Summer birthdays

There are a lot of adults in my family with birthdays in the summer (or close to summer). 7 to be exact.  So, we have been celebrating with one BIG party all together...much easier than 7 different get-togethers with everyone so busy or out of town!  Here is a peek of our 2010 party:

Our sand castle cake:

The birthday girls...all 7.  See the picture next to the cake?

We had so much fun!  We missed you, Heidi! 

Had to throw this picture in...someone gave Rudy a mohawk.  

I found more pictures....from Kansas!

I totally forgot I had these pictures....they hadn't made it onto my computer yet, so I had nothing to work with until yesterday.  I really am surprised when I see these....we crammed so many activities into our last week in Kansas.  Wow.  I must have been tired after all of this!

One thing we HAD to do was go back to visit the Crown Center in Kansas City.  We had been there once with Josh, but we needed to go back and play a little more before we moved back home.  One of our favorite places in the Crown Center is Chips...the chocolate factory.  YUM.  We each got a little something, and took some cookies n' cream fudge back home to Josh.

Right outside the Crown Center is a sprayground of sorts....water fountains that spray to music.  We were not prepared the first time we went, so this time we had swimsuits, towels, sunscreen, etc.  We were set!  

Here are the kiddos at a Clifford exhibit in the mall...they had fun, but they would have liked it better if they were a little younger.  Oh well...we do what we can!

One of my favorite things about Olathe was the fact that every Sunday and Wednesday night after church, we didn't rush home, but instead we stayed outside and a lot of the kids from the congregation would play ball, ride bikes, scooters, whatever.  It was a great time of fellowship with other parents and kids.  

This pic is of Dylan and his spark scooter.  Yes, it's blurry, but you get the idea.  Very cool present from Santa last year!

We also fit one more trip to the KC zoo in our week.  It was worth it!

And of course, the freebies....Deanna Rose Farm!  We fished:

Fed goats:

And panned for 'gems':

We loved our time in Kansas....and miss our friends there!  

Having fun!

We have enjoyed being back home, and back into a routine. The kids are loving school--their teachers are the BEST!  We are so blessed this year with caring, understanding, wonderful teachers!  I am so relieved about that!

We have been having fun in 'our' back field.  We call it ours, but unfortunately, it's owned by Edmond Public Schools.  That doesn't change the fact that we absolutely love living by a huge field!

This is what we've been using it for lately:

All 3 kiddos have so much fun riding our little dirt bike!  

This next picture was a funny one that I just ran across....thought it might give someone a laugh.

Fritz's

This is a REALLY cool restaurant in Kansas....I think it's only in Kansas, but I could be totally wrong.  We had fun there, it's all about the trains!  You call in your order from your booth/table, and a train brings your food to you!  Dylan was the most excited by far, but we all had fun! 

We also enjoyed the complimentary engineer hats:

This next pic is a little disturbing..he was being silly, but look at his neck!!!

Ahh....much better:

Here's a train:

And, our basket of food being lowered to us:  

Pretty neat, huh?  The food was good, too!  Almost reminded us of Freddy's, here in Edmond.  YUM!

School time!

We have started this school year wonderfully!  I really am having a difficult time realizing I have a 5th grader, though.  WOW!  Thankfully, he loves his teacher, loves his friends, and was excited to head back to school....last year in elementary school.  

Our sweet little 2nd grader was SO ready for school to start!  She loves everything about school.  She got a new teacher this year (meaning new to the school, and we didn't know her yet), and we are both so happy with her! I already received a nice phone call from her about how helpful Jodee was, and how pleased she was to have Jo in the class.  

And, our fun little first grader.  He got a teacher that Dustin had in 1st grade, so that is a huge blessing!  She is great with boys, so I know Dylan will do just fine!  He was all smiles when we went to meet her on Tuesday.  So cute!

Ah, yes, our annual pic in front of the sign.  They don't fight me on it, so I just keep doing it!  We love Orvis Risner....such a diverse group of kids, so good for them to all learn how to get along with everyone!  

Dylan did have a birthday this summer!

We drove the 5 hours to spend Dylan's 6th birthday with friends and family in Oklahoma.  It was wonderful!  We had just a small party at Chuck E. Cheese--one of our favorite places!

Here are some of the boys on our way to CEC:

The group:

Having fun:

We celebrated with family that night....love this reaction!

And, his beloved pillow pet:

This was after opening and enjoying his other gifts....DS and pillow pet...what more could a 6 year old boy want?

Dylan with Tasha Grandma:

Dylan (being cheesy!) with Grandma:

Happy Birthday to my sweet 6 year old.  He's starting first grade tomorrow.  I cannot believe how fast the time has gone!

Summer Miscellany

These pictures are so out of order it's not even funny.  But, I felt the need to get them on here so I don't forget certain things about our crazy summer!

First, Josh and I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a date before we moved to Olathe.  We went downtown, rode the boat on the canal (he had never done that!!), ate dinner and bowled at Red Pin. It was a great date!

Had to show that I beat him at bowling....this never happens!  I loved it! 

I took the kids on one last excursion to the OKC Zoo before we left for Kansas...look at my little hoodlums!

This pic cracks me up!

Also, one last trip to Martin Park:

'

These next few are some faves from Olathe...they have amazing city swimming pools there!  Dustin and Jodee jumped off the high dive!  They absolutely loved it!

They also had a basketball goal....here is Dylan about to make a basket:

Fun times had by all....