Labor Day Friday Cale took off early and decided to take us on a short trip into "the city". He parked by Exploration Place and took us on a walk around the river. I italicized "river" because that's what it's suppose to be. But as you can see ... it has been so dry here all summer (near severe drought) that the city actually needs to mow the river. It's sad.
Here's what the river looked like a year ago (courtesy of Wikipedia):
And here is a picture I took when we went across the bridge earlier this month:
I remember when that river use to be considered the West side part of town. Now it literally divides the city in half.
Anyway .... back to our walk.
I thought I'd share a picture of some best friends:
Sometimes when I sit back and watch these two interact with eachother it literally brings tears to my eyes.
Did you notice the "Keeper of the Plains" statue in the background in the picture above? If not, here's a closeup view...
The Keeper of the Plains statue stands 44 feet tall and weighs nearly five tons (although after being placed on the rocks along the Arkansas River it now stands 30 feet taller). It was designed by the Native American artist Blackbear Bosin. At certain times at night it is surrounded by a "ring of fire" that is manually lit. It is a beautiful piece of art that our city has to offer.
My photography mindset kicked in when I saw this group of ducks taking a bath in the river...
It just looked so peaceful.
Next stop ... a surprise for Cashie (sort of). We had heard about this "thing" that lived under one of the water drains along the river. So we decided to go and try to find "it".
Here you will see a shortened version of how our adventure went...
Walking up to the drain:
Looking into the drain ... noticing something ... staring straight at it for a good 30 seconds but still not really realizing yet what it was...
And he sees "it" ... and so now he's running away fast ... right through a big mud puddle ...
His face now that he's a safe distance from "it"...
So ... just what was this "thing" that had my son running for dear life?
It's the troll that lives under the storm grate. Legend has it trolls come alive at night but turn to stone during the daytime. I wouldn't dare tell my son this until he's older. But it's still cool to think about it.
And here's a closer view...
As we were walking back to the car we stopped to take a break and enjoy the beautiful weather we were having that day. I think it was 75 degrees with a light wind.
And I had to take one more picture of my handsome men:
They've got me so wrapped around their fingers it's unbelievable.
But the bond between those two is far more than that.
Where was Chrissy this entire time we were looking like tourists in our own city?
Chillin:
He's such a happy little dude.
Cash is going to love this picture when he gets older...
Later that evening we decided to set up the tent and have a campout...
That is, until the wind changed and it got a little breezy. Chrissy was the only one really diggin it...
So we all wussed out and went in to snuggle in our own beds.
The next day Cashie had his bff and future wife's princess party to go to. The invite actually said, "Come be a princess". We loved it. He loved it. He loves her. Here are some pics of the party...
Good ol' "Uncle" Bill.
And this is what Cashie picked out for the birthday girl. :::bites nails::: We forgot to give them the gift receipt. Hope she likes it.
The boys at the party who are ever so patiently waiting for the birthday girl to finish opening presents so they can start jumping again.
Aww. Little Bella and Christopher. I'm not so sure what they were talking about. But it was important.
And then a pat on the head for the "good talk". And she's off.
Those Loop girls sure have a hold on my little boys.
And what's a birthday party without the birthday princess shedding a few tears. ("It's my party and I'll cry if I want to ... cry if I want to ...") She's a good girl. And I approve of the marriage if it does happen.
Here's my little slugger. He made sure not to hit it too hard since there were still a few kids wanting to take a turn ;-)
Good times with good friends. Life doesn't get any better for a three-almost-four-year-old.
Or does it?
Cash started school on the 6th. He was a little nervous at first but the second we walked through the door he acted like he owned the place. He put his bag on the hook and his folder where it was suppose to and went and played on the computer until school started. He's learned 3 new songs and is/was the only kiddo in the class that knows the Pledge of Allegiance. He's making some friends and the teacher says everyone gets along great. He only goes two days a week for a few hours each time but the artwork is pouring in. I wish I could save it all. What do you do with your child's art from school?
Here is a picture of nervous little Cashie the morning of his first day of school. Bless his little heart. He just looked too little to be carrying that big ol' backpack...
Oops. Looks like Mommy needs a lesson in spelling. I spelled
"Cheeseburger" wrong. LoL.
A couple days later we surprised Cassius with tickets to see Disney's Toy Story 3 on ice. Pictures don't do justice for this. It was by far the best thing we have been to yet. I only remember one character (Buzz) slipping and it was hardly even noticeable. They did a great job and even brought out Mickey, Minnie and the crew for a short song or two.
