Chuck E Cheez-It's

What's that you say? It's not called Chuck E Cheez-It's? It's actually Chuck E Cheese? Ha! Good luck getting Riley and Gage to believe that one! As far as they are concerned, this place is named after their beloved snack cracker annnnnnnd it is pretty much the coolest place under a roof. Seriously folks, these boys had so much fun here! And to be honest, so did Corey and I. We were a little hesitant to go because of some of the horror stories we have heard, but it really was a blast! I had gone online to get a coupon and there was one for a large pizza, 4 drinks, a couple of salads and 80 tokens for under $30. Sold! I must say though, that 80 tokens was way too many for the little guys. So, Corey and had to force ourselves to help use them up by playing skee ball and pop-a-shot. Good times = ) Other than us parents also getting to have a little fun, the other nice thing was by the time we finally used up all of the tokens the boys were pooped! Not a peep or a fuss about leaving. Bonus! Of course, after all of that fun, we now pretty much get asked daily to go back. We'll have to use this as incentive for our little Chuck E Cheez-It fanatics = )

This is pretty much what Gage did for the first 20 mintues or so. He would be on a ride or playing a game and then see something across the way that caught his fancy and immediately wanted to go check out the new thing. We left many rides still running and games half played, but who cares --- this kiddos excitement was uncontainable!

The boys LOVED this "monster truck" ride. It rumbled up and down and side to side. Of course, I couldn't get any good face shots as they were both too fascinated checking out all of the stuff around them as well as the mechanics of the ride.

Skee ball was truly Gage's favorite game, but I only got pictures of Riley playing it. Riley actually did quite well with it. Gage on the other hand has a bit of wild roll. Now, when I say wild roll, I mean the ball could go straight up and score 1000 points, or it could wind up 3 games over or behind his head! Thus, no pics of Gage playing, I was too busy playing defense!!! Who knew this was a 2 player game?

Gager starting to wind down. Just chillin' with Chuck E.

I'm not sure who Gage was talking to, but he spent almost 10 minutes on this phone! I tried several times to get him to turn around and smile for the camera, but would only get a quick, "Mom. In a minute. I'm on the PHONE" response. Hmmmm, that sounds a little too familiar = )

So, yes. Our first venture to Chuck E Cheez-It's was a success. For those of you who haven't tried it yet, I say give it a shot. Just remember to go to their website and print a coupon first. It saved us almost $20!

New Look ...

Well, it's finally Springtime around here, THANK GOODNESS! So, with Spring comes Spring cleaning -- and for me -- Spring redecorating. Yay! So, with all of this newness around me, I figured it was probably time for a little revamp to the ol' blog as well. Hope you like the new format = )

Along with everything else, we also have some new pre-school pictures of the boys to show off. They turned out so great! The photographer did a super fabulous job of getting the sweet side of the boys personalities to shine through. We all know that's hard to do since the ornery side more often than not seems to win the struggle to front and center! Anyhow, below are the photos that I am so in love with right now I can hardly stand it and I am sure I will cherish for years to come!

Shiny, happy brothers

Handsome devil

Cutie patootie

Love those deep dark eyes

Adorable li'l red

Well, there's much more to chronicle, but no time right now. Will fill you in soon! = )

Never a dull moment ....

So, the other day we were busy doing chores around the house and poor little Gage was not feeling well. He was just lying on the couch zoning out on the TV. But, he really started getting into the movie Austrailia with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman (yeah, I know, kinda of a weird thing for an almost 3 year old to be into, but Gage is definitely not your average kiddo!) Anyhow, after returning from the back room, this is what we found ...

Gage had gone into his room and pulled out his horse.

Apparently wanting to be like the people on the TV = )

Soon after, he ventured off again to return with his trust shotgun. Such a cowboy!

It just cracks me up the things kids do and the way their little minds work.

