Visit to the Fire Station

Caden, Kinsie and I were invited by a friend to visit the Waukee Fire Station yesterday. The kids had a great time touring the fire station and learned a lot about fire safety! They also received fire hats and badges, which they thought was very cool!

Checking out the beds that are located in the education room at the fire station.
The kids had the opportunity to climb into and explore the ambulance,
pumper truck and fire engines.

The firemen gave an excellent educational presentation to the kids about fire safety.

The kids had the opportunity to hold the fire hose while the water was pumped through it. Caden thought this was very cool!

The highlight of the morning was taking a ride in the fire engine!

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day weekend at the farm with our family. When my mom and sister were in Des Moines on Thursday they asked Caden if he would like to go home with them for the night. Since this was his first time staying away from home my response was that I was ok with it, but I was not sure how he would do. Caden immediately responded and said "Mom, I will be ok!" And he was! He loved spending the night with his cousins and was not at all happy when Cass, Kinsie and I arrived at the farm on Friday!

It was a busy, fun and relaxing weekend at the farm!

Kinsie and Adden sharing an afternoon snack of crackers.

This was a rare moment when they were both sitting still and not bothering each other!

They are six months apart in age, but you would not know it from the photo!

Addison reading Kinsie books before going to bed.

Now if we can just teach her how to put her to bed we will be set!!

We spent the afternoon on Sunday helping my mom with planting flowers and doing some yard work. While digging holes for the flowers the boys discovered worms so they quickly moved from planting flowers to digging for worms! They had a great time!

Have wheels, will travel!

Caden was very happy to spend a lot of time over the weekend in

a tractor either planting or getting the ground ready to plant.

Taking a four-wheeler ride.

Kinsie fell asleep within minutes of leaving my parent's house on Monday!

Sister For Sale!

I have been busy sorting and marking things for our upcoming garage sale and Caden has found it very fun to put the price stickers on items for me. Apparently this had made quite an impression on him because yesterday morning he turned to me and said "Mommy, we could sell Kinsie in the garage sale. Someone else could buy her and take her home." He then turned to Kinsie and said, "Come on, let's put a mark on your foot!"

Elmo Live!

We had the pleasure of taking Caden and Kinsie to see the Sesame Street Live production

Elmo Live! When Elmo Grows Up last night at Wells Fargo Arena. When the characters first came out on stage, Kinsie was a little unsure of what to think, but once the show was underway she and Caden were both singing and dancing to the music! It was such a fun night and there is nothing better than seeing the joy on our children's faces as they watched the show! Cass took this photo of Caden when the characters first came out.

The smile on his face says it all!

Abby Kadabby is Kinsie's favorite Sesame Street character

and she played a large role in the show. Kinsie was very excited!

The country western cowboy act was a big hit with Caden!

He thought it was very cool that the characters, including Elmo, were wearing cowboy hats!

During one act of the show the characters sang the song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. At the same time the arena darkened and stars could be seen on the ceiling. I captured this photo of Cass, Caden and Kinsie looking up at them...so sweet!

Preschool at the Park

Thursday was Caden's last day of preschool for the year so as a special treat his class spent the morning at Centennial Park in Waukee for a fun play day in the park! It was a beautiful day and all of the children had a great time playing in the giant sandbox, blowing bubbles, drawing with chalk, exploring the playground equipment and kicking around the sports balls. We were then able to join them for a picnic lunch, which the kids thought was so much fun!

Caden and Kinsie enjoying a picnic lunch with their good friend Brady.


Caden loved using the digger that is in the giant sandbox!

Caden's teachers, Miss Kathy and Miss Brenda (above) and Miss Beth (below).

New Ride

One of the perks of being the younger cousins is the cool toys that are passed down when the older cousins outgrow them! Uncle Roby and Aunt Natalie generously gave this battery operated John Deere Gator to Caden when we moved to Urbandale and we recently got it out for the kids to enjoy. They absolutely love it and it is providing them with hours of entertainment. Caden has his own small "farm" mapped out, so they make the rounds feeding cows and checking the fields! They have also been using it as a golf cart, loading up their clubs and playing around the yard!

I also included this photo of Kinsie that I took Thursday evening.

I thought she looked so cute in her sunglasses!