Squash Brownies??!!

Yep, you read right...squash brownies!  Right now, we have squash and zucchini running out of our ears, so I started doing a little research and found these little gems!  They are quite tasty, although a little scary looking in the mixing stage!  The batter ( and I use this term very loosely!) was more like a powder, we actually had to press the "batter" into the pan, but the squash was so full of water that while baking the water turned the powder into brownies..very moist brownies!  So, the boys not only got a cooking lesson, but also a science lesson!!  YUMMY and EDUCATIONAL!

Baseball Bonanza!

Our family has been in the swing of baseball for almost a month now!  Both boys and their teams are doing very well!  They are both playing for the Orioles, both of the boys' coaches are coaches for the high school team, and both coaches are super patient!  I think we really lucked out this year!  Gabe has been playing pretty well pretty much anywhere the coach has put him.  His favorite position is of course first base, though!  He has also improved immensely at bat!  When he gets against a pitcher who can pitch to a lefty, he generally always gets a hit...but he walks a lot..those pitchers just don't quite know what to do with a lefty!  Right now his team is 6-1 on the season...they have 5 games to go until the end of the season tourney!  Grady's team has also done very well.  They do not keep score until the tournament, so you really don't have a clue on the actual score...but generally, it's pretty clear on who the winner is.  Grady's team has a few older kids who know what they are doing, and if those kids are in the right positions, they are a force to be reckoned with!  Grady has also played several positions, but mainly ends up at first.  He has improved so much since last year!  He has 4 more games until the end of the season tournament.  I think both boys' teams will do very well this year in the tournament.....but you never know...we'll keep you updated!

Vacation!!!!!!

Ahhh, vacation....there's just nothing like it...of course, there's nothing like being back in your own bed either!  We had a fantabulous trip.....this year we again freestyled, for the most part (freestyling is basically our families word for "we are going on a vacation.  we have a beginning and an ending point.  we also have booked a hotel for each night.  however, we are not sure what we are doing, seeing, eating as we have politely asked Mom (Amanda) not to plan every aspect of our family vacation including gas and potty stops!)  So, as we drove if we saw something we wanted to see, we stopped, saw and ventured on.  We started this way of vacationing last year in Chicago...and for the uber planner that I am, it was mighty difficult to let the cards fall where they may...but I tell ya, I am a fan of this freestyling thing....absolutely no stress!  I book the hotels and voila! That's it...we are heading out!  So, we were gone for a very long time...10 days total, that is the longest trip we have ever done....even before kids!  The next longest was San Fran a few years back, but that was only 8!  So, I have opted to blog our trip by days...a few days there won't be anything as these were purely in the car days...so you won't be reading for 10 days straight!  Enjoy!

Days 1-3 - We started out at 5:15 a.m. on Friday morning...our final destination for the day---Pulaski, TN--the home of Elden and Doreen!  It was a mere 12 hour drive for the day...but what a beautiful drive it was...once we were in TN!  We stopped just a few times on Friday for food, potty and stretching...pretty much it was a car day.  We plugged the kids in and off we went!  We arrived to Elden and Doreen's around 6:00 that evening and enjoyed a nice drive around the area's Amish communities and a yummy Mexican dinner!  It was a great visit!  The next morning after breakfast and some visiting we headed for Knoxville---home of the Lee Family!  Easily the part of the vacation Grady and I were looking most forward too!  We had a fantastic time catching up with Carla, Josiah and Dustin and getting to meet sweet baby Ethan for the first time!  On Saturday, when we arrived to Knoxville, we checked into our hotel and headed right over to their house!  The boys picked up right where they left off...you would never have guessed they hadn't seen each other for 2 years!

We had many laughs over dinner that night....it was so great getting to see them again!  The next morning we attended the church where Dustin works!!  The church is very awesome...it is huge, but with a very good feel.  The kids went to Kid's Church with Josiah and we attended the Contempory Service with Carla.  Dustin was on stage and we even got to see him perform 2 baptisms on some of his teens!  Awesome!  After church, we had lunch at Wasabi and then on to Zuma!  The kids and hubbys rode go carts, bumper boats and played some arcade games!  We ended out visit with the Lee Family back at their house relaxing and chatting!  Thank you so much for letting us spend some of our vacation with you!!  We miss you guys already! 

