We LOVE 3 day weekends!

We started off the long weekend with a visit from Corey's brother, Jamie, and his son, Hunter. Good times for everyone!

Corey and Jamie spent almost all of their waking hours working on Corey's shed. They got so much accomplished. More than these pictures show. We are so thankful for Jamie's help and expertise!

Another view of the shed. Yes, it is huge. Now that it has a roof on it, the boys have stopped calling it a castle and are now calling it a house. "Their" house to be exact = ) Who knows, since Corey is doing such a great job on this, maybe his next project can be a little playhouse for the boys. We'll see ....

While the big boys were slaving away in the heat, the little guys and I enjoyed some fun sprinker time!

More good times in the back yard!

The boys sandwiching cousin Hunter. They soooo enjoyed having him here. Hunter is pretty much the coolest guy ever as far as they are concerned. Hopefully he'll come back to visit us again as the boys, especially Riley, pretty much smothered him the whole time he was here. "Hunter, do you want to come play with me?" "Hunter, do you want to sleep with me?" "Hunter, I looooove you." "Hunter, where are you going?" etc .... Yeah, the poor guy didn't get a moment's peace. But, I think he had a pretty good time as well.


Since the boys have been saying how much they miss their daddy, Corey vowed to not work on the shed Monday and have some good times with Riley and Gage. We started off with a trip to the zoo -- always a winner = )

In Gage Park, across from the Topeka Zoo, is a little train that you can ride for $1.00 per person. It is a15-20 minute ride around a beautiful park complete with a large pond/lake, huge rose gardens, and various wildlife. That's a bargain we just couldn't resist -- nor would Riley allow us to do so. The train was just about ready to depart when we walked up. Thankfully the conductor waited for us to board ... I don't even want to imagine the heartbreak that Riley would have endured if we would have had to wait until the next round! In his world, that would have been forever!!!

Riley in Heaven. This boy seriously loves him some choo choo's. Actually getting to ride on one was just about as good as it gets for him. The only better thing would've been if he could've driven it himself!

Gage and Corey as the train starts to move. Gage had fun, but wasn't quite as gung ho about the whole thing as Riley. Especially when we went through the dark, echoey tunnel. He had quite a concerned look on his face upon exiting. It quickly turned to smiles, though, as around the corner there was a family of geese with fuzzy little babies swimming in the pond = )

Another train car. Although they couldn't enter this one, the boys were still satisfied from their previous ride and just relished being able to sit on the steps of the "big choo choo."

Oh, this poor Orangutan. I felt so bad after I took this picture. I think I seriously upset her. She was just sitting there hanging out -- about 10 ft from us -- and checking us out all peaceful like. When I pulled out my camera, she looked down quickly. Then when I brought it up to take the picture, she looked to the side. After the shutter clicked, she walked off slowly and somberly. Ugggh! It broke my heart. That is part of my love/hate relationship with zoos. I love being able to observe the magnificent beasts up close. However, I hate that they look so unhappy and are not enjoying their lives as God intended. Anyhow, she was beautiful, just the same.

A determined Elephant stretching to get some leaves. The boys loved watching this.

So did we = )

One of the gorgeous Tigers. This was the big guy just chillin'. One of the younger ones got quite curious about the kiddos and came right up to the glass from about 40 yards out. It gave me chills to see it move about and be so close. Beautiful and powerul and a little terrifying, too!

Gage checking out the Flamingos in the Rain Forest. As with everything else, he wanted to "touch them." We warned him numerous times that they would bite, but this of course, did not deter our little redhead. He was nipped at several times, but escaped injury. Each time he would just laugh and say, "That birdie bite me!" Then, he would do it again! Yep, he is one that will definitely have to learn everything the hard way!!!

We were so excited to see this Black Bear. Let me clarify, when I say "we" I mean Corey and I. This is the first time the bears have not been hiding in the foliage during one of our visits. It was awesome watching him climb this tree. It definitely drove home the fact that you do not want to meet one in the wild, because you are not getting away from one of these fellows. They are fast! Unfortunately, this exhibit was at the end of our zoo exploration and the boys were done. As far as Corey and I were concerned this was the most amazing thing we'd seen all day and could have watched forever. But, the boys were more into heading to Mickey D's for some grub. Go figure!

After the zoo we grabbed some fast food then headed home for a much needed nap. We all snuggled in for a good 2 hours. Awesome = )

Once everyone was fully awake, we were off for more fun ... ice cream and the park. Yay!

Corey livin' it up on the horsey teeter totter = )

Riley and Mom on the jungle gym.


Gage checking the rear while backing the Fire Truck.


Riley spying on a bird.


Well, those are just some of the highlights from the weekend. It is so wonderful to get to spend the extra time together. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all hugs and smiles -- there were definitely plenty of meltdowns and flared tempers. But, those moments help us realize just how wonderful the good times are = )