Recently...

These last few weeks of "winter" have simply been glorious, and have us itching for summer and boating season! We've been busy, but have spent as much time as we could outside enjoying these warm, sunny days.

Luke and I hit up Turkey Run park one Tuesday afternoon before carpool. 

I dressed my "ginger baby" in a long sleeve t to avoid sunscreen. While I am excited about summer, I am not looking forward to constant Coppertone applications. :)

Instead of playing games and watching a movie during Caleb's piano lesson, Luke and I ventured out and walked around his teacher's neighborhood. 

He loved running the wide open road. And, it was great...until I had to sprint with him in my arms because dogs started chasing us. Best cardio ever.

These boys LOVE finding packages on the front porch from Marshma!

Lego-Obsessed Luke

Caleb got to celebrate his summer birthday at school, three months early.

When a co-worker had to attend a funeral, and others were out of town, Creed had to work on a Thursday. Grandma was able to keep Luke that afternoon, but for the morning, Luke had to go to work with his Daddy. Even though I laid out jeans and a t-shirt, he insisted on "wooking handsome" in his blazer. I tried to tell him that he didn't need a tie, but he pointed out that Daddy would be wearing a tie so he needed to as well. I think Uncle Luke's old name tag really made the outfit. ;)

Stomp rockets are such a hit with these two.

Caleb worked so hard on memorizing his speech this year (a Longfellow poem) and reciting the lines with expression. He did great at the school competition and was invited to the speech meet in Frankfort again this year. 

He looked especially handsome that day, if I do say so myself!

Sunny and 70s!

Another sunny and warm day...another park

*****

While brushing Luke's teeth...

Luke: wa- wa- water

Me: wa- wa- Whitney

Luke: wa- wa- wet

Me: wa- wa- Wednesday

Luke: wa- wa- wahve (love)

While kissing Luke good night...

Me: I love your cheek (as I kissed it)

I love your nose (as I kissed it)

I love your forehead (as I kissed it)

I love your belly (as I kissed it)

Luke: Don't you love my butt?

Me: Luke Fowler! You are hilarious!

Luke: You kissed this cheek (pointing to face), how about you kiss this cheek (point to his rear)?

Luke's Checkup

Luke had his 5 year old well visit this morning. 

He did fantastic, answering all of Dr. Al's questions, and didn't even flinch when he got two shots. The nurse actually joked about his apparent high pain tolerance. 

He is our happy, healthy, and growing FIVE year old!

25 pounds (25th percentile)

37.8 inches tall (50th percentile) 

Great Wolf Lodge

Instead of having a big birthday party, Luke decided that he wanted to go to one of his favorite places, Great Wolf Lodge, and we were all thrilled with that idea. While we have only stayed one night in years past, this visit we decided to stay two nights, and that turned out to be perfect. It felt so much more like a mini-vacation, and not just a day at a water park. We left the Sunday after his birthday, and came back Tuesday evening. The boys thought missing school was an added bonus. ;)

Upon arrival, Luke got birthday wolf ears and a special birthday wristband, which meant he could have unlimited ice cream. For our little sweet-toothed five year old, nothing could have been better! (The final count was 5, which was fitting for a 5 year old, I'd say!) The boys requested that we stay in a room again with a "kid cabin," with bunk beds and their own TV. Basically they were in paradise!

The Birthday Boy

At the water park, Luke's favorite was the wave pool, but still had a blast on the slides. He loved the funnel slide, which he so sweetly referred to as a toilet bowl. You know how sound travels really well in those tunnel slides? Imagine him screaming, "Here comes the toilet! I'm going to flush you!" as loud of he could. Such a little stinker.

One last ice cream before bed!

The boys went to the "clock tower show" and story time on Monday night and seemed to enjoy it, although somehow it hasn't changed since our first trip when Caleb was 18 months old!

Caleb was definitely the big kid this trip. We let him ride the tube slides by himself (this was the first year he was big enough to carry his own tube) and there is no telling how many times he went down them all. While his favorite was the water roller coaster, he was still sweet to go down the smaller slides if Luke requested.

While the water park was a little crowded Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, by Monday evening and especially Tuesday, we had the place to ourselves. We would just walk right up the steps and get on a slide, which made it so nice. It really was a great trip- looking forward to next year!

This was just before we left Tuesday afternoon. He was WORN OUT! The sign of a fun few days, I'd say!

While We Were Away

While Creed & I were in Colorado, the boys were at home with Grandma Beth and PeePaw, and honestly, I don't think they missed us for one second! The weather was nice, so they spent lots of time outside playing with Hallie Girl, and ate at all of their favorite restaurants. 

Luke and his Hallie Girl.

The first night they celebrated with a birthday dinner for Luke. His pick: Sake Blue. They sang Happy Birthday, and apparently he ate the entire dessert by himself.

Cracks me up...

The only issue was that Caleb shut his finger in the car door. And, it was/is pretty bad. Thankfully it didn't break any bones, but his nail bed did bleed for over a week straight! Yuck. We all learned that Caleb is really, really tough!

Graeters on their last night

Thanks PeePaw & Grandma Beth!!!

A Weekend in Breck

The weekend before Luke's birthday, Creed and I, along with another couple, spent four amazing days in Colorado. We stayed at The Village at Breckenridge, which turned out to the perfect location for a getaway. We were steps from the ski lift, and since it was located right in the middle of Breckenridge, we were within walking distance of all the restaurants and shops. 

The weather was perfect- sunny and in the low 40s during the day, and the slopes weren't too crowded, especially once we got away from the bottom. I did have some trouble with elevation sickness the second day we were there, but was back to normal the following day.

Simply put- we had a blast! Lots of skiing, lots of laughs, lots of quoting lines from Dumb and Dumber, lots of eating, and lots of just relaxing. 

The perfect long weekend.