Sprayground Fun!

There's a popular thing here in Kansas City called the sprayground. They're awesome and they're free. Well, actually they're free (and numerous!) on the Missouri side of the state line. Kansas has a few, but the ones I know of are all within pool areas and you have to pay to get in. Score one for Missouri!

This past weekend we went to the grand opening of a new sprayground and the boys had a ball! We enjoyed some playtime, got soaked and then had a free lunch (hamburgers and hot dogs)! The boys are already asking when we can go back.

RIGHT after I snapped this shot, Tyler ran into all that water that was falling! 

And one last shot (of Chase) that was actually taken the day before at a different sprayground. It just cracks me up too much not to share!

 Kansas City readers! Don't forget to enter my giveaway just for you! Click HERE for that!

Brave Monkeys

This past winter we took the boys to one of  the many McDonald's near our home. The PlayPlace was huge. Seriously, one of the biggest Nick and I had seen! At the time, it was covered in kids (mostly bigger) and the boys were a little intimidated by the height of some of the tubes and tunnels.

A couple of months later I took them back and Tyler got brave and followed some older kids to the top. He was having a ball until he got confused and couldn't figure out how to get down. I found a 7 or 8 year old girl and asked her if she'd go up and help Ty down, which she did.

About a month ago Nick took the boys back to that same PlayPlace and they were having a great time. Towards the end though Chase and Jackson got separated at the top and it freaked Chase out. He started to cry and Nick had to send an older kid up after him. Every time we've passed a McDonald's since then Chase has announced whether or not that is the location that he got stuck and sad at.

Yesterday we returned to the scene of the crime and Chase was ready. They all were actually...

That's Chase and Jackson at the top of one of the tower climbing things. This winter and early spring the boys couldn't climb up it because they were too short. Now they scale it without any problems.

Tyler

Towards the end of our play time the boys got rather silly on the slide. The picture doesn't do it justice though...

So I took a terrible quality video with my cell phone! You can hear them screaming all the way down. It was cracking me up!

Rainy Days

I used to love rainy days. They make for great napping weather and it's nice to have some downtime in the house, cuddling up on the couch to watch a movie or read books. My attitude towards rainy days is quickly changing though...

Let me break something down for you. Usually the average high temp in October in Kansas City is 71 degrees. A perfect 71. Know what our average high has been this month so far? Between 45-52. To make matters worse, most of those days it has been cloudy and raining. We were teased this past weekend and early this week with some nice, 70 degree days but yesterday it started raining again and it's continued on into today. YUCK!

So what's a mom to do when it rains.... and rains.... and rains? Break out the playdough!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If those shirts look a little familiar it's because the boys have worn them virtually every day since last Thursday. Seriously. They're lucky we do laundry most every night ;)

Who Needs the Beach?

I often find myself jealous when I read other blogs about beach trips with their kids, or see pictures on Facebook of families at the beach together. Here in Kansas City there aren't a whole lot of beach options. Sure there are little lakes, but because the lakes are relatively small the water is like bath water and the beaches aren't very large.

Yes, I have beach envy. Growing up in Maine I never really enjoyed swimming in the ocean (it was always so cold by my house!) but I loved swimming when we'd camp at Cape Cod so I feel like my beach standards are pretty high.

The other day the boys showed me we don't need to go to the beach when we can have beachy fun in our back yard...

Bee Pool

This summer we've been using the same $4 kiddie pool we used last year. The boys have been relatively content to just run in and out of the tiny pool, but to be honest I was a little jealous I couldn't get wet too!


We've been waiting and watching for the seasonal merchandise to go on sale so that we could buy something bigger and that would last another year or two. Sunday we snagged a sweet deal at Target and yesterday was the first time the boys got to play in their new "Bee Pool".

One aspect of the pool I hadn't considered is it's ability to teach my children natural consequences. Yesterday I repeatedly told the boys that if they got out they had to stay out for a few minutes before asking mommy for help back in. Any time one of the started to try to climb back in on their own I would repeat "No, no. You need to ask Mommy for help. You won't like it if you fall in." Most of the time the boys would then firmly plant both feet back on the ground and sign and/or say "help please".


Twice though Ty decided to be a rebel and do things his own way. And twice he ended up head first in the water and crying because it freaked him out. By yesterday afternoon he was quite good at always remembering to ask for help back into the pool!

Video Clip of the Week - Crazy Swinging

In the not too distant past the boys used to sit calmly in a swing, just content to watch the world. Occasionally they'd kick their feet as they squealed with delight, but that was about it. Jackson no longer swings like that. Now it's like he's trying to pump... but with his whole body! Crazy kid!

