Craig's 40th Birthday!!

I'm still coming down from the adrenaline rush of the weekend.  It was Craig's 40th birthday on Saturday.  For a few months now, I've been plotting to surprise him with lots of help from great friends and family.  His sister's family and 5 guy friends all flew in to surprise him at dinner on Friday night at Oklahoma Joe's.  He thought it was going to be a family dinner with the boys and me.  He met us there and when he walked in, he was so shocked to see everyone there.  We had a great KC BBQ dinner and then the guys went out at Prairie Fire for a little while.  The next morning, Craig worked for a few hours while the boys and I hit Deanna Rose with Ben, Donna and Mike.  It was their first time at the farm.  Seeing it through a newcomers' eyes gave me a whole new appreciation for how amazing that place is.  It's really unbelievable all they have to offer.

 Checking out the blacksmith shop and demo

 Ice cream parlor... this was the first time we'd been to the ice cream parlor there and I'm afraid now that they've seen it, they will want to go every time. ;)  After the farmstead, we went straight to Cole's soccer game and then Craig and the guys went to the Gator Club to watch the Gators lose a very discouraging game.  Craig was pretty upset by it, but no time to dwell because as soon as he got home, we headed out for what I told him was a night on the town with his long-time buddies.  What he didn't realize was that we were heading to Martin City Brewing Company for a big surprise party. 

 Here are some pics we took before leaving the house.

 Mike, Ben, Cole, Craig, Max, me and Donna

My handsome hubby on his 40th!
I'll be posting some pictures from the party soon that my talented and wonderful friend, Gretchen, took.  We had such an awesome evening!!  In the end, I realized Craig was actually pretty easy to surprise.  He didn't suspect a thing when all along I was so worried about pulling it all off.  After a little too much fun at the party, we had a rough time recovering on Sunday.  Luckily our incredibly thoughtful sister and brother-in-law took the boys for an all-day adventure to Union Station/Science City, so that we could nurse ourselves back to health in a quiet and peaceful house. :)

Weston Red Barn Farm

I think it's Mom's turn to take over writing my blog.  I'm getting pretty busy now that I'm in kindergarten.  I'll let Mom do the writing for a while now.

 

We kicked off fall a couple weekends ago by going to Weston Red Barn Farm for the first time as a family.  The apple picking there was spectacular.  They were picking Jonathans and Galas that day.  The apples were abundant and delicious.  The boys were really into the picking and wanted to be sure to fill their buckets full to the brim, even if they were heavy!  Afterward, we went into town and had lunch at a cute little local brewery.  It was a beautiful afternoon, so we sat on the patio and enjoyed a leisurely lunch.  Cole really wanted to make a "cake" with his apples and had all kinds of ideas on how to do it... "we just need to mush up the apples and put them in the oven."  In the end, we decided on a cream cheese frosted apple cake (recipe courtesy of my mom's dear friend, Laura).  It was delicious, but unfortunately the boys didn't enjoy it like they thought they would.  I also made my first loaves of pumpkin bread for the fall season and they did enjoy that. :)

6 Year Interview

Mommy asked me some 6 year birthday questions and here's how I answered...

What is your favorite color?
 "Blue"

What do you want to be when you grow up?
"A police"

What is your favorite toy?
 "Crossbow"

What is your favorite thing to do outside?
 "Ride my bike"

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?
 "Have special dates"

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
 "Wrestle"

What is your favorite thing to do with Max?
"Play puppy and owner"

  What is your favorite book?
 "Charlie Brown one"

What is your favorite joke?
 "The banana one"

What is your favorite thing about your birthday?
"Eating cake"

What is your favorite thing to sleep with?
"My baseball pillow!"

What is your favorite TV show?
 "Scooby"

Who is your best friend?
 "Max"

Max's First Day of Preschool

Today my little brother had his first day of preschool!  He was so excited and ready to go!  Mommy heard him in his room when he first woke up saying, "First Day! First Day! Go get my lunchbox!"  I've been telling Max all about preschool and he helped drop me off and pick me up for 3 years at the same school, so he was ready to be a big school boy himself! I wanted to write the chalkboard sign for him that he's holding. :) 

Mommy said Max was ready to walk right into his classroom!  On the way to school he was asking Mommy what to do when he got there.  She told him to hang up his tote bag in the cubby with his name and to go sit on the yellow circle with his name.  Then a few minutes later, he asked Mommy, "Now what am I supposed to do again?" He is going Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he actually does extended day on Tuesdays, so he goes til 3:15... much later than me!  His teacher said he had such a great day and said that his coloring skills are "off the charts!" :)  He was happy when Mommy and I picked him up.  We came home to play a little baseball in the backyard with Daddy.

 Our newest little ball player.

So proud of you, Maxy!  We love you to Timbuktu!

Synchronized Somersaults

Here's another thing we had fun doing in Ellinwood. :) As well as the hotel pool...

Ellinwood

This past weekend, we went to visit my Great Grandpa Don, who will be 90 in December.  He lives in Ellinwood and we love to go there.  It was great catching up with him and also getting to spend time with my cousins, Connor, Grayson and Jack.  We always have such a fun time when we are together!

 Great Grandpa Don and some of his grandkids and great grandkids.

 One thing Mommy and Uncle Chris used to really like to do in Ellinwood was look for pennies on the railroad track.  They would go out with Grandpa Don and put pennies down and wait til the next day for a train to come through.  Then they would go out and collect the smashed coins.  Great Grandpa Don put some pennies on the track for us before we arrived, so we got to go out and search for them.  We found quite a few!

 Counting our coins

 Max, me, Connor and Grayson

 We also got to go fishing with Great Grandpa Don on a very, very windy day!  We didn't catch anything but we got a few nibbles and still had lots of fun.

 Cousin love!!

We love getting to spend time with our family and feel so blessed for these amazing people in our lives!