Jam Packed, Fun Filled July....

This summer has just been fantastic. Having a full time job really makes a difference! Crazy, huh? :) We have been sooooo busy that once again, I can't believe the month is over! So far this month we have:

Spent time at our favorite library.

Watched a ton of movies in our only air conditioned room in the loft.

Gone to Science Club. 

Used a free pass to Science City 3 times in one week!

Gone to a local water park 2-3 times a WEEK to keep cool...

 

 

Made recycled shopping bag journals at our favorite downtown library.

 

Listened to Scott sing and play in a wedding and spent time with family from Florida. (It's kind of funny but my sis-n-laws husband has family here in Olathe so we have been adopted by them and have seen Aunt Deannie at two weddings in kansas in the last year. P.S. Autumn's high heels were about 3 " tall!! And she walks like a pro!)

Spent one evening making duct tape wallets.

 

Visited a kids rainforest exhibit at Crown Center & built a Gorilla's nest.

Ventured out to a local Drive In Movie theatre for the opening night of both Harry Potter & then Cowboys & Aliens. It is a great venue and kids 11 and under are free! Plus you can see 2 movies for the price of 1! And the convertible is the perfect theatre seat. Sooo fun!

Enjoyed a lecture about Monet's water lilies at our favorite Nelson Atkins Museum as a date night.

Viewed Monet's water lilies as they were meant to be viewed with all 3 panels. AMAZING!

See how busy we have been? It really has been such a great month and I am soooo thankful for the normalcy that is creeping back into our lives. Having a good job makes all the difference and I am so thankful for the little things in life.

Health & Life Updates

Just like June, this past month has flown by too. We have been super busy on all fronts. Scott took two classes at UMKC this summer and managed to get 8 credit hours in just 8 weeks. He worked really hard even when his body was quitting due to Lyme Disease. He is double majoring in Physics and Philosophy. He is now officially an artist, musician, scientist, philosopher and mathematician. Cool huh? He is starting his oral abx regimen again for babesia because in the past year (on a break from treatment) his babesia count has gone sky high. Babesia is a BAD, BAD boy and really affects scott. I just really despise Lyme Disease and all it has taken from us.

I have been at my new job for 4 months and started full time in June. It is crazy busy but I am loving it. I have an opportunity to mold a new company and I find it to be a huge challenge. I am learning a lot about myself and my management style as we move along. I see every day that I have so much more to learn! I have managed to work from home 6 days this month and brought the kids to the office with me a few times too. They still fight over who gets to come with me and they are great helpers while there. Eli insists that he is going to skip school to be my assistant. I haven't endorsed that yet....

Grandma has been gone since June 19th and she is really flourishing at her home. She is keeping cool in AC and cleaning, sorting, eating, resting and sleeping. She has weaned herself off of her bottled oxygen and she is feeling great. When we talked last night she told me she really wanted to try and mow her yard (10 acres!) but that she knew it was too hot. Um....yes mother....did I mention she LOVES to work? Our next step with her is to get her driving again. We will be bringing her van to her next month and will let Billy work with her. She thinks she is strong enough but I am a little worried about her still. We are working on a BIG surprise for her 70th birthday and I know she will be super excited. When it is official, I will let you know.

The kids are awesome and growing so fast! Autumn (14!!) will be starting 9th grade this year and she has her first real boyfriend. She feels like she loves him and he does too. Unfortunately for her, he just moved to Germany with his military family and won't be back for 3 years...Fortunately for daddy though cause he wasn't ready for the first love...

Noah is 12 but looks 15 which could be quite a problem next year. He is starting 7th grade and is very excited to be at a middle school. He is so handsome that I think the "looking 15" thing will get the attention of all the girls quickly. Luckily, he doesn't necessarily go looking for a girlfriend but they always seem to be looking for him. We have read thru his middle school's website several times trying to get him mentally prepared for the experience. I went thru the school calendar last night and if he does every activity he wants to, he will have something every night of the week. I know our life is about to change and I know it will be a good change but I am not ready for it yet. My main concern will be keeping track of 3 boys at 2 schools. I can't wait to see him perform in the activities he wants to join but this means he is really growing up!

Eli is 11 and ready for 6th grade. He was so excited to turn 11 because now he can spend an extra night with his daddy! During the school year the boys come home every weekend. One weekend is a long one (fri-mon & sometimes tues) and the other is a short one of Fri-Sat. Their mom works 3 nights a week with 2 of those nights falling during the weekend. Noah had always begged for more time with Scott and we finally got an extra night with him during an evening when he was being babysat by his grandma. That privilege started when he turned 11. And when we took Eli out for his 11th birthday breakfast, the first thing he said when he got in the car was...."When I woke up, my first thought was that I can finally come to your house on Sunday nights!" A few months earlier Eli had asked his mom if he could spend some extra time with his dad while she worked and she told him that he wasn't old enough. Eli came home and told us he didn't understand WHY. We didn't agree with that answer at all. It doesn't make sense to us to tell a child who feels like they need one of their parents, that they are not old enough to see them. That answer only comes if you are competing for time. He was pretty disappointed but knew that 11 was right around the corner. Needless to say, he is excited about this extra time during 6th grade cause every boy knows that 6th grade is tough. Right?

