Arboretum Visit

One morning, we went to the arboretum. Mainly to feed the turtles and fish...which we did for quite awhile. Christian, Noah, and I got there a little before the rest of them...so we "waited" for them by finding various things in nature. Christian had plenty to say about this...

"Oh my, that is a very beautiful purple flower!"

"Look! Its a honey bee."

"That white spider is kinda tricky, he's blending in."

Then they got there..so we went to check out the water..the very mucky water.

And Noah decided to go ahead and eat the stale bread intended for the fish and turtles. Yummy Noah.

Grandma being a nature expert...sharing her knowledge :)

I really don't care for spiders..but both Jace and Christian told me I needed to take a picture of it.

Christian thought it could be "Charlotte" from Charlotte's Web.

Pre-Birthday Party!

Christian is turning FIVE very soon!

We thought we'd better celebrate early while Tim and Carissa and family were here.

The kids ate outside. It is one of the funniest things to see how Kade can get Christian to giggle so hard...that's what he was doing.

For his dessert...he got dirt (ice cream) cake with worms.

He's intrigued with real worms...and he is a big fan of ice cream (not so much of real cake).

After he blew out his candles, he handed out the candles to his cousins..asking if they would like to lick the ice cream off.

 He opened presents, and then we all went outside to play.

 It was a fun evening...so glad we could all celebrate together!

Family Zoo Day

Friday night we all went to the drive in to see the new Planes movie. It was a perfect, almost cool evening for it! 

Then Saturday, we all went to the zoo in Wichita. Tim even flew in while we were there, and joined us. It was a special treat to all go do something like this together!!

We started with a very tasty picnic that we brought with.

Uncle Brent was "getting" him...he loves it.

Hot, and ready for a nap...

we all had a very good time!

Packing in the Fun

Carissa and her kids came the a week ago. We have spent alot of time at Grandma and Grandpa's house spending time with them. Lots of fun to be had...long days of hard play!

This tricycle was bought at an auction this spring...ALL the kids use it. Noah, is clearly not the right size for it, but that has never stopped him from what he decides to do.

His outfit for the evening...we had a mini birthday celebration for Carissa's birthday.

He's so proud of himself when he gets to do "big kid" stuff. His laugh is just too much :)

Carissa brought the kids over to our house one morning. They did a good job discovering most of the toys in and out of the house. They ate the picnic lunch up in the tree house...it was so sweet.

The rain did not slow anybody down.

Mom put up corn the one day. We went over to help clean it...and everybody helped in eating it!

A bedtime story from Grandpa. They ALL enjoy Grandpa's stories.

Noah going for a "ride" with Grandma on her mower. He loves the chance to go for rides..and he's easier to keep track of if he's sitting on your lap!

Plenty of pool time. Lots of noise, playing, laughter, jumping, and snacks involved with pool time!

The cutest little tractor trailer set. It is so cute how the kids would give rides to one another.

(I followed him out there..I had a feeling this route was going to be a little harder for him to push back to the main "road".)

This is merely a glimpse :)

Flying through July

This month is going by crazy fast. We've had some beautiful weather. I can't remember a Kansas summer this nice...ever.

One evening we went over to Brent & Alyssa's place to go fishing. It was more for the event, than the actual catching of fish. And we went on a ride to see their property. It was more like an amusement ride...I think most of us were amused by it :)

We don't have a garden this year. Mom and Dad do...so we've picked some things from them!

Christian is a very good helper with snapping beans! I canned some by myself for the first time ever.

He was pretty proud of his tomato/cucumber car he made! 

And I needed proof of his snack...a green pepper dipped in ranch dressing. 

We've had many afternoon spent at Mom and Dad's pool. It is SO very nice to be able to swim here! Noah is out of the pool probably a little bit more than in. He just does his thing..he has very little fear of anything..which is why I don't have many pictures of us enjoying the pool...chasing after him is kind of a priority. Popsicle breaks are a big hit with both Christian and Noah.

We went to Wichita one evening..I told Christian to wear something kind of nice. 

This is his "fancy". Striped shirt, plaid shorts, cowboy boots, side ways belt, and upside down sunglasses.

Very fancy indeed.

An early birthday package from our dear friends the Brokaws. 

The contents in which the boys are displaying. It is safe to say they both LOVE the clothes/shoes!!

 If the hose is on..its usually getting messed with. Christian does NOT like to get his clothes wet. He loves to play with the water, he loves to be IN the water (with a swim suit), but it is game over if his clothes get wet. Particular much?

 A typical scene throughout any given day. Christian LOVES to swing. 

He will swing by himself for a long time. I love to just watch him from the kitchen..something about it is pretty peaceful. And Noah, well...his attention span to any given object is pretty short lived..so he's on the go, all over the yard.

They got new chairs...on our new deck. I love it all!!