4th of July

We spent the whole weekend (actually almost a full week) at the Centralia Lake camping for the 4th of July. It was close to Papa's store which was nice for him since it is the busiest weekend of the year for him. We borrowed Great Grandma Rita's motor home and even after spending so many days at the lake, the kids were not ready to go back home. The first couple of nights were really chilly which was unusual for July in Kansas. But by the weekend it warmed right up and we were able to go swimming. Before getting in the water, Kyler was sure to ask if there were any sharks or crabs. He's always thinking, that boy. It was nice to have time to just hang out and not be in a hurry to get anywhere to do anything. Centralia has a lot of festivities for the 4th, including a parade and fireworks. Kyler's Great Grandpa Remi asked him to ride on his motorcycle in the parade. He rides with the American Legion Riders. Kyler decided he would and he did great. We were afraid he would be nervous because of the loud noise, but as you can see he was really enjoying himself. Grandpa Remi was too!

Baseball Buddies

We went to a Royals game for Dada's birthday this year. It was K-State day. We had around 40 people in our group, including Kyler's buddy Kendal. They waited in line and ran the bases at Kauffman Stadium. They are a couple of sweet boys. Let's hope they stay that way!

Cousins

In the past two years, Kyler has gained a lot of playmates. He is the oldest of these five cousins. The youngest is almost a year old. There are going to be lots of fun years at Grandma and Grandpa's farmhouse!

Bean Boy

Waiting to go back to the surgery room

We had quite a bit of excitment on Father's Day weekend. Kyler and Myelle were "helping" me in the kitchen so I decided to give them some flour to play with. When Myelle started choking on it because she was eating it by the spoonful, I decided to give them some uncooked noodles and beans to stir. I kept an eye on her so that she wouldn't put them in her mouth. Brett and I were talking when Kyler excitedly tells us, "Hey! I got a bean in my ear!"

Waiting for our little man to wake up

Right away we told him "NO!!!" and I'm sure he tried pulling it out but pushed it in further. We couldn't tweeze it out because it was in far enough and I even tried sucking it out after telling him to lay on the floor and bob his head side to side. So we went to the ER. That was a bad idea. They made it worse.

Ready to get out of there!

On Monday, we went to Topeka first thing to an ENT. They ended up having to put him out to get it out of his ear, but no cutting was needed. Kyler was very brave and cooperated well with all the doctors and nurses. We were relieved that the ordeal was over, although we are not looking forward to the medical bills to come.

Kyler and "the bean"

A tiny thing can cause so much trouble!

Remember?

I am beginning to understand why Kyler is always having dreams. He just came out of his room asking if I remember shooting the bad guys when we were on the boats. "Uh, no Kyler. I have never shot anyone. I think you were dreaming." He proceeded to explain they were like roller coaster boats. I told him they were bumper boats and just squirted water at each other but not bad guys. He told me the bad guys were in cages. I was getting a little freaked out. Then I realized he was remembering a ride from Silver Dollar City almost a year ago. The kid's memory is insane!

Blast Ball - Year 2

Kyler played blast ball again this year. It went remarkably better than last year. He did great, participated, and did as he was told. See for yourself...

P.S. I love that he still looks so small on those big bases. :)

Questions for Kyler - Age 4

Here are the 20 questions I asked Kyler on his birthday last year, this time with his new "4-year-old" answers!

1. What is your favorite color? green 
2. What is your favorite toy? a tow truck 
3. What is your favorite place to go? to the children's museum 
4. What is your favorite TV show? Mickey Mouse 
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for dinner? stromboli 
6. What is your favorite thing to wear? pajamas 
7. What is your favorite game? Uno 
8. What is your favorite snack? granola bar 
9. What is your favorite animal? zebra 
10. What is your favorite song? Jake and the Neverland Pirates (the theme song to the cartoon) 
11. What is your favorite book? Curious George 
12. Who is your best friend? Brynlee 
13. What is your favorite cereal? (brought me the box of Frosted Mini Wheats) 
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? swinging 
15. What is your favorite drink? milk 
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween 
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? 'Affe (his giraffe, which he no longer sleeps with) 
18. What scares you? nothing 
19. What is your favorite car? a Highlander 
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? cement truck driver

Four!

Kyler celebrated his birthday in Gulf Shores, Alabama again this year. The weather was wonderful and we had a great time!

One of our first days there, we decided to check our their little zoo. It was much better than we expected for a zoo of this size. There were two options to pay a little extra and have an animal encounter. We gave Kyler the option to hold a baby kangaroo or a snake since it was his birthday weekend. As much as we tried talking him into the kangaroos, he insisted that he wanted to hold a snake. Even when we found out it was an 8 foot boa constrictor he didn't change his mind. In fact, he loved it. Unfortunately, a parent had to accompany him because of his age. Brett gave in and did it, and he was definitely more afraid than Kyler! He was able to hold a baby alligator and a turtle as well.

We had a lot of great beach days. It was much less windy than last year and the temperatures were great. The only rain we saw was on the day we drove from the airport to the condo. Kyler kept very busy in the sand.

We invested in a puddle jumper to give us a little more confidence taking him out into the ocean. He did really well with it in the pool as well.

We took the ferry to Dauphin Island. Kyler thought it was really cool that we could bring our cars on the boat. It was a first for all of us.

While there, we visited the aquarium. Kyler was able to pet some rays and skates.

As we returned to the beach one night, Brett found a crab running through the sand. We took it back to the condo for a few pictures. Kyler had found a shell for it to hide in and really made his little container into a home. Unfortunately, we didn't know how to properly care for him so we set him free under the bridge.

On his actual birthday, we asked Kyler what he would like to do. He wanted to play somewhere. Luckily, Papa had spotted a really neat playground earlier in the weekend. It was a lot of fun!

We had a birthday lunch at Lulu's. It's a fun place for the kids and we were there for his 3rd birthday as well.

We sat in a booth on a deck that overlooks the channel. As soon as we sat down, Kyler spotted some dolphins in the water. We also watched some sailboats cruise by. The best part about Lulu's on your birthday is the amazing chocolate cake and ice cream they give you. Yum! Kyler has been into taking goofy pictures, so here he is on his fourth birthday being a goofball.

We had ice cream cake again at the condo with the rest of the gang. It was a fantastic birthday, one that most kids would be very jealous of (except for that snake he held!).

A Crappie!

San Diego

We took a trip to San Diego in February to see Uncle Ryan, Aunt Jessica, and cousins Ally and Holden. We had a great time.

I caught this precious shot on the way to the airport.

We had to stay over in Kansas City before the trip due to a massive snowstorm. The luggage cart was a big hit for these two stir-crazy kids.

We toured an aquarium where Kyler got to touch a sea star. He has been into animals and particularly sea life so this was fun for him.

We also visited the zoo one day while we were there. We were up early (never did adjust to the different time zone) so went in search of a place to have breakfast on the water. Kyler saw these birds and was so excited. We let him feed them a couple crackers and then when we kept walking he said he wanted to see more animals. When I pointed to a pair of dogs, he seemed a little underwhelmed. It took me a while, but I finally figured out that he thought this area was the zoo.

He had a blast at the zoo. Like I said, animals are his thing right now.

We did a little exploring at a park and nature trail.

The favorite activity was beach time in pajamas. The kids would wake up and step right outside of our beach house to start playing in the sand.

One of the big highlights was the helicopters. We stayed on the Naval base so we saw and heard lots of helicopter, some flying very low right over us. It was really neat. Uncle Ryan even let Ky sit in one of the helicopters.