Silver Dollar City - 1st trip of the year

I took advantage of a half day of school Thursday and decided to take the kids to Silver Dollar City.  As season ticket holders this year, we get several free passes to share throughout the season.  So my mom and Charlie came along for the ride.  We stayed the night at our friend's house in Forsyth (Brooke & Sasha).  They didn't end up coming with us in the morning, because although the forecast was perfect (high in low 70's and sunny), it was still chilly in the morning, and they were to be on the road to Kansas City for the Easter holiday by noon.

It was super busy and took a good half hour just waiting in line to exchange the free vouchers for tickets for mom & Charlie.  We first headed to the measuring station and rode all the kiddie rides in that area, since they are right there.  With the crowds, what we should have done is made a run for it and done Thunderation first.  Once I took Noah & Charlie to Thunderation (mom had Elliot in the little kid area), we had quite a long wait in line.  They ate some snacks and waited as patiently as possible.  They both thought it was worth it and had a blast on the roller coaster.

We were enjoying a nice lunch (who would have thought an amusement park with good food?  SDC has really great food.  Mom & I shared a skillet with chicken, okra, peppers, onions, corn, etc.  Charlie had pulled pork that smelled amazing.  And the little kids had hot dogs.  While I was eating a caterpillar fell from a tree right onto my leg.  It was the second one we had seen and Noah and Charlie played with it for our entire lunch break.  We saw one near Thunderation, too and one in the parking lot as we were leaving.

Elliot provided a mixture of comedic relief and embarrassment.  He is in the process of learning modesty when it comes to potty training.  He is fine indoors, but outside he will just drop trou' anywhere and pee. He started to do this in line at a kids ride.  I scooped him up fast and put him behind a fence near a tree.  It was clear he couldn't wait for a bathroom by then.  Another time, while we were eating funnel cake he just stood up and peed.  Right there in front of our picnic table.  He's a work in progress.  But, so cute you can't get mad.

Elliot is still a napper and was tired by noon, and asking to go home and sleep by 2 or 3.  We stuck with our plan to stay all day and left around 5:30.  We had left it up in the air if we would drive home that night or stay in a hotel and come back Saturday.  I still had an extra free pass.  But, the kids were clearly exhausted and although we had a lot of fun, mom and I both thought we had enough.  It turned out to be a wise decision.  The kids were so tired.  The next day Noah was down for a nap by 10:15 and didn't wake up until 1:40.  And he doesn't nap.  I think the best option to avoid that level of exhaustion, but still fit in all the fun, would be to go until 2 or 3, let the kids rest, stay the night and come back another half day.  Regardless, we all had a good time, even if we did take half a day Saturday to recover :)

After we left the park, we drove down the strip to see the Tornado damage.  It wasn't nearly as bad as we imagined.  It was a very spotty tornado.  Though we saw some horrible pictures of the strip, it was all cleaned up and open for business.  The damage we did see was mostly being repaired.  We saw a few buildings that really did get hit hard and destroyed.  Mom managed a few shots from an open window while I was driving in traffic.  I don't think this will hurt their tourist season at all.  SDC was very busy, as was driving down the strip.

Just inside entrance - so excited!

Playing with a caterpillar 

BOO!  In a long line for Thunderation

Almost there! 

Lunch time

Soaked from getting into some water play outside Geyser Gulch

Funnel.Cake.

Enjoying his funnel cake

One tired little puddin' resting on mommy

Teacups

Charlie on the pirate ship

The boys & I on the pirate ship

Tornado damage on the strip 

More tornado damage

The worst of the damage

Out like a lamb

The end of March was more like the beginning of summer. The day started out warm, and just kept getting warmer, reaching a high of around 85 - about 25 degrees above normal for this time of year.

It was time for Noah's first soccer game of the season.  Mandy did a good job getting him ready after all the growing he's been doing since last season - new clothes, shin guards, water bottles, etc - but didn't realize his feet had grown too.  So an hour or so before the game, we found ourselves at Dick's Sporting Goods along with nearly every other kid that had a game that day, searching for shoes that fit.   To say Noah's feet are wide is an understatement.  To get shoes that fit his width, nearly every shoe they brought out had to be at least an inch longer than his foot.   

We finally found ones that fit well enough, and made it to the soccer field. It was already sweltering hot.  Poor Noah, who unfortunately shares my internal furnace.  His face lights up like Rudolph's nose when he's hot.  His first minutes of the game were a bit sluggish, as if he'd forgotten how to play, but he picked it again pretty quickly and ended the day with three goals.