Day 4 - On Monday morning we left Knoxville....next stop... MYRTLE BEACH, SC!!!  Right after leaving Knoxville, we saw a sign for Pigeon Forge....we had heard about this place and decided to go check it out!  We stopped off in Seiverville first to see the huge knife store--my guys were in heaven!  We then headed over to Pigeon Forge where we saw the Titanic!!  Gabe was all in!  He couldn't believe it!  So, we turned into the Titanic Museum.  This was an awesome stop.  You got to go through the museum and view artifacts from the ship, feel what the water felt like that night and they even gave you a card at the beginning with one of the passengers so you could follow them through the museum and find out if they made it!  It was a fantastic stop!  But, then it was back to the road....beach bound! 

Day 5 - Hello, Myrtle Beach!  We got in sort of late on Monday night, but never fear first thing Tuesday morning we hit the beach...and stayed there most of the day!  The boys boogie boarded, while I basked in the sun!  It was perfect!  We went in for lunch and then back out to the beach!  Our hotel was fantastic...they had a beach side cafe where you could eat lunch and dinner along with an awesome water park for the few afternoon storms that pushed us off of the beach! 

On Tuesday evening we headed down to the boardwalk for dinner, shopping, and the SkyWheel! 

Day 6 - FISHING DAY!  A beautiful day on the Atlantic!  Shawn and Gabe are definitely the fishermen in this little clan...poor Grady is not a boat person it turns out!  We had all taken Dramamine before we got on the boat...so, thankfully we all kept from getting sick..can't say so much for the rest of the passengers, but it knocked poor Grady out!  He got up for lunch, but other than that we was pretty much socked out in the galley!  Shawn and Gabe caught several smaller sea bass and some other fish, but no huge catches of the day!  They had a blast, Grady had a good nap and I loved the boat ride and reading time!

Naptime in the Galley!  I called the galley the infirmary...most every one in there was losing their lunch! 

That night we played mini golf, pizza and ice cream for dinner and finished the night off with a walk on the beach!  It was a beautiful evening! 

Day 7 - Another lovely day at the beach!  We spent the entire morning and a better half of the afternoon at the beach..as you could tell from our crispy skin!  The waves were perfect for boogie boarding, the sand was great for sand castle building and the weather was just right for relaxing...ahh, this was the life!!

That evening we went to Ripley's Aquarium where the boys got to pet rays, we got to see an awesome dinosaur exhibit..complete with moving dinosaurs!, and sharks!  We have been to a lot of aquariums, but this was a very good one!  We ranked it 2nd overall....only falling to the one in San Francisco!  We had dinner that night at Key West Grille and dessert at Hard Rock Cafe!  We ended the evening in the game room at the hotel.....a great way to end our time in Myrtle Beach!

Days 8-10 - On Friday morning we left Myrtle Beach and started the long trek back to Kansas!  We did have one more stop before setting foot back on the prairie though...Chattanooga, TN!  This was a total freestyle...we knew where we were staying and Dustin and Carla had told about a fantastic place to eat, but other than that we were free!  So, we grabbed some brochures from the hotel lobby and opted for the Lookout Mountain area for Saturday's festivities!  We started out at Rock City...and gorgeous hike to the top of Lookout Mountain where you can see 6 different states along with a water fall!  After Rock City we headed back down the mountain to ride the Incline Railway to the top!  This was pretty cool...if you've ever done Pike's Peak in CO.  it was very similar to that only a lot steeper incline...like about 70 degrees or so....pretty much straight up and down...you just hoped the brakes didn't fail! 

After lunch, we ventured over to Ruby Falls Cave.  The cave was about a 1/2 mile walk, but what was at the end was amazing.....and highest underground waterfalls in the U.S.....WOW! 

That night we headed to the Art District in Chattanooga.  We had dinner at Tony's (YUM-O Thanks Carla and Dustin), shopped, found the moon pie factory and had ice cream on the bridge! 

Shawn and I found RC Cola in a glass bottle at the Moon Pie Store...what a way to end a vacation!

THE END!

Good bye Elementary School!

Yep, that's it....Gabe is officially finished with elementary school!  He is so excited to be going into middle school...mom, well, not quite as excited!  At Ewalt they finish their elementary school career with a day of celebrating!  They start their day off at the Y in Andover for some swimming, rock climbing, basketball and video games!  The kids had a blast!  They then headed back to the school for pizza and the annual slide show...made by none other than Yours Truly!  On the slide show note....I had no idea what I was volunteering for when I said I would do it...it turned out fantastic (and no, I am not just tooting my own horn..others said so too!)....but to give you an idea of the stress and time involved in completing the slide show in a month and a half...I have started on Grady's class slide show for 5th grade...just in case!  I have never been so stressed out in my life...of course, I'm sure having to have it complete in the middle of finals week didn't help either! 

After pizza and the slide show, they play the annual 5th Grade Softball game!  They split the entire class into 2 teams and then play a few innings of a game....or until Mr. Clark is tired of pitching!  What a fantastic way to end your elementary school career!  Lots of good time and good memories made that day!

Here Gabe and some of his buddies are trying to play "So You Think You Can Dance".  Some of them could and some of them couldn't!  If you need a good laugh, I do have this on video!

Gabe, Dominik and Ceetyn swimming...this was hilarious.  These three sat under this dumping pail for at least 10 minutes straight and each time the bucket would dump on them, they would laugh and have the same exact expressions as the first time!

It was also Sir Grady's last day of 1st grade!  I had to go hunt  him down for his last day of school picture.  He is not quite as obliging as Gabe! But, never fear when found...he did perform!

The Beginning of Baseball Season!

Last night Gabe and the Orioles had their first baseball game of the season!  He had a pretty awesome game!  He played first base for 3 innings and one inning at third and one in center field.  He had 2 outs at first and caught a fly on third!  At bat he hit one in the outfield for a double and struck out once...but not before he had 8 fouls!!!  The Orioles came off with the win 3-2!  If this game is any indication of how the season will go...I think it will be a pretty fun baseball season with Gabe's team!  WAY TO GO ORIOLES!

Happy Early Birthday Grady!

We celebrated Grady's birthday on Monday with his classmates!!  They all enjoyed the super yummy treats Grady and I whipped up!  Grady ate up being the center of attention on Monday...I tell you, he is such a HAM!  Love that kid!

Awards Day at Ewalt!

On Monday afternoon, Ewalt had their Awards Assembly!  Grady received an award for reading 599 books from September to April!  That is a lot of reading!  Gabe received an award for Perfect Attendance and the Presidential Excellence In Education Award!  We are so proud of both of our superstar kiddos!  Way to Go GABE AND GRADY!!!

Worlds of FUN!!!

On Saturday we took the boys on their first trip to Worlds of Fun!  The lines weren't too long, the weather wasn't too hot, too cold, too rainy or too sunny....just pretty much the ideal day for roller coaster fun!  Grady was all in...he didn't miss a beat!  He rode each and every ride!  I can't say as much for the rest of us!  We all sat out at some point in the day!  The boys did great...we went non-stop all day...and we never heard as much as a groan from either of them...you know, they sure were fun as babies..but we are really getting the hang of this older kid thing!  We all had a blast...I can't wait for another big kid adventure--who knew I'd have more fun as a parent than I did as a kid!!

After Worlds of Fun!  We hadn't even gotten out of Kansas City, MO when I snapped this picture!

Band-O-Rama!

On Thursday night, Gabe participated in Augusta's 56th Annual Band-O-Rama!!  The fifth grade band performed 3 songs, "Laredo", "Nocturnal Dances" and "Fidgets".  They sounded fantastic!!  So the whole idea behind this program is to showcase ALL of the bands of Augusta.  Augusta kids are super talented when it comes to this band thing...I mean it was a long concert...about 2 hours long, but all of the bands were amazing!  We truly enjoyed listening to the whole concert!  If you are looking for something to do in May next year..let me know and I will give you the date of Band-O-Rama...it is well worth the sit!

Field Trip Frenzy!!

Gabe taking time to pose for Mom at the Wingnuts!!  I'm sure he will be thankful to be in Middle School next year!!

Along with the school year coming to a close, comes the opportunity for lots of fun field trips!!  Last Friday, Augusta had the Mini Relay for Life....a super fun field day for all of USD 402 Elementary Schools!!!  It was a little warm, but it sure beat the rainy, cold wind from last year!  On Wednesday, Ewalt headed to a Wingnuts game in Wichita!!  It was an absolutely beautiful day for a ball game!  I hung with Grady's class most of the day, but lucky for me, Gabe was in the section right next to us...I'm sure he didn't see it as luck! 

Grady and Haze waiting for the game to start!!

Grady running the hoops at Relay Recess!

Gabe jumping rope at the Relay Recess!!

Only 5 school days left until we officially have a Middle Schooler!!  Gabe goes for his tour of the middle school this morning...he was a little too excited for my likings!!!  I finished up my classes last night...I have never been so relieved to have 2 tests out of the way...I am glad to have this first semester out of the way...I can say I came, I saw, I conquered.  It has not been easy juggling work, home and school...should have done this before I had a husband and kids...but don't they always say hindsight is 20/20?!