Evening of the 4th of July

On the evening of the Fourth of July we went to Oak Grove park in Gladstone to watch the fireworks. They have a great show there, and there is a nice playground to keep Zachary busy. We got there early and had some time to kill. Zachary and Brad played a little baseball, used Zachary's cool bubble blower that he got from Aunt Jenny, and played on the playground. I stayed on the blanket with Justin. It was a challenge to keep him on the blanket. He wanted to crawl in the grass, but I didn't want him to get bit by the chiggers. I had a busy night chasing him.

The fireworks were great, but Zachary is terrified of the them. We tried earplugs this year, but he still spent the whole time with his head in my lap. I didn't get any pictures of the show because I was so preoccupied with him.

Brad and Zachary waiting for the sun to go down.

Having fun with the bubble blower.

Justin loves his "See 'n' Say".

Morning of the 4th of July

On the morning of the 4th of July we decided to go down the Crown Center. The Crown Center is an indoor mall that also has fun exhibits, a movie theater, and two live performance theaters. They also have fountains outside. One of which the kids can run through and get wet.

Here the boys are enjoying one the of the fountains that you can't play in.

One of the stores in the Crown Center is a Crayola store. They have all kinds of fun things to do with crayons there. I never knew how many products Crayola actually makes until we moved here, and I went to that store. It's amazing. The circles behind Zach are actually made up of real crayons of all different colors. He loves this store.

Here is the grand finale of the morning. Zachary is really into striking a pose when he gets his picture taken. He loved playing with all the other kids. He cried so hard when it was time to go home.

Future Tiger Woods?

Zachary has a new interest. Over that last few months he has really gotten into golf. I bought him one of those plastic golf sets at Wal-Mart, and he has completely worn it out. He even likes to watch it on TV.

This afternoon I caught him outside with some of Brad's golf balls and tees. He was setting up the tee and swinging at the real golf balls with his plastic golf club. It was really funny to watch him. So cute!

He's getting ready to swing.

Great form, but unfortunately, he missed the ball. Kids are so much fun!

Grandpa's Birthday

Last Saturday we celebrated Brad's dad's birthday. We decided that we wanted to take him to a Kansas City Royal's game. The whole family came along, and we all had a great time.

Kauffman Stadium is currently getting a makeover. Part of that is the big screen that you see in the picture. It is currently the largest one there is, but that won't last long I'm sure. It is high definition and really impressive. Brad really gets excited about how cool it is.

All of my boys had a great time at the game. Here is Brad before the game started. Doesn't he look excited?

Here's Justin during the game. He was so tired, but still had a great time being passed from person to person and watching everything that was going on. He was so good!

Here is Zachary sandwiched between Uncle Matt and Aunt Meghan. Notice how everyone else is watching the game. I'm not sure what he was looking at. He had a great time though. He talks about the Royals all the time.

Stink Bug

This is a video that I took last night. Justin learned this new trick where he stands on his head and feet, and then he crawls around that way. It was so funny I had to get it on video. It reminds me of a little stink bug.

I especially love the ways he claps for himself at the end. Too cute!

Dagg Park

So, another wonderful thing that I love about where we live is that there is a really neat park here. It has a pool that is designed just for little kids. In fact older children aren't even allowed. Zachary loves it. We have been there twice so far this summer. I'm sure there will be many more times too.

I didn't think that Justin would like it, so we didn't bother to put him in a swim diaper. He liked putting his feet in the water, and he kept trying to get in the water. I guess next time we will have to bring a swim diaper.

At our last place we had a pool, but Zachary didn't really like going there. It was regular pool with a deep end and a lot of crazy older kids splashing and yelling. I think this a great way to get kids used to the water without the scary stuff. Zachary loves to go swimming now.

Walk in the Park

Last night as a family we all went to a neat park here in Kansas City. It has a walking trail, a biking trail, a war memorial, and a really cool fountain. Kansas City is known for its fountains. This is just one of many. Zachary loves this park. These pictures were taken with Brad's new phone. Not too bad for a cell phone, huh?

Justin wanted to keep a safe distance from the fountain. I think that the noise scared him a little. He is a sensitive little guy. I think he gets that from me.

Yes, I was there too. Every once in a while I get in a picture with my boys.

We had a great time. It is a lot of fun to have Brad home more. It makes little outings like this so much more enjoyable.