Who are these guys?

We're not sure what's going on around here lately, but we definitely don't want to jinx it. It's no secret that our boys are a super-duper-rambunctious-handful of crazy, however there has been a strange change in the air. The sassafras and tantrums are starting to become few and far between instead of every, oh let me see, 2 or 3 minutes! It's been lovely to have these cooperative fun little guys around! Now, don't get me wrong, there is still the occasional meltdown, but those are lot easier to deal with when the memory of the last incident has already faded = )

One of our recent favorite outings was taking the boys to Carlos O'Kelley's. We rarely go to restaurants because a) it's too expensive, b) I actually enjoy cooking homemade meals for my family, and c) you never know if the Jeckyll boys or the Hyde boys will be accompanying us. Luckily on this trip the good boys showed up! They loved the atmosphere, food, and mexican music playing in the background. Such a fun family night out!

Riley ordered this cheese sauce to dip his chips in and ate almost the whole bowl! He would share when asked, but somehow the bowl always ended up right back in front of him.

He loved this stuff = )

No surprise, Gage was super into the coloring activity the restaurant provided. My little artist!

After the cheese sauce was demolished, the music got the best of the boys and they just had to bust a move a two.

Ugh! I hate that I cut the top of Gage's head off on this one, but he was just so bouncy! I had to post it anyway 'cuz I just LOVE that smile = )

With the weather being so hot, Gage finally agreed to let me cut his hair. I was just going to trim it up so he wouldn't sweat so much, but once he saw Riley giggling while getting tickled with the clippers, he wanted his hair short in back too, so I obliged. Here's the little cutie after his first haircut of the day ....

Riley with his short spikey new 'do.

A short while after the first round of haircuts Gage went up to Riley and rubbed his spiked hair. Next he went up to Corey and asked his daddy to take off his hat. Corey has a real short buzz going on right now. The next thing I know, here comes Gage requesting his hair be buzzed like daddy. Really? He has such beautiful red hair, it was hard for me to comply with this request, but I did. It's his hair after all. Annnnd, he LOVES it! I think for the first couple of days his hand was constantly up feeling his new fuzzy buzzy cut. Too cute!

A shot of the matching buzzes during wrestlemania!

This weekend we took the boys down to the Kansas River which was flowing full force. We had a great time discussing water safety and showing the kiddos the power of currents.

Riley telling us a story before our adventure begins ..

Down by the River ...

Just a nature shot I liked = )
After our river adventure we went home and had some good ol' family time in the backyard. As the sun began to set, we started a bonfire in the fire pit per the boys request. It doesn't matter how hot it is outside to them, it's never too hot to have a fire! While out there, the radio station we were listening to started an old school 80's punk rock show. The boys totally dug this crazy music and we spent the next hour dancing like maniacs and giggling like crazy. I haven't had that much fun in a while. Thank you God for blessing me with my boys!!!

I know there are a ton of other things I wanted to share, but they are escaping me at the moment. I need to start taking notes! Anyhow, the fair is this week, so that should make for some exciting adventures as well. Even though it is hot and dirty, it is still always one of our favorite things to do each year! Stay tuned ...

Airplanes!

Some really awesome historic planes flew into the airport last week for a special show. Corey took us out to see them after hours so we could get a good look with out all the crowd - and price tag = ) The boys were in awe, and truthfully, so was I. It is amazing to see these huge aircraft up close and hear the stories of how and where they were used.

Walking into the hangar to see the P-51 Mustang.

So shiny!

Walking out to the B-17.

Riley was super excited about this one ...

... it had machine guns all over it!

More guns.

And some more. They were so into Corey explaining how a really little fellow would sit in this bubble area and fire the guns during air combat.

Riley says, "Hey, I'm a little guy! I could fire those guns!"

Guns on the rear.

The big granddaddy, the B-24.

Front view = Awesome.

Here's the sign for this plane. People with pockets way deeper than mine got the chance to actually take a flight in this big boy. Amazing.

Corey will probably be mortified when he reads how I described these magnificent planes. I loved hearing all of the facts, but the details didn't all stay with me. For more accurate and official information ask him about them some time = )

Tom Petty and Drive By Truckers!

Ahhhhhhh! I don't know where to start! I am such a lucky girl! For my birthday, my awesome hubby honored my request and got me tickets to see Tom Petty. So, since I received these tickets a long time ago, I've been patiently waiting for the show date to arrive. One of my best girlfriends came to town to go with me. Allie and I had so much fun! This girl and I used to hang out almost all day every day. We were roommates, co-workers and best friends. She introduced me to my hubby. And she is just sincerely one of the sweetest people on the planet. It is always so great to hang out with her, no matter if it's been years since the last time we got together, we just pick right up like we've never been apart. These types of friends are few and far between and I am so grateful to count her as one of mine. The other thing Alison is, is a huge Tom Petty fan. We spent many nights - "back in the day" - singing our hearts out to his songs and this night was just like old times (with the exception of all the talk about our kiddos and hubbies - that adds a fun new twist = ) It's amazing how live music can just make me feel like a teenager -- or at least a carefree twenty-something -- again! A big thank you to my hubby for making this happen and to my girl Allie for sharing the time with me and all the reminiscing of our youth = )

Allie and me as we entered the Sprint Center.

