Wildcat Weekend!

{Gah!! Im SO behind on blogging!! I have at least 3 posts to do!! Such a slacker....}

{A much needed snooze on the way to Manhattan}

Anywho.... Ill first catch you up on our WonDeRfuL Wildcat Weekend!!! We hadn't planned on going to the first home game but when we found out it was at 6pm we figured why not??!! I also thought it'd be a great idea to take Aiden to his FIRST game! {In our defense... we haven't ever felt like it would go real well taking him to a game. He was always such a busy baby/toddler and wasn't EVER content just sitting on our laps... it would have been a disaster for us and the poor people stuck sitting by us. PLUS Mike's parents loved getting the chance to watch him whenever we wanted to go. So we're not completely horrible for waiting this long} I finally felt he was at the age he would enjoy the game. He loves to watch/play sports plus with the band and crowd there is just SO much to look at. Plus Willie the Wildcat!!

 

{at this point I was shaking and in tears... ridiculous I know! I just LOVE the Cats!!}

Our seats were BEYOND perfect. In the shade... at the end of the aisle (thank god).... and BONUS the people right next to us had a little girl Aiden's age! {hallelujah & praise the lord, this was our saving grace!!} Aiden had SO much fun with his little "girlfriend" and we stayed from the minute the game started til the minute it ended AND the fireworks following. Mike and I were beyond  pleased with how the day went and were so happy we finally did this as a family. {and that it didn't completely blow up in our faces like usual. ha!}

Dont' get me wrong we were EXHUASTED at the end of the day... but it was all completely worth it!!

Aiden thought it was pretty great too... he was slightly envious though and kept asking when it was his turn to play football... and the instruments {the band}. I had packed a bag of snacks that he and his little friend shared and I was completly shocked that he only went to the bathroom once the whole game. I was sure he would want to run around, up and down the stairs and have to go "potty" a lot just so he didn't have to sit ...but he was competely fine just playing with his friend and actually "watched" the game! It wasn't til towards the end of the game that he got a little antsy but was completely content playing games on my phone and showing his little friend how to work it.

I was so proud of my little man, he is really growing up and that day totally proved it :(

We're headed back to Manhattan for the game on October 1st... but NO kiddos!! I can.not.wait to tailgate with friends and family and celebrate my brother-in-law's 30th Birthday! woop.woop!

Sunday my grandparents had us all out to their place for a HUGE lunch before we all left town. On the way out there I had to take a trip down memory lane and show Mike my "old stompin grounds." The neighborhood where I spent most my childhood, the TWO houses my dad built in that same neighborhood, the gas station that my bff T.Chard and I rode our bikes to get candy and glass bottles of Clearly Canadian {remember that stuff??!!}  ... oh the good times we had :) Such a wonderful childhood :) Im sure Mike was thrilled... ha!  Its SO crazy how that neighborhood has changed and now instead of Timbercreek I and II there are Timbercreeks 3, 4 & 5! Craziness... 

Lunch was beyond amazing and my grandparents still have their touch with cooking, even though it was exhausting for them, it was so nice and we appreciated them doing it for us! My grandma wanted to take Aiden over to the playground before we left so she and I drove him over there. Lake Elbo is where I spent SO much time growing up. Weeks at a time in the summers, and EVERY 4th of July. The lake, the beach, the fishing... it was heaven growing up. Such a sweet memory for me being there again with my grandma and my child. Seeing him play in the sand and throwing rocks... makes me wish we had spent more time out there when we lived in Manhattan. :( He had so much fun and we promised when he was a little older my grandpa would take him out on his fishin boat!

AND being the super cool, laid back mommy I am... I let him sit on my lap and DRIVE us back to the house {GASP!!!!}
Settle down people... Lake Elbo has a speed limit of 5mph and its completely its own secluded community. Everyone drives around in golf carts, its very quiet, and the house was less than a mile away. Heck, growing up my grandparents let us drive home from church which was MILES from thier house... on back country roads and "killer" hills :) Its all good... we survived and I was in the moment and said the heck with it :) And he LOVED it!!!

 Funniest thing was him getting on my lap, before he drove, and saying...
"I need the keys mommy."
 So I put them in.Then...
"I need music mommy"
 All before he was ready to drive...Ha! He must be watching his mama in the car! :)

{If you all think THATS bad then you dont even want to know about him not riding in a car seat at all sometimes when we're back in Mike's hometown... ugh oh! someone call SRS!! ;) HA!}

Its always so good for my heart when Im back in Manhattan... it really takes me back everytime Im there and I love it.


We spent Labor Day OUTSIDE! This weather makes me beyond happy!! Fall is just around the corner... my ABSOLUTE favorite time of year!! {minus the pale skin and 20 extra lbs I gain from all the comfort food!}  Im quickly planning  our weekends with tons of trips to festivals, farmers markets, pumpkin patches, craft fairs, K-State Football games and MUCH more! And we thought Summer was busy... ha ;)

Stay tuned for and Aiden update and a post all about FOOD! :)

{Our Weekend}

For the first time in A WHILE we had a low key, no plans, relaxing weekend. Woo Hoo!

Yesterday we bummed around all day and I worked on a couple of craft projects...

