Monkey Bizness, Again!! (April 4th, 2009)

Well, here we are again...at Monkey Bizness. The kids really love this place. Like I said before, it is a great place to just let them run wild!! Ashlyn loves climbing, and Jacob loves swinging on the swing. Until next time...Adios!!

DEANNA ROSE!! (April 3rd, 2009)

YEAH!! Deanna Rose if finally open again. The kids and I LOVE this place. There is a lot for the kids to do, and it's FREE to get in. They love just running and playing with their friends. There is gemstone mining, a dairy barn, pony rides, fishing, tractors, goats, and more!! We try to come here as much as we can, sometimes we stay all day and have a picnic lunch out there, other times we just go for a couple hours. I can usually get some really good pictures of the kids out there too. Stay tuned for more Deanna Rose pictures this spring/summer!!

Jacob's Tadpole (April 1st, 2009)

Jacob got a frog/tadpole habitat for his birthday. We thought this would be a neat gift so he can watch and learn about how tadpoles turn into frogs. We found a tadpole at a small pet shop not too far from our house. Jacob decided to name him Speed (from Speed Racer). We tried to take care of it the best we could, however - unfortunately - little Speed died. That same pet store no longer carries tadpoles, so we are in the process of locating another one. I did get a few pictures of our first attempt!!

Jacob's 5th Birthday Party (March 28th, 2009)

We took a "mini vacation" for Jacob's 5th birthday party to the Sheraton Hotel. We stayed 2 nights and had his party at Coco Key Indoor Waterpark on Saturday. Jacob got to invite 5 friends for this party. We all had a lot of fun. There were several different sections to play in at the waterpark, so we just split it up and spent some time in each. After a while, we got dried off and changed and the kids came up to our hotel room for cake, juice, and presents. The downside to the day was the weather. For the last 2 years, the weather hasn't cooperated with me. Last year it was a little chilly for his outside at the park party, and this year there was a blizzard out there!! Luckily all his friends made it there and home safely!! Who knows what we'll do next year...maybe I'll wait a few weeks after his birthday to have his party (if we are still living in the midwest)!!

I hope you had a good birthday, Jacob. You are a very special boy and we all love you bunches!! Happy Birthday!!

Spring Program (March 26th, 2009)

This was the last year Jacob gets to do a Spring Program with Little Learners. He's be moving on up to kindergarden in August. The title of the program this year was "A Day in the Life of Your Preschooler." We got to watch each class preform something that happens at preschool-circle time, spanish, bible buddies, creative movements. It was so cute seeing the kids on stage. The video is of Jacob's class singing a song called "The Boogie Walk."

Jacob is FIVE!! (March 25th, 2009)

Jacob turned FIVE years old on March 25th!! Wow, has time flown by. My big boy will be going to kindergarden in just 3 1/2 months!! YIKES!! His birthday was a 2 day adventure...on his actual birthday, we met the family at Chuck E Cheese for pizza, cake and games. Jacob had fun celebrating his big day with our family, Grandma, Megan, Uncle Sean and Katherine. He was glad they all came out for him. It was fun playing games with the kids. Jacob earned some tickets and got to pick out a couple toys for prizes. We also got him a Chuck E Cheese Karate stuffed toy. How perfect was that for our little karate kid?!?!

Monkey Bizness!! (March 20th, 2009)

The kids and I met some friends at Monkey Bizness and had a blast. Ashlyn was a little dare devil and climbed on ALL the big blow up stuff. Jacob was a brave boy and had fun with his friends. When they went down the big slide, they'd hold hands and all go together. This is one of our favorite activities to do, especially when the weather isn't that great. The kids always come out of here with red, sweaty faces and ready for naps.

Happy St. Patrick's Day (March 17th, 2009)

I love St. Patrick's Day! I love dressing the kids in green. This is actually my new favorite color - "happy green"! We spent the day at the park again. We are loving the nice weather to be outside and playing. Antioch Park is our new favorite park. They have a couple playgrounds for the kids to play on, a play village with wooden play houses to play in, and a pond to walk around and feed bread to the ducks and geese. I think we will be spending lots of time at this park when the weather is nice!!

A Trip to the Zoo!! (March 6th, 2009)

The weather got warm again, so we met some friends at the zoo. This was the first time (in a long time) that I took the wagon with us. The KC Zoo is pretty big with lots of walking, so I generally don't take the wagon. But as you can see, it worked out pretty good. The kids took turns pulling and riding in the wagon. I think at one point, I had 3-4 kids in the wagon at once.

Look at that ornery look...I wonder what she is up to? Hmmm...

Watch out Jacob...leaf fight!!

Ashlyn LOVED the big, green slide in the discovery barn. She is one brave girl!!

Before we left the zoo, we went to the playground. In the field behind the playground there were LOTS of geese runny around. Well, the weren't really running until Ashlyn got there. She had a blast chasing the geese. Jacob saw how much fun she had and decided to join her. Next thing I knew, there was another child running around with them. I think Ashlyn was determinded to catch one.

A Bowling Birthday Party (March 1st, 2009)

One of Jacob's good friends had his 5th birthday party at a bowling alley. Jacob had a great time bowling. I think he has some natural bowling skills. He bowled several spares and a strike or two, too. Yes, the gutter guards were up, but he was still trilled about it. I think every time it was his turn to bowl, he'd fall to his knees after throwing the ball. It was a fun day!!

3 Days Later = SNOW!! (February 28th, 2009)

Gotta LOVE the midwest. Warm and Sunny one day, and three days later SNOW!! The kids enjoyed it at least. We decided to go to Grandma's house to build a snowman with Megan. Well, we at least tried. The snow was not wet enough to make it stick. But the kids (and Megan) had fun anyways. They also made snow angels. Jacob did a good job with his; Ashlyn layed on her tummy to do hers. Before we went in for the day, everyone had a snowball fight. Even Grandma joined in that one. She had the advantage using the snow shovel and dumps tons of snow on the kids!! We all had a good time!!

A Day at the Parks!! (February 25th, 2009)

These pictures were taken Feb. 25th when we were having spring-like weather in the middle of winter. The kids and I spent that whole day outside. Went to two different parks (Antioch Park and a park in Raytown) and played with our friends. They enjoyed running, playing and riding their bikes. These are the days that I crave after all the cold and snowy winter weather.