my dad is a stud

Van Buchanan, the 2011 Corbett Award Winner

(that's him in the middle, under the umbrella)

our staycation {part two}

On Monday morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel and then drove over to Rolling Hills Zoo and Museum. The first part that you can walk through is the museum -- filled with "stuffed" animals (that at one time were real) in beautiful scenes.

They were SO real-looking that, at times, freaked the boys out. :)

Then we headed outside to the zoo.

Grayson found a friendly deer. It loved licking his shoes!

This cute guy actually spent the first several weeks of his life at the hospital where I work! He was a preemie, and one of the (human) neonatologists took care of him. We were amazed!

My three favorite boys next to a cougar...

The cougar up close -- scary!!

After staying at Rolling Hills for about 3 hours, we drove back into Salina and ate lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place, La Casita. Carter was especially fond of the queso! :)

Then, it was time to head home. It was a fun little Spring Break staycation!

our staycation {part one}

We decided to go on a fun 24 hour-long family staycation to none other than Salina, KS. We had heard wonderful things about their Rolling Hills Zoo and Museum, and the boys were pumped about staying at a hotel with an indoor pool. Ahhh... the little things.

So, we headed out Sunday afternoon to Salina. It was beautiful outside (80+ degrees) so our first stop was Oakdale Park.

The boys thought Gramps would have loved this train!
They loved climbing all over it...

Carter heading across the bridge to catch up with Grayson

A very TALL slide!!

After playing for awhile and getting hot and thirsty, we headed to our hotel for a quick swim.

Carter was a little twitched about the pool... hopefully just because he hasn't swam in a year?? He was content to hang out in the hot tub with Daddy.

After our swim, we headed out to eat dinner at Bogey's -- where we sat outside and enjoyed a yummy dinner and some ice cream. Carter decided not to sleep on the trip up, so I went back to the room to lay him down, while Jerry and Grayson hit up the pool again.

Then we watched KU beat Illinois to go to the SWEET 16!! Yea!!

happy spring break!!

What are you up to during Spring Break?

We're in the bathroom... having a party! :)

(Carter's new thing is to tell us when he pees and poops -- in his diaper. When he sits on the potty, he does nothing. Oh well... it's a start!)

Today we have had a nice relaxing Saturday.

We ran some errands, watched lots of basketball, and made a big purchase.

We have jumped into the land of front-loading washers and dryers.

We are the proud new owners of a Whirlpool Duet set.

The deals at Lowe's could not be beat, so we went for it!!

That means our laundry room is now under construction for the new appliances.

In other news, we are planning a little "staycation" during Spring Break.

The boys are excited and I will post pictures soon!

In the meantime, ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!

"Paint the Towne"

We just celebrated Grayson's 6th birthday with his friends at a new store called "Paint the Towne". Since Grayson was having a sports-themed party, the kids could decide if they wanted to paint a Jayhawk or a Wildcat. We had 8 Jayhawks and 1 Wildcat!! Here are the kids -- hard at work! G is on the bottom right in the KU jersey

It's looking more and more like a Jayhawk! :)

After all their hard work, it was time for some KU birthday cake

the finished masterpieces!

(with Carter, the supervisor)

What a fun birthday party -- and on the day the Jayhawks won the Big 12 Championship!

Rock Chalk and Happy Birthday, Grayson!!

some random Thursday thoughts...

I feel like lots is swimming around in my head... not all necessarily important stuff, but random things nonetheless. So here's my brain dump for the day!!

1. The Bachelor will come to an end this Monday, and I'm really hoping that Brad chooses Emily. But, I have watched all but 2 seasons, and more often than not, the person I hope for is NOT chosen. Oh well. I'll still hope for Emily AND I'm so thankful for DVR. That show is almost painful to watch if you can't fast-forward some of it. :)

2. I just ordered a new swimsuit from athleta.com which is owned by the Gap. I am pretty happy with it. I don't ever like to be in a swimsuit, but it's a must with kids and a neighborhood pool. Anyway, I don't plan on sending it back, so that's a good thing.

3. I had the craziest tooth experience this week. Long story (sorta) short -- I have never had any cavities. I went to the dentist for my 6 month appt on Monday, and they told me that both of my back upper teeth had cavities. What? You couldn't see any black spots -- they were decaying from the inside out. So, I went back the next day to have them filled. Our dentist is a friend of ours, and he told me candidly that they were a LOT worse than they looked. He couldn't believe I wasn't in any pain. He decided to start on my upper left -- it being the worst of the two -- and 5 shots and 2 drilling sessions later, he told me that I had two options. The tooth was so decayed (even around the root) that I could have a temporary filling placed, then a root canal (ugh!), and then a crown put on it... all with the hopes of maybe keeping my tooth for 10 years. OR, I could just have it pulled right there.

Well, three more shots and lots of pulling with some scary metal pliers later, my back left upper tooth is gone. They showed me the tooth afterwards and it was totally brown inside. How on earth did that happen? I am OCD about brushing my teeth. I am too young to have teeth pulled. Yuck. And, I have to go back in 3 weeks for my other tooth to get checked. Oh my.

4. Last but not least, Uncle Dave called Grayson this week to talk with him about asking Jesus into his heart, which had happened last week. And, side note -- Grayson LOVES to talk with the Uncles about "fighting" -- which means wrestling, in G's book. Anyway, after their conversation, I was asking Grayson about it. I said, "Do you know why Uncle Dave is so excited, Grayson? This means that now, you and Uncle Dave will be in Heaven together after you die."

Grayson replied, "Yeah... that way we can still fight!"

I'm sure Jesus approves of Uncle/Nephew wrestling inside the pearly gates, don't you??

Happy 6th Birthday, Grayson!!

I can't believe that my firstborn is SIX!

He is a people-pleaser, a sports enthusiast, an animal-lover.

He rides his bike with NO fear. He keeps up with us on 3-4 mile bike rides with no problem!

He tells us that school is "easy" and it has been so fun to watch him learn to read this year.

He loves the Jayhawks, and always wants to know if they're playing on TV.

And, if they're winning! :)

Grayson loves being a big brother to Carter.

He keeps him in line... most of the time. ;)

It has been a blessing to watch these two brothers enjoy playing more and more together.

Grayson is pumped for soccer season to start.

He says it's his favorite sport!

Most importantly, Grayson shared with us just a few days ago that he asked Jesus into his heart during Chapel time at school.

Answered prayer.

We are so thankful for our sweet Grayson Samuel.

Happy 6th Birthday!!

go away flu bugs. go away.

Poor Carter.

Last night, I had been in bed less than an hour, when I was awakened by him crying and that horrible, terrible, no-good smell of throw up. I work in a hospital, but it's enough to make me gag.

There were chunks everywhere... it was dried in his hair... the sheets were soaked.

It was a sad sight.

Jerry wasn't home -- he and 3 buddies were driving home from the KU basketball game.

So, at 12:20am, I started a load of laundry, changed Carter's sheets, put him in the bathtub, and prayed.

Please, Lord, don't let anyone else get this nasty bug.

Carter got sick throughout the night. Ugh.

As of now, though, he hasn't thrown up since about 6am.

He's kept down some Sprite, a few Saltines, and two small pieces of turkey.

He's napping now... and I hope he wakes up feeling lots better!

As for me, the windows are open, the house has been hit with Lysol wipes and bleach, and I'm still praying that those flu bugs go away.