Things That Go

This past weekend we went to "Things That Go". This is an annual event at a local library where all sorts of "things that go" come and kids can climb in and see what it's like to get behind the wheel of some of the coolest things they see on the road.

The first stop was the firetruck and Aidan was in heaven! Lately, he has been saying he wants to be a fireman when he grows up:

And because Ava's school bus comes too late for us to get her on it, she wanted to get on the bus:

This picture is very funny to me. Between my two kids, I wouldn't have predicted that she would be the first to end up in the back seat of a police car! On a very positive side-note, Aidan got in the front seat. We asked them both to just avoid the back seat as they get older:

The front loader! This one was pretty cool - very high up and a big 'ole scoop in the front. A huge hit with all the kids:

And the last stop was the bubble truck. Per my friend Jenna's excellent advice, we saved this for last to avoid as many lines as we could at the other trucks:

Uncle Ross' Birthday

Last weekend we went to Memaw and Pepaw's to celebrate Uncle Ross' birthday. We had lots of his favorites, including homemade stroganoff for dinner, and I made Sean's grandma's famous sour cream coffee cake.

We put the kids to work by having them put the candles in the cake and take them out:

The kids' table. Memaw must be a kid because she sat there too:

After dinner we headed outside so the kids could play on the swing set. This is a very special swing set because Pepaw built it with his own two hands for the boys when they were younger. He spent several hours refurbishing it a few years back so the grandbabies could play on the same set their daddies did:

Ava our little acrobat. Girlfriend must be double-jointed because she flips around like no one's business:

Ta-da!

Even Ross and Ashley's dog Mable joined in the festivities, albeit begrudgingly:

Ava's First Day of Kindergarten

As hard as I tried to wish this day would never come, it came anyway: Ava's first day of kindergarten. A couple weeks ago I started crying when she read a book for the first time, thinking about how it feels like it was just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, and before I know it she'll be off to college - the time really has flown...

The morning was crazy and hectic as I quickly realized it's not just Ava who's trying to learn a new routine...we are too! She was a ball of nerves - her stomach was queasy at the thought of it all. I had to spend some time assuring her that she'd be just fine.

It wasn't until I was giving her that last squeeze before dropping her off and I whispered in her ear that "she'd be great", that I fully realized the size of it - our first born starting school. I fought back the tears so that she wouldn't worry.

Of course when I picked her up, she said she had a great day, loves her teacher, and has already made 3 friends. She must be starting her campaign for 2024 Prom Queen early...

The night before we made sure she had all her things ready to go:
In the morning, I made her pancakes with chocolate chips in the shape of a heart (sappy, I know):
First day of school pics:
On the way out, I forgot to grab her lunch! Thankfully I realized it before we left the driveway, so I went in to retrieve it. We snuck a card in her lunchbox so she'd have a little surprise in the afternoon:
In just a few weeks, that backpack will be filled with books and homework:
Aidan got to help me drop her off at before-care. He didn't want to leave her, he said he wanted to "go to tinderdarten" too:

Big Boy

Sunday morning when Sean was at the gym and the kids and I were hanging out, Aidan came up to me and asked, "Mommy, can I go potty?" My answer to him was kind of a curious 'yes', I thought it was strange that he asked for my permission.

He went about his business, and then I started hearing some sounds coming from his room. I peeked in the bathroom, and found his pjs and night time pull-up on the floor:
And then I stepped into his room to see him making his bed in his underwear! After finishing up with the potty, he went ahead and started to get himself dressed AND decided to make his bed:
What a silly, sweet boy! I wonder if this behavior will continue through his teen years...

King's Island 2011, Part 2

The second half of our day we ate our favorite King's Island meal - La Rosa's pizza....soooooo good, it never disappoints and this time was no different! After we ate the kids rode some more rides while Sean and Uncle Drew persuaded Pepaw to ride "Diamondback" with them:
If you look towards the back of the train, you can see Sean's dark hair, with Pepaw's bald head behind him, and Uncle Drew is to the right of Pepaw:
I tried to get a good shot of Pepaw's joy as they exited the ride, but the lights made it a bit funky. I think you can still get an idea of if he liked it or not:
One of the best parts of the day is watching all the lights turn on throughout the park:
Sean and Ava squeezed in one last ride, one of her favorites "Shake Rattle & Roll":
While we waited for them, Aidan got in some good quality Uncle Drew time:
Bye bye King's Island...see you next year (when Ava will be tall enough to ride "The Beast", and who knows how big our boy will be!)

King's Island 2011, Part 1

On Saturday, we made our annual trip to King's Island. Earlier in the week, it looked like the day might be a washout. However, in the morning we woke up and checked the weather report, and the forecast improved and only called for rain late in the evening - but it never came! There were lots of storms that happened to track directly south and completely missed us, and it ended up being a picture perfect day!

This year Uncle Drew, Memaw, and Pepaw came along and we all had a blast. We got there when the park opened at 10, and stayed until the park closed at 10!! The kids were absolute warriors and were in good moods 90% of the day.

I made sure to grab a pic of the kids early on, because you never know what the day will bring:


When we got there, the crowds hadn't quite taken over (although all day, they were not that bad) and we were able to walk onto 3 or 4 rides before Uncle Drew, Memaw, and Pepaw met up with us:
What's this? We were blessed with another great photo op?

Sweet faces:
It's always nice having some extra adults to assist. Several times during the day, we would take turns watching the kids and letting different combinations of our family ride different rides together. Aidan was too short for Congo Falls, so we hung out on the bridge watching the rest of our crew:
The "older kids" had a few hours to themselves while Memaw and Pepaw took the littles. We rode "Diamondback" and my King's Island favorite "The Beast":
After the older kids playtime, we met back up with the big group and rode some more rides:

Aidan was so cute...anything Ava told him to do on the rides, he did - hence the arms up:
We all thought we'd ride the log ride together. However, Aidan had other plans - he had to take a nap on Pepaw.
To give Aidan a few extra Zzzzs, and give the rest of our feet a break, we rode the train around the park to wrap up the first part of the day: