Sept 2016: Birthdays and Baby Shower

WOW!  I have never gotten this far behind on the blog!  I think it's going to be a New Year's resolution to keep my blog up a bit better....... maybe up to speed with the current year!  September is always a busy month, but Sept 2016 was extremely busy and special!  My new niece Zoe came to stay with us (along with her mom Jillian :) for awhile! 

Will turned 8 and Kate turned 10!  Everyone gathered at our house over the Labor Day holiday weekend to celebrate.  Will Loved his new skateboard from Uncle Johnny and Uncle Josh!

Kate looks SO much like Jillian!  She was so excited to have her back in the US for the birthday party.

Kate & Will continued their tradition of Krispy Kreme donuts for their bday treat.

Everyone LOVES to wear the special donut hats during the party.

And the "eat the donut from the string" contest continued.  Always a sticky hit!

We made a trip to the Science Center while all the family was in town.  Kate and Will both attended a few camps at the Science Center this summer and one of Kate's projects was chosen for display.  She was really excited to show us her work.

Each kiddo gets to pick their favorite dinner on their bday.  Will takes after Brett and always requests wings from Buffalo Wild Wings.  That boy eats every bit of meat off the bone and I usually have to stop him from sucking on it before he will put it down!

This year EVERYONE got to join us for Will's bday dinner.

Happy 8th Bday Will!

The next day (Sept 6th) was Kate's big 10th Bday.  She was bummed that it was a school day. But we made it special for her and all came to school to have Jimmy John's lunch with her!  She was really excited to show off her baby cousin to all her teachers and friends. 

We had a baby shower for Jillian and Zoe while they were back in the U.S.  We held it at a beautiful restaurant in Pella and had a great time. 

Kate got creative with her chalk drawing.

Finally, we ended our month of celebrations with dinner and a movie at Flix Brewhouse and Cinema. It was a really fun experience being able to order and enjoy dinner while watching a movie on the big screen.  Definitely a hit!

Kansas City

Before summer came to an end we took 1 last little vacation to Kansas City.  We started at Science City.  We had never been there before and Kate and Will LOVED it. 

Playing tunes with their feet. 

Super fast rockets! 

Running in the hamster wheel. 

And OH SO WISHING he was a LITTLE Bit taller!
 "I'm tall enough, right Mom?"

We loved the train station and the chocolate shop inside.  

The next day we headed over to the Kansas City Zoo.  It was a hot day and the elephants were loving the water hose to cool off. 

The mama and baby gorilla were really cute. 

We found a fun Mexican Restaurant with a balcony overlooking the city.  We took this pic right before a storm came.  Thank goodness the balcony was covered!  We were able to finish our dinner and watch the rain. 

Our final day included lego land and the Hallmark center.  Will is exactly like Brett..... totally in love with Legos!  

I think Brett had just as much fun (if not more) as the kids. 

Kate and Will made cute cards and puzzles at the Hallmark Center.  Thankfully you have a 1 hour time limit in the center.  Otherwise, Kate would have stayed all day making fun cards and puzzles.  

We hit a KC brewery before heading north to home.   We had a great time in Kansas City.  Until next time!!!