Bee Sides

Today in honor of Big Boy Week we're going to talk about bee sides. What? You don't understand toddler talk for "big slides"? Shame on you! Start spending more time with toddlers :)

The boys have recently become rather brave when at a nearby park. Just to give you a little perspective, here are two pictures I took from the top of the climbing structure...


The boys have a ball and are really good about staying away from any places they could fall through and they get such a thrill out of the "bee sides"!

Warning! LOTS of pictures of extreme cuteness are about to follow! Proceed at your own risk....

Jackson in yellow, Tyler in green and Chase in blue. And no, Chase did not wet himself that's just an unfortunately placed drop of jelly I'm too lazy to Photoshop out right now.

Video Clip of the Week - 2 for 1 Special

Today I'm running a 2 for 1 special with our Video Clip of the Week! I found these two very short clips on the camera and decided to just give you both in one clip.

Clip 1 was taken by Nick. I guess he thought the boys looked super cute in their new PJs (first time wearing shorts/t-shirt PJs) and he was right! They're sitting in birth order there on the couch (Jackson, Tyler, Chase).

Clip 2 was taken by me the next day. Jackson is the one who falls on the floor and yes, towards the end he is the one about to take a bite out of Tyler's shoulder. Don't worry - he got a time out for that one!

A Childhood Oasis

Over the weekend our backyard went from "just a backyard" to more of a childhood oasis! On Friday Nick got the boys' sandbox put together and filled with sand and then on Sunday a neighbor we've never even met offered us their swing set. Apparently they noticed the large flock of children in our backyard over the past week and their kids had outgrown the swing set.

On Saturday afternoon Jackson, Tyler, Chase and their new friend Connor had a ball playing in the sandbox! See that green canopy? That cranks down to double as a cover for the sand! Perfect for keeping rain and stray cats out. We bought the sand box from Sam's Club, but now it appears Sam's no longer carries it, but Costco does (web only)... Here's the link.


Considering the swing set wasn't picked up (literally - it was carried down the street!) until after the monkeys all went to bed Sunday night, the boys didn't get to play with it until yesterday. Boy did they have a ball though! They've become little pros at going up and down the slide and are starting to figure out a couple of the swings.



Now that we have a coaster, a sand box and a swing set I'm thinking we'll pretty much be living outside this summer. Playdate anyone?! Generosity

Video Clip of the Week - No Longer Safe

We just finished 2 days of fun with my brother, sister in law, nieces and nephew. We don't get to see them very often (their youngest daughter is 8 months old and this was the first time we'd seen her) so we were all looking forward to seeing how the kids all interacted with each other. The 5 "older" kiddos all had a blast together and the boys were a bit confused when they got up this morning and everyone was gone (Breck and family left at 5am today to head for Texas).

One fun thing that happened I managed to catch on video. Remember our nice, calm Step 2 Coaster we have in the back yard? It's a nice easy ride for the boys and they love it. Well, leave it to my brother to turn that nice, easy, safe ride into something else!

Behold the new and "improved" Step 2 Coaster... (I'm sure there's a warning somewhere on the box that says not to do this)




As you can see, the boys love it. I thought for sure they'd be scared!

Random Bits of Life

It's been a fun filled few days here and there's still more fun to come! I could have broken each "event" into it's own blog post but then you would have been hearing about this stuff still late into next week. Instead this blog will contain a mini (emphasis on mini) blog about each of 3 "events".

Forward Facing!

This week, at just shy of 20 months old, we finally switched the boys car seats to the forward facing position. Legally speaking we could have switched them when they turned 1 as they were all over 20 pounds by then, but after reading up on some research and watching a frightening YouTube Clip that shows crash tests for kids who are RF vs those who are FF we decided to keep them RF a bit longer than "the norm".

It's been a cramped 20 months for Nick and myself, as in order to fit the three seats, rear facing in the back of our Jeep we had to have our own seats pulled almost as far forward as they could go. This wasn't as big of a deal to me as it was to my 6'3" husband. Now that the seats are forward facing our Jeep seems huge and I'm not as desperate to get a mini-van (although don't get me wrong, if someone offered me one I'd take it)!

The boys are loving their new view! They are so mesmerized by all that is going on around them that they forget to eat whatever snack I just handed them. I also hear "Ba!" (Bus) and "Cah!" (Car) a lot from the back seat.



Mr. Potato Head

Yesterday morning I noticed the Mr. Potato Head set in one of our closets. The boys hadn't had the chance to play with it yet, so I decided to give it a shot. First lesson of Mr. Potato Head play: only keep it out for short amounts of time and then place the set up out of reach. The pieces were EVERYWHERE last night!



Picnic on the Deck

I love this warmer weather and the freedom to eat on the deck that comes with it! Yesterday I was impressed with how quickly the boys were eating their PB&J sandwiches. That is until I noticed this...