The show begins ...

(I just had my little camera that doesn't have much zoom, wish I could've gotten better pics!)

They had a really great light show to go with the music.

The final bow.

I tried to load a video of my favorite song of the night - Learning to Fly. The sound quality of my camera is terrible, but the end part of the video where the crowd is singing still gives me goosebumps! Unfortunately, either the file is too big or I'm not smart enough to get it done. Hopefully I'll figure it out soon and I'll post it right away = )

Camping weekend ...

Well after what seemed like an eternity, the boys finally got over the terrible virus that had such a hold over them. Thankfully, the boys recovered just in time for Grandma Huber's 60th birthday. Her birthday request was for all of us to camp out at the lake together for the weekend. Who can deny a request like that? We spent the weekend soaking up the sun, eating fantastic food, and enjoying each other's company. I even got read an entire book! It was certainly the relaxing getaway that we all needed so much!

Grandpa Huber, Corey, Hunter and Riley during one of the pontoon cruises. On a later cruise, Riley went tubing for the first time behind the boat. He LOVED it! So wish I had pictures of that ... maybe next time.

Gage letting the wind blow through his beautiful red hair = )

The boys and their beloved cousin Hunter having a water gun fight.

The Huber family - Corey, Marilyn - the birthday girl, Jamie and Vern.

I love, love, love this picture of the boys! (If you can't see it, Gage is in the back with a fishing pole in his hand.)

Uncle Jamie brought his canoe along and the boys had just as much fun in it whether it was on land or in the water = )

Early morning - Corey and Riley are still zonked in the tent. We were so lucky to have perfect camping weather. The temp got down in the 60's at night with a light breeze. That coupled with our fan made for perfect sleeping weather!

Gager was up bright and early ... "Momma, it's morning time! The sun's up! Let's go!"

No sleeping in with this little early bird around!

As soon as this ridiculous heat wave with 100 degree days is over, we'll definitely have to go camping again. The boys are constantly asking if it's "camping time yet," they had so much fun and are rip-roaring to go again!

Misery ... with Sparklies.

Ugh. We are praying for health over here. Too much sickness for too long. It started Friday when I had a sour stomach but headed to work anyhow as our tech guy was coming to install new computers (yay for that!) and my boss was not in town. It didn't take long to realize that I would not be able to this all day though and had to call my boss. I don't think he was too happy about it, but he let me close the office early due to illness. Thank goodness because in the meantime, Riley had gotten really sick and had to stay home. He continued a vomit and diahrrea cycle from Friday morning through late Saturday night. He wretched so much that streaks of blood started to appear in his throw up. Thank goodness again for the Nurse Line through St Luke's who calmed my fears - a little - and advised what to watch for that would warrant a trip to the ER. Luckily, we avoided that trip. Riley's intestinal issues continue as of now, Tuesday morning. Gage, I guess, was feeling left out and started in with the heaving Monday afternoon. His is not nearly as severe as Riley's, thank goodness. If Riley continues on I think we are going to have to make a trip to the doctor as he has lost 4 pounds this weekend which is huge for such a skinny boy. Yuck, I hate it when my boys are sick!!!!

We did try to get out and have a little fun on the fourth between bathroom visits and rain showers. Here's a pic of a few daytime fireworks. We didn't even get through them all before Riley was asking to go inside and lay down = (

Shooting off some poppers.

My poor little muscle man was too weak to even pull the string himself.

Just as last year, Gage loved his "sparklies!"

One of the boys favorites was the smoke bombs. I love these, too.
Lots of color without so much danger and noise = )


Geez, just look at that face. If you look like that even when you're holding a sparkler that couldn't hardly wait for, you know that's misery = (

When night fell and the rain tampered to a light sprinkle, we headed out for a few night time pretties. Once again Riley was more than ready to go in after a just a few. He really wanted to see them, but didn't even have the energy to light off any himself. Gage, on the other hand, was a wild man. I wish I would've taken some video. He was so excited to light everything and once we were finished with our supply, he excitedly ran up and down the driveway, then the sidewalk, screaming like a banshee and checking out all of the neighbors explosions. He is so like his daddy with his pyro enthusiasm!

Gage with a sparkler.

A big, beautiful boomer set off by one of the neighbors.

Additionally we got some really bad news on Monday that Corey's Grandma Lawrenz had a stroke that morning. Her vision seems to be very impaired because of it. Please pray that this is only temporary and she will recover quickly.

Well, that's it for now. Hopefully we'll all be the picture of health by our next post!

Grandparents and Glitterbugs ...

Well, the boys have been waiting such a long time for this visit with Grandma and Papa and it was well worth it! Unfortunately, the weekend started off with a little disappointment as the boys were really excited to go to a friends birthday party, but they had each had a virus earlier this week and we decided it was best that we didn't spread it around to everyone else, just in case they were still contagious. The bright side was, this enabled us to get on the road back to Mac that much quicker. This helped ease their sorrows a little.