Goal!

Lots of ponytails on this year's team. 

Afterwards, Grandma Lois had a workday/hot dog roast/Easter Egg hunt scheduled at her property.  We went here after the game to mow and trim, and burn some fallen branches and limbs.  Noah and Elliot ran around with Charlie, Cole, Elijah and Luke, playing with the hose and exploring the woods.   

With all the cut wood, we got a roaring bonfire going - a dubious achievement on a hot day.  Eventually it died down somewhat, and we managed to get close enough, long enough to cooks some hot dogs and marshmallows.  The kids hunted Easter eggs afterwards; Grandma Lois helped Elliot look for eggs, helpfully taking down some of the ones hidden in tree branches and putting them on the ground, saying, "The Easter Bunny don't live in a tree."

A few showers later, we got the smoke, dirt and grime washed off everyone, got the kids into bed and reveled in the cool air conditioning.  In March.

Tired boy, telling mom not to take any more pictures

Gator-in'

The kids have been going to my Grandpa Gene's farm their whole lives. One of the favorite activities of all the kids is to ride Grandpa's Gator. Only it's grown ups driving and they are in the passenger seat. Grandpa bought a kid sized Gator for Charlie when he was 3. Recently, after it had been sitting unused in their garage for sometime, as Charlie has outgrown it, it got passed down to us. I had to get a new battery and then it was good to go. The kids have been having a blast on it.

I didn't expect much of a learning curve. Noah's quite capable on a bike and so I figured he'd know how to steer. But, oh my word, it was quite a funny site watching him learn the ropes. Lots of crashing, getting off track, etc. In fact, watching Noah go so wild that first day made Elliot terrified to get on for a ride. But, the second day, Noah finally convinced him to go in slow speed (by this time, Noah had the steering down) and he loved it. Now he's cool with going fast.

Just this morning Elliot tried to drive it for the first time. Immediately veered off the sidewalk and almost hit a parked car on the street. We'll have to work on it at the church before we let him near the sidewalks again. So fun watching them on the Gator. Love it!

Grandma Anita's raccoon encounter

Last month driving home from my sister, Sam's college graduation in Springfield, my mom hit a raccoon going about 70 mph on the highway.  It was very loud and woke Rick up,  who thought she'd hit a deer.  It was only when she got home she realized said raccoon took out half her bumper.  The next day she showed Elliot and told him about it.  Ohhhh boy.  For days, no weeks, Elliot asked me several times a day why Grandma hit the raccoon.  He's moved beyond it now.  He doesn't ask me about why anymore.  He seems to finally have accepted it's because the raccoon came out of the woods and she was going too fast to stop.  But, he does tell strangers it happened and his Grandma's car is broken.

Monday driving home from dropping off Noah at school Elliot pointed out a flashing light alerting us to the reduced speed school zone.  He said "Mom, that light tells us to watch out, right?".  I said "Yes, also it tells us to slow down."  His reply was "Yeah, so we don't get in a wreck like Grandma."  So funny!  I guess he thinks Grandma must have been recklessly speeding when she hit that raccoon.

Here's a video I took on my phone.  One day driving home he became so insistent on wanting to know "why" Grandma hit the raccoon I had to actually pull over and turn around to address him.

A visit to the Grandparents

Yesterday I took Noah and Elliot to Grandma and Grandpa's house for lunch, and a little play time with their cousin Dylan.  We went to two parks, one just up the street and the other at Jesse James Park, which had a rope bridge that was right down my little climber's alley.  

After playing for a couple of hours, we had a nice hot dog lunch, then Grandpa Larry took the them on a 4-wheel drive ride in the back of his pickup truck around the back yard.  For some reason, Noah and Elliot have this intense fascination about his truck, and the camper shell on the back of it, so they loved it.  They both whined intensely when it was time to leave, but about 10 minutes later, both were sound asleep.

My 4-year old, climbing like a champ.  He said he was scared to go to the top, but 5 seconds later, there he was.  I'm at that point where I like to let him explore, and take risks that my parents let me take, but which also make my heart beat faster when he does.  A fall would have done none of us any good, but he used good judgement, climbing when he was comfortable, staying put when he wasn't.

