Mini golfing

While in Anna Maria Island, we saw a little mini golf place and thought it might be fun to take Luke. It was at first. He listened to what he was supposed to do and was enthusiastic about hitting the ball. We did have to tell him not to hit it too hard several times and he didn't always wait for the ball to stop moving before he hit it again, but he knew the purpose was to get that ball in the hole.



The problem was, he did NOT like that he had to wait for the rest of us to play and we did not play as fast as he did.
Thus, we saw a lot of this after about hole 2.

Next stop on our summer of travels: Anna Maria Island

After leaving St. Louis, we stopped in at home to see Josh and then the boys and I headed out again to FL. We planned to stay a week at my parents' house and relax, but ended up taking a long weekend to Anna Maria Island. Luke really enjoyed the beach and the ocean. Brad was still pretty little and didn't really take to the ocean this go around. There was a lot to do on Anna Maria Island.

First we found a place to eat and walked out along the pier.

Luke and my mom



Brad (we forgot a stroller so this was a quick Target purchase, we teased my dad about the pink butterflies)



We headed out to the beach and enjoyed playing in the sand and the water. Luke and I built sand castles and we braved the strong waves. There was a really sharp drop off just a few feet into the water that the tides/waves were kind of rolling back in and it made it really hard to get out of the water. I avoided falling thankfully, but not everyone was so lucky :)

Ahh, the life



Luke and Papa



playing in the water



Papa and Brad



Brad did not love the water!

More in St. Louis

After a fun filled morning at Grant's Farm, my mom's friend Carol took us on a tour of St. Louis while my boys napped at the house with their papa and Carol's husband Ron. Our first stop, to appease Neil, was at a White Castle. Neil loves them. I do not. I am an oddity in my family, but in my opinion they are little mounds of grease that don't even taste all that good. However, trying to be a good sport and being seriously hungry, I decided to try a chicken sandwich. Ansev was also skeptical but she tried a chicken sandwich too.
The proof that I ate it:



As this picture was being taken, a large puddle of grease poured out of my sandwich, burned my lip and landed on my pants. So the end result= even the chicken is a little mound of grease and not all that worth eating. Rather like Zaxby's if you've ever tried that.

We drove by the nursing school that my mom and Carol went to, it has changed hospital names but it still has a nursing school there. It was neat to see the place I've heard so many stories about. Carol politely asked a woman (who later we found out was actually an Associate Dean I believe) if we could take a look around. She gave us a nice little tour before she was leaving for the day, we just caught her and she stayed just to show us around :)

Mom by the sign out front



Carol and mom



We then drove around the great city of St. Louis. It is really beautiful and so much to see and do! Of course we stopped by the Arch!

Ansev and me by the Arch



Arch

Grant's Farm

After heading home from Kansas, we stopped in St. Louis to visit with my mom's friend Carol from nursing school. While we were there we visited Grant's Farm. It is the historical home of Ulysses Grant and has a 281 acre wildlife preserve with a zoo as well as some of the world famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.

I think I mentioned before how hot is was in the Midwest this summer. Brad was hot, but happy riding the train to get to the main attraction.



Luke, me, and Brad



Neil and Ansev with Brad



Cool Luke



Clydesdale!



Luke's reaction to the Clydesdales (it is blurry because he couldn't get away fast enough!)



Brad's reaction to the Clydesdales



Ansev got Luke to get a little closer



Luke and Ansev



Me and my mom, we took this same picture when we visited Grant's Farm when I was 4. I'll have to see if I can find it someplace.

Carousel Museum

While we were in Kansas, my aunt Pam took the women and children to the carousel museum. It was really neat to see some original carousels that have been restored. The kids loved it and we got to take a ride on one of them.

View from the seat Brad and I were sitting in. Luke is in the light blue shirt across the way.



Family group shot
Neil, my mom and Brad, me, Luke, my aunt Pam and Kate, Jayln, Dana, and Ansev

Family fun night

One evening while we were in Kansas, just my immediate family headed out for a fun night of bowling. It was Luke's first time trying out the lanes. We got some bumpers and a 5 lb ball, he even got to wear the shoes.
I taught him how to push the ball down the helper ramp (I'm sure it has an actual name that I do not know) and then to high-five after he hit some pins. He learned quickly and then made it his business to walk up there, roll the ball, then high-five. It was so cute.

Luke bowling

On the road again...next stop: Kansas!

The boys and I joined my family for a reunion on my dad's side in Kansas, where his brother and family live. Poor Brad started out the trip really sick, high fever and just acting not like himself at all. He started feeling better as the week went on, but the first few days were rough.

