A Visit from Aunt Natalie!

Aunt Natalie came to visit us last weekend for her birthday getaway to see her nephews and boy did we fill the weekend full of fun stuff!

First, after we picked up Aunt Nat up from the airport we hit some quick lunch and then off to the first of our two (geez) soccer games this weekend.  It was a tough time for Aid to play (Noon) since it was right after lunch and I'd say the whole team was kinda in La-La land.  But certainly it was OK, he told us that it was fun playing around and being silly!

Yeah, that's the face I had when I was a kid and our teams were getting blown out in sports....

So instead of getting mad, Aid just went silly!

It was a stunning weekend here with temps in the middle 80s and cloudless.  We had not taken any trips to the Missouri Wineries yet this year, so we decided to go to a new place, Louis Balducci Vineyards....and it was actually pretty good!  The views were great and we had ample space to set up in the shade and enjoy a bottle of wine. Plus we could bring our own food and the tastings were free!  Great place, our new fav.

We had a running joke all weekend that the trees were "near or almost to peak" color.  Natalie made fun of us because Emmy and I kept debating.  I think they were pretty near peak...beautiful none-the-less.

Even Aidan got a special drink, Fitz's Orange Soda!

Chillin' with Dad eating Scooby Snacks....

Mooks got some orange soda too, as noted by the orange mustache!

And of course, junk food junkie loved the Trader Joe's special halloween Joe-Joe's!

Mommy and the Boyz....

The Ladies and the Matching Men....

Mookie was done with pictures, but Aidan was game for another nice one with Aunt Natalie!

We didn't want to spend long at the winery so on the way back we stopped to see if pumpkins were available for picking. They were pretty much done, but we still had fun at Centennial Farms.

The Boys were just laughing and laughing as we pulled them back from the patch along the bumpy rocks!

The Frost Pumpkinheads!

Sunday started up again with an early green flag and by 9 we were off to Grant's Farm!  Again, another gorgeous day and perfect for spending some time on the "farm".

On the Tram and soon to be headed to the wild animal park.

A big 'ol Buff!  They were right next to where we were driving!

This year, Aidan was excellent feeding the goats!  What a champ!

No trip to Grant's Farm would be complete without hitting the Elephant Show starring Bud.

Mookie was extremely focused on Bud.  He couldn't hardly keep his eyes off him.  I think he was probably terrified.  Especially when Bud sprayed water on us!!!

That's a big Bud!

We had some very amped up and funny boys last night at bath time....hence the mohawks came out!

Today we gave Natalie the reigns and she watched the boys all day.  I think they thoroughly tired her out but they sure had fun!

Coloring, Swinging and playing in the sand....a perfect morning!

Then the "Pièce de résistance" of the trip...making the haunted candy house!!  The boys loved building and eating along the way....and it looks pretty good too!

Thanks Nat for coming over....Happy Birthday tomorrow.

That's all for tonight, have a great day!

Ty, Emmy, Aidan and Ethan

A Not-So-Good Week

Well as you all know its my policy to leave out the not so fun stuff in our lives and try to capture life in this blog as one of fun and happiness.  However, I'll make an exception this week with the Big Guy's brave trip through the hospital.

Without getting into too many boring details, Aidan was having quite a bit of pain last Sunday (two Sundays ago) and then fevered pretty hard for three days, with his highest fever of 105.5F.  That's some hot stuff, folks!

In any case, after a trip to the pediatrician and a dose or two of anti-biotics, it just seemed that his little body was fighting something much bigger than what "by mouth" anti-biotics could handle.  So...on recommendation of our pediatrician, we took Aidan to the ER and then were admitted to Mercy Children's (Mommy's hospital) on Wednesday night.  The good news is that after several doses of IV anti-biotics, Aidan was 100% better and still is 100% as I type tonight. What ended up being a kidney infection was blasting into oblivion by his IV drugs and hopefully we'll never have to go back to that place again.  While very nice and very accommodating, it just isn't where you want to be and thank God we were able to leave quickly on Friday Afternoon.  So here's the big guy, poor Aidan!

Playing in the Mercy Child Life Playroom with his IV pole. :(

Well, like I said everyone is back to 100% and we even got in two soccer games on Saturday and Sunday!

Here's the soccer man in action!

Execution.

Determination. 

Concentration.

Waiting with teammate Kyle.

Corner Kick!!

Aid had just a smidgen of a height disadvantage. :P

Smiling Man!

Big Pimpin' Daddy got to be the Assistant Coach on Sunday!  Emmy said I was cheering too loudly for them.

Aid's team "lost" both games, but he ALMOST scored a goal on Sunday. It was soooooo close, just one grey player's foot got in the way!  

That's all from here...have a great night!

Ty, Emmy, Aidan and Ethan

A New Room for Aidan!

Things don't stop or even calm down around here.  After our major trip to IKEA in August and the Master Bedroom Renovation, we still have Aid's and E's rooms to redo, or rather, re-floor.

And so we now have 2 down and 1 to go....

OK, so by the 16th game you're going to get tired of seeing soccer pictures, here's the big guy on Saturday early in the morning.

E on his new "Bear Chair".

Gettin' ready for another big game.

Super close up of a nice throw-in...great form Nums!

For what it's worth, his team is pretty much in-sync...skill-wise, well, there's much to be learned :)

Goal kick!

Mr. E, that's ALMOST, how you sit in a chair.

Ready to accept the ball and move up field!

Chasing after the ball, and the "ringer" Zachary for this week.  Loser kid had like 15 goals.  He scored every single one (except for the "own" goal that some other white team kid put in for us).  His parents were yelling like he was the next Pele.  Good luck chump and thanks for stayin' classy parents.

Ok enough with the negative....hope you all enjoyed!

Have a great night!

Ty, Emmy, Aidan and Ethan

Busy Day for Aidan!

What a busy day today for the big guy. First a bowling birthday party at 12, then a soccer game at 2 then a co-worker party this afternoon for Daddy...I'm sure Aid will sleep well tonight!

Here's some pictures from Aidan's big day:

First time ever bowling....he did good, knocking down more pins than standing up. I'd say that's a winner for a first time!

They were using 6 lbs balls, but that's still a little heavy for the big guy!

By the end, we had a little more speed on the ball, rather than just the slow rollers!

Onto Aid's first (but team's second) soccer game.   He played good, had some good defensive and offensive moves.  The team we played against had two or three "ringers" so it wasn't much of a game.  But as always, we stressed to Aidan (and he to us) that he had fun, and that's all that counts.

Here's our Soccer man:

Pregame warm-ups.

His #1 Fan, Mookie!

"Our goal is THIS way!"

A happy little man.

Fancy Footwork, tongue out.

Aidan's big break away.  He dribbled the ball all the way down to the goal, but it just went out of bounds.

Chasin' after the action with his coach nearby.

"Oh man, they scored again, that #5 has GOT to be 6 years old"

Listening to his coach for the instructions

Full speed chasing the ball!

Bumblebee soccer, everyone attack the ball!

And finally a textbook throw-in!  Great job today Aidan.

Have a great night,

Ty, Emmy, Aidan and Ethan