Tree Raising 2010

The Christmas tree raising was extra special for me this year. I had two helpers!

Here's Ainsley fluffing our branches. Yes, we have a fake tree. I'm not up for the mess of a real tree. We do put evergreen car fresheners in the tree to give us the full effect!

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Hooray, we can start hanging ornaments!

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I was really nervous to have Andrew help us, but they're just ornaments. He did a great job and only one ornament went to the repair shop. I was also wondering how the "no touch" rule would work after he had put the ornaments on the tree himself. It took a day or so of correcting, but he knows to only touch with mom there.

This is Andrew's favorite ornament. Rocket, from Little Einsteins, complete with theme song. This was also the ornament that went to the repair shop this year. Rocket almost lost his antenna. Crazy Glue to the rescue. I'm positive the battery will be dead by the end of this season.

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I'm now the official unwrapper for the ornaments. The kids had the whole bottom 1/3 of the tree decorated in short order. Then I got to hang a few while Ainsley unwrapped.

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It's hard to believe that Christmas is upon us. I am so thankful for the holiday season and to see it through the eyes of our children is a double blessing!

Happy Halloween 2010

It was a blustery evening and the kids were recovering from a rough week of colds and a stomach flu but they assured me they were well enough to go trick or treating with our friends. Here's our sweet dinosaur.

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And our roaring dinosaur.

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And of course, our sweet pink dancing ballerina.

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Andrew only made it about 10 houses. It was more mom's call than his. The cold weather sent him in to visit Pap and Gigi in the warmth. Ainsley, however, made it a whole two hours! I think that she would have stayed out longer if her friends weren't packing it in. We were so far from home, our friends sister came and picked us up in the mini van. It was a happy but sniffly halloween. (Mom trick or treated for Kleenex and a wonderful homeowner gave her the whole box! It came in handy.)

Pumpkin Patch 2010

Today was a beautiful fall day. Fall sun and temperatures in the morning and the graying sky this afternoon. Our Monday playgroup ventured out for our annual pumpkin patch trip. With Ainsley and Andrew ready to find the great or perfect pumpkin in a 60 acre patch!

We had a great tour of the farm and learned about pumpkins. Of course there was a hayride, the picking, the playing, and pumpkin donuts! The kids were thrilled and had a blast. Here are a few of our favorite pictures from our outing.

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Ainsley found her perfect pumpkin. She let me know it had a good stem, was very round, and just the right size. She even managed to carefully carry it all the way to the wagon for the trip back.

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Look mom, I'm so strong! Andrew found his pumpkin, and then another, and then another, and then another. Is it a pumpkin or a ball. Better yet, it's both to him. Thankfully the pumpkins weren't damaged and we came home with a round and unscarred pumpkin for the little man.

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Family picture time! It never seems to be easy these day to capture both children looking at the camera and smiling. This was my best shot. Ainsley seems to be striking a pose all the time.

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Andrew loving the pumpkins!

Challenger 3985 Steam Train

Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 was designed by Union Pacific and built in 1943 by the American Locomotive Company. It is one of 105 Challengers built for Union Pacific between 1936 and 1943 and is the only operating engine of its class in the world today – the largest and most powerful operating steam locomotive.

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We were able to visit this train at Union Station. We took the trip down on Sunday afternoon because we had been studying steam power earlier in the week. Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel was the story of the week. I had no idea how big the train would be. It was pretty neat to compare the train wheels to Ainsley. We also met a boiler inspector and watched as they cleaned some of the train parts.

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Ainsley also had the opportunity to meet the trains conductor. He told us all about his journey from Cheyenne, Wyoming with the train. He punched an old-fashioned ticket for Ainsley and showed her his pocket watch. He came from a family of conductors (dad, and grandfather) and his pocket watch was still running from 1906.

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After waiting an hour, we finally got to go up and see the inside of the engine car. We saw the whistle pull, the bell wheel, the gauges, the speedometer, and got a quick lesson in watching out the train window. It was probably a once in a lifetime experience to see the train this up close and working.

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Apple Picking 2010

We went a little late this year but we still fit in our annual apple orchard trip. Up to St. Joseph we went again. This year we picked Jonagold's, Jonathon's (Ainsley's favorite), and some unknown variety of very hard apples. Again, we had beautiful weather and so much fun!

Mom, I've never seen an apple on the tree! How do I get this thing off? Andrew pulled so hard a couple of times that he fell down on his rump. He didn't quite get the whole idea of twisting off the apple from the tree.

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Mom! Look, an apple apron.

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Ainsley with the apples. We were shocked at how full the trees were this year. There were plenty of apples to be had at all heights. No need to use mom as a ladder this year.

Once we got going, there wasn't a moment I can remember when Ainsley wasn't chomping on an apple. She tried each variety, each tree we picked from, and a few more.

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Picking and eating.

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Andrew had the most fun running in the aisles between the tress and in the treehouse at the end of our picking adventure!

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Mount Trashmore

We visited Mount Trashmore on our last day in town. It truly is a mountain of trash underneath the beautiful green lawns and play structures. they've transformed an old landfill into a great area with plenty of play space, kite flying, lake, and walking trails.

Me and our kiddos.

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Riding the tire bull.

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Getting the energy out before we start our plane ride home!

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We had a great lunch at a creperie! They had gellato too. Of course the crepes were a hit but not quite as much as the gellato.

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Oceana Air Show

We were able to catch the first day of the Oceana NAS Air Show. It was at night! We got there around 6:00 and enjoyed the show for a couple of hours. As night fell, the kids were amazed at the fireworks that the planes were equipped with. They had fireworks coming out of the planes, helicopters, and in the sky! It was a really cool sight, especially for Ainsley. She was so happy to see fireworks and not be afraid.

Check out that ear protection! Ainsley was styling with some pink ear plugs and Andrew got the big muffs!

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Some cool planes with smoke to show their flight path! They did some loops! Andrew liked these planes because he had a lot to look at in the sky.

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Virginia Beach - Day 2

Here we are Day 2. We went to the Virginia Beach aquarium.

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The kids loved the dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, and komono dragons! One of the biggest highlights though was the cattle nose rays that were in the petting tank! Here's Ainsley reaching in to say hi.

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The beach was our afternoon activity! Here are some great pictures. We couldn't have hit better weather. Especially since the coast got drenched a week or so after we left!

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Virginia Beach and More!

One of our first trips was to the Children's Museum of Portsmouth. They had a lot of hands on activities and a great dragon to crawl on outside. We got a great picture of the kids together.

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When we left there, we were off to the beach. We drove out to a military base and had a picnic lunch and the met some friends of our friends at the beach. Ainsley and Andrew were so excited to see the ocean again! We had long sleeve sun shirts on and it was just right!

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We went for a walk at the end of the day and saw Poseidon. (Ainsley informed me that it was not Poseidon but King Triton, the little mermaids dad.) Andrew was more interested in the turtle than the title of the statue.

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The kids were exhausted on the way home. A sure sign of a extremely fun day!

First Airplane Ride!

We are on our way out of town again! This time it's just mom, me, and Andrew. We are flying to Portsmouth, Virginia. We are going to visit some friends of ours who moved there in June. I can't wait to see new places and fly with Andrew on his first flight!

Here we are waiting for the plane.

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Ooooooh, here comes the plane.

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It was a rainy morning and Andrew was mesmerized watching the plane pull in.

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Of course, Bolt had to come with us on the plane. It was his first flight also!

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Bubble Blower Extraordinaire

Andrew is really getting the hang of blowing. He's gotten great at bubbles, blowing on his hot dinner food, and blowing bubbles in the bath tub!

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Home Ec or Cooking 101

Ainsley is earning how to cook as well. Each week she prepares one whole meal for us to eat. It ties in with our story for the week and is a great way to help her with hand-eye coordination and math. Here we are with all of our ingredients.

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We made Oat Peanut Butter cookies for our dessert this week. Here's Ainsley scooping the cookies. Her hands were exhausted by the time she was done. She didn't realize how hard it was to make 3 dozen cookies. It really made her appreciate the 100 + cookies our friend made for a Kansas City meal program. She used Ainsley's recipe and they were a hit.

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Enjoying the fruits of our labor!

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Ainsley's first time at the stove. She's stirring sauce for homemade macaroni and cheese.

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Ainsley's completed meal. Homemade macaroni and cheese, spiced carrots, and oat cookies. It was very yummy!

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Picasso and VanGogh

We have a special art project once a week that introduces Ainsley to different art mediums, artists, and styles of art. This is one of the times Andrew really gets into school as well. I love watching them both get creative (and messy!).

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Little Picasso.

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The family artist. Check out that boat with the purple sail if you can. Watercolors are her favorite so far.

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