We are also still working hard on the potty training at our house. First off, let me start by saying Gage is oh so smart. You can ask him a million different ways of where the pee and poo are supposed to go and he will always tell you the correct answer - NOT IN MY PANTS, IN THE POTTY! He'll even say it with much gusto and a big smile. However, his actions do not always match his words. The other day, not 10 minutes after he had sat on the potty to do his duties, he comes waddling into the kitchen while I am doing dishes. He is walking funny and has no underpants on. As he turns around, I notice he is sporting a little brown tail. Yuck! So, I ask, "Gage? Where are your underpants?" He then giggles and takes off running for his room. I am yelling at him to "STOP!" because I do not want his little tail to dislodge and land on the floor. Little did I know that was the least of my worries! As I catch up to the little red flash and start explaining that he needs to sit on the potty ASAP to finish his poo poo duties, what do I see? Underpants on the carpeted floor of Gage's room along with three big turds. Are you kidding me? "Gage! Why did you poop on the floor?" "Because mommy, I'm not supposed to poop in my pants. I need to keep them clean!" Grrrrr. So, I set the little squirt on the potty and begin the clean up. As I'm doing this with steam coming out of my ears, I hear this sweet little voice coming from the bathroom singing the song from the Elmo Potty video ... "Accidents happen ... that's what they say ... accidents happen ... and that's okay ..." Even though I was pretty angry, that little song did bring a little smile to my face = ) Oh, I am so ready for this potty training stuff to be a distant memory!

Then there's always silly conversations that strike a chord with me and make me appreciate just how sweet the boys can be and proud of their attempted problem solving abilities. Each day on our drive home we drive over what has become known in our household as "The Pooey River." You see, the Kansas River is not very clean and is often somewhat foul smelling. The fish and game department even recommends not eating fish caught in the river. There's lot of run-off pollution from upstream that contaminates the water. Anyhow, several of our trips over the river have brought up questions by the boys as to why the river is pooey and how to make it not pooey. So, I try my best to explain how the river got that way and ask them how they think it should be taken care of. Here's my favorite theory they've got going right now. Gage, "They need to pull the plug so all the pooey water goes down the drain." Riley, "Yes! And then we can fill up a big, huge bucket with clean water from a hose. It will be really heavy, so we will need a big crane to lift it up and dump it in. Then we can swim in it!" Oh, if only it were that easy! But, I love that they are trying to think of ways to make it right. Who knows, maybe someday they'll keep thinking like this and solve some real world issues! Anyhow, they make mommy proud just the same = )

Along this same line, we have been talking to the boys a lot about taking care of our planet. Such things as re-using items, reducing the amount of trash we make, and conserving water. We've also talked about recycling, but hadn't done too much of it because -- well .... because -- well, mostly because we have been lazy. However, thanks to a great new service in Lawrence we have stopped the laziness! If you live around here and haven't heard, Deffenbaugh is now offering curbside recycling pickup for only $4.95/month. They even supply the recycling material container and pick it up the same day as your regular trash pick up. Even better, the items do not have to be separated. So easy! So, we've started this and it's lead to many fun questions from the boys and learning experiences about what things are made of and how items can be recycled. Riley even caught me the other day when I almost inadvertantly threw away a milk jug. He screamed, "Nooooooo, mom that's PLASTIC!" at the top of his lungs like it was life or death. That made me laugh = ) Thank goodness we have him to keep us in check!



Also, my sweet Riley said one of the nicest things to me the other day. We were snuggling on the couch watching cartoons, just being lazy for a bit. I had my glasses on and noticed he kept staring at me. Then, out of nowhere, he gently reaches over and takes my glasses off and says, "There momma, now you're more beautiful." Awwwww, talk about melting momma's heart!

Finally, please send some prayers out to our little buddy Cooper. He is having a heart catheter today and will be finding out how soon his next open heart surgery will be. He is such a tough little guy, I know he will be fine. But, extra prayers to help him through are so appreciated.

Colorado Trip!

Wow, what a whirlwind! The time went so fast, but we had a blast = ) There were, of course, several "toddler moments" along the way, but I think we all weathered the storm. The kiddos did amazingly well on the long 8 hour drive. It helped that on the way out we stopped for an overnight in Russell with great-grandma which helped to break the trip up. Then, on the way home, the boys were so exhausted they slept from Denver to a little past Hays ... almost 5 hours! Good thing, too, as we were listening the Jayhawk game on the intermittant radio stations through western Kansas. Stressful! Anyhow, it was a fabulous trip and we are so thankful that Aunt Tracy was so sweet to let us crash in and invade her home all while she acted as our activities director. Thank you!!!!

The journey begins ...

