Visiting Fire Station 4

 After work today, we picked the kids up and headed off to see Brian's friend Brett at Fire Station 4 in Parkville.  We have been meaning to get out there for a while, but had a little more push from Colin after he has started reading Curious George goes to the Fire Station.  

Brett was so great to us.  He was able to take the time to explain things to Colin and answer all of his questions (which weren't really that many, his eyes were just big the whole time, trying to take in the experience).  

We sat in the back for a while

(Darn hair bows aren't meant for wearing fire helmets)

 Brett showed the kids how to use the flash lights

 He turned on the fire truck and pulled out in the driveway, with sirens on and lights flashing!

Look at Colin's face, he loved it!!

 Maggie and Daddy did, too!

 Then, Brett turned on the hose for Colin and he helped water the firemen's grass

 So cool!

 Colin and Brett

 Mags and Brett

(who was a little unsure of the noisy truck)

 The Teson fam

 Daddy and Colin riding in the captains seat

 Colin trying on Brett's gear

(it's just a little big)

 Maggie was all too happy to try on Brett's boots.

She has this shoe thing, already.  I know, I know, it's going to be some long teenage years, I think.

 Suspenders and all

 We even found the gloves

 Apparently Maggie didn't want to drive.

She wasn't impressed with the seat that went up and down

 But Colin was more than happy to take the wheel

Watch out KC, here comes Firefighter Colin!

We all had a really great time visiting the station, and spent almost 1.5 hours there.  Sheesh!

Now, we just need to get down to Lenexa to see Uncle Michael's station sometime.

I can see now how these guys that serve the community are such heroes in little kids eyes...because, well, they are!

Why we think Daddy is the best...

because, seriously, look at this poor guy...

He was crawling all over the house, while the kids were literally laughing so hard they were almost throwing up (okay, bad timing on our part, it was before bed, right after dinner and baths).  Maggie was holding on for dear life to Colin, and Colin was pretty much choking Brian cause he was trying to hard not to fall off.  

My job was to take as many pictures and videos as possible, which actually was pretty difficult as I was also laughing hard and had to make sure no one hurt themselves.

Good times, good times!

 Giddy'up Daddy!

 Hold on tight

Poor Maggie has her face right in Colin's...er....well, you see.

Stopping to take one of my favorite pictures...EVER...

We also had a lot of fun the night before, too.

Brian and I just upgraded our phones and we had to try out the video on there.

Colin backed himself up in our closet and proceeded to say "chugga chugga, choo choo" over and over again, until he was screaming it loud.  He was doing this while running around in footie pajamas and wearing his touque hat that GGDudley made him.  So, Maggie joined in (of course) and we made an evening of it.

 Hugs

Our kids just love each other.  They play together so nicely (most of the time), and really do like to be with each other.  Love it!

 Hi Maggie!

 Sweet little girl

We were supposed to take Maggie in for her well-child check this week, but the doctor had to reschedule due to conflicts.  So, it will be in 2 weeks.  Unfortunately, Maggie will be over 17 months old, and this is supposed to be her 15 month check-up.  I guess I dropped the ball there!  Ooopsie!

That's what happens when you have more than one child, right?! 

:)

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

 We made it to Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch for the first time this season.

And beware...there are lots of pictures in this post!

We love it at the Pumpkin Patch!  There is so much to do, for kids of all ages, and you don't have to spend much money at all.  We went this afternoon, for Family Freedom Hours, which is free admission for  2 days a week from 4-6 pm.  Normally the admission is quite pricey (around $8 per person, I believe), so we made this trip a priority this week.  We spent $1 in feed for the animals, and then spent $1.50 for 2 pumpkin donuts (totally worth it!)

It didn't disappoint!  We had a beautiful 80 degree day and the kids were in fairly cooperative moods!  Can't beat that!

Colin, once again, loved the corn pit.  He didn't stay in there long, because he was so ready to explore the rest of the place.  A little boy heaven!

 We headed straight off to feed the goats.  Colin laughed the whole time he fed them because it tickled so much when they licked his hands.  They were hungry!

 My pumpkin boys

 Maggie was too busy eating her grapes for the first part of the outing.  She didn't put the bag down until it was completely empty.  I guess she needed a snack, who knows?!

