June Instagram

Rocking Climbing at Monkey Bizness~Wyatt drawing in his undies

Visiting the KS Capitol~Furniture Shopping is Fun! 

 Grant costs $3.99~The Arch, Levi and I drove past when dropping off his car

Cuddles came along for the ride~Wyatt sunbathing inside

 Tree Shopping and Dessert at Sonic

The Lego Movie!!!~Lego Creations by Grant

Pillow Fort by Wyatt~Their animals ready to watch the boys swim 

Skyzone~Hairy Wyatt

Cousins at Zona Rosa~Snowcones

They're Taking Over

Grant had to have been going through stuff animal withdraw for quite some time! He managed to have a few animals that didn't get packed up in a box, but for the most part, all the stuffed animals were packed in one huge box that sat in the basement until the construction was finished. He had been longing to have all his friends back! 

One morning as I was getting ready to mow, I thought I'd go ahead and pull out the big box of animals. I figured it would keep them busy for the 4 hours it would take me to mow. Everytime I came in to check on them, I'd find more and more animals all over the house!! It was adorable- and I was right- they were busy the entire 4 hours!!!!

This was one sight I saw when I came up the stairs- I put the box where I'm standing in this picture- and I loved how they just trickled down the hallway. 

And by the time I finished mowing, I came in to find all sorts of set ups around the house. The monkeys were having lunch in the dining room, complete with mini-cheez its and full water bottles. If you look closely, you'll see one monkey has a bottle of Aloe Vera because there weren't enough water bottles. That same monkey is also sitting on a booster seat (which you can't see) because he was just a "little kid."

The puffins were guarding the sink in the boys bathroom. 

The birds were raiding the bathroom cabinet, and drinking a water bottle apparently.

All the sea creatures were enjoying a "swim" in the bathtub.

And all the arctic/mountain/christmas animals were hanging out in the guest room, I mean Iceland (as Grant called it). He even drew a few pictures of seals so we'd know what we were looking at! I just love him!

Grant feels so complete now to have his animals taking over his bed again!!

Visit from Friends

We were beyond excited when we found out the W family was heading out to KC for a few days! We couldn't wait to visit and play!!! After they finished up their long to-do list, they came by our house for a fun day of swimming and sunshine!! The boys couldn't wait to show them the pool!! And they all jumped right in!! The water was warm and the giggles were many!!! Lots of sliding, diving, and splashing!! Good times!!

Wyatt and Luke were so happy to be back together again! These two could just happily play and chat all day long!! I love their sweet friendship!!

When they all turned wrinkly, the hopped out of the pool and couldn't wait to play inside! Wyatt got to play Guess Who with Gracie, Luke found the Switch N Go Dino's, and Grant floated around between them all! Jace REALLY wanted to play Guess Who too! Cute little boy on the move! We made sure to snap a group picture before they left- I regret not snapping more pictures at our playdates over the years!! Of course, a group shot with 4 silly kids is always a bit tricky!!

But we finally got a pretty good one!!! 

We love every moment we get to spend with the W family!! We can't wait til our next playdate, whenever and wherever it may be!!!!

Date Night with Grant

Every kid needs special time with their parents. We hardly ever get the chance to do anything alone with either of the boys. Levi worked all the time in OK and now that he is gone for a while, its up to me to make that special time both boys deserve. 

One Sunday afternoon, I took Wyatt over to Mimi's house and let Grant make our plans for the day! He chose to eat lunch at Panera in the mall, followed by a stop at the Lego Store (and we only bought one Galaxy Squad set that was on sale), and a walk through the Disney Store. We stopped by Topsys on the way out for caramel corn and an Icee. I asked what else he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to go to the treasure shop, aka- the antique mall. He loves finding Beanie Babies and he knows you can always find a few there. We also thought we'd look for some tiny treasures to put on his new collection shelf. The first thing he found when we got there was this tiny Mommy and Son mouse figurine. He loved it because it looked like they were on a date, just like we were! It was sweet! After walking the entire store, Grant found the mouse figure, 2 teddy bear figures, and 4 beanie babies, plus a beanie baby encyclopedia- all for $10. After the antique store, he felt it was time to go home and check on Wyatt. 

It's funny what a sensitive little guy he is for how little he actually shows it. So frequently on our date, he'd mention Wyatt, or wonder what he was up to. He also requested that we call him twice. And when we were walking around the antique mall, he kept saying he thought he heard Wyatt talking. It was so sweet to see the affection for Wyatt he doesn't show him too often in person! It was a great time with my big boy and I can't wait to do dates again with boys of my boys!

Snugglebug

Levi and Wyatt have been two peas in a pod lately. And it all started with a nickname. Snugglebug. Levi started calling Wyatt that about two months ago or so. And it's true- Wyatt is a snuggler so the name just came naturally. And it snuck too. They refer to each other as Snugglebug more often than they say "Wyatt" or "Dad." And its adorable!!!

Since birth Wyatt has been a very strong mama's boy, so its nice to see him throw Levi some affection now too! I'm happy to see their bond become as strong as glue right before Levi leaves- I know it will be something that will hold them close together, no matter the distance. Levi has been in San Diego for about a week now and Wyatt has been carrying this little picture of Levi he found in a box- just a tiny squadron photo. But he keeps it by his bed at night and is very protective of it. I just love that!