Do you remember this summer? It was extremely hot and the mid-west had to have been the hottest place to be. I think it was at or near 100 degrees most of the week. We did a lot of lounging and spending quality time together. Almost all of my dad's family was able to join us in Kansas for at least some of the week. It was the first time many got to meet Brad and I got to meet my cousin Kami's kids Kelsey and (at the time very newborn) Kate as well as my cousin Jason's daughter Jayln!

Papa and Brad trying to stay cool on the patio



Luke eating shirtless



Swimming in Josh's (my cousin) pool



Brad's silly face



Luke, Jayln (3 months younger than Luke), and Brad



At nine months old, this is how close Brad was to crawling, just couldn't quite get going. Little did I know at the time, but it would take another full month until he could get going!

9 month old comparison

In honor of Brad turning 15 months tomorrow, I thought you might like to read the 9-month old comparison :)

At 9 months of age, Luke was 28 inches tall and weighed 18 lbs 10 oz. He was a really great eater and sleeper. He ate almost anything I gave him and always slept through the night. This is not just a glamorized memory, I really checked the notes I wrote about him at this age, it is the truth. Aside from his hemangioma and ear issues, Luke really was an easy baby. By this time Luke was army crawling and trying to pull himself up. He talked a lot and said mama and dada. He had surgery to remove the hemangioma on his arm and get ear tubes by this time and was a happy camper after that!

Luke at 9 months



Brad at 9 months weighed 19 lbs and 6 oz and was 28.5 inches so he continues to be just a little bigger than older brother. Brad had started to sleep more regularly and then he got sick. He had a fever for several days and that really disrupted his normal. Not to mention we were on yet another road trip during this time so he had to try to be flexible with his environment, which I have decided he is not. He is much better sticking to a routine in his own house.
I am proud to say I was still breastfeeding Brad at 9 months (we made it just over a year actually!) Brad really enjoyed dancing and singing and his jumpy seat. He loves to play with big brother's toys, especially cars. At 9 months, he is really trying to crawl, he just can't do it yet. He has got three teeth now too.

Brad at 9 months

summer travels to NC

Our summer of traveling (well me and the boys anyway) continued with a long weekend to North Carolina to visit Josh's grandparents, mom, aunt, and cousin, and our good friends who were vacationing nearby.

We got to GGma and GGpa's house and the weather was nice so Luke played outside!



Brevard, NC may not be a huge city, but it has some good eatin'! At one of the family's favorite spots the Fish Camp, Brad enjoyed some crackers.





Luke and cousin Haley! She is so sweet to the boys. We love visiting with her.



The boys and I headed over to camp Kanuga for a few days of fun with our friends Walter and Andi and their daughter Sophia. There is a nice (and unfortunately for the summer not shady) playground the kids love to play on. It was neat to watch Luke navigate the whole thing on his own this year as compared to last year when I had to help him.






Sophia was the flower girl in Neil and Ansev's wedding a couple of weeks ago, she was so cute!

So fun to travel just a couple of hours up the road and visit with so many loved ones!

Backyard friend

We had a friendly squirrel this summer who liked to come say hello on our back deck. One day I caught him lounging on the rail.
He was there so long, I actually watched to make sure he was breathing.
Ever see a squirrel rest like this?



Hope he found a nice spot to wait out the winter :)

Buddies

In between our summer travelin' we had to make sure to see some buddies! We love getting together with Luke's buddy Alec and his family. Luke and Alec are so fun to watch. Here are a few pictures from the 4th of July weekend.

Playing at Alec's house





Trying to get three kids to all smile and look at the camera is out of my capabilities (Luke, Alec, Aubri)





Watching the parade



Brad and Daddy



My brother Neil and his (now) wife Ansev came to visit us for the 4th and suffered in the heat to watch the parade. (Don't worry, you'll hear about their beautiful New Year's Eve wedding...probably next June at the rate I am going!)



We went out to eat after the parade and I captured this gem of a conversation between Luke and Alec!

Luke's last day of school

Just a quick photo from Luke's last day of school at PRLP (7/1/11). He attended this school longer than any so far and we loved having him there. But with me not working anymore it wasn't really convenient and was on the pricey side because of where it was located in town. It was sad to say goodbye and Luke still asks about it sometimes, but I know he loves his new school and teachers and we are very happy with the school he attends now.
I snapped this shot to remember the day and I just love how Brad sneaked in a smile!

Summer fun

It makes me sad to write this summer fun post now that it is January and was 21 degrees this morning. How I miss the summer weather and it hasn't really been a cold winter (yet).
At the end of June, I was getting the pool out for the boys to enjoy in our yard.
Luke, being an old pro from last summer, was very helpful setting everything up.



Brad was sporting his awesome shark suit



I sat Brad in the pool and then this happened.


Needless to say, 8 month old Brad had had enough of the pool.

Luke persevered and had a great time.





Come back days of summer..