Lucas is getting smarter and smarter every day! He loves doing math exercises with Scott and really absorbs any new info he gets. He is silly, sweet, considerate and all boy. He still runs and jumps in my arms and still cuddles in those quiet moments. He is also getting super tall! He went to work with me last Tuesday and we had a great day. We had lunch together and had a great conversation too. He told me some things that bothered him about one household and that he would like them to change. He isn't sure how to make that happen and is scared to ask for certain things. I am constantly reminded of my responsibilities (that I see for myself) as his bonus mom and encourage him to use his words and tell someone how he feels. As he gets older he is feeling an emotional shift (my words, not his) and he doesn't know how to work that out. I am always just so proud of him. He has a huge heart and wants to make everyone feel good. He doesn't want to disappoint anyone and feels a strong pull in several directions. He is becoming his own little person and has even decided on a new nickname. He wants to be called Lucky and we think that is great! I can't wait to see what he does in 3rd grade!!

Village Fest, Fireworks - part 2

On Monday, we made our annual trip to Village Fest and spent an hour and a half walking around the animal tents, art & community tents and festivities. It really is one of my favorite celebrations! We let the kids sleep in this year so we were a little crunched on time though. One of our favorite tents is of the birds. Everyone seems to think they want one...and neeeeeeeed one. And they are beautiful but MOMMY is not ready for another p.e.t....

Though my heart strings were tugged when I saw this little guy...Isn't he AWESOME?

Did you happen to notice he is naked?!? He was rescued from someones back yard and they think he lost his feathers due to stress and they probably won't grow back. Which makes him more awesome. I have always loved runts and he still had a spunky spark...naked and all!

Scott and I ended our 4th of July by watching Fireworks in the little pink convertible, eating Buffalo Wild Wings and discussing calculus, physics and life. :) 

 

But for me, the best show of the night was while Scott drove home. For the record, he will only drive my convertible at night because it looks white...otherwise he refuses to be THAT man in the pink car. hahahah Anyway, on our 30 minute drive home, we saw fireworks EVERYWHERE! It was awesome! Driving back downtown and seeing them shot off on both sides of the highway was amazing. I really do LOVE fireworks. They give me warm fuzzies and make me happy. It was like our own personal show. 

Happy 4th of July!!

My Little Firecrackers....part 1

Our 4th of July holiday was split into 2 parts. Fri-Sat afternoon with the boys and then again Sun-Monday afternoon. My plan was to fit in as many nights of fireworks as I could because I LOVE FIREWORKS! We managed to see some 3 out of 4 nights which was great!

Scott took the boys to the water park for most of the afternoon on Friday and I joined them as soon as I got off work. We stayed till closing time and then got ready for our FREE friday night movie. We packed up our fruit and veggie plates and got a good seat up front. Our friends, Mr. & Mrs. "Stinky Feet" came to hang out with us too so that was a nice addition to our evening. We stayed up late and slept in on Saturday morning. It was a great start to our holiday weekend!

 

Since Saturday night was kid free, Scott and I went on a little date with dinner and a movie at the Plaza. On Sunday, it was a little rainy so we changed our water park plans to a day of movies. We all piled into our air conditioned room and watched several movies with another picnic spread. I love these quiet family moments of relaxation! Around 8:30 we made our way down to the Rivermarket to watch the Riverfest fireworks. Last  year, we watched them from the top of Stowe bldg. but thought it would be nice to get close to the river this year. We walked over the walking bridge and hung out with a few hundred other people to watch the fireworks. I wanted to walk down the 3 stories and walk along the riverfront but my pinched nerve had other plans. We also took the dogs with us but Lady Bug did not behave at all. She was freaking out over the loud noises and stressing me out. I was glad to see the fireworks but wished we had left the puppies at home. When we got back home, we finished our movie and stayed up late again.

 

I have been meaning to take the kids on this walk near the Riverfront but this was our first chance. I love that the bridge says, "Town of Kansas Bridge".

These are shots from the bridge where we watched our fireworks.

I can't believe how much everyone has changed from last years 4th of July photo! 

Especially Noah & Aslan!

How can summer be half way over??

