Kansas State Fair!

Baby Chicks

Andrew getting ready to milk a cow.

In the K-State Birthing Barn, they had this wooden cow set up for people to experience hand-milking a cow. The boys thought it was super cool!

Jonathan's turn to milk the cow.

Next we checked out the Poultry Barns. Hannah's holding her ears shut because it was VERY loud in there! We first saw pigeons and then...

crazy chickens!

These chickens looked like they had fur instead of feathers.

No trip to the State Fair is complete without a Pronto Pup!

We found a shady place to sit and eat our Pronto Pups before we moved on the the next adventure.

The giant yellow slide was next on the list. Keith took Andrew up and they had so much fun that Jonathan decided he wanted to try it too!

And the final ride of the evening was the skyride. Hannah and I skiped it because the ride ended near the parking lot and there wasn't a way to get the strolled on the skyride. The boys wanted Daddy to ride with them and they loved looking down on the activity below.

The first weekend in September we went to the State Fair. The weather was perfect for an evening of walking around and taking in all the sights. Our first stop was the Birthing Barn and then the Rabbit and Poultry building. The kids acted like they had never seen live animals. Then we met up with Grandma and Grandpa and took in more sights and sounds. We walked through a couple of buildings and the boys collected enough free pencils to keep us supplied for a long time!

We enjoyed some Pronto Pups, old-fashioned ice cream and kettle corn. And we were able to avoid the Midway again! I'm afraid next year they might be old enough to realize there are more rides available then the giant slide and the skyride. But for this year, they were satisfied with these. We ended the night watching some little donkeys pull cart and driver through a little obstacle course. It brought new meaning to the phrase, "Stubborn as a mule!" And then all the kiddos fell asleep on the drive home! A successful trip with fun memories made at the Fair!

Soccer!

Andrew's team, The Red Angry Birds

Andrew playing goalie

Andrew started soccer this month through the Maize Rec and he loves it and we love it. Saturday mornings watching kids chase a soccer ball for 35 minutes is WAY more fun than watching T-ball 3 nights a week in the blazing June sun! Keith is helping coach Andrew's team and we were excited to discover that Andrew's teacher is also his soccer coach. So thankful for Mr. B. who volunteers his time and loves 1st graders!

Oh, to be Hannah!

 We can't believe you are almost 2! You are so busy trying to grow up so fast...

Sometimes you want to play with your baby dolls.

 

And sometimes, your brothers dress you like a tiny viking.

For the record, they were very proud of themselves for dressing up their sister, complete with a sword and she was thrilled to be included in their play.

And sometimes, you want to take a nap with the kittens. (No kittens were harmed during this photo shoot. They really were asleep and let her snuggle them.)

She was so proud of herself that she got on the couch by herself with a kitten and was allowed to snuggle with it.

Jonathan's 1st day of Preschool!

Hannah posing with Jonathan in front of the school banner.

After school, while Hannah was napping, Jonathan asked for some hot (warm) chocolate. Look at that face! I think he likes it!

Today was Jonathan's first day of Preschool! He was very excited and walked right into his classroom like he'd been going to school for years. I had him pose by the Kidslink banner right before he went into his class and Hannah wanted to be in the picture too. In fact, she followed Jonathan into his classroom and was ready to go to school with him. Not yet, little girl, not yet.

Jonathan had a great first day and the first thing he told me was that they got to play on the playground. After some prompting, he told me they sat in a circle and everyone said their favorite color. "You know mine is gray." And then as we pulled into our driveway, he tells me how he and his friend Jackson had to have a talk with the teacher. After more prompting, he tells me, "I hit Jackson, but not very hard, because he knocked over my tower three times." So we had a quick recap of the rules and how we don't hit our friends, and we ask the teacher for help if our friend doesn't stop when we ask. Secretly I was chuckling over the fact that he made a point to tell me several times that he didn't hit him very hard, as if that makes it all OK. I can't wait to hear more stories from adventures in preschool!

Labor Day

The Hole project - some creature dug a nice home for itself at the edge of our rock bed and under the cement landing. Then it died. The hole had to be filled to prevent more death and destruction from happening there. It turned out to be a half-day project involving digging, quik-crete, water and more digging. Here's the almost finished project!

While daddy dug, the children splashed!

3 little fish

 

Andrew is so big that he thinks the slide is more like a diving board.

This girl is fearless!

Labor Day turned out to be long day of laboring, at least for Keith. And it was HOT - 105 degrees hot, with no breeze and high humidity. Horrendous day to be working outside. To keep the kids entertained, we set up the little froggy pool, in the shade and they splashed for hours. Hannah threw a small fit when I dragged her wet little body out of the pool for a nap. She was having such a great time sliding and splashing with her big brothers. But she was very tired and when she was done with her fit, she napped for 3 hours. All-in-all it was a very productive day!

Déjà Vu

This photo took me back in time to two little boys reading the same book, "Blue Hat, Green Hat" by Sandra Boynton. A favorite of everyone in this house!

Andrew (almost 4) and Jonathan (16 months)