Disney!!!

We spent our Fall Break in Disney World this year, and we had a blast!  For the first time, our school moved from a 2 day break to an entire week.  We took full advantage of it and loaded up the campers and headed South.  We went with Andy's parents, his sister and her family, and our friends and their kiddos.  Despite a trip to the ER, to find out Ben was constipated, we still packed a lot of fun into a short trip!

 Face painting in Animal Kingdom...poor Ben was in the camper resting.

 Dinner at Chef Mickey's

 The highlight of the trip...lunch in Cinderella's Castle!

 Before we went up to lunch, Kyran proposed to Ava.  He had been saying all trip that he was going to ask her to marry him, in Cinderella's Castle...poor guy, he got rejected!

Some random photos from the rest of the trip!

 

 

 Somebody was a little tired!

Super Saturday with a Super Boy

Ben was invited to participate in a Super Saturday at Purdue.  He had never been before and he chose to go to the one focused on "engineering".  We had an absolute BLAST!  Ben was able to construct 4 different structures, given only certain materials and very general instructions (for example - create a roller coaster with at least 2 loops and one part has to be at least 12 inches high).  It was so fun to watch his brain work and see him go through the trial and error process - parents were given strict instructions to not give any ideas or suggestions, just help them with what they "tell" us to do.  It was a great day and I'm so glad we decided to go.  I see more of these Super Saturday's in our future, I hope!

His "water" tower

His marble roller coaster (and he's holding his lunar lander)

A close-up of his lunar lander.

Family Work Day - Take 4

Our family work day was scheduled for October 1st, and we were SO excited for that date to get here.  We had gone back and forth on projects that we wanted to complete and finally settled on rebuilding the playhouse, cleaning the basement, painting the playroom, and painting the bathroom.  We had some lofty goals, but with the help of my family and Andy's family even came for part of the day, we were able to get almost every single project completed!  Here are some pics so you can see the progress.

 The playhouse was by far the biggest project of the day, and I think everyone worked on it in some form or another, at some point in the day.  This playhouse was originally built for Eric and I by my Dad, Matt, and my Grandpa Walsh.  It was given to us on Christmas of 1988, so to say it's lived a life is a bit of an understatement.  It's gone from playhouse to pool house to garden shed to storage shed (all at my parents) and then finally came to rest at our home a couple years ago.  I have big dreams for it to be a playhouse/pool house for us, and I think we're definitely on our way to making that happen!

 The kiddos were on "food and drink" patrol...here are a couple fine helpers making some dirt pudding cups.

 My Mom, sister, and sister-in-law spent a lot of their time transforming my bathroom from cool blue to warm orange.  It was a HUGE change, but I have to say that I am in love with the color!

The "almost" finished product...just need to put the stuff back in.

 I spent the majority of my day in the basement (with my sis) cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! I couldn't believe how much stuff we hauled out of there and how nice it looked when we were finished.  The only thing left to do down there is paint the walls and put in some carpet.  

 Of course, it can't be all work and NO play!  The kiddos made sure to get lots of cousin time in during the day...always making good memories!

I can't say it enough...without my family, I don't know where I'd be!  I sometimes take my family for granted, and I shouldn't.  I am so very lucky to have parents and siblings and in-laws that realize the true meaning of family and stick together through thick and thin!  Many hands make light work and my family truly has many, many hands!  I love them dearly and am so very thankful for all that they do!

Boiler Up

Just a quick post...after gymnastics tonight, we loaded up and took the kiddos over to Purdue for the Ag Econ cookout.  It's kind of become an annual tradition for us and the boys were excited to share it with their good friends, Blake and Ava!

Random September

September was such a busy month and I tried to document some of the highlights.  However, I found a few pictures of other "happenings" in September that I wanted to be sure and include.

 Ben had his good friend Blake over for a sleepover.  Unfortunately, the summer sun had passed us by and the pool was just too cold to get in.  But, it was the perfect "lake" for their motorized boats!  They had so much fun racing those around the pool.

 On a sad note, we said goodbye to our beloved Lynx.  Lynx came to us in a very odd way.  Andy's uncle was needing a home for him and we decided to take him in.  He was ancient when we got him, but he was a trooper!  Lynx lived with us for 3 years before finally getting to the point that his body was just giving out.  I noticed one night that he wasn't eating and really hadn't moved much throughout the day.  Andy was gone, so I stayed up until 3 am trying to get him to eat and make him comfortable.  A trip to Purdue the next day confirmed that he had a tumor in his jaw and only had a couple weeks left (if that).  We decided to put him down so that he wouldn't suffer any longer.  I have to say, I was very hesitant to take Lynx (I am NOT an inside animal person) but I fell in love with him.  I don't think I'll have another inside pet, but I'll admit that Lynx was pretty special and will always hold a place in our hearts.

 On a brighter note, Ashley and I ran (ok, we walked a lot of it) the Cupcake Run/Walk for Education.  This was our third 5K that we've done together and it was one of the best.  Don't mind our make-up free/no hair-do photo...we were doing good to just be awake and going, lol!

Finally, I had to include this photo.  Kyran woke up one morning and said he wanted a mo-hawk.  Since it was a Saturday and we had nowhere to go, I happily obliged!  Later, he was looking out the kitchen window for "the big foot" (we had just watched Harry and the Henderson's), and I couldn't help myself...I had to get out my good camera and snap a couple photos.  Those eyes just melt my heart!

Gymnastics - Something New and Something Fun

Once we got back into the routine of school, my friend and I decided it might be nice to get our kiddos involved in some type of activity.  Her daughter wanted to do gymnastics and the place that she looked into had classes for all the kids.  They had a boys only class for the older boys, a class for her daughter, and another class just for Kyran.  It was the perfect fit for all of them!  After a little bit of convincing, the boys agreed to go.  They had a GREAT time!  Kyran had a little bump in the road after the first class (he was a little scared to go back, but he made it through).  Hopefully in a few weeks we can sign them up for another round!

Iowa 2016

This year, over Labor Day, we went to Iowa with my in-laws and my parents.  We hadn't been to Iowa for the Old Thresher's Reunion in a few years, so we were excited to be back.  The boys had a great time looking at the tractor's (and driving them), hanging out in the campers, riding the trains, and just having a few days to relax and play!  We had a great time too and enjoyed a few days with family enjoying great weather and making great memories!

I took a lot of photos, but unfortunately can't get them to upload right now.  I'll work on that, but for now, here's a few!

Update...finally got more photos to load!

 Kyran and Grandma Debbie had a blast riding the steam train!

 The tree amigos...and a random mobility cart (not sure why that's there???)

 Riding the trolley!

A favorite part is the "drive a tractor" spot...the boys couldn't wait for their turn! 

Here's a little video of the sparks show that the steam engines put on each night.  If you've never seen it in person, I can promise you that it's truly a sight to see!