Gage LOVED great-grandma's sugar cookies = )

Riley didn't want to leave great-grandma, he kept telling her she could just get in our van and come along. Maybe next time!

Gage and Aunt Tracy discussing the "treasure chest."
He found this on her table and was completely enamored with it.
His little imagination was running overtime as he kept opening and closing it = )

Riley opening a birthday gift from Aunt Tracy. Oh how he loves his Ben10 characters!

When we visited the Denver Zoo we couldn't pass up the carousel!

Ha! Here we are on the "train ride" around the zoo. Train ride is in quotes because the whole thing was really questionable. We are used to the fabulous 20+ minute ride at the Topeka Zoo that takes you through beautiful landscapes and is very informative. This ride in Denver lasted about 5 minutes, an extra employee had to help physically push the train along in several spots as it didn't have enough power to climb a 10 degree incline, the speakers were blown, and we drove past dead grass and bushes ... not any animals! It was so pathetic, we could do nothing but laugh = ) But, the little guys enjoyed the ride nonetheless!

Gage checking out the view during one of our gondala rides in the mountains.

Entering the Ice/Snow Castle at the very top of the mountain. The kiddos loved this!

Conquering the top of the castle!

We also visited the Aquarium. I will never get tired of this place! Here the kids were standing in a bubble to get a "fish eye view" of the sea creature environment.

Riley really enjoyed checking out all of the sea life. His little fingerprints and faceprints are all over the glass from beginning to end!

Corey & Riley at Casa Bonita. This place was awesome! The food wasn't nearly as bad as the reviews and the atmosphere and shows totally made up for any culinary lacking. The cliff diving and big Gorilla that ran through the restaurant were big hits with Hubers!

Gage soaking up the atmosphere.

The mariachi singers right by our table. Loved it!

The ride home. I cherish these pics!

Can't hardly wait to go again and check out more of the sites!

Our big boy is FOUR!!!!!

Wow. It's really difficult to wrap my mind around the reality that it has already, yet also only, been four years since Riley came into our lives. The years since he was born have flown by and been filled with more love and laughter than I could have ever imagined. There are also plenty of roadbumps and frustrations, but that's just part of the package. At the same time, it is so strange to realize that it has only been four years, because really, it is getting harder and harder to remember what life was like before this little whirlwind of energy became our everything. Whew!

Anyhow, I think Riley would agree that his birthday was a success. We started out Friday morning with a mini-celebration and continued on through the weekend. At Pre-School his teachers put together an awesome present package that included all of his favorites: Ben10 art supplies, an airplane, and a Spiderman activity book. Fun! And thoughtful = ) Riley also had a little party at pre-school where he was thrilled to show off and share the cupcakes he and his brother helped make the night before. They boys also helped make this Robot cake. Good times!

Riley was also stoked to get some surprise birthday greetings from some of his favorite girls ...

here with Jamie ...

and here with Sara.

After the requested dinner of sloppy joe's was wolfed down, the boys finished tearing into the presents. All of the gifts were loved by both of the boys. Luckily there were several so too many fights didn't break out -- they could just hop from one to another = )

A cast iron plane from dad. Too cool!

Poor Gage. This picture sums up how he felt most of the weekend. He has a terrible head cold! Although, he did find enough energy to play in spurts!

The spiderman scooter. He can really cruise on this contraption!

Sneaking fingerfuls of frosting while we hunt for the candles that mysteriously went MIA,

then turned up the next day courtesy of Mr Riley Shaw Huber.

A campout with their new matching camo sleeping bags = )

Grandma and Papa Soukup came for a visit on Saturday. Grandma was the lucky recipient of all of Riley's bows ... he loved decorating Grandma!

The big hit of the day was Hungry, Hungry Hippos. I have seriously never seen the boy play with something so continuously for such an extended period of time. We're talking several hours in a row on Saturday, then again on Sunday

(until I finally had to put the thing up for a little while to keep my sanity! = )

Proud boy with his newly constructed lego car.

The architect putting the finishing touches on his Lincoln Log house.

Cheesing it up with the airplane glider from school.

We all had so much fun this weekend and are looking forward to even more. But, for now, it's time for rest because we're all exhausted. Good night = )

Ahhhhh! I can hardly keep up!