Since Aiden will be moving up to the 3 yr old room early (yay!!!) he is leaving his teachers who he's had since we moved here. :( {SAD!}

 He has 2 morning and 2 afternoon teachers, so we're making them all these framed crayon letters. Idea found HERE.

These suckers are SO much harder than they look! Im still not done...

For my second project I took a picture that was hanging over our couch and turned it into a chalk board for the kitchen. It'll go above our table and have cute sayings and stuff. I just took it and spray painted the frame red then painted the glass area with chalk board paint. Easy Peasy and its CUTE! I've found a lot of cute ideas to do with old picture frames... I just need to find some. Might be hitting up some garage sales and antique stores next weekend!

Today we celebrate Mike's 26th Birthday!! Aiden was up bright and early at 6am so him and I headed on a "donut adventure!" to get Mike the BEST donuts KC has to offer and let him sleep in while we did it. While searching for donut shops I stumbled upon this blog that insists on John's Space Age donuts being great, so that's where we went. I wanted a place where we could sit and eat a donut and people watch for a bit :) It was such a cute, vintage shop! I was in LOVE!! Aiden and I ate a donut, had a carton of milk and took a bunch home for Mike! It was SUCH  a great morning! {I just wish we would have made Mike come with us... we'll just have to go again!}

{ps, the donuts were the BEST I've ever had!! Screw krispy kreme, dunkin and daylight, i'll never go back :)}

Mike enjoyed the donuts  and opened his gift. He requested a new coffee cup. I tend to get cute, cheap ones that end up being crap.. so I went to Starbucks since their cups are good quality. I ended up grabbing him 2 cups...one for coffee and the other for iced coffee. Mike really likes his iced coffee :) I filled that cup with some of these.{anxious to see if they're good}

Super simple, low key birthday... the only way Mike likes it :)

We played cars with Aiden for awhile before nap time then Mike mowed and I cleaned the house.

{Check out mommy's brilliant idea using Aiden's soccer cones as the "cozy cone" motel. bahaha!}

I had big plans for his birthday dessert but in the end pulled a lazy move...

Good thing Mike is super easy to please and LOVES this dessert :)

I made home made chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. I told Mike to pick ANYTHING and since he wasn't feeling good {cold/allergies} he said this... SO good!

Although it was SO nice not having much going on this weekend, at times I was a little bored :( I wish I wasn't so go go go  all the time but I am!! Oh well, we're re-charged, the house is clean and laundry done and we're starting the week on a great foot!

Hope you all had a boring relaxing weekend as well!!

{Here are a couple pics of mr. aiden... he is LOVING all his hand me down jammies from cousin Pax!!}

He only poses for me if I tell him we're sending the pic to Pax :)

Catch up

Im playing catch up right now.... I need to do about 5 posts but instead Im going to condense it into one LONG one... with little words {very hard for me, I tend to over explain and ramble a lot! ha!} and LOTS of pictures. Enjoy :)

:: Recently Aiden went to his first  big kid birthday party. I call it a big kid party because it wasn't at someones house and it was with all the kids in his class. Kael and Cameron had a joint party at a gymnastics center! Of course he isn't of the age where we can just drop him off and come back 3 hrs later... so Mike and I accompanied him to the party. It was very fun but the place wasn't air conditioned so needless to say we all melted. It was a great time and we went straight from the 3 yr olds party to Mike's grandma's sisters 90th birthday party... what a day! :)

 Not wanting to share the pool balls and throwing a fit under the table=

total meltown/time to head home for NAP.

::Good Eats...What's been cookin in our kitchen...

Homemade pizza... a Sunday night ritual for us... we're pretty much pros at it now :)

banana bread

sloppy joes

Aiden approved!!

Strawberry, banana, and angel food cake skewers...served with chocolate mousse!

Chicken Tacos

::Last weekend we headed to Topeka for the Bruna wedding reception! Mike was in Vegas for work so me and Aiden went with my sister and the girls and met up with Mike's parents. The reception was at the Kansas Museum of History and it was a neat place. There was a childrens area that kept all the little kiddos occupied which was really nice. Between that and the dance floor Aiden was a tuckered out little boy by the end of it! of course I didn't take but a few pics...

::This past Thursday we took Aiden to the JoCo County Fair in Gardner. I was beyond excited and shocked that Aiden was willing to ride ALL the rides. {he has refused in past years and doesn't even like carousels} And he rode them all multiple times! We met up with a girl I work with, her husband and their son who is a few months older than Aiden. We all had a GREAT time!

 :: We just got back today from Manhattan! We spent the weekend with my family just hanging out, celebrating my dad's birthday and going to a welcome home party for our good friend Christopher Frakes, who just returned from Air force training, and is moving with his fiance to Phoenix soon. We're exhausted but it was a great time!!

Harper looooooves the puppies!!

Lunch before the pool

Aiden's new pose... always has his hands on his hips. ha!

our little fishies!!

1....2...

3!!!!

Our attempt at eating at the new Japanese steakhouse in Manhattan. Even WITH reservations we waited 30min to be seated then another 30 min to get our drinks... with all that plus it being almost 8pm and Harper's unknown FEAR of fire... we up and left and settled for sliders and fries at the going away party. What a night :) 

So that's what we've been up too!! Busy Busy! I think things should settle down now that summer has come to an end. So sad!! 

Bring on football season!!!