Weekend Whirlwind!

Last weekend was so much fun I'm just now getting a chance to write about it. It started Friday evening with a celebration of the new class of Topeka's 20 under 40. I wasn't sure I was in the mood to have an adult night out, but my friends reminded me they are super fun. They were right, as usual, and I had a great night catching up with everyone!

However, that 6am alarm rang early when it was time to be off to Dodge City for my cousin's wedding on Saturday! You can never have enough reasons to celebrate with your family and this wedding was a great celebration. The ceremony was great, and the boys stayed quiet!! Yippee!

The reception, dinner and dance was just a lot of fun. Daryl had a little too much fun at the candy bar, he payed for that later that evening. I don't think he will be eating hot tamales for awhile! Thank you to Kayleigh and Brice for letting us be a part of your day! Also, big thanks to Aunt Rita and Uncle Steve for letting us stay with you and visit. Sorry about the puking kid! oops We will be back soon!

How Alex wanted to dress for the wedding. His new shirt was a scarf!

How we finally convinced him to wear his clothes!

Some day I want someone to love me as much as Alex loves cake! LOL

Memories and Mysteries

September has been zooming and, with this blog, no news is good news! Last weekend the boys and I had nothing on the schedule so we decided to take in the Hot Air balloons at Huff and Puff. 10 years living in Topeka I have never made it out to this event. I was thinking about skipping it but Saturday night Daryl made me promise I would get them up early enough to watch the balloons!

The Alarm clock went off at 6am, and I kept my word. Daryl lept out of bed, so excited to head out to the lake for the 7am launch time. Alex was not as excited but with the promise of McDonalds breakfast, he agreed to put some clothes on! 

It was a beautiful sight to see all the balloons prepare for flight and then watching them all fly away. 

I think this will become an annual tradition. We know for next year we need to bring a blanket. Thankfully my car looks like we live in it, so we all found a sweater to sit on! 

Yesterday, Daryl got his retainer. He only wears it at night but he was super excited to trade his head gear for a retainer. All week he reminded me his appointment was on Wednesday. I wasn't allowed to forget this one!  I'm super glad to be done with the rubber bands, I find them everywhere! Which is weird because his headgear lives in his room. I try not to think about how they are in the floor in the kitchen, or on the couch in the living room. Ewww

Only funny story I have came from Monday. Alex decided to dress himself which went well until he couldn't get his shoes on. I had to help him and that was almost WWIII. So I pick him up from school and as I'm putting him in the car he whispers, "Mom I lost my underwear." 

I said, "what, why are you taking off your underwear at school? Did you have an accident?" 

His reply, "No, they just disappeared!" Then he pulled his shorts down to show me his bare butt! 

A little detective work, turns out he never put them on. I found them still folded on the floor of his bedroom. However, don't tell him this because he will insist to you, they just disappeared.....

I'm super proud of us!

The boys and I are in a good place with routine. It is third week of school and we are rolling. Reading is getting done at night, boys are getting to bed on time and backpacks are getting checked! Sometimes it's the little things that make me so happy. 💖

This weekend we did some visiting. I wonder if kids even know these days that going on visits used to be a weekend staple? For the first time in a year we spent time with our friends Ron and Claudia. Claudia watched Alex from two weeks old to four years old. She will always hold a special place in his heart. To this day when I'm making him mad he will ask to see Claudia!

Daryl stayed with them for awhile too and he loves to tinker with Ron. On this visit, after they were done playing in the backyard, Ron and Daryl made jewelry. It was a great visit and we look forward to being back before another year!

We also visited with Reiyna and got to hear about her first week of college! We were glad to help her run some errands and be there for her. We are always here baby cousin!! The boys got to see inside a dorm room. They were fascinated. "Why don't you have a kitchen? Where is your bathroom? Is that the only place to keep your clothes??" It was pretty funny!

Alex didn't want to take a picture. He waited in the car!

Ron made both boys a stamped bracelet! 

Every good weekend has some baseball!

Eclipse Day :-/

On Monday, Alex shot right out of bed and said, "It's eclipse day mom!!"

He was so excited, I felt bad that it was really cloudy here in Topeka. We couldn't really see it at all from my office. The kids did sit outside and Alex still thought it was cool. I grabbed this picture from the school's PTO site. I love that they did the paper bags over their heads.

We were sitting in a meeting Monday night and Alex told the table of adults, "If you stare at the eclipse it will burn a hole in your eye!"

He was so serious, I know that he did not peak!

Daryl was not as impressed, he was pretty blah about the whole thing. He did ask if we could go to Maine to watch the next one in seven years. Probably not bud. LOL

Daryl is back into his WWE toys full force. He has ignored them for an entire year, opting for Pokemon cards and coin collecting. I never thought I would write this, but I'm glad he is playing with his WWE toys again. He was just collecting stuff with those other interests, at least with his action figures he is playing and using his imagination. He sets up matches and now is trying out, "moves" of his own! As long as we don't end up in the ER, I am better with playing than collecting.

Now, if I could get him as excited about saving his money, hmmm.......

First Day of School!

On Monday the boys had their first day of school. Daryl started 3rd grade, and Alex finally got to go to Kindergarten. I was a mess when Daryl started school, pretty much cried all day. When we got up Monday morning I felt my emotions coming to the surface then Alex asked, "Mom can you just drop me off out front? I don't need you to come in."

Then I was double teamed.

Daryl said, "I can get him to the gym mom, it's OK."

I let them know, I would drop them off for the rest of the year. First day and last day of school, mom goes inside! When I think back to why I was so emotional for Daryl, I wasn't sure if he was ready, I didn't know if he would make friends. On Monday I knew for a fact Alex was ready, and no matter what he has his brother. So, no tears were shed!

Having the boys I do, I got no details about the first day. However, I did learn Alex got a talking to about hitting his brother at after-school program. If they can be nice to each other in after-school every day maybe it will spill over to time at home!

I've been looking forward to having them in the same building for years, and so far it does not disappoint! One drop off and one pick up is glorious!! I hope all the kids and teachers going back to school find their groove quickly, getting up on Tuesday Alex already said, "I don't want to go to school!"

This coming from the boy who counted down the days to school all summer. Go figure!

Daryl said, "Mom we need to take a picture by a tree." So we did!

Don't they look like they love each other?

My baby is in school, can't be sad when he has wanted this for years!

Is It School Time Yet?

Summer vacation is nearing an end, and I am ready for the family to be back on a routine! The fair, baseball, mini vacations and summer break have caused some internal chaos for Daryl and Alex. At least that is what I am hoping is the issue! Lately, we have been battling tantrums and rude behavior, and mom is over it!

We said Goodby to Grandma Rosie on Monday. (sniff sniff) We miss you already, but cousin Reiyna is doing a great job filling in while I'm at work. Two days in she did admit she is NOT ready for kids! So Brenda, you're welcome! LOL

The boys had fun getting their baseball awards on Monday. Alex got a medal for T-Ball and Daryl's team got the first place trophy for how they placed during the season. Of course Alex had to take a picture with those trophies too! They had fun this season and learned a lot. They will be excited to start up again in the spring.

The weekend after the fair Mom and I took the boys to World's of Fun and the Kansas City Zoo. Surprisingly, I think the boys enjoyed the zoo more. I know I did! We did do all the rides at the zoo, so I'm sure that helped. Daryl's favorite was the sky ride and Alex's favorite was the seal splash show. My favorite was the meerkats!! I highly recommend visiting this Zoo. 

Finally, elementary school teachers, I adore you! Will you please take my kids now?!