These are the crappiest pictures I think I've ever taken. But like I said, I was too busy watching the show then wanting to take pictures.
You weren't allowed to take movies but somehow I managed to get a VERY short snippet of part of the show:
And this is where I fess up and tell you how I've turned into "that" parent. This ain't my first rodeo. We've been to Curious George LIVE. Sesame Street LIVE (a couple times). The Harlem Globetrotters (a couple times). The Ringling Bros Circus. I know that souvenirs at this events aren't cheap. Which is why I a) always pack along something that has to do with what we're going to (a basketball, a Curious George book, a Buzz Lightyear action figure, Elmo, etc). And b) I NEVER under any circumstance ... take my child by the stands that are selling crap. I've done fairly well. Until Toy Story. Papa gave Cashie $10 to spend on whatever he wanted. While that was extremely nice of Papa ...... $10 won't get you anything more than a signed autograph picture of Woody or a 1 inch tall Buzz Lightyear that snaps onto a straw. Well. I made the biggest mistake I will have ever made (and will be my last). I told Cash that Papa gave him some spending money and during intermission I would take him to pick something out. Of course he wanted the $50.00 Woody statue or the $20.00 Mickey Mouse bank. And I wasn't about to fork over a dime on any of that stuff (Mommy isn't a pushover!) So I pointed out the stuff that he COULD afford to buy. He had most of the stuff. I told him I would take him to Target where he could buy more than one Mickey Mouse bank for the price of that one. Nope. That wasn't going to work. Let's just say we had a HUGE meltdown in section 111. I was the meanest Mom there and he made sure everyone knew it. I took him back out into the hallway and we had a talk. I explained this is not how it works. He does not get what he wants by throwing a tantrum and that was that. And then he looked up at me with his big bluish-gray beautiful eyes and said, "But I have money at home Mommy. I wish I would've brought it and I could buy that Buzz Lightyear head." So call me a pushover. I am now "that" parent. The parent I made fun of for buying the $7.50 balloon that was going to either float up to the ceiling or sky before leaving or would deflate within 24 hours. I am the parent that gave in to their tantrum throwing child. I am the parent I said I'd never in a million years be. So sue me. I spotted him the $5.00 and bought him the $15.00 snowcone. At least the cup is reusable. Until the baby gets a hold of it and snaps the lid off.
Plus it's the size of Cash's head. So maybe it was worth the $15.00. But the memories ... well ... obviously those are priceless.
Next adventure for the T clan ... The Kansas State Fair. Whoop whoop. People watching, carnies, family fun, and red velvet funnel cakes. What more can you ask for.
The mini hay maze. Do you know how bad I wanted to duck behind those bales. But I didn't.
I almost wish they'd buy one of these so that they could take off on boy's trips and I could have the whole house to myself. But I'm sure I'd probably just worry the whole time. So we won't be adding one of those to our wishlists anytime soon.
First ride of the fair ... The BIG Slide. It has microphones that hang down over the humps and speakers that amplifies your scream so the whole fairground hears you. Let's just say Cashie would much rather ride the slide with Daddy then me.
His face says it all. He was a little ticked at Daddy for making him sit in the back and get all wet.
The scary pirate ride....
His ears closed going in.... And they were still closed on the way out (5 seconds later).
Love.
We took the first picture at the fair a year ago and I tried to take one exactly like it. Little boy is growing up. (Looking a little paler though, lol). Anyway, a year ago Daddy had to hold both hands while walking through the crazy spinning barrel. This year he only needed to hold one hand. Next year he'll be walking through it by himself :::tears:::
He is his Daddy's boy. This was his favorite ride. It tickled his tummy he said.
After explaining to him that sculpture was made entirely out of butter ... he stared at that thing for a long time. I just wish I knew what was going through his head.
And for you ladies that are preggo. It could be worse. You'd have to shoot me if I had to carry a baby like that.
We've had some good times the past few weeks. Busy and hectic. But fun.
Cash and Christopher are currently sick with a cold. Cash came down with it Thursday after I picked him up from school. I asked him how he was feeling the other day and he told me, "Good ... but my brain is tickling." I just wish I knew what he meant by that.
Sorry for the picture overload. I've said it before ... but this time I'm serious. I'll stick with blogging every day or every other day from now on.
Until then ... Peace, Love, and Pop Rocks (the candy). Life is sooooooo good.
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