More October!

This started out because Hannah had to come up with a "rain hat" to bring to Kindermusik...something from around the house. We figured a trick-or-treat bucket would work. So then they started wearing them around on their heads, which turned out to be pretty cute. These girls are always up for silliness.

This one is one of my favorites because Lauren has this very serious expression on her face, yet she's wearing a bucket on her head :

Hannah and her good friend, Lauren. Lauren lives by us and plays on the HS volleyball team, and Hannah went to most of her games. Hannah even has a personalized LHS volleyball shirt that Lauren got her that she wears to all the games. In this pic, Hannah and Greg had traveled to the sectional game over near Rockhurst to see the game. Unfortunately, Liberty lost. But Hannah was thrilled to see the game and get to talk to Lauren. At a different game, Hannah got to sit on the bench with the team between games, which was quite the thrill also :) Lauren will likely play volleyball in college, so if it is nearby, I'm sure Hannah will be there watching!

At the end of October, we had some good friends give us day passes to Worlds of Fun. Hannah had been one time before, with Kate Dyer, and she loves it. We surprised her that day by telling her that we were going and she was so excited! We spent most of the time at Planet Snoopy (the part for young kids) and Lauren even got to ride some rides!! She was only 14 months old at that time, but some of the rides have no minimum height requirement and you just have to be old enough to walk. Hannah was very brave and also went on some bigger rides, like the Octopus and the Flying Dutchman. It was a great day!

Hannah and Lauren riding the same ride together for their first time ever.

Lauren getting all buckled in to the boat ride!

Big Sis Hannah riding the boats!

Lauren loved the rides! She acts just like a big kid...like it's no big deal she's riding rides :)

Hannah on another Planet Snoopy ride

Lauren on another ride...this one was actually kind of "scary" for a little kid ride. She wasn't too sure at first, but I think she ended up liking it.

On the Worlds of Fun Carousel

Attempt at a family pic on the carousel

Hannah and Greg riding the Flying Dutchman. Hannah is really never scared on rides. She's ridden some big rides and she always says she isn't scared at all. She must be brave! On this one, she kept talking about how they were running into the bushes because they hadn't been pruned :)

On the Octopus Ride, another "adult" ride that Hannah was thrilled to go on.

And what were Lauren and I doing while they were riding the "scary" rides? Well, someone has to hold the kettle corn and the cotton candy!

Sam and Alex come to Visit!

 In late October, Alex and Sam came to visit for a weekend and we all had a great time! It is pretty much Hannah's favorite thing in the world to play with her cousins, so she was looking forward to this for a long time. We tried to fit a lot of fun things into a couple of days. We started with a long day at the zoo, including a Skyfari ride, a boat ride, and a few other treats along the way. The next day, we headed to Crown Center to the new Legoland and ended the visit with a trip to Fritz's train restaurant and Sheridan's custard. All of the kids (and us!) were exhausted, but we were glad they could come up to spend some time with us; we all had a great time.

First stop...the zoo!

All of the kids getting a closer look at the sea otters

The carousel at the zoo! Alex doesn't seem to impressed, but he really was having a good time :) It's really hard to get them all to look at the camera...

Waiting for Greg to come back from getting ice cream treats...

 

I only include this shot because it is one of Hannah's favorite dance moves :) This is a characteristic shot of her being really excited!  And FYI..we have tried to have these glasses adjusted at least 20 times!!

After the Skyfari ride. This was an adventure. I will not be doing it again anytime soon!!! The kids weren't scared as they leaned over the railings and pointed out all of the animals 50 feet below, but I was terrified. Having potentially squirmy preschoolers under your control while in a refurbished ski lift flying over Safari animals...apparently not my favorite thing ever. And Greg was holding Lauren. Yes, Lauren rode the Skyfari.  Enough said.

Alex and Sam watching the Chimps. We got to watch the chimps being fed so a whole bunch of them came out all at once, which was pretty exciting.

The boat ride back from the Africa section to the main section of the zoo. This was much more relaxing than the Skyfari!

Alex enjoying his popsicle :)

Lauren pointing to some monkeys. She loves the zoo and loves animals so much.

Feeding the deer

This was the giant treehouse play structure. We found out (again) just how competitive Hannah is as she and the boys raced to the top over and over and she was so bent out of shape because she lost. She is one competitive girl!

Riding a Camel!

I didn't quite get the picture, but you can see Greg kneeling down in front and the kids are with him. The huge polar bear has just pushed off of the glass wall right in front of them. You can still see his paws on the glass. So cool! This is the best spot in the whole zoo, in my opinion.

The next day..headed to Legoland!

Crown Center...about to enter Legoland!

Giant Lego Pit at Legoland!

The "girl" section of toys at Legoland...

Sam and Alex both loved this place. Here is a shot of Sam "riding" a Lego car.

And then, of course, Lauren wanted to ride too :)

Fritz's for lunch...where they deliver your meal via an electric train. A big hit!

Growing up!

 These pictures are from Oct. 10th and 11th, so Lauren is just 14 months old  She's quite the active little one and always trying to climb on things to be up with the big people :) She and Hannah are beginning to play with each other more and more and get into lots of adventures together now.

Lauren is the only 14 month old I know who begs for a napkin so she can wipe off her spot at the table...!!!

I had to put this grocery cart away shortly after this day for obvious reasons! Maybe we will get it out again when she has a little better sense of safety!

Hannah experimenting with food coloring and biscuit dough...two of her favorite things :) She loves baking and loves to do "science experiement" type stuff with food coloring, etc. She loves these types of projects.

This animal book is one of Lauren's favorite books and Grandma Nell was happy to cuddle up and read it to her. I think Lauren would read animal books all day long if she could!

This is Hannah's quite creative pumpkin that she made with no help from us. She taped puff balls, pipe cleaners, etc on it and then used markers, crayons, and paint to decorate. Quite the creation!