High-tech toys

We came home Sunday night and had a surprise gift waiting from Grandpa Larry, with a little help from Grandma Joann and cousin Dylan - a cardboard box they turned into a little house.  My mom's kitchen is being remodeled, and some of the "trash" is perfect for recycling.

They were delighted to see it and play with it as soon as we walked in the door, and the next morning, they both came down and wanted to play with it right away.  Noah even wanted to bring it to his friend's house to show him and play with it.

They have been having a great time with it.

Christmas Day 2009

Paul & I stayed up pretty late on Christmas Eve so we were in a sound sleep when I heard Elliot wake up on his baby monitor around 7am. I stood up half asleep and realized the hall light was on. Noah's door was open and his bed was empty. I quickly woke up Paul. We were so upset we were going to miss his reaction to his big Santa gift. I walked into the playroom expecting to find him playing, but it was empty. I am freaking out at this point that he's out wandering the streets in his sock feet in the snow, when he walks out of the kitchen holding a box of club crackers and casually says "Want a cracker, mom?" as he's already munching on one.

We got out the video camera and recorded most of our Christmas morning and didn't take as many pictures as I would have liked. The boys enjoyed their stocking stuffers (especially Noah). He got in his the only thing he asked Santa for: Diesel 10 & Toby, along with lots of other goodies. The thing he plays with most is his Lightning McQueen flashlight. He also loves those big punch balloons. E got a new bath toy, some cups and a phone in his. E loved playing with his new Leap Frog activity table. Noah is enjoying his new kitchen, especially with the addition of some accessories from Aunt Sarah and Grandma Anita.

With the blizzard, there were high drifts and snow plows unable to clear many streets. We opted to have a lazy morning at home and take the kids sledding over our traditional brunch at the Nicholson's. We already had plans to get together the next day at Grandma Lo's for bingo and dinner, so we could exchange presents then.

Noah helped Paul shovel, both boys played lazily in their PJ's, E had a good morning nap and we drug out gifts the whole morning. We didn't buy much and when they opened a gift they wanted to play with it at that time. So it was easy to enjoy for a long time.


After sledding (pics posted seperately), we decided to try to head to Belton for dinner at my parents house. The roads had some snow and it took awhile, but it wasn't bad by that time. We enjoyed our time with family.
Elliot wearing the same Baby's 1st Christmas hat that Noah wore
I love this of E with his Great Grandma Lois

Despite missing our traditional brunch, it turned out to be the most fun Christmas I've ever had. Noah is at a really fun age and finally gets the Santa thing. The blizzard was SO fun and forced us to just slow down, stay home for awhile and enjoy some family time. I'm positive that Elliot's first Christmas will be one that I won't ever forget.

Christmas Eve with the Thomas Fam

We had a great time with our family on Christmas Eve. We had all of us who live here in Kansas City, but the Johnson & Stuckey family were unable to travel and join us. The Johnson's just had baby #10, Finn at the end of October and were staying hunkered down at home. The Stuckey's recently brought home our neice, Oliva from a lengthy NICU stay after being born more than 2 months premature. They were definately missed, but we still had a lot of fun.

One of the funniest parts of the evening was at dinner when we were all debating Joann on direction. She was turned around and was insisting that "this way" (West) was North and that "this way" (North) was east. We were all telling her she was wrong and she was having none of it. She was saying she goes "this way" when she leaves and if that was West she would end up in Kansas, not Kearney. I was telling her that in fact State Line (Kansas) is in about 3 blocks that way. She would NOT believe me. Or anyone at the table. I was laughing so hard. Just because we are so much alike. If one of us KNOWS we are right, we will not give up the argument! Although, Joann was outnumbered she was INSISTING that Wornall was "that way" (north). I was telling her after dinner we were walking to the end of the block and I would prove to her that Wornall was "right down there" (east). Finally she says, "Well, this is Pennsylvania right?" pointing out the window to 67th Street. Then when we all told her it wasn't, she's like "Ohhhhhhhh. I was turned around." hahaha! It probably doesn't sound funny to those of you who weren't here, but we all were getting a kick out of it, and this story will make us laugh again when we read about it later :) I love you, Joann, even if your barings were a bit off just this once ;)

Noah & Dylan had fun playing with flashlights in the dark and listening to flying saucers outside of Noah's windows. And of course, Uncle Todd had to read books and be silly with the boys. I'm not sure who was more excited when the blizzard started. The kids, or us. I think it was us adult kids! None of us were born before 1962, the last time we had this much snow on Christmas, so we were stoked!