The Story of a New Temporary School . . .and Daddy is back!!!

In the spirit of "never a dull moment," we've had a real whopper of a curve ball thrown at us.  The director of pre-school called late on Wednesday night to tell me that there had been a flood at school, and they wouldn't be able to open on Thursday.  Luckily, Nana was off and the boys had so much fun playing (see the earlier post).  During Beau's swimming lesson on Thursday evening, an email came with a detailed report of the flooding . . . and a shocking declaration that the center would be closed for approximately 6 weeks!!!!  What?!?!  Where are Lincoln and Beau going to go for the next few weeks?  We all have full time jobs, and this is super scary and crazy!   Our child care center owns several other centers in the DFW area, and they offered to take in as many kids as they could.  I got on the phone immediately and secured a spot for both Lincoln and Beau at the three closest centers.  After our Perot Museum trip, we loaded up in the car with Minnie and went to check out the new schools.  None of them are even close to my office or our house, but we had to pick one and make the best of the situation.  The one we chose is the most out of the way, but they were the sweetest to accommodate us.  It is a small center with just one room per age, but they combined their 3s and 4s to open a room for 20 Medical City kids ages 3 and 4.  Lincoln got grandfathered in because he's about to leave for Kindergarten, and he could be the teacher's helper.  So we bought new nap mats and were ready to use our new backpacks on Monday at our new school!  The boys were super excited about their new school and spending the day together.  Cheese!!!!! There is no way to explain the anxiety about which center to send the kids to.  Our three choices were so different, and it was stressful to text and email other school Moms to see what they were planning so we could make a decision together.  Beau's best buddy is at our same place after I assured his Mommy that it was the best choice for us.  One of my work friends was in Mexico on vacation, so I visited a center to report to her because she was freaking out!  In the end, we chose the place with the most familiar faces, and the boys have not been bothered about the change in location. 

Lincoln was not allowed to come out and play after bath and bedtime, but he did some super special crafting in his room and needed a picture.  He made a hat, shirt, and wristband out of paper and tape.  He loves to tape things!  Such a cutie! 

The boys were still excited to go to their new school on Tuesday, and that was a great sign.  They had brought a few teachers from our regular school so the kids had tons of familiar faces.  When we got home from school, we were met by Daddy standing in our front yard with a giant suitcase and a giant backpack . . .he had just arrived home from an 8 day work trip to London and Scotland!!!  He missed all of the school drama, but we were so happy to have him home!  Daddy got to pick dinner, and it was no surprise that we ended up at Jersey Mike's for sandwiches, chips, and fruit.  So glad to be reunited! 

After baths and bedtime, Lincoln crafted an upgraded shirt for his paper wardrobe.  Super smart to leave armholes!!!   

After dinner on Wednesday night, we headed outside to enjoy the temps in the mid-80s.  That's absolutely crazy for July in Texas.  Lincoln was a beast while hitting the ball off the tee in the backyard.  Ready for fall ball!!!! 

Beau watered the grass for a while before he joined Lincoln taking turns at the tee.  Such a cutie!!! 

So it has been a crazy week, and we have been adjusting to a new school and driving schedule.  It's so much better that Daddy is back home, and he was happy with Mommy's temporary school choice.  Whew!  Daddy brought us lots of goodies from London and Scotland, and we have had so much fun sharing stories from our time apart.  A post about Daddy's trip is next up. 

Super Saturday!

Saturday with Minnie started out at NorthPark Mall!!!  Mommy had a few stores to visit (really quickly!) before we hit up the Lego Store!  Lincoln had a plan of which Lego sets he wanted to purchase.  He had $21.00 to buy a Ninja Turtle set, and he was sure that Minnie would buy him the $40.00 Lego Movie Trash Compactor.  They didn't have the Ninja Turtle set, but he found a cool Batman one to suffice, and Minnie came through with the big one.  Beau picked out a little train (for Mommy to put together) that he would drive around on some made-up tracks.  Mission accomplished and a happy group!

We made a little stop at Gap, and backpacks were on sale.  Since it's almost time for Lincoln to start Kindergarten (!!!!!!!!), he needed a big boy upgrade.  He picked a navy and white striped one with a matching insulated lunch bag.  Beau convinced me that he needed a new backpack too, and it wasn't a hard sale.  We might need to get these super fun new backpacks monogrammed to make them extra cute! 

The boys stopped to check out the ducks.  That's their favorite part of visiting NorthPark! Holding hands made it so much sweeter!

A family of turtles were swimming on the other side, and they all posed with Minnie . . . all but the turtles!  They swam away! 

We had lunch at Chick-fil-A and used our cookie credit cards (Thanks, Samantha!) to get an iced cookie and Icee for the ride home.  It was the quietest moments of the day with them slurping on their drinks and licking icing off the cookies!  Lincoln said, "You should have given us these when we got here, and we would have been quiet the whole time!"  So true, little guy!  After some major Lego time at home and a little rest, we headed out to Lincoln's soccer game.  It was fun, and he played hard!  The boys on his team are all super nice and great players.  We are still undefeated . . . go Tornadoes!

So much fun on this Saturday!  Daddy approved of our big boy backpack and maybe even the monogram!  Daddy also would have liked us to bring him a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie from the Mrs. Fields store . . . sorry Daddy . . . maybe we'll remember next time . . . or just come with us next time!!!  So much on the agenda for Sunday, and we need some rest.  Lincoln is being torn away from the Legos to go to bed at 11:00, but he's planning to stay up to make a banner for Minnie to take home.  Such a sweetie!

Thursday and Friday - Extra Fun!