Somehow June went flying by and our summer is half way over! We have had a lot of fun this year and spend a few days every week at a local water park. The kids are loving that and one of these days Scott and I have plans to go ourselves....Season tickets really make a difference! Parking is free and we always bring a snack bag so its a great deal. Here are some of the other things we have done this summer...

Lucas got to go to PreCalculus with Scott one day...Lucas is loving math and working ahead on more advanced concepts this summer. Scott is a great teacher and they love the extra time together!

Noah has been experimenting with art. He is really into Graffiti right now and wanted to paint it on his bedroom wall...you know, like Grandma would have let him done....but for a compromise I had him start on some cardboard. Once he perfects his art I am actually fine with him painting graffiti on his wall. It would be really cool. :)

Another thing Noah loves is his middle name. Grey. He was named after his paternal grandfather and he wants to be called Grey...nothing wrong with your kid picking their nickname right? So, combine that with his interest in DJ's, turntables, music and videos and you have DJ Grey...it is looking GREAT! He has plans for about 15 different colors to be added so Ill share that with you too. He is doing a great job.

Scott painted a picture for me to hang up in my new office. He used one of the window screens that I recycled last summer and painted over the screen. It gives it a great texture. I have 15 or so of these left and have plans to paint the KC skyline on them. Can you tell what he painted?

Our little man seems to love the finer things in life....like his daddy. :) You know, cause I'm fine. haha Anyway....Lucas LOVES old science books and is currently drooling over a pair from the 30's at our favorite science store. He loves gold objects, leather and tools. 

Once Scott started working on his handmade leather bag Lucas decided he wanted a smaller version of his own. He came up with his own design and they worked out a pattern and Scott helped him get started. He has helped with every stage so far and is currently still hand sewing the pieces together.

His plan is to have it finished before school starts so he can use it for THIRD grade. How cool is that? He wants me to document the process so we can make a little photo book to carry in the bag. Because Scott's bag is so awesome, he doesn't think anyone will believe he made one of his own unless we show them photos. He is so excited to have a cool leather bag that he made himself. And we are very proud!

Eli has been contemplating what he wants to do when he grows up. He has a great eye for design and notices some great details that the other kids miss. He has come to work with me several times and likes to design new logos for various companies. He wanted to create a logo for a group of his friends so I gave him a lesson in using Illustrator. I start most of my designs in that program and once he got the hang of it he finished it in no time.

We also started our FREE friday night movies at Crown Center. Most friday's are spent at the water park in the afternoon and then at crown center for dinner and a movie. For the first show we brought a picnic dinner of snacks. It was a great light summer dinner and we even won a free treat for answering a quiz correctly. Aren't my guys the cutest boys ever? :)

Hummus, carrots, ranch, broccoli, sardines, cheese, tomatoes and celery with bread, crackers and wine. Perfect meal!

 I'm adding this photo so you can see my husband....he really does exist! Though he rarely smiles for my camera....hmmm maybe that is his plan?

I'm a good back rest....

Great seats and even better company! I am loving this summer and all the family time we are getting together. I am so thankful that our time is centered around being together and making things instead of spending money and material objects. I want it to always be this way!

So, now you know why summer is flying by....and that we are packing in as much fun as we possibly can! Hope you are having a good and healthy summer too.

A Photographic Tour of KC

A couple weeks ago I took Autumn, Eli & Lucas on a photographic tour of KC. They all have similar point and shoot cameras and were antsy to take some artsy pics. We put the top down on the convertible and drove around town. It was hot, humid, steamy and fun! I thought it would be easier to show you their tour pics with small thumbnails. They took hundreds of photos each so this is a sampling from Eli & Lucas. I haven't downloaded Autumn's pics yet but I will share as soon as I get them. 

I love the candid kid shots. These photos at the top are the very first images Lucas took. He kept telling us he wanted all of his family on his camera with him. Sweet huh?

 Look at some of these interesting angles from Lucas...

The Chinese lanterns are some of my favorites...

More from Lucas...We went from the Plaza to Loose park and saw two wedding parties. Some of my best European photos were of wedding parties so we talked about it a little bit and Lucas took off to sneak in some shots. We LOVE this park! It is perfect for any photo shoot!

After Loose Park we headed downtown and stopped at the WWI memorial where we saw another bridal party that arrived in a trolley car...I am so proud of his angles and that he really listens to my photo instruction/advice. Makes a mama feel good!

These are Eli's photos. I love the office chair in the middle of the street in the West Bottoms. Classic.

We love the houses on Ward Parkway! Especially the one with the 8 ft Pillsbury Dough boy in the window. We dream about some day....

Eli has some great shots of buildings with some great angles too...

I loved seeing what they came up with...

This was our first photo tour but I can see more in our future. The convertible makes it super easy and fun!