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. 

  

Celebrating Luke

Since Luke wasn't in school on his actual birthday, we celebrated with his friends the day before. He requested mini-cupcakes, vanilla ice cream, and juice boxes, with Spider Man napkins and straws, and I was happy to oblige. 

Such a sweet group! I always look at these pictures and wonder which ones will be graduating together?!!

Silly faces

Luke and his best friend, Collin. These two are such characters together...they're not going to know what to do when they are not in the same class next year!

I grabbed big brother out of class and he helped me pass everything out.

The morning of the 25th...

A whole hand old!

We didn't have a lot of time, as Caleb and I had to leave at 7:30, but we did get to see Luke open a few of his birthday presents.

He was thrilled to finally get his Boba Fett costume!

That evening we had family over for dessert, and Luke also requested that Colin come over too. Luke picked dinner (Subway!) and he and Colin had a little while to play together before everyone came over. I have to say...I have never seen two kids get along so well. There wasn't a single disagreement the entire evening!

Luke got a Luke Skywalker costume from his cousins Ava & Claire, and he immediately put it on.

One of the things I love about Luke's big personality...

Colin asked, "What kind of party is Luke having?" 

Well, Luke loves everything! He had Spider Man at school, picked out Mario and Luigi cupcakes, wanted plain orange icing on his cookie cake, had a Star Wars banner, and wanted blue confetti Happy Birthday plates and napkins at home. He has always marched to the beat of his own drum, and I hope he keeps with that!

Blowing out 5 candles

Ava & Caleb

Luke & Claire

We hope you had a wonderful 5th birthday, Lukey!

Happy Birthday, Luke Michael!

Happy 5th birthday, Luke Michael, or Luke Skywalker, as you requested your middle name to be last week.

Wow- it is so crazy to think of you as being five...five is just such a big number. You have grown so much this past year and it's hard to believe that you will be heading off to kindergarten in the fall.

At five, you are still our sweet, cuddly boy. You love hugs, kisses, cuddles on the couch, being carried, and being rocked before bed. On the other hand, you are such a rough and tough little boy! When you fall (or run into walls, tables, door frames, etc.) and get hurt, you brush it off and keep going.

You look up to your brother and idolize him, yet push his buttons and drive him crazy more often that not. You also love to steal his Legos when he is at school!

You do so well at school and in the church nursery. You get along with friends so well, and thankfully, your banana hasn't fallen from the tree once this year! Your writing has gotten better, although you still won't spell your name with a lower case e, and your speech has improved. 

You are such a homebody. If given the chance, you would stay home in your pajamas and play every single day. In fact, if you are at home, you are either dressed up in a costume or in your pajamas most of the time. You love, love playing with your Legos, but also like Power Rangers, army men, and Paw Patrol. You are a gamer like your brother, and it 's amazing what you can do on Minecraft.

You still enjoy napping most days at home, but are fine to skip if needed. Your normal bedtime is 8pm (earlier if you skipped your nap) and you are usually up between 6:30 and 7:00. You still sleep with your "Big Blankie," but have recently said we can give it to another baby when you go to college.

You are SUCH a picky eater. For meals you like to eat raw veggies with ranch dip, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cereal, bars, pancakes, applesauce, plain spaghetti noodles, cheese quesadillas (only from Fiesta Time Amigos), fried rice (only from Sake Blue), black olives, waffles, Toaster Strudels, turkey, Greek and regular yogurt, and your signature Subway sandwich. :) And, that's basically it. Sometimes we can get you to eat chicken nuggets or pizza, but it's not preferred. I will say that you always try one bite of everything we are having for dinner, and I am hoping that one day you will decide to eat it! But, you sure LOVE desserts and treats!!!

You are our Little.
Our Sweet Boy.
Our Lukey.
The perfect addition to our family five years ago.
We love you more than words can express!

Luke, at (almost) 5 years old

 What is your favorite color?   Orange

What is your favorite food?  Subway. A sub sandwich.  Wheat bread, lettuce, black olives, a little bit of mayonnaise. Turkey. And American cheese.

What is your favorite restaurant? Sake Blue

Where is your favorite place to go? House of Boom

What is your favorite thing to do at home?   Wear costumes.

What is your favorite movie?  Star Wars

What is your favorite TV show?   Tom and Jerry

What is your favorite song? Dun, dun, dun, dun... (Star Wars theme song)

What is your favorite toy?  Legos

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?   Play Legos 

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?   Workout in the basement

What are you most excited about for turning five?   I'm not excited of anything.

Recently...

Milkshake Monday!

Gotta love happy hour at Steak-N-Shake.

Luke is obsessed with dressing up these days and while his ninja costume is the most worn, he also sports his Power Ranger, Star Wars, and Army costumes frequently. 

So excited about their package from Marshma

Little Brother hates when I have to wake him up from his nap for carpool. On this particular day, he fell back asleep in the car and stayed that way until after we had picked up Caleb. (If we are at home, Luke will take a two hour nap easily!)

Sunny & mid-60s...we'll take it for the end of January! 

Looking forward to Spring

Our cute clown on Clown Day. 

He marched around the big school, playing percussion instruments and cheering on the big kids for their 100th day of school. (Apparently Caleb was talking a test when they came by so he didn't get to see him.)

Caleb went to his first UofL game and cheered on the Cards as they beat UNC.