Train Park

Papa Tom was convinced that Sunday was a much cooler day, so we agreed to meet at the Train Park (not its official name).  I'll just say that it wasn't quite as cool as he imagined.....either way, the boys still had a great time!

 They played on the playground

Ran to the tracks to watch the trains more times than I could count....

They quickly began shedding some clothing. 

We all love Josiah's pudgy belly!

Josiah attempted to escape

But Papa convinced him to come back

Joel:  See Caleb, that ant is carrying another ant.

Caleb:  Why?

Joel:  I think that one is hurt.

Caleb:  Oh.  That is sad.  Where are they going?

Joel:  I don't know.  Maybe to the doctor.

Cousin Jake arrived, and they practiced their yelling in the tunnel.

What cute boys!

ANOTHER Hot, Hot Afternoon

What else can you do on a hot day but swim?  We filled up our pool and attempted to cool off this afternoon.  

Josiah making a grumpy face.

Joel with his winning (um, fake) smile.

Caleb showing off

Josiah took some breaks to hang out in the shade under our porch.

And look cool

Then, of course, we had to pull out the super max liquidators.

When dad got home, we surprised him and soaked him.  It turned into quite a chase!

Two little guys against one big guy.  It still seems unfair.

Fireman Kitty

Joel struggles with anxiety and was going through a phase (hopefully) of being scared at night.  After one extremely exhausting night of dealing with us, I had the novel idea of getting him something that could comfort him.  I thought of Build-a-Bear.
We let Joel and Caleb each pick out their animal - Caleb chose a black bear and Joel picked a cat.  They even got fireman outfits for their animals (hence the name "Fireman Kitty").  Tim and I recorded our voices telling them that God was with them and would protect them and that we loved them.
This ended up being a great idea for both of them.... particularly Joel.  He dresses "Kitty" up in jammies and sleeps with him every night.  I have even heard our voices coming from their room late at night!
Yesterday, Kitty got laryngitis and couldn't talk anymore.  It was devastating, and we had to immediately take him back to the store to get fixed.  They fixed him for free, and Joel (and me!) were very relieved.

Joel with Kitty (after he was fixed)

Josiah is a big fan of stealing Kitty when Joel isn't looking

We had to put some of Josiah's diapers on their animals....and the boys are both saying "cheeeeese!"

KC Zoo

Aunt Becka and cousin Brooklyn came to visit us last weekend!  We went to the KC Zoo (my first time) on Friday to celebrate the occasion.  After a last minute trip to the urgent care early that morning for Joel (turned out to be a bad reaction to a bug bite), we drove straight to the zoo.
We rode every moving transportation device available.

the tram

the sky tram

the carousel

I thought Joel might slip right off and fall asleep since he was all drugged up with Benadryl.

the train

And we did see a few animals along the way....who are not nearly as exciting as our crazy kids so they did not warrant as many pictures :)

Of course, no zoo trip is complete without a picnic lunch!

Sneaky Smoothies

Little boys who don't eat their veggies still need good nutrition so I've been making some sneaky smoothies.  I have to hide the blender from them so they don't see what I have been adding to it.  Spinach, frozen pureed zucchini ice cubes (I add these to practically everything), plain yogurt, banana, honey, ground flax seed, and a few strawberries....one time I even tried cabbage.  I wasn't a big fan of that one, but they didn't seem to mind.
One day, I will have to admit my sneakiness, but for now I'll just enjoy the fact that they are getting their vegetables!

Celebrating the 4th of July

We had such a great 4th of July this year.  We got to celebrate with Tim's family and some friends we haven't been able to see as often as we would like.  The boys got to eat lots of their favorite foods.  Hot dogs, chips, ice cream, fruit....and mom doesn't even have time to worry about the nutrition value!

The boys favorite part of the whole day (and ours since it occupied them for so long!) was swimming in 

our friends' pool.  Now that they have mastered wearing life jackets and are quite comfortable in the water, they have become much easier to be at the pool with.  

Water guns are always a hit....

Josiah loved to play with these torches

Josiah and Hudson bonding in the baby pool

We did do a few fireworks with everyone, but our boys were too busy swimming to even notice.  And to be honest, we haven't watched "real" fireworks since Joel entered our life.  We are usually all to worn out and in bed before they even start!  Oh well. We have many years ahead of us to do that!

Tim's 31st Birthday

Tim is lucky.  He always gets the day after his birthday off.  That means we usually stay up way too late and the boys wake us up way too early the next day.  This year, we had a low-key celebration - went to church, went out to eat at Jose Pepper's (a rare treat for us), and then went on a date to see Les Miserables at Theater in the Park.  It was such a nice day!

Here is a picture of our well-behaved boys at the restaurant.  

Lake Day

Yesterday we got together with Tim's family to celebrate his and Jenna's birthdays.

His parents have a little community "lake" that we picnicked at. Cheese, meat (as Tom calls it), cherries, strawberries, grapes, crackers, and a cookie cake to top it off.

The boys have grown up so much this summer - they are much braver when it comes to swimming.  It feels like a new era.  Put life jackets on and let them play while keeping an eye on them. 

Tim and I actually got to just sit in the shade a little bit.  

What a perfect way to spend a hot July 4th weekend day!