Firehouse Banks

We went to Home Depot today to attend a workshop. My friend Stephanie has taken her kids and they loved it, so we thought we would check it out. They have them the first Saturday of each month. The kids get to make a project (this time was firehouse banks) and it is all free!

When we got there, we saw firetrucks, state trooper cars, firemen, policemen, and the K-9 dog!!!! They boys were SO excited!!

We went to the firetruck first and the fireman let the boys get in and check it out!

They even got to wear a helmet!

After that, we learned how to be safe if there is a fire in our house and we got to meet Safety Dog.
Then it was on to the project center! The boys each got their very own apron and they got to pick out hammers. (they got to keep the aprons, not the hammers.) =)


They couldn't wait to get started!

Lily was not as excited about the hammering, especially since she wasn't doing it. =)
So, she and I walked around while Jeff helped the boys.

Once she spotted Safety Dog again, she ran toward her. She stood there and laughed, hugged, and talked to the dog FOREVER! Seriously, I had to drag her away so other kids could get a chance. =)

We went back and checked on how the boys were doing. They were doing great!

When they were all done, they got certificates and a cool pin to put on their aprons to show that they did this workshop.

Here are their banks!

When the boys were all done with their banks, we walked over to see the K-9 dog and the State Trooper cars. The policemen were SO nice and talked to the kids and answered their questions.

Then we headed home. We can't wait for the next project!

Stepping Stones

I bought kits to make stepping stones about a month and a half ago.......and then let them sit there on the floor.....until Sunday, when I finally talked Jeff into helping me. I was not brave enough to try to mix the concrete by myself. I was worried I wouldn't get the right consistency, and then the whole thing would be ruined. I actually ended up needing his help with a lot more than stirring the concrete.....it turns out this project was VERY messy. I know! Concrete...who would have thought? =)

Anyway...Jeff helped the boys stir the concrete and then he poured it into the molds.

Then each of the kids put their hands in their mold to make a hand print.

Riley looks super excited to be doing this! ;-)

Here are the cool stones the boys picked out to decorate their stone with.

Then Jeff & I wrote their names and the year in the concrete. They took a little over 24 hours to dry, and they are now in our backyard!

FALL!!

Fall is here!!!! It is by far my favorite season! I love the crisp air in the morning, the colors, the smell in the air. I LOVE it!!!

I love taking walks with three of my favorite people:

I love looking at the leaves changing colors:

I love looking at all of the mums that are fall colored:

and bright orange pumpkins!

and I love to make pumpkin muffins!

Happy Fall!!!

Exploration Place

Yesterday was free museum day, so we (and 5,000 other people) decided to head over to Exploration Place. The first thing that Lily did was dress up!

While Lily was doing that, the boys and Jeff stood in line to put themselves in a bubble!

Then Lily and I headed over to the three and under section. She had fun playing house, splashing in the water, and sailing her own ship.

While Lily was there, the boys were playing in the castle.

Riley's favorite part is throwing the dragons down this tube.

Zach likes this big knight.

After that, we ventured off to the Kansas in miniature. The kids like to make the trains run around the town and watch the little kids on the playground and amusement park move around. There is even a drive-in movie theatre with a movie playing.

The boys like to make the airplane fly in this simulation.

Another favorite is making this ball float in the air!

When we were done at Exploration Place, we decided to walk over to the Keeper of the Plains since the kids had never seen it. Actually, Jeff and I haven't seen it up close since they moved it, so it was new to all of us.

I couldn't take a picture of the kids in front of the statue (all I could get was the back) so I had to settle with a picture of the kids in front of downtown Wichita, the Arkansas River, and the back of Exploration Place.

It was an adventurous day!

Tiger Scouts!

Zach had his first Tiger Cub Scout meeting last night! He was SO excited!!!! He wanted to be in scouts so bad last year, but they don't offer scouts for Kindergarten boys at his school. (I don't know if this is a Boy Scout thing or just his school.) So, when they passed out papers to sign up at the end of the year last year, he couldn't wait to show me. We signed him up and he even got to go to a Boy Scout social event in August. Last night was the first meeting for his individual troop though, and he got to wear his brand new uniform. (Complete with patches that Jeff & I sewed on with our limited sewing ability....I think we are going to find some way to iron them on next time.....really, it shouldn't take two adults 2 hours to sew on three numbers and a circle.) Jeff is a volunteer and goes to all of the meetings with him. Zach had a lot of fun last night and even earned his first badge last night!! He will receive it at the Boy Scout meeting for the whole school next month!

Turtles!

I took Lily to another Zoo class today. This time it was to learn about turtles! She was way more into it this time. Last time she stuck to me like glue for most of the class and hardly participated. But this time she was all about learning! First they had little centers where you could color a turtle picture or play with toys while we waited to get started.

After they listened to a turtle story, they broke into groups and talked about turtles. In the first group, they talked about what turtles eat. Here is Lily "feeding" her turtle a sunflower.

After more fun facts, they pretended to be turtles. Lily LOVED this part. They pretended to hide in their "shells", they climbed over "rocks" and climbed through a hollow "log". She had SO much fun doing this!

Then they brought out a REAL turtle!!!

All of the kids got to touch it's shell and one of it's legs. It's name was Shelly. =)

Lily had so much fun at her turtle workshop!!!