Surprise!!

Bubba picked up Ben after school so they could get to work on a special birthday dinner for me. Check out that beautiful cake decorated by Ben. I have one thoughtful son :)

PS - he loves to relax with a nice glass of red wine after a hard day at school...

Innsbrook for Mama's B-DAY!

 Bebe and Grandad took Ben to Innsbrook after school on Friday for a special overnight trip. Well, when he got there he was ready to go!

The next day the rest of the family joined him. Thankfully I'll always have someone to help me blow out my birthday candles!

Homework-

Ben had his first taste of homework this week. It was a worksheet to practice writing the letter "F" (Hopefully this isn't an indication of his future grades). We practiced "Long line down, jump frog, short line at the top, jump frog, short line in the middle." He was gung-ho to get his homework done (that MIGHT NOT last!!) and was pretty proud of one of his Fs in particular!

Kindergarten-

This boy was READY for Kindergarten. He woke up rearin', ready-to-go and never looked back!! He had a great first day (told us that he LOVES his teacher, and didn't say much else). How could five years go by so fast?! We're proud of you Ben, and look forward to a great year!!

BLOCKS!!

Our friend Shana loaned us her blocks from her childhood (they were collecting dust in her parent's basement)... and she mentioned that Ben would love them last time Shana and Max were in STL. Well, Shana was right, Ben is over-the-moon about them! Every day we have a new creation in our living room. The coolest part is that you can really tell he's got a plan and strategy before building. Best. Toy. Ever.

Lake Geneva, Part 2

 We got to see our friend Arlo and meet his little sister, Evelyn.

Oh yeah, not to mention see our dear friends Kristina and Darrell, Shana and Max.

It was a regular KCAI reunion!!
How did I NOT get a pic of the adults?!?!

I could kick myself!!

 What sweet kids my roomie has!!

Here's Evelyn with the special "ring" she found in our swim bag.

In some circles it's known as a zip tie...

We swam and swam and swam... 

ate beef jerky,

then we swam some more...

Ben finally jumped off the edge of the pool with no one to catch him!

Watch where you leave your shoes with Evelyn around,

they'll be on her feet in a flash! :)