Nana's Birthday Surprise!

So, I'm all sorts of confused about what day of the week it is.  Today felt very much like a Monday.  It was one of those days that I sort of felt like I was walking around in a fog.

That being said, it was a happy fog because the exhaustion I was feeling was beyond worth it.

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday.

Long story short, I decided on Sunday that the boys and I would take a day trip to Pleasant Hill and surprise her for her birthday.  She had mentioned to my sister that she wished we could just do something nice for her rather than spend a lot of money on a gift.  So, I thought this would be the perfect "nice thing" we could do.

After dropping Ms. Leah off at school Tuesday morning the boys and I headed north!

The boys did really well, even though they did not sleep a wink.  By far and away the most challenging part of the trip was the driving conditions along the way.  We contended with heavy fog in the foothills, 4 different construction zones, torrential rain, and people driving REALLY slow because of the rain/construction zone combination at one point.

Thankfully, Pearl (my new van's official name) was a champ and got us through it all in one piece and only 45 min. later than planned.  I had been in touch with one of the girls that works in my mom's office and found out that they were taking her to lunch for her birthday, so we planned on dropping by Mom's work sometime that afternoon when they got done with lunch.

In the mean time we needed lunch ourselves and were so fortunate to be able to meet up with Grandma Bettie at our favorite P-Hill eatery, Guidos.  It was so good to visit with her!

The boys and Grandma Bettie

 After lunch we stopped and grabbed some flowers and a "Happy Birthday" balloon and headed to Mom's office.

Needless to say, she was a little surprised to see us walk in the door.

Sorry it's so blurry, but I was carrying Grant and didn't manage to get a better shot of the initial reaction.

 We had so much fun surprising her!  There were "happy tears" and lots of hugs and kisses.

Happy Birthday Nana!!!!

 Her boss was kind enough to let her take the rest of the afternoon off.  So we got to just hang out with the birthday girl all afternoon.  It was wonderful!

That evening we had dinner at Spin Pizza and Aunt Mir joined us for some more birthday celebrations.  My Dad and other sister, Sam, were both out of town, but they were there in spirit.

Aunt Mir and Grant being silly.

Me and the Birthday Girl

 Then we headed back to have some cake and ice cream!

Mir and I were singing "Happy Birthday" since neither of the boys would...party poopers.

After cake it was time to load up and head back to Wichita.  The first time we headed out I managed to leave my purse and iPad at Mom's house.  It was at that point that I wondered if I should be behind the wheel for 3 hours with precious cargo in tow.  Thankfully, I didn't make it too far before realizing I was missing some important items.  After saying goodbye a second time we were on our way.

I am so glad that we went.  Sure I would have LOVED to stay longer, but the short time we had was well worth the trip.  My mom always did, and still does, make sure we feel loved and appreciated everyday, but especially on our birthdays.  It was the least I could do to return the favor.  I love her so much and feel so blessed to have been given such a wonderful Mom to guide me and love me unconditionally along this journey we call life.  Thanks Mom, I love you!!!

Here are your bonus pics for this post.

sword fish

Pig

 Dylan drew these excellent drawings for me.

Leah has had quite the week.  She finished her first ever chapter book.  She was so excited!  She also earned her very first ribbon in gymnastics!  It is for pulling herself up on the bars.

We are so proud of our sweet hardworking first grader!!!

Kansas State Fair

We have lived in Kansas for 6 years and haven't once made the trip to Hutchinson for the Kansas State Fair.  I have been to the Missouri State Fair a lot growing up.  While I have lots of wonderful memories from it, state fairs just aren't always my idea of fun.  

Leah, however, lives for going to a fair of any kind.  She is a thrill seeker and cannot get enough of the rides and of course she loves all of the junk food at every turn.  So, it's not surprising that after a week of enticement by her teacher (whom I adore) about how wonderful the Kansas State Fair is Leah would not stop talking about going.  She even watched a video about it in class.  

So, Saturday we decided we were going to load up and head up to Hutch and see what all the fuss was about.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous, which is usually what I hate most about fairs.  It's generally hotter than Hates and unbearable to walk around in, but thankfully that was not the case on Saturday.  

Leah was so excited we were finally going to the fair.  She will no longer be "the only one in class that has not been."

Here's what we found...

Face Painting

Lots of fun rides!!!

The usual fair treats...

 Daddy, Leah, and Dylan rode the Sky Ride or "the wire ride" as Leah kept calling it.

 There were animals to see, pet, and ride.

Staring contest.

Who doesn't love a good butter sculpture???

