Chatter Boxes

It's the end of the baseball season here in KC.  The boys have enjoyed being able to go to a few games this season.  Here are a few pics from the summer.

An afternoon game with just Seth and Mommy

An evening game with Grandma and Grandpa

 

Homerun!  Colin likes going to the games but doesn't appreciate the loud cheering.  Homeruns with booming fireworks added to the cheering crowd caused Colin to bury his head under my arm.  But finally, during the last game of the season (for us) Colin decided to join in on the fun.  The Royals got a homerun and Colin - on his own - jumped up and yelled "HOMERUN!"



I can live without pumpkin spice lattes.  It's not right how happy I am that I don't have to.

Various sunset pictures from the week (don't come here looking for sunrise pictures...no way...no how!)









A storm across the harbor

I love this one!

A few days after the boy's birthday extravaganza...John and I scurried off for some time away.

Some much needed restful, rejuvenating, romantic time away.  We spent a week in beautiful Sanibel Island, Florida to celebrate our anniversary.  I slept in, read two books front to back and didn't have to take anyone to the bathroom.  John read his Kindle for days on end, rode a bike all over the island and didn't have to take anyone to the bathroom. 

We rode bikes to the beach, to go shopping and to get ice cream

 

The lighthouse behind us sits on the tip of the island

Sanibel is known for the abundance of sea shells.  That's a blanket of shells behind my feet.  At first you try hard to walk around them so you don't break any, but by the end of the week you just crunch along in your bare feet.

The boardwalk from our hotel at sunset

 

The view from our room

We took a sunset dolphin cruise on our last night there.  Dolphins are hard to photograph but I managed to snag this picture, which in no way illustrates how cool it is to see a dolphin in the ocean (and not at the local aquarium).

A romantic sunset cruise with 35 other people we don't know

We had a wonderful time.  A big thank you to my mom for watching the boys, almost entirely by herself.  When we booked our trip, the idea was that the boys would be able to stay with my parents - both of them.  Dad has already made the big move to Idaho so my mom took on the task of watching the boys by herself (with help from Grandpa over the weekend).  Not only did she watch our squirrely bunch but we came home to a clean house, empty dishwasher, fresh towels and sheets!  That woman is a gem!  (Completely useless little side note - I discovered tonight when I crawled into bed that her sleep number is a firm 100 while mine is a fluffy 55.)

We're home safe and sound and getting acclimated to our real-world responsibilities.  I may have to carry my beach bag around for a few days to help with the adjustment.

This story starts two years ago on a hot August night.  John and I went with our friends Chad and Katie to the JoCo Fair.  I don't remember having ever gone to a county fair before.  We ate fair food, looked at livestock, and sat in the stands to watch the pedal pull (little kids driving tricycle tractors as far as they could), and mutton bustin' (little kids riding ferocious barreling beasts of death and destruction sheep). 

John and I were smack dab in the middle of the adoption process.  We knew we were adopting Seth and Colin at that point and everything we did we imagined what it would be like with them there.  I could tell John was watching the activities of that fair and imagined our boys right there.  We joked about how I'd never let them bust a mutton (seriously...have you ever seen it? Go here for a glimpse.  Not my child...not ever).

It just so happened that while we sat watching toddlers be trampled by ferocious barreling beasts of death and destruction sheep, my phone buzzed with an email from our adoption agency.  It was an update on the boys with new pictures (we clung to those emails for dear life then.)

It took almost an hour to download the new pictures, but sitting in the stands watching toddlers get trampled was the first time we saw Seth's smile. 

Remember these....



Fast forward two years...It's another hot August night.  Chad and Katie are there with us...all four of us.  We're perched in the stands at the JoCo Fair.  Seth is registered for the pedal pull.  He waited in line and carefully studied the kids who went before him.  He's a fierce competitor...hates to lose, but has never seen anything like this before, let alone practiced.  He took his turn and pushed that tractor farther than anyone else so far.  Katie and I cheered like crazy stage moms. 

He ended up in second place out of 40 pullers in his age group and took home a giant red ribbon.  And I think he had fun.  He was confused by our enthusiasm over something that to him wasn't that big of a deal.   To us though...it felt fulfilling. 







There are no pictures of him mutton bustin'.  Not my child...not ever!

Thanks again to Katie for the pictures.

We all love spending time with our friend Katie and her fancy camera.  She took these pictures during the birthday party.  John built this roping game for the kids to play.












Stay tuned for her action shots of Seth at the JoCo Fair.  Without Katie we'd have very few pictures of all the fun stuff we do.

We celebrated the boys' birthday this weekend.  Seth is now 5 and Colin is 3 (or free if you listen to him).  It was a cowboy birthday complete with authentic apparel.  Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate. 


This was on their actual birthday (Friday).  We had a birthday dinner...menu chosen by the boys - pizza and yogurt, and opened presents.



"Real" cowboy clothes!

Apparently the sunglasses bring out their inner gangsta.  They did this pose completely on their own.  Seth has asked for sunglasses for his birthday since...well, his last birthday.  I love that at least for now, his gift requests are simple pleasures.



The Spread... BBQ of course



The Peanut Gallery  Our dear friends



Pete treated the kids to "pony" rides (Pete's the horse...not the husband)







A true friend is one who lets you lasso him



Cowboy Cuteness



I stole this picture from Amber.  It proves I own boots of my own.  And aren't those sisters cute?



Thanks Grandma for matching the party theme!  Isn't she pretty?!



It's rare to get a genuine smile from Colin when there's a camera around.  I have a feeling this one was courtesy of some tickling.


It was a fun day spent with good friends and family.  I, like most moms, get teary on
this day thinking of what a gift my children are to me.  It's fun to make them feel special with balloons and presents and copious amounts of sugar.  But more than any of that I feel like the recipient of the best gift of all...getting to mother these boys through another year of life.