Last Day of Summer

We spent our last day of summer at the zoo with one of Emily's kindergarten classmates and her mom and sister. It was a little hotter out there than we thought, but we had gotten a drink from Sonic and that helped us make it through! The kids had a great time and I had fun spending my last afternoon with the kids together.

We got home and ate dinner and headed outside for a little while. The kids decided to blow bubbles and had so much fun. It was then inside for cleaning up, Wii games and watching the Olympics. They are really getting into it this year.


Emily starts school tomorrow. This year will be different because she will now be in all day for 1st grade. She is very excited and I know she'll do great. I'll update after our first day!

Knock

Check out the sign that is now on Emily's door. It says, "Knock first. Please don't come in without asking." Hmmm....is this showing some independence or what!?!?!?!

Emily is really starting to grow up. She is very picky about her clothing, but I picked out a shirt for her last weekend and she wore it today. I told her it looked nice and she said, "I love it mommy!" I said, "You mean I picked out something you like?" She just smiled. What will happen next? You never can tell, but I'll be keeping an eye on her room!!!

Grandma & Grandpa's House

I have no pictures on this post but will fill you in our last week. On Tuesday evening, I took the kids to Pratt to spend a few days with Grandma & Grandpa Pankratz. I stayed overnight and drove in to work the next morning. The next few days were filled with lots of fun...here are a few things they've highlighted:

1. Emily got to take grandma's childhood doll for a grocery store trip
2. Rides on the lawn mower with grandpa
3. Making cookies
4. Work on blankets they are both sewing
5. Riding bikes
6. Talks with grandma - Chase told her he wanted to be a bird so he could fly up high!
7. Lunch out on Friday
8. ICE CREAM everyday

I think you can tell they had a lot of fun.

Chad and I also had a good few days. I worked more at the office. We actually got to go out to eat on Wednesday night....my choice was On the Border! YUM! We took a bike ride that night and left the house around 8pm. We usually have to be home by then for bedtime so it was fun to be outside enjoying the evening, especially since it had cooled off tremendously. On Thursday night, Mom Ingram helped us on a painting project here at the house.

Grandma and grandpa brought the kids in on Friday evening and we got to spend the rest of the weekend having fun. Swimming, Emily had a sleepover Friday night, watching the Olympics, pedicures, shopping, playing, eating and relaxing. We had lots of visiting time and it's been a great weekend. Now Chad has gone to work for this rainy Sunday, Grandma has gone to KC to see the Sommer's and the kids and I are ready to get chores done and try to play a little! Hope you have a good day too!

Great Wolf Lodge

WELCOME to the Great Wolf Lodge! We had the opportunity to go with mom and dad Ingram to the Lodge this weekend. Our adventure started Saturday morning as we left our house around 7:30am. We stopped in Olathe to pick up a few things from Brian & Kim and then we were off to shop! We stopped at the Great Mall and then Legends to do a little back-to-school shopping - the sales weren't quite right for this bargain shopper but we had fun anyway!! By 3pm, we were ready to check into the lodge. Here is a picture of our anxious children in the beautiful lobby!

A fun picture opportunity with grandpa and grandma!

Chase is ready with his arm band (your ticket to the waterpark)......

...and so is Emily!!!!!

This is the view when you first walk in.....AWESOME!

The big bucket on top of the "treehouse" holds 1,000 gallons of water and dumps every 5 minutes. It's A LOT of water. Chase wasn't too fond of this feature!!

We spent a little time outside, but it was too hot, so it was back indoors!

The waterslides were tiring......so the guys caught a little break. We climbed 58 steps everytime we went down a slide....and we went continuously for 4 hours!!

I think he's almost done and gonna fall asleep....but he proved us wrong and kept going!!!

Grandma and Emily enjoy a float on the lazy river.......

....along with Chase and me!

Breakfast on Sunday morning in our hotel room.......

....and lunch at the Corona Cantina #1 at the Legends!

We did a little more shopping on Sunday and then headed home - with a stop for ice cream in Emporia. It was a GREAT weekend and so much fun to have one more getaway before school starts. Thanks mom and dad!

Two Wheels!

Chase is on two wheels! We took a four-mile bike ride tonight and he hardly relied on the training wheels at all, so when we got home, he said he was ready to take them off. Here we are ready to go......1.....2.....3......

....and we're off and riding.....

He did a great job. Starting and stopping will need some practice, but he's got the balance down! Whoa...now I have two kids with the freedom of their bikes....YIKES! Say a little prayer!!

Giveaway Drawing

I have a great giveaway for you. A friend, Amy, of my sis, Kim, at http://amysfinerthings.wordpress.com is giving away a Creative Memories paper album kit. It's perfect to make for yourself as a memory of a special occasion or give away as a gift. If you want to be entered into the drawing, visit the blog site listed above, visit the post entitled "My First Bloggy Giveaway!", and follow the directions. Good luck!

We're Producing!!

One of my favorite things about summer is all the fresh produce! I was a little hesitant and skeptical 4 years ago when Chad encouraged me to start a garden. His parents have a fabulous garden and we got our produce from them. But we were up for the challenge and thought it would be fun to have a few things of our own and see what we could do. This afternoon, the children helped me hunt for cucumbers and tomatoes in our jungle!! They were great helpers.

Well, actually Emily turned out to be the photographer instead of a harvester, when she wasn't busy taking excellent care of her baby!

Here's our jungle of tomatoes and cucumbers. We have 5 tomato plants, 6 cucumber plants, 2 green peppers, cilantro and a strawberry patch.

Chase found a cucumber!!

And I did too!!

Here's our "done-for-this-year" strawberry patch that Emily said we needed a picture of!

The best part is the end result.....fresh produce! We are feasting on cucumbers, green peppers and tomatoes!

Hope you've gotten to enjoy fresh garden items from someone too!