Me and my boys

I read a blog that several of my friends posted on FB recently about how mom's never get in the pictures because they don't look good enough. And it really highlighted how ridiculous that is, and of course the boys will want to look back on pictures of their parents, not just themselves. So from now on, mom and dad are going to be in more pics. Here's a few of me and my sweet boys.

They are so fresh and handsome after haircuts and a bath

Cuddled and snug watching Noah's soccer game together trying to stay warm

Pogo Stick Record

Noah is an old pro on the pogo stick.  Within less than one week get jumped over 1000 jumps in a row.  He wanted to set the world record.  I googled and saw another 6 year old did 1,290 jumps in a row.  Guiness Book of World Records doesn't publish by age, so their record for an adult is over 200,000 jumps in a row.  We knew he could beat 1,290 and he likes pogo'ing on Grandma Lois & Grandpa Gene's back patio because it's totally flat without cracks and bumps.

Once he got to 1,290 I told him he broke it and he kept on going..... until he hit 1,449.

The funny thing is he had been playing hard all day.  And we walked from my  mom's house to my grandparents house and he pogo'd a lot of the way there (470 in a row before he fell on an acorn or something).

Noah's excited to be the unofficial 6 year old world record holder of most consecutive pogo stick jumps in a row.  Way to go, Noah!

Sporting KC with our soccer team!

I think it was almost two years ago that the major announcement was made that KC was having a new professional soccer team:  Sporting KC.  I remember the day because it was the same day that on my run I saw a couple of guys pushing a a GIANT soccer ball down Meyer to Ward Parkway to hype up this "big announcement" coming that day.  It is memorable, because it was the same day that Paul got attacked by an owl.  I thought the name was weird and not being a big sports person, never went to a game.  I've only heard good things about the games.  Everyone loves them, the team is actually really good and the stadium is beautiful.  So, when it was Brookside Soccer Club night, we jumped on it and went with 3 other families from Noah's soccer team.  Paul ended up going to San Antonio that weekend so he missed out, but we had a blast!

I've been to Royals and Cheifs games, but the energy doesn't even compare.  Not to mention, they WON!  The kids NEVER got bored and we stayed until the end.  Elliot was really tired though and asked to go home so he could go to bed several times, but he was easily distracted.

Paul & I are going to the last regular season home game in a couple of weeks.  It's on a school night, so I just bought the two of us tickets.  It took the boys a few days to recover from that late of a night.

Dinner at the Jazz

Kid's section

Instant fans (and aspiring Sporting players)

First goal of the night!

Kindergarten Stuff

Noah's portrait "My Family" (The yellow guy up top is Grandpa Rick)

"What My Family Does Together" - Go to the beach; Dad buried in the sand
I was concerned why I had a sad face.  It was because there wasn't room for me and I was falling off a cliff

This was in the Kindergarten Singles Ad 

I met Noah for lunch 

I went on their first field trip of the year, the Discovery Center 

We learned about nature and trees

This is Noah's whole Kindergarten class.  His teacher, Mrs. Pease is standing by the tree.  Mrs. Malone is the teacher assistant and on the left side.

Making their "tree" 

Noah's tree art project

Going for a spin

This weekend has given us some fabulous fall weather, and we took full advantage of it.  On Sunday, we took the boys out to Minor Park to see if they would enjoy mountain biking.  I wasn't 100% certain how it would go; when I had asked Noah a couple days earlier if he'd like to try riding his bike on some trails and he told me no.

We haven't been here in nearly two years, but it's a fun place that I used to enjoy coming to quite frequently.  This was the very first place I tried my hand at true mountain biking, and at one time, I lived nearby and used the trails extensively as a great after-work release.  The Blue River trails have something for everyone, with difficulty levels from beginner to expert depending on your tastes.  But even the "beginner" level for a 3- and 6-year old can pose some challenging obstacles.

Initially, I hadn't even planned on taking Elliot's bike along, figuring there would be: a) no way he could keep up on his bike, and b) no way he could keep going the entire way.  Turns out, happily, that I was wrong on both counts.  We took his pedal-less Strider with us, but not Mandy's bike.  Hers is not a trail bike, and we figured Elliot would poop out quickly and they could just walk in the woods.

Noah had no problems at all, and loved the experience.  Elliot kept up on nearly all sections, until the end, but he kept going under his own power until we got back to the car after more than two hours and three miles of biking.  We stopped to throw rocks into the Blue River a couple of times, but Noah always wanted to keep going.  We had lunch about halfway through, then crossed to the other side of the river to head back along some other trails.

Afterwards, we took the boys out for some ice cream and drove by where I used to live and where Mandy's first house was.  She and I both were more tired than the two Energizer bunnies we had with us, but we all had a great time.

First big downhill.

First big uphill

Elliot getting on it.

Keeping up with big brother

Rock break.  This is the same place we stopped and threw rocks two years ago.

They liked exploring the "lakes" they kept seeing from the trail.

Noah found a board that would be perfect for a fort, and was convinced he could take this board back with him on his bike 

Lunch!

Climbing down a steep hill.  One that daddy would have ridden down in his younger years. They couldn't even convince Mom to climb down it.

Exploring

Climbing back up

The last part of the trail on this side peters out into a railroad line.

Noah's 6th birthday party

Noah had his birthday party at the gymnastics place he and Elliot used to take classes. It is a really fun/big gymnasium.  The kids had a great time!  Each party has their own party coaches (somehow they managed to have 5 or 6 bday parties going on all at once).  The party coach takes the kids out and parents aren't allowed on the floor.  The coach led them through several stations and things to do.  Paul and I were given bracelets and allowed to come on the floor to take pictures.  Then we had a half an hour in a party room to eat cake.

We didn't have time to open presents, so we did that at home.  Noah was excited to play with all his new toys this week and has been writing one or two thank you notes a night to all his friends.

Finn and Hudson carpooled with us.  These kids were ready to party!

Weekend with Claire

When Paul and I went on our weekend getaway recently, the kids stayed home with their favorite sitter of all time, Claire.  There was no time for missing mom and dad.  She kept them busy and having fun.  She emailed me some pictures from their weekend.  How lucky our family is to have Claire.  Sadly she went back to Seattle the next morning after we got back to head back to college.  We'll see her again over Christmas break.

They made ice boats and sailed them at the Nelson Art Gallery

Love the ice boats

I think shaving cream was involved here

frozen paint

Noah's first soccer game of the season

Air hockey in Claire's basement.  They were obsessed with this and still talk about it.

Glow in the dark bath

St. E's night at Culver's the night we left

hehehe