Joshua's Day Out with Thomas!

This was supposed to be the year Joshua and Luke get birthday parties, but when we saw Thomas the Tank Engine was going to be visiting a mere 3 hours away (!!), we decided to take a day to visit Thomas instead of planning a birthday party--that Joshua really didn't want anyway.

We left right after church and none of the kids knew where we were going, but I packed this Thomas shirt--Joshua's favorite shirt--and some toys for all of the boys.

 It's Thomas!

 There were several activities besides just riding Thomas. The boys liked this inflatable train maze.

 Micah wanted to try climbing a rock wall!

 Apparently the girl next to him said, "I'm going to beat you to the top." That was the wrong thing to say to Micah. He raced to the top, came down, then did it again!

 Joshua wanted to try, too. He didn't quite get the hang of it this time, but next time I bet he will!

 Joshua and Paul in front of the passenger coaches that Joshua called Annie and Clarabel--what else?

 All but one of us was excited to ride the train! 

(Eli had this face almost the whole day, but we didn't let it ruin our fun.)

 Micah loves Luke!

 Joshua had fun looking out the window at the diesel on the other end of Thomas' coaches.

 (And he found a friend giggling with him outside the window.)

 After our train ride, all the boys cooled off with a snow-cone before heading home.

  Eli said this was the best part of his day.

Joshua enjoyed all of it, which was really the point anyway. :-D

Eli and Micah's 6th Birthday

For their 6th birthday, Eli and Micah chose a minion cake. I was nervous at first about how I was going to pull it off and I looked at a lot of different pictures for ideas. I think it turned out pretty cute and they were thrilled with it!

 Eli (left) was actually running a fever this day, but he was a trooper and joined us for dinner and cake.

 They each got six candles to blow out.

 Joshua wanted the blue icing, of course!

Paul made these cinnamon rolls for breakfast on the morning of their birthday.

It was really fun packing their lunches in their favorite colors. 

I made these S'more cupcakes for their school treats. Surprisingly, the marshmallow frosting was really easy to make and excellent for Fluffernutter sandwiches later. 

 

It's hard for me to believe how much these boys have grown. We have had a lot of fun celebrating them in our family and we look forward to many more birthdays to come! We love you, boys!!

 

When the big kids are away....

Joshua has lots of time to play!

Early one morning, Joshua, Luke and I headed to a local splash pad. It was just the three of us for quite a while and we loved it that way. ;-)

 Joshua paints with his trains frequently.

 

Joshua loves spraying things with my spray bottle, so when I saw an idea to make baking soda/water ice cubes and then spray them with vinegar, I knew he would love it! He did and the driveway was very colorful!

We have also made a few trips to the zoo with our friends.

 

Elephants are Joshua's favorite animal- especially baby Duncan.

 Sweet friends!

 Shaving cream fun! This is actually one of Joshua's favorite activities--second to painting with trains.

 

 
It is fun to do all of the "toddler stuff" I did with Eli and Micah now with Joshua and Luke. Joshua is really enjoying all of our adventures!

Back to School!

Eli and Micah started Kindergarten this year! This is the first year that they have to wear uniforms to school. The first morning was a little tough--they never tuck shirts in--but thankfully Paul was at home helping everyone overcome this small hurdle. These are their chapel uniforms and only have to wear them on Wednesdays. On other days, they can wear polo shirts that do not have to be tucked in.

Eli

 Micah

 Micah and Eli with their teacher. They really love her and so do we!

A couple of weeks after Eli and Micah started school, Joshua started his school year in the 2 year old classroom. He gets to play with several of his friends from his class last year.

 Luke and Joshua (and Horton)

 Joshua really wanted to touch this butterfly. He never got to touch it, but he had lots of fun trying.

 Luke doesn't go to school yet. He has enjoyed his days as the only child home with Momma.

Vegas Cheneys Visit!

About a week after we got back from Kansas, the Las Vegas Cheneys came to TX for a visit. We had lots of fun reading, playing games, playing at the park, and being creative!

Aunt Rebecca just loves this boy--as she loves all of our boys!

Grandma got all of the kids to help her make "noodles" for dinner.

 We have all been wanting to go to the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory for a tour, but we never had the time to go. Well, we made the time on this visit!

The Cheney grandkids

 One afternoon, the big kids got very creative making up a play to present to me and Aunt Rebecca. 

Micah was Moses--see the "burning bush"?

 Eli was the Pharoah and the girls acted out all of the plagues--complete with drawings of each plague.

Here's a short video of the creativity they showed.

Summer 2014

So, we had lots of fun visiting with far away family, but we also had a great time just the six of us!

 Eli and Micah did great during swim lessons this summer!

 (Joshua also did swim lessons this year and had fun being in the water with me and Paul, but we don't have any pictures of that.) 

Grandma's house is tons of fun, especially when she gives you a big box and LOADS of stickers! :-) This project kept Eli, Micah and Joshua busy when Paul and I were painting the kitchen at our house.

Everyone loves to swing!

 Our first attempt at putt-putt golf taught Paul and me something very valuable--do not try to teach the kids a new skill/game after dinner time when they should be getting in bed. Our second attempt later in the summer was much more pleasant.

The children's museum was a hit as always.

 My babies!

 Joshua

 Luke

 Micah (in front) and Eli went for a run with Paul while Joshua, Luke and I played at the park. We all had a great time!

 Eli (front) and Micah (back)

 I love the joy on their faces. This splash pad was so fun!

Eli and Micah have really gotten addicted to puzzles. They asked to borrow this one from Papa and put it together (with some help) in a few days.

 We set up a tower garden this summer

 and released 1000 ladybugs on it!

I love our "big" trips and getting away from our daily routine, but it's these every day moments that I really cherish. My guys are growing so fast and it's great to freeze time for just a moment in these pictures. In fact, I notice that Joshua is wearing his favorite pair of Batman jammies in the above picture. It's 100 degrees out, but he LOVES these jammies and wouldn't be persuaded to wear shorts to bed. Also, now that it's actually November and I'm catching up on summer activities, I can report that those pants are easily another inch shorter now than in this picture--and Joshua still loves them. ;-)