Snugglebugs for Life!

Playing with the Cousins

As soon as we pulled up to our house with our moving truck, my mom quickly followed. She scooped the boys up and took them to her house so we could unload without any interruptions. That proceeded to last for the next 48 hours and, oh my goodness, what a blessing that was!!!!! Not only for Levi and I, but for the boys too, because that also meant they got 48 whole hours with Mason and Luke!! They had a BLAST and couldn't have been happier!! And for the last few weeks, cousin time has been a highlight of their summer. They ask daily- actually multiple times a day- when they can play with Mason and Luke! I love that they don't have to wait for months at a time to see them anymore!!

It's Been HOW Long?

Oh my goodness, I can't believe its been 39 days since my last post! Because I honestly feel like my last post was last week. That's probably because time was been on warp speed since, well.....since April!! And sadly the warp speed won't slow down anytime soon. But luckily I've been snapping pictures (Thank you iPhone!!!) through it all, so hopefully I'll get caught up soon. 

So lets, see, what have we done lately.....we finished up our initial move to Kansas the end of April and worked our little behinds off for two straight weeks. We returned to Oklahoma to continue working our little behinds off packing, finishing school, and saying, "See ya later!" to all of our friends. We did our official move to Kansas Memorial Day weekend and have been working our little behinds off since then. Levi is currently in training in San Diego and deployment will begin the first week of July, so we've also been relishing every spare second of time we've had together. Lots of work, lots of fun, lots of family time.

So the blog has taken a backseat, but don't fret- I will be a posting machine so our crazy adventures will not be forgotten! 

Grant's Machine

Grant is a science kid through and through. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with his interests because science was of no interest to me! But this guy is all about it!! He loves non-fiction books, conducting experiments, and inventing machines!! 

Without even knowing what that he was doing this, he was inventing his own version of a Rube Goldberg machine. You know, where one thing causes another thing that causes another thing, with one final result in the end. He told me that it wasn't going to do anything, but it looks cool and I could imagine what it would do. He found whatever he could lying around and started piecing it together.

By the time he was finished, he used a tape measure, water bottle, 6 straws, a plastic ball, a tiny stuffed puppy, a plastic cup, a Pringles lid, a spoon, a pair of tongs, a harmonica, and two rolls of tape! He had so much fun explaining to me the "chain of events," if it actually worked. But remember, we were just imagining it! I love this boy and how his brain works! I think he will be very excited when science fair project time rolls around. Me, not so much!!! Luckily I don't think he will have to ask for my help!!

Trains, Snowcones, and Carousels!

After Levi's Fini-Flight, we had planned on going swimming at the hotel, but go figure the pool was closed for maintenance. So we made the even better choice to head to Meadowlake Park for one last hoorah!!! The boys had been looking forward to the park opening all spring, but I kept reminding them that we were going to be in Kansas by the time everything opened, so to have this opportunity was priceless! We've loved spending some summer nights at that park the past two years. And this year made it even more exciting because the carousel was finally up and running!! 

The boys ran right to the train and sat in "their" seat- the backwards facing seat in the very back! They love this spot!! Cuddles came along for the ride too, of course!

 And as soon as the train ride was done, we hopped over to the carousel. We had the pick of the horses, as we were the only riders. After a look around, Grant decided he wanted to share the bench with me (luckily, because things that go round and round AND up and down don't sit well with me), and Wyatt found the US Navy horse which was just perfect to sit next to his Snugglebug!

 While we would've loved to add mini-golf to our agenda, time didn't allow, but you better believe we made time for snowcones!! 

So happy we got to spend one more summer night at Meadowlake!

Levi's Fini-Flight

Levi had his last day at Vance AFB on June 5, marked by his celebratory Fini-Flight. A fini-flight is your last flight in the T-6. He got to fly where he wanted with whoever he wanted. He chose to fly out to Garden City to visit some of the Broeckelman's, including the newest Broeckelman, our adorable little nephew Layton. After a few hours visiting and flying around, they headed back to Vance where we were waiting at the flight line for him!

 The boys had been awaiting this day for weeks and weeks! We'd been to a few fini-flights before, so they knew the drill. As soon as Daddy landed, they were going to spray him with fire extinguishers and he was going to spray them! They were so giddy watching Levi land and taxi and get out of the plane. They could hardly stand it!

 Unfortunately, we had one bum extinguisher, so we only got to use one. But you can see from their faces that was plenty for them!!! I'm sure Daddy enjoyed the refresher as well because it was HOTTTTTT out there!

 After the water ran out, champagne was popped and handshakes were given, we managed to get a little family photo. Such good memories!

Levi's flying partners for the day- Tobitt, JJ, and Tyler. Such a great group of guys! 

After we were done on the flight line, it was time to celebrate inside with Levi's favorite- Golden Chick! After some snacks and refreshments, it was time for his farewell. Cmdr Narducci said some kind words about Levi. It was a very proud moment for me- he has worked sooooo incredibly hard over the past 2.5 years and to hear all the amazing things he's accomplished and to know that other people have recognized it as well makes me a very proud wife!! He deserves all the praises he got! And then Levi made a little speech, and for someone who HATES public speaking, he did a great job!!!

It was a wonderful day, celebrating my incredibly talented and hard working husband!! We love you Levi, and are so very proud of you!!!