More of the Big Birthday Weekend!

We'll have to back up a bit in order to catch up with the photos on my camera. I was having problems uploading - though it was probably just pure exhaustion, really....
The day before the big party, we headed to the County Fair with our friends, the Burns family. The boys once again loved the bunnies. As did I. I asked for one. Brian gave me a few choice words about it that I won't repeat.

I let the boys ride the ponies - which they loved. It made me a bit nostalgic for working at a horse camp. I love riding horses (though was never any good at it).

Lucas' smile was priceless. As was Ethan's face when his pony stopped the ride to take a bathroom break.

The biggest hit this year was the rides. Oh my goodness.... Upa and Uma got the boys and I a bracelet (and Alex got one too) so that we could ride all day long - unlimited. The kids were all old enough to do the rides with an adult, though Ethan was the only one tall enough to go without. So I got to ride a whole lot of rides. The ones that were made with adults in mind were fine. The others were painful, but we had an awesome time.

At one point when Ethan was waiting for a bigger kid ride, we happened to be in line with a third grader I know from my school. She and I chatted a bit and before I knew it, she and Ethan were riding all the rides together - even going off with her mom and grandma for a trip to the carousel together. An older woman! I couldn't really handle it.... But Dawn helped me breathe and cope. He is definitely growing up.

The next morning was party time - which you already know about. So. Much. Fun.

After the party, Ethan and Brian left for PAX in Seattle. He (they) had a blast and couldn't wait to tell me all about it when they got home - super late! Ethan couldn't wait to spill the beans that he had played Daddy's game (which is absolutely not allowed!!!). He also got to see various characters from Star Wars and was oohed and ahhed over by all the gamers....

Meanwhile, Uma and Upa took Lucas to pick out a big kid bike at Toys R Us. They were waiting at the door with an associate, a crown, and a balloon!

After much deliberating and escaping through the aisles, he settled on McQueen "just like Eflan's!"

We met our buddies Alex and Kenzie at the middle school and had fun riding all around. After reviewing my pictures I realized his helmet was waaaaay too small. Turns out the 3 year old helmet doesn't fit. Nor does the 5 and up helmet. Yep, my boys both need the 8+ helmet. Eeek....

We finished the evening at McD's where Lucas ran around, Alex made a giant mess, and Kenzie unplanted all the fake flowers. We laughed a lot.

Because really, at that point, what else is there to do?
The next day the boys were pretty wiped out, so we dumped them (I mean dropped them off) at my parents and headed out to our first date night in forever! We went to the Y and Zumba'd together - which was a total blast. We laughed so stinkin' hard. I was impressed by Brian's moves. He's good ;) Next stop was a coffee shop to load up on caffeine after our crazy Saturday! And then it was FINALLY the Harry Potter movie. We'd been wanting to go all summer, but hadn't had a good chance. Plus, I am so sad that it's all over that I think I was in a way avoiding it. It was good. I think I embarrassed Brian because I was sobbing very loudly, cheering enthusiastically, and pouting dramatically when it was over - but I couldn't help it! We ended our date with dinner at Sogno di Vino. We both loved our food and had fun eavesdropping on other conversations.

After picking the boys back up, we decided that we better let Lucas open his presents from us and Grammy and Grandpa. Even though it was very late.

He loved his train set from his CO grandparents. It's a motorized Thomas set- he got some for Christmas and a new set for his birthday. We had quite the track set up for awhile. Mostly he loves getting the trains going and chasing them through the house.... He also got a Thomas shirt to match that has been on him a good 3/4 of the days since he got it!

From us he got a guitar, a keyboard, and a drumset... I think this picture portrays our house that night very well...

That boy loves music and has not often been without his "meetar" since then. I will say that the guitar is my favorite to listen to. It's acoustic, so it can't get too loud - almost sounds kind of nice. Almost.

And if they weren't worn out enough after all the birthday fun... the next day was actually Lucas' birthday. In true Katie fashion, I decided we needed to take a big outing across the water to have dinner with Daddy. It was fun, but the boys were pretty darn exhausted by the end of it. I think Lucas just glared at the waiters that sang to him. And he refused to eat the ice cream..... he was birthdayed out.

We spent the next few days sleeping, sleeping, and sleeping some more. I put Ethan back on naps until he got caught up from all the excitement. My mom and I took turns taking care of the boys while we both had back to school trainings and such. Lucas started at his daycare - he cries when I leave and cries when he has to leave when I come back. Ethan has met his teacher, dropped off his supplies, and tried out his desk. We are immersed in back to school fun/work and it's approaching quickly! I'm still trying to keep the boys in the pool at least twice a week until they start lessons again in a couple weeks. And of course, the bike riding is still a huge hit.

Today I cooked all sorts of different things to freeze for the next month or so - shredded chicken, turkey taco meat, muffin omelettes, and a big ol' crockpot of pinto beans. I also did 4 loads of laundry, 3 loads of dishes, and worked out. I'm tired!