End of Summer, Beginning of School

These last few weeks have really flown by.  I just realized I hadn't posted pictures from our Family Day on my last Friday off before school started and I already have several pictures from the beginning of the school year to post.  

Here is a little catch up....

The last Friday I had off this summer we spent as a family just hanging out...

We went to Bass Pro in St. Charles and had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.

 We went to the St. Charles Riverfront to look at the riverboats.

 The boys checked out the map of the Katy Trail.

 We played mini golf.

 I got materials and made a wreath for my classroom door.

 Started getting up at 4:30 am again for my morning workouts

Dane started his second year of Preschool at Leap Ahead.

 Reese went back to Tracey's full time.

Hanging out with his buddies

 Taking a walk with Ms. Kara

 Fingerpainting at Tracey's

 Playdoh time at daycare

 Superhero Day at Leap Ahead

 A day trip to Centralia, IL to visit friends we haven't seen in a long time.  There was a festival going on in the park behind their house and Michele took the boys over to see the park.  They were gone for about 10 minutes and each came back with three things: a blow up Spiderman for Reese and Ninja Turtle for Dane, a dog on a leash, and a light up stick.  It was a fun day and the boys loved spending the day with our friends.

The first full week of school also consisted of two cases of Strep Throat (Dane and Reese) and a sinus infection for me.  Luckily I think we are on the mend................

Botanical Gardens

Last Wednesday we went to the Botanical Gardens.  We mainly went to see the Lego display, but we saw some other things also.

Reese taking a walk with Delaney.

 Headed to the Lego display

It was a lot of fun to find the lego displays in the climatron.  They were really neat and it was amazing to see what they built.

 The first display was a big tractor.

 Farmer

 Eagle

 The kids hiding in a tree trunk.

 Duck with her babies

 Snake

 Mouse

 Praying Mantis

 Dane, Claire, and Reese

 Monarch Butterfly and flower in the background

 Woodpecker

 Fence with squirrels, birds, and a birdfeeder

 Taylor giving Reese a piggyback ride.

Flower

 They had a play area and the boys had a great time in it.

 Sundial

 Looking at fish

 Mama with the grandkids by the fountain

 My boys and I

Science Center

Dane had his five year checkup at the dr in St. Louis so after it we met up with Aunt Amy, Uncle Darnel, and the kids and we went to the Science Center.  

They were excited to see a birthday cake!

 The dinosaur was huge and we couldn't get it in the picture, so we had to get the little one.

 We built the arch.

 Watching the cars on Hwy 40.

Dane had a fun time hanging with his cousins without his little brother with him.

July Days

Our days have been busy soaking up our last few weeks of summer.

Mama bought a new swing set so Dave and Uncle Darnel spent a Saturday putting it together.  Dane "helped".

 Dave's birthday was July 28th so while he was at work that day the boys and I made a cake and I let them decorate it to surprise him when he got home.

 We had family dinner at my mom's house to celebrate the July birthdays in the family.  We celebrated Ashley's, Steve's Dave's, Dane's, and Teddi's birthdays.

 Teddi's first birthday!

 My niece, Delaney, has had a Cousin Camp the past few summers.  She plans story time, crafts, snacks, and play activities.  The boys were so excited for cousin camp this year!

 Dane will start his second year of preschool on August 11th.  We had open house and then took him out to dinner.

 The mornings have been so nice we have spent a lot of time outside playing.

 With Dave on vacation and lots of plans, we hadn't been to Sams in a couple of weeks.  We needed to stock up.  After a long shopping trip we knew Reese would fall asleep on the way home so we had lunch at Sams before we left.  The BIG drinks come with the boys lunch, but I only filled them up about a 1/3 of the way and gave them lemonade.

Both of the boys were sound asleep on the way home.