The boys had a surprise Nana Day on Thursday!  They started the day off with donuts and a trip to the book store.  These two love to get new books, and they loved that they could keep them.  They are accustomed to returning books to the library, so this was super cool!

It was a 100 degree day, so they found another inside activity . . . painting pottery!  The boys made their selections, Lincoln chose a frog that he could keep the teeth he looses in (gross!!) and Beau chose an alligator because he could paint it his favorite color (green).  Happy painting guys! 

The rest of Thursday was filled with more playing at Nana's and swimming lessons in the evening.  We all piled in the car on Friday morning for a trip to the Perot Science Museum.  Mommy and Lincoln spent a day there last summer, but Beau had never been and was so excited about this big kid activity.  They posed next to the largest dinosaur leg bone to compare their height.  Giant dinosaur leg in the background, by the way! 

After seeing so much of the new dinosaur exhibit, they got to do some excavating!  They put on safety goggles and grabbed brushes and digging tools and got to work digging up fossils.  Cutest thing ever! 

After visiting the special dinosaur exhibit, we made our way through the permanent displays over 4 floors of the museum.  It's really amazing!  Our view from the top floor looking down over the regular dinosaur floor.  So cool! 

After we made our way through the solar system/universe part, we hit up the engineering stations.  So much interactive fun!  Lincoln and Beau loved watching how air pressure made paper boxes float at different levels. 

Next up was the Sports Hall, and they waited in a long line to get a video of trying a sport activity.  Lincoln chose to throw a spiral pass . . . it was beautiful!  He enjoyed watching it in slow motion after his turn.  Great form and super spiral! 

Hockey was Beau's choice, and he scored a goal really well.  He loved watching himself on the screen after his turn! 

After we had seen the entire museum, it was time for the Children's Section.  The loved playing in the city area and the camping area, but Beau had the best time in the Farmers Market area.  He shopped the fruits and vegetables, but he mostly loved driving the truck!  That's an amazing expression on his determined little face!  Pops commented that he would be happy to teach (rule-loving and more even-keeled) Lincoln to drive when he turns sixteen, but Beau's driving attitude and personality attributes seem to lean to super aggressive driver that Pops might not want to be a part of.  Agreed!!!!!!! 

We had the best time at the Perot Science Museum!  We had lunch in the Wolfgang Puck dining area and hit up the gift shop for dinosaurs to take home.  Best Friday morning ever!  So much more is going on this weekend, including a Minnie visit, a soccer game, a birthday party, and swimming at the club.  Busy little guys!

Surprise Visit from the 3 Girls from Arkansas!

What a fun surprise to have Arkansas Aunts visit mid-week!!!!  Sarah, Cheryl, and Patsy came in on Tuesday afternoon to play, and we stayed home from work and school on Wednesday to play all day!  Sarah and Cheryl are the best Kindergarten teachers EVER, and they totally love to play with super smart Lincoln and Beau.  They know just how to play, just what games will interest them, and just what questions to ask to get them thinking.  Patsy is one of those super cool Great Aunts (to me) who always knows how to play and be the favorite.  She probably played 100 board games, and the boys loved it!  Sometimes Beau forgot her name, and he referred to her as "the one that plays games with Lincoln"!!!!  Neither child lacked for attention, and we all had so much fun.  They came in on Tuesday afternoon, and we all had a delicious grilled chicken dinner and leftover birthday cake.  We might have stayed up pretty late playing and delaying bathtime because we were having so much fun!  We played outside early on Saturday before it got hot.  Lincoln was super happy to be playing in the backyard without heat or mosquitoes!  Love that little snaggle tooth!

After more Lego building, lots of gaming, plenty of block creations, we took a lunch break.  It was too hot to play outside in the afternoon so we hit up the Richardson Library.  Our neighborhood Dallas Library location is closed for renovations, so Nana and Pops hooked us up with a Richardson library card.  We went to the main library (by our church), and the boys had so much fun!  They played with the little toys, admired the aquarium, and selected the best books to check out. And it was air conditioned and not hot . . . an important requirement for a day in July in Texas! 

We visited the fountain after our library fun.  We pass this fountain each Sunday, but we've never stopped to look at it up close.  Beau asked for a penny to toss in and make a wish.  Linc just wanted to touch the water.   

We headed home to rest a little and introduce our 3 girls to the Lego Movie.  It's really a weird movie the first time you see it, but it gets better after 20 or 30 viewings . . . sadly, Mommy has seen it that many times!  Lincoln told me after the movie that some of our visitors would like to take him to a store to buy a toy.  Patsy was happy to volunteer, as she was happy to volunteer to take me to the store to buy a toy when I was exactly their age!  Surprisingly, they buddied up and held hands on the way into Target.  Too cute!! 

Beau picked a train set and a package of Reece's Cups, and Lincoln got a Ninja Turtles vehicle and two Ninja Turtles to got with it.  So proud of their purchases, but Beau was a little less than happy to pose for a picture with Patsy! 

We had so much fun with our 3 girls, as Lincoln and Beau referred to them!  Thanks for coming to play and entertain us for a day and a half. 

Mommy's 35th Birthday Party

Mommy is officially 35!  The day began with sweet hugs from all of my guys, and there could be no better way to start a birthday (or any day) than that!  We all headed to work and school with big plans to celebrate later.  Daddy asked Mommy to meet up for lunch, and that was a special mid-day treat.  (We split a sandwich at Jersey Mike's - not exciting but delicious!)  The boys had a fun art-themed day at school.  Beau painted several projects, and Lincoln painted four rock pets.  Lincoln and his sweet teachers made a card for the big birthday.  He cut out a giant heart for the front and wrote Happy Birthday Mommy.  The inside of the card was signed