The first night the boys and Papa were on a mission to collect fireflies.

They caught quite a few. But the boys decided that since the fireflies weren't hot, that wasn't a good name for them ....

so, they renamed them Glitterbugs. I love it = )

The next day we headed out to the little fishing lake that's just outside of town. I'm not sure who had a better time, the boys or Papa. I'm also not quite sure how no one ended up falling into the water, because as we all know, it is hard for these boys to keep still. One thing was for sure though, everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

Here's where Riley spent most of his time ... behind the wheel. We kept it a slow pace and he drove us everywhere. He did a really great job and loved being such a big boy. The only time that dad took over was to load the boat on the trailer!

I can't recall what Gage was looking at here, but I just love this picture = )

Papa caught a couple of fish while on our excursion. Gage really dug checking them out up close and personal. He had no problem touching them all over. He loved that they were "slimery."

After all that hard work we headed back home so the boys could refuel. They devoured Papa's bbq'd pork ribs! They were so delicious the boys couldn't even put them down to smile for this picture = )

Corey also had a really great weekend. This was his annual "men only" golf weekend with several of his best buddies from over the years. It's a fun weekend for the guys to get away and just be silly like they were back in the day. Thankfully they all survived and will hopefully be recovered by the time this get together comes around next year = )

A Whole Lotta ...

On Wednesday we started out the day with a visit to our buddy Cooper who has recently undergone open heart surgery. It is amazing how well this awesome little guy is doing. It's truly nothing short of a miracle. The boys really enjoyed seeing him for a few minutes and were bummed I wouldn't let them stay longer, but I didn't want them to wear him out too much, or God forbid, hurt him. Even though we talked a whole lot about being gentle before we visited, sometimes Riley and Gage's definition of gentle varies greatly from my own. So, better safe than sorry.

Later that evening, we celebrated the 2 year anniversary of the boys pre-school. It was a whole lotta fun! There was a potluck bbq and tons of games for the kiddos to participate in and win prizes. You would think after being there all day the boys would've been ready to leave when the party was over, but they wanted to stay and have more fun! It was really fun to interact with the staff in a more social setting and meet some of the other parents. We are looking forward to more of these get togethers for sure.

This game was the hit of the night -- trying to make bean bags through the wholes in the construction paper. Both boys won a prize and played several times. Fun!

Gage also enjoyed making a cheerio necklace with his teacher, Miss Arely.

Riley putting one of his prizes to use -- a little periscope.
It is really pretty cool and actually works!

On Friday the boys did a whole lotta celebrating! They had a water day at pre-school and got to play in the sprinklers during the afternoon. After school we headed to their good buddy Kohen's birthday party. It was Toy Story themed so everyone was super excited!

Gage proclaiming to be "king of the planet!"

Riley and the birthday boy climbing in the tunnel - with pizza in hand = )

After the park the party moved to the movie theatre to see Toy Story 3D. This is where things took a turn for the worse and started to get a whole lotta scary. Apparently the combination of all that time outside took its toll on our little redhead. He came down with a pretty bad case of heat exhaustion. It began with him just being really grumpy and whiny at the theatre, then progressed to him vomiting -- in the movie theatre. Yep, that was not awesome. So, I hustled the little fella home while Corey and Riley stayed for the show. The rest of the evening was terrible and I contemplated taking Gage to the ER several times. He vomited 6 or 7 times between 7:00pm and 4:00am. I just kept doing everything I could to keep his core temperature down - baths, sponge baths, no covers, cool gatorade and water. At one point around 2:00 am I finally called the ER to see if they could tell me if I needed to bring him in or not. They explained that they couldn't advise me what to do over the phone, but gave me some very valuable information. There is a group called "the Visiting Nurses" and they have a 24hr hotline - 1-800-932-6220. You can call them anytime, for free, you tell them all of the symptoms and they ask a ton of questions. From there they can advise you on home remedies or if you need to get to the hospital or call an ambulance. If either of the latter two apply, they will forward all of the info you gave them to the ER. What a great service! Anyhow, they helped ease my fears and told me to keep doing what I had been and explained what things to look for that would warrant a trip to the ER - such as muscle cramping, delirium, not being able to walk or drink on his own, etc. So, after that long scary night, Gage and I mostly napped and drank gatorade for the entire day on Saturday, while Corey kept Riley busy out of the house doing "guy stuff" -- which Riley loved, especially since it included a trip to his beloved "airplane port!"

Thankfully, Sunday morning started out great. Gage woke up finally back to his funny little self and it was all he and his brother could do to let their daddy sleep in. They wanted him up right away so he could open his special presents that they picked out just for their special daddy! Gage was super excited for Corey to open the Batman T-shirt that he picked out (I know, Gage picked something Batman, huge surprise = ) Riley picked out a cool surfboard shirt that Corey really liked. And finally, the coup de grace, is pictured below ... keep in mind they picked this out "just for daddy" -- uh, huh.

Daddy with his boys and his super special, transforming, remote control,

robot to racecar.

Yep, there was a whole lotta good times had today with this awesome little present!

Whew! So much happened the past couple of days and it was a whole lotta fun!