was so glad to see all the family there - my grandparents and all of my Dad's siblings and their spouses were there, as well as a lot of my cousins and their kids. All the kids had a great time swimming in the pond (in their underwear!) and jumping off the trampoline with their cousins, and Shelly even took them out on the paddle boat. After that, we had a great BBQ and did a little fishing before heading home. The kids were all asleep before we left Attica!

Memaw was here!!!

My Mom and Shelly came down in mid-August to get Shelly set up at KU (yay - she's a Kansas girl now!!!). I hadn't seen Mom in almost 2 years, and we had a nice 3 weeks to catch up. We spent a lot of time shopping and goofing around, but also squeezed in a couple BBQ's and the Zoo, among other things. The kids had such a great time with her, and she kept them twice so Paul and I could go out on a date! I'm just hoping that now that their baby Shelly is here, Mom and Dad will visit more often!! ;)

1st Day of School! aka Summer's Over :(

Preston's first day of 2nd grade was August 18th. He was definitely ready to see his classmates and get acquainted with the brand new school building. Kellyn started Kindergarten 3 days later and was thrilled to be riding the bus and meeting new friends! They've had an easy transition and are very happy with their teachers, as are Paul and I. The only problem is that our lazy summer is over and it's back to the 'ole grind. Oh, well - only 9 more months til next summer! :)

Daddy's Company Picnic

In mid-August, we went to Paul's company picnic at Eberly Farm. The weather was perfect and we had a good time enjoying the kids' activities and great BBQ. Unfortunately, Paul didn't win the 50" flat screen TV drawing, but we had fun anyway!

T-Rex Cafe!

After Worlds of Fun, we stopped at the Legends mall in west KC and ate dinner at T-Rex Cafe. It was awesome!! They have an incredible display of animated dinosaurs in every area, as well as huge aquariums, a gift shop, Build-a-Dino, and even an area for the kids to do a little dino-bone digging, which we unfortunately didn't have time for. Our pictures don't do the place justice - you definitely have to see it for yourself. And the food was really good, too!

Worlds of Fun!

We took a "mini-vacation" to the KC area the 2nd weekend in August and spent a day at Worlds of Fun. Paul and Preston rode the rollercoasters together: the Boomerang (3rd car from top, front seat in pic below), and the Mamba 3 times, while I braved the Timberwolf with Preston myself (after downing a few dramamine, of course!). The girls and I hung out at the Camp Snoopy section while the boys were riding the big stuff, and then Paul took all the kids on the Flying Dutchman and the Sea Dragon (too much for my tummy!), and we all rode the Fjord Fjarlane and the Viking Voyager (twice!) together. The weather was perfect that day, not too hot and mostly sunny. We were exhausted at the end of our visit, but we had such a great time!!