I loved this building, but there was WAY too many things for little hands to touch that they shouldn't.

Overall we all had a good time.  Were there melt downs because we didn't do what everyone (namely Leah) wanted to do right when they wanted to do it?  You bet there was, but we took them in stride and did our best to have as much fun as we could.  Hopefully we didn't disrupt other fair goers fun too much.

 At one point Daddy let Grant loose and boy did he LOVE it.

No worries, he didn't get too far away.

 Lots of great memories were made and fun was had...

 ...and children were exhausted in the process.

 Then, because we hadn't exhausted them quite enough yet, we went to our little buddy Davis' 3rd birthday party and had a racing good time!

What a fun day!  So glad we decided to go to the fair and check out the fun.  Guess we'll have to go back again next year.

Bonus Pics for today...

Someone woke up from his nap too early and decided to snuggle with blanky on the kitchen floor.

Once he woke up he had a good time walking around in Dylan's Wellies!

New Ride and A Lot of Other Fun Stuff!

We have been looking at vehicles for a while trying to figure out what we wanted to get next.  I REALLY wanted a truck.  After looking at some and discussing it more we just decided that a truck just isn't very practical for our family of 5 right now.  So, someday I will drive a truck again, just not today.

Anyone who knows Nathan, knows he has vowed to NEVER drive a minivan...NEVER.

Well, he broke that vow while we were in the UK, but since we didn't own it I guess it didn't really count.  However, I think that driving that one for 3 months certainly helped soften his feelings towards minivans.

After considering the problems looming with the Pacifica (transmission issues, brakes worn out, tires worn out) we decided we needed to go ahead and unload it before we had to put more money into it than it was worth.  I have wanted a Honda Odyssey since the last time we bought a vehicle, but lost out on the "minivan battle" with Nathan.  They were a little out of our price range at the time, and we only had 2 kids with no plans for any more when we bought the Pacifica, so it seemed like a better fit for us four years ago.  

We piled the kids in the car and headed to the east side of town to take a look at a few Odysseys at a couple of different lots.  We test drove a few other types of minivans before we bought the Pacifica and were not impressed at all.  So, I was a little skeptical of what we would find.

After a couple of dealerships we ended up at Integrity Auto, and let me tell you, as a person who HATES sales people I would do business with these people any day.  They weren't overly annoying with sales pitches and in your face about stuff.  We took it out for a spin and LOVED everything about it instantly.  The kids where putting more pressure on us to buy it than the sales guy, so we knew it was unanimous feeling for all of us.

So after an entire afternoon, literally we were there from 1:30pm to 5:30pm with all three kids, of haggling and paper work we purchased our first minivan.  Another plus about Integrity Auto, they have a kids area with a tv and some crayons and a few toys.  Everyone who works there has kids and was so very understanding of our broad.  Wonderful experience and I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Here she is!!!!  Beautiful, right???

He wouldn't even let me drive home.

Happy customers!

Needless to say, we have ALL been enjoying the new van!  I think the kids are worried we have to give it back or something, because every morning they ask, "Do we still have the new minivan???"

We had planned to visit the library after we went "looking" at cars on Saturday, but after spending all afternoon at the dealership we didn't make it.  So, Sunday we promised the kids we would go. 

Leah is loving the "Junie B. Jones" books right now.
She found a whole tub of them at the library. 

After school on Wednesday I surprised Dylan with a trip to the zoo.

He was pleasantly surprised!

"Heeeeppo!!!" (How Grant says "hippo")

"I think I need my picture taken with that Jeep, Mommy"

We enjoyed the ECC's Big Truck Night.  It's always a great time!

 Grant got to go on his first school bus ride!  He can spot a school bus a mile away..."BUSSSS!!!" he is always shouting out in the car.  It reminds me so much of his cousin Evan who is nearly 11 years old now, but when he was a little guy like Grant he could spot a tractor anywhere WAY before any of us adults could see it.

He looks unimpressed, but he really did have a fun time.

Tow Mator was there!

The limo was a big hit. 

Finally your bonus pictures for this post...

The kids and I have been enjoying all of the fun buggy creatures lately (except for those darn mosquitoes and flies).  We've chased many a grass hopper like this little guy.  We even saw a woolly worm at the doctors office yesterday!  I haven't seen one of those in YEARS!!!  I didn't get a pic of that one, because I was too busy trying to keep Grant from stepping on it.  Boys.

Where you can find Grant most of the time these days.  He loves his little airplane.  Grandpa might have a new flying buddy!