July Millie Update

Millie is a feisty little girl with lots of personality, but also can be calm and super snuggable! She's about 97% potty trained. When she gets a treat, she can sit, shake, go down, and can sometimes stay. She sleeps through the night (awesome!) and loves to lay on the foot of the bed, or on laying on her back with her head on my shoulder like a little a kid. She's so sweet! She loves being outside and chasing bugs- especially cicadas and june bugs! She also likes hunting rabbit poop! She loves playing fetch and tug of war- she could win every time because she refuses to let go! She is just the best little addition to our family!

Royals Game

Something we've never done as a family is go to a Royals game! My dad mentioned his office has season tickets and just pick a game and we can go! Boy, did we pick the most perfect game to go to (well, other than the fact they lost). But in the midst of 98-101 degree days, we picked an evening where temps were about 80 degrees and overcast!! Couldn't have worked out better if we tried!!! We had great seats, great weather, and great company!!! Great fun!

Shopping with Wyatt

I told the boys that I would take them out one at a time and let them pick out a new "first day of school" outfit! Wyatt could hardly stand waiting any longer, so we headed out to do some shopping! I asked where he wanted to go and since the shirt he wore on his first day of school last year came from Kohls, that's where he wanted to go. Such a creature of habit! Wyatt can be quite indecisive sometimes- especially when you really can't go wrong with any of the choices. It's hard for him! So when he was faced with sooooo many awesome shirts, it was a super tough decision. Watching him deliberate was cracking me up though! He finally managed to pick a favorite and knew exactly what shorts he already had that would match PERFECTLY! Then we headed over to Marshalls to check things out over there, just in case. And it was there that we realized his backpack (that we bought at the end of school supply season last year) didn't have a water bottle holder and that just wasn't going to cut it. So we started exploring the backpack selection. Another round of touch decisions!!! Ultimately, he walked away with an awesome shirt and an awesome backpack!! 

He is officially ready for Kindergarten now!!

 He had to lay everything out and list the pros and cons to each shirt. Think you know which one he picked?

He did the same for the backpacks as well. "Take a picture of me wearing it like this. Now take a picture of me wearing it like this. Now, let me see which looks better." 

Final decision!

 I loved shopping with you Wyatt!!!! You're going to look AWESOME on your first day!

I would have a separate post for shopping with Grant, but it was ridiculously simple. "I want a blue Nike shirt to match my new Nike shoes. Oh, I like this one. Let's get it." I asked if he wanted to try it on to make sure, so he did- right there in the middle of the floor (over his clothes) and said, "Yep, thats good." He did also pick out a new lunchbox and water bottle, also easy choices.

Bring on the new school year! Or maybe not, I don't know if I'm ready yet!!

Bowling/Arcade Fun!

When we were at GWL, we steered clear of the Arcade area because we knew we could sink a lot of money in there pretty quickly! So we made a deal with the boys that another day we'd head to Park Lanes! We did a round of bowling and then headed over to the arcade! They had so much fun! Instead of using tokens and getting tickets, they have these debit card things that you swipe into each game and then tickets get e-loaded onto that. It was a little tricky for them to wrap their heads around at first, but once they figure all that out, they thought that was pretty cool! Right off the bat, Luke won a Minecraft thing from the Claw game. So then Grant wanted to try and couldn't catch anything and his attitude was going downhill fast. Especially once he saw Luke win a ball from another Claw game. Luckily, on his last and final "token" he spun the wheel and won the 1000 ticket jackpot!!! Well, that turned things around pretty quickly! Oh the decisions they had to make at the ticket counter!! I tell ya, the tough decisions these kids have to face ;-)  Everyone had a fantastic time and got lots of treasures!!!

 They liked that their stuffed friends they won matched the shirts they were wearing!

GWL for GWML

(The boys thought it was cool that Great Wolf Lodge has the beginning letters for all their names- Grant, Wyatt, Luke- we just have to add the Mason!)

Last summer, my mom told Wyatt that when he gets the courage to jump in the pool, go underwater, and swim without his life jacket then he would earn himself a trip to Great Wolf Lodge. He definitely didn't get the courage last summer, but he never forgot about the offer. So once the pool opened this year, he kept saying, "I'm going to do it! Just a little bit at at time!" So each day he would get a little bit more brave, and by the 2nd week in June, he was a full-fledged swimmer! It was an amazing transformation to watch!! 

So we checked our calendars and scheduled our trip to Great Wolf Lodge!! And oh my goodness, did these boys have a great time!!! The last (and only) time we've been to GWL, the boys were 4 and 6. It was a whole different experience that time around. This time, they were completely independent. Going down slides, playing MagicQuest, wandering around the hotel. Sara and I just camped out in the pool area, or the lobby area and watched them have themselves a good old time! Grant and Mason definitely preferred the waterpark, while Wyatt and Luke played hours and hours of MagiQuest! They also liked swimming endlessly in the lazy river! They loved sharing the hotel room together and getting sweet treats well after bedtime! It was definitely felt like a celebration of Wyatt's swimming success!! And even more fun celebrating with cousins!! 

 My sweet little Wyatt!! I'm so proud of you buddy!! Thanks for being so brave so we could all enjoy this fun time celebrating your courage and awesomeness!!!

 Cute little wolfie, all tuckered out once we got home!!

A Swimming Wyatt

The time has finally come that we have a Swimming Wyatt at our house!!! Wyatt has always loved the pool- from the shallow end, with his life jacket on, and his face dry!! Water has always been a little terrifying to him. Even showers were difficult for quite some time! But after last summer, when Mimi told him we could take a trip to Great Wolf Lodge if he learned how to swim and jump in the pool without being scared of getting his face wet- his wheels were turning. He tested the waters initially this summer little by little.  Jumping off the step into the shallow end. Putting googles on and quickly getting his face wet. Each day he seemed to get a little bit more brave!! And by mid-June, he was jumping off the deep end and swimming to the ladder. Going down the slide without a life jacket.  Diving for diving sticks. He's a full-fledged swimmer now!!!! And its AWESOME!!!!! Watching him get more and more confident each day is just so amazing to watch! To know that he can join Bub and his cousins down in the deep end just makes me so happy!! 

Here is Wyatt the beginning of June. 

 And this is Wyatt today!!!!

So proud of you little man!!!!! Can't wait to head to Great Wolf Lodge tomorrow to celebrate your swimming success!!!!

Basketball Bros

My boys don't really like playing outside in the summer heat, unless they are in the pool. So one morning, when I heard Grant say, "Let's go play basketball!" I was like, "huh?" I gotta watch this. I knew it wouldn't last long when they put their flip-flops on to go play, but they lasted longer than I expected!! They love basketball and can't wait til its cooler out to shoot around after school. And even more excited that they both get to play on a team this year! Soon enough buddies, soon enough!