Whew! Seriously, it has been a whirlwind of activity around here lately. I need to figure out a way to add more hours into the day! There have been so many cute, funny, silly, exasperating, and unusual events around here lately, I wish I had the time to blog every day to document them all. However, that's obviously not going to happen, so I'll just have to rely on my memory (uh-oh! it's not as good as it used to be!) along with my trusty pictures to help capture a few of the moments ....

The snow around here has finally melted. Hallelujah! But, the boys did have quite a bit of fun playing in it the last couple of days it was around since the temperatures were tolerable. Probably the thing they all enjoyed most was what we like to call "Spring training with snowballs." You see, back in the day, Corey was quite the baseball player. He even had a tryout with a pro team. His excitement for teaching his boys the games is unmeasureable. It gives me such joy to see him working with Riley and Gage and all three of them having a super good time!

Here they are practicing their wind up.

Our mailbox was the target. Boy oh boy did it take a beating!

Riley has a heck of an arm. Power and strength are definitely his strong suit. However when he throws at full strength, he reminds me a little of Charlie Sheen's "Wild Thing" character in Major League. A lot of heat, but no accuracy.

He got frustrated missing the target so decided a close up shot was in order = )

Once he tired of throwing snowballs at the mailbox, guess who he thought we would make a great target? Is that an ornery look, or what?

Gage, oh Gage. He quickly grew tired of throwing snowballs when he found this big ice chunk. He decided it was snack time. Yuck! Who knows what was in that? I finally had to just take it from him because no matter how many times we told him to put it down, that it was pooey, he would just respond, "No it's not. It tastes good!"

Thankfully the warm weather has allowed us to also get out and about and enjoy some outings to the park. We have sooooo missed these this winter!

Gage climbing up a curved ladder. He is so proud of himself! Last fall, these curved structures, as well as the rock climbing walls, caused him much grief. But now, he is such a big boy he has them mastered!

I soooo love catching these looks of joy as they exit a fun ride down the slide!

Ha! Gothca! Mr. Riley had been intentionally avoiding looking at the camera for a while so I had to trick him by gasping and saying, "Oh my gosh!" He quickly turned around to see what was the matter. Such a mean mommy! Don't worry, he got me back for this by bullrushing me and tackling me. Oh the joy of being a mommy to a rowdy boy = )

Another big smile at the end of a slide ride = )

Ahhhh. A relaxed mommy and daddy at the park revelling in the release of cabin fever!

Let's see, what else is going on? Riley was having some real difficulty at pre-school recently that I think was brought on by some staffing changes. I ended up having to be "that drama mama" and had some discussions with the teachers and administration to get things figured out. His awesome teacher's, Miss Crystal and Mr. Ashley made a few changes to his routine. He is now allowed to spend several hours a week in the next level up - kindergarten class as they think part of his trouble was boredom. He is really thriving in there! They have also assigned Riley several "teacher helper" responsibilities that he is required to do each day. This has also helped a ton. He loves to be a helper and be in charge. It is amazing the difference in his attitude toward school and the now mostly good reports that get sent home. Riley even wanted to make special bracelets for his teacher's the other night while I was completing some jewelry orders. So sweet! Thank goodness both he and Gage are in such a good place where the teachers and adminisration listen to parent's concerns and do everything in their power to help the children be the best that they can be. Thank you!

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In other news, Gage is now in big boy underpants! He is doing a fabulous job! He so loves his big boys pants and will gladly show anyone and everyone. He tries so hard to keep them clean. There's been a few oopsies, but we are so close! Wow, could it really be true? Could we finally be done with diapers in our household after 4 years straight with two boys? I can only hope!!!

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We've also got big things coming up. Riley turns 4 on Friday. Woohoo! He is getting so big and makes us smile and laugh every day! It's been a wild ride since he came into this world on the day the twister/microburst hit Lawrence and I imagine the craziness will continue. Thank you for all of the excitement Riley Shaw = )

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Also, Corey's dad is having quadruple bypass surgery and heart valve replacement next week. I'm sure everything will go smoothely, but any prayers you can send his way are greatly appreciated!

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And finally, we are heading to Denver next week to see my sister, Tracy. I can hardly wait! It is always so great to see her and we all definitely need a vacation. I'm looking forward to reporting back from the our great trek to Colorado = )