 My pumpkin girl

 Daddy and Mags riding a tricycle 

(side note...Brian is smiling in pain, he said it was the most uncomfortable bike seat EVER!)

 So many fun playsets to climb on

 Weeeeee!

(notice the grape bag still in hand!)

 Little twinkies!

 Proof that I was there...

I am usually the one behind the camera taking the pictures...

 Maggie was saying "yee haw" while riding on this horse made out of tires.

 Don't worry, my 1 year old is only driving a combine.  

This was, once again, a huge hit!  Last year Colin refused to come out of the drivers seat and shut himself in the cab, with a huge line of people waiting to get in.  Slightly embarrassing.  This year, much less drama!

 Colin and Mags were so excited to feed the ducks, they got lots of practice last weekend in Topeka.  Maggie just yelled "ducky" at the top of her lungs for about 10 minutes.  Good thing we were outside and nobody seemed to mind.

 Feeding the ducks

Total bonus...the machine that sold the duck food for a quarter was busted...we got it for free!

 Running in the tunnel

 Attempting to get a cute picture while sitting on the huge rocking chair

Take 1...

 Take 2...

 There was a stage for the kids to "perform" on.

Colin and Maggie were dancing around to "here we go loopty loo, here we go loopty lie" as sung by Mommy

 An attempt to get a good picture of Daddy with his kids...

This is what we got...

I was laughing so hard! :)

 Enjoying our pumpkin donuts.  

Maggie ate some crackers, poor thing.

Using up the last of our feed on the goats.

This was such a fun afternoon.  Sorry for the crazy amount of pictures, but it's so much fun to see the kids running around on a farm.  

Weekend in Topeka

 Colin, Maggie and I headed to Topeka this past weekend to visit Meemaw at her house.  It had been a while since we spent time with her in Topeka.  So, we scheduled in a weekend, in between weddings and baseball games, and made our trip.  Brian ended up staying in Kansas City since he still has to work on Saturdays.  We would've had to take 2 cars, and it would've been a really quick trip for Brian since it would've been late Saturday before he even got there.  (He finished up a couple of projects around the house and missed us the whole time, right?!)  He even said he woke up at 7:30 am on Sunday morning and felt guilty, so he got up, knowing I would've been up since 6 am with the kids.  

Awwwww!  Now that's true love, isn't it?!

We had lots of fun in Topeka.  We stuck to Maggie's napping schedule, which doesn't leave much time for getting out and about, but we made it to feed the ducks/geese both days.  We had so much fun the first day, we made a special trip back to the grocery store for "old bread" so we could feed them the next day, too.

A shot of the ducks on the first day.  They were very friendly and stayed in the water.  On the second day, they were all walking around in the grass and were pretty aggressive.  I had to keep myself from screaming a few times when they flapped their wings and were honking at each other.  A few of them didn't get a good nights sleep apparently because they had their tongues sticking out and were hissing at the other geese.  I just didn't want any of us to get nipped at, so we threw the bread as far away as possible!

 Colin and Meemaw looking at something awesome (that I clearly didn't get a picture of).  

Oh, and I was wondering if Colin still pointed with his middle finger...it turns out he does.  So glad he hasn't changed that quirky habit! :)

Taking a break from the feedings...Maggie LOVED it!  

She would yell "DUCK" every time she threw a piece of  bread.  Too cute!

 Maggie pouting from running out of bread

We headed back to Meemaw's house and had yummy spaghetti dinner.  While Meemaw cleaned up the kitchen, I headed across the street to run off some energy with the kids.  There is a big empty field across the street and Meemaw had a ball...that's a recipe for fun!

 Colin and Meemaw reading some books.

 Hopping on one foot and letting out a roar!  

Notice Colin's "microphone" in his hands? Well, just before this picture, Colin was on "stage" and did a performance for Maggie and me.  He had a blast!

 After a good night's sleep, Colin and Meemaw got to work on a cool skeleton Halloween decoration.  It's currently hanging on the door to our basement.

Meanwhile, Maggie had so much fun playing with CJ.  She just LOVES puppies, and CJ did really well letting Maggie pet her and fall all over her.  Guess we might be getting a dog sooner than later.  

Up next... Pumpkin Patch Wednesday!