Firetruck at school

At preschool, Daniel is discussing community helpers. As part of this unit, the teachers arranged a firetruck to come visit the school. It was in the morning and Daniel goes to school in the afternoons so we made a special trip to see it. The preschoolers got to go inside to see a presentation by the firemen while the moms (and siblings) waited outside. This gave the little ones a chance to see the firetruck up close before it was invaded by preschoolers.

The firemen talked a little bit about the truck and then gave the kids a tour.

They even got to walk through it. Daniel thought that was pretty cool.

Here is a group shot of all the kids.

Then the firetruck had to leave. It left with its lights and sirens on. It was a fun outing. When the teacher asked who was going to be a fireman when they grew up, almost all the kids raised their hands. Daniel, however, did not saying "I'm going to be a police officer." That's a change from last year.

Broncos Football Game

For the past two years we have been telling Josh we would take him to a Broncos football game instead of having a 7th birthday party with friends. It was supposed to be with a friend of his choosing but I was lazy with getting tickets and could only find two tickets to this game the Friday before (Thanks Daddy!). So, Josh and Dad headed out to Sports Authority Field after his own baseball game. We chose this game because Josh would not only get to see the Broncos play but he would also see his favorite player from Iowa State, Jake Knott, play as he plays for the Eagles.

He got to wear his Thomas jersey he got for his birthday. 

They were in section 517 but there really is no bad seat at this stadium. 

Especially when you get to see Peyton Manning play.

Dad said the crowds and noise were a little overwhelming for Josh in the beginnging. But he started warming up and loved the game. They even made friends with the couple in the seats next the them and the lady bought Josh some nachos because he was so cute. 

I think they had a good time. Next time Mom will have to go.

Family day at Daddy's work

Daddy's office sponsored a family day this year so one Saturday, in between football games, we loaded up the minivan and all got to see where he works. His company is split between a few buildings so we got quite the tour. We started at his office where we got to see his cubicle. Now I can actually picture him at his desk when he calls. 

They had a flight simulator where we got to see the Mars Rover rocket launch. The boys loved that part. 

They were offering lunch and desserts for the whole family. And we even got a picture of the boys with the company mascot. 

Not a bad day to spend a Saturday.

Great White Shark 3D

While Daniel and I were at the science museum earlier this year, there was an ad for a Great White Shark movie in 3D. Since Josh is obsessed with sharks right now, I thought he would love it. So, we found the next day that both Josh and Dad had off (Patrick doesn't sit during movies so I can't take the three boys by myself) and headed to the movies. 

It was in 3D so we all got these cool glasses. 

It was a pretty good movie. Very entertaining. It had some crazy people free diving with great white sharks. 

We also got to walk around part of the museum while we were waiting for the movie. Then we stopped for lunch on the way home. It turned out to be a fun off Friday.

Fall Festival

Every year at school they have a fall festival. We have never made it to one so we decided to check it out. Josh had baseball practice that same night so we made it after it had been going on for two hours. They had a lot of fun things to do.

A blow-up obstacle course....

Rock climbing...

(They both got pretty high.)

And face painting...

They also had laser tag but the line was too long. 

Patrick kept himself pretty well entertained the whole evening. It was a fun way to spend the evening. We will have to go back next year. Hopefully we won't have practice and can go right after school. 

Boys' Iowa State vs Iowa Weekend

While Joe and I were at the game, Grandma and Grandpa took the boys to Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge, Iowa. They loved it. They have not stopped talking about everything they did there. They rode pedal tractors, played in a corn pool, did a hay maze, and slung an apple with a sling shot. Daniel has had a "sweet apple" that he got from the orchard everyday for snack.

These are the pictures they sent us from the orchard. No picture of Daniel. He is hard to keep still. Especially if he is having so much fun. Great idea Grandma!

Iowa State vs Iowa Weekend

We are BIG Iowa State Cyclone fans and therefore, have season tickets for football. We usually make it out to two or three a games a year. We have tickets next to some friends and ends up being a great time. It is totally worth it every year. 

This year, the game I wanted to attend was the Iowa game. So, Thursday afternoon, Daniel, Patrick, and I up loaded up the car and drove to Iowa. It wasn't a bad drive. What used to take between 9 1/2 to 10 hours pre-kids only took 11 hours. I'm not complaining. Patrick did have his fussy time but was mostly okay with it. 

We got to hang out with Grandma on Friday and even had a visit from my sister, Becca and her son, Jonah. Daniel loved playing with Jonah. He is a few months older than Patrick but a lot more interactive. 

I think Jonah liked playing with Daniel, too.

Becca suggested we go to a cupcake place called Scratch for a special snack. I had never heard of it but am not one to turn down cupcakes. 

I think the kids liked it. 

One of Daniel's favorite things to do at Grandma and Grandpa's house is climb the library ladder. We have made a rule that he is only allowed to do it with Grandpa (since he was the one that started it) and he is pretty good about following that rule. Unfortunately, Patrick saw him do it and started climbing the ladder himself. I'm not sure how we are going to stop that one. Oops!

Joe and Josh flew in late Friday night. I think Joe really enjoyed the one-on-one time with Josh. They sounded like they had fun without us.

Saturday, we woke-up and headed to Ames to start tailgating. We have tickets next to our good friends, Rob and Laura, and this year also bought a parking pass so we had two spots for tailgating. I think we had a pretty good set up.

We even had a TV with an over-the-air antenna so we watched a few games before our game started. 

This was the tailgate of bacon. I made bacon weaves for BLTs and bacon skewers for Bloody Marys with bacon vodka.

And of course we had bacon for our hamburgers. 

The game ended up being a good one (at least in the fourth quarter) but when you are with good friends, anything you do is awesome. Thanks for the great weekend guys!