Paige is 5

Paige turned 5 yesterday.



She got to take cupcakes to school. She even helped bake and decorate them. Of course, I forgot to take a picture. But trust me, they were gorgeous!


She invited her friend, Olivia, to go out for pizza and then to our house to play.




We haven't done a birthday party for Paige yet. I think we are just going to invite some family over this weekend for cake and ice cream. Paige has been celebrating all week, so we're not going to go all out.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school.

Cameron is in 8th grade. And after much careful thought and consideration, we decided to put Paige into Pre-K (prep). I think she may have been a LITTLE more excited than he was. Cameron did pick out his clothes the night before, so I think he was ready. We also picked out Paige's last night since she had to make sure I picked out "something cute". Her exact words. She had an open house at school last night. She got to take her school supplies and meet her teacher, Mrs. Clausen.

I had to work this morning so Josh got the kids up and ready for school. Cam didn't want to ride with dad, so he rode his bike. But Josh took Paige to school and was a little "misty-eyed" when she just said "bye Dad". I'm glad she didn't carry on and cry. I think it was hard for him to send his baby to big school. She will go everyday, but only from 8:15 to 11:30.

Paige will turn 5 on August 28th. That's the biggest reason we chose Prep. She is still one of the youngest in her class. She also still takes naps and is very growly if she doesn't get one. We just figured one more year of 1/2 days wouldn't hurt.

Cam's last year of junior high started today. He's excited because he'll get to "rule the school" this year. I think he just likes to go to school for the social experiences!

I forgot.....

We stayed about 5 minutes from the stadiums where the KC Royals and the Chiefs play. We didn't see a ball game, but did get to go inside and see the Royals Stadium.

We tried to let everyone pick a place each night to eat supper. Paige, of course, picked Chuck E. Cheese's. I think Josh and Cam had just as much fun there.

I have added a link to look at pictures on our site. It's easier than trying down load all of them onto a post.

Thanks to my high-school classmate and blogger extraordinaire, Shannon Kunkle. I have also added a link to her site. Shannon's is the first blog I ever read and the one I am stealing all these cool ideas from.

The Rest of Vacation

On Tuesday we went to Oceans of Fun. Even though we applied sunscreen numerous times during the day, all of us sunburned, except Paige. I don't know how she got by without getting fried, but I'm sure glad she did. She did, however, get a few new "vacation freckles" on her nose and cheeks. She loved the wave pool. It's just like being at the beach, minus the sand! She had to wear a life jacket because of her height, so she just laid on her back and let the waves carry her around.

On Wednesday, we went to Worlds of Fun. We got a late start in the morning since nobody woke up until almost 9. We all must have been worn out from the day before. We stopped at IHOP for breakfast before heading to WOF. Everyone had a ball riding on all the rides. Paige was even brave enough to ride on some of the big rides. I think she rode the "Sea Dragon" 3 times.

She and I also headed to Camp Snoopy while Josh and Cam went to ride the "big boy" rides. She rode lots of rides there and even got to hug Snoopy.

Camp Snoopy also had this huge playroom with air-powered guns that shot foam balls. I'm not sure which kid, Josh or Cam, had more fun in there.

On Friday, we headed downtown to Union Station, a restored 1900's train station. We went through the train museum, the science center and saw 2 shows at the planetarium. We also headed to Crown Center and toured the Hallmark Visitors Center. It sounds kind of boring, but was very interesting. It was all about the history of Hallmark Cards.

We finally headed home Friday morning. After finishing up school shopping on the way home, we finally made it back to Pocahontas about 8:00. Now I have about 47 loads of laundry to finish up!!

Day Two

We ended up going to the zoo today. It's noot nearly as impressive as the Omaha Zoo. The layout at the KC Zoo is terrible. There is ALOT of walking involved in seeing only 1 or 2 animals in each area. It is set up in to different "continents". So in Africa, for instance, you see the animals native to that area. I think we walked a mile to see some zebras, giraffes, and 1 rhino. It was so hot, that most of the animals were hiding in the logs or in some cool corner.


We did end up seeing an IMAX movie called "Deep Sea". That was very cool. If you've never been to an IMAX theater, GO!! It's awesome.

After the zoo, we went to Cabela's for a little while and then off to Sadler's Indoor Raceway. Which is an indoor go-cart track. Josh took Paige in a double-seater and let Cam beat the doors off him. So, of course, Josh had to ditch Paige and get into a single car and smoke poor Cam. Josh is just a LITTLE competitive when it comes to racing, even if it involves his 14-year-old son!

After racing we ate BBQ at a little place next to our hotel. It's called the Rib Crib. It wasn't really that impressive, but after over a 100 miles today, it was close and convenient.

I think tomorrow we are going to Oceans of Fun. The heat index is supposed to be near 105 and the water seemed like a good idea.

Kansas City

We made it to Kansas City about 3:00 on Sunday. We checked into out hotel and then did a little school shopping.

We ate supper at Red Robin. Yummy!! Best burgers ever!!!

I think we are planning on going to the zoo today. Everyone is still tired from the trip down and nobody slept well last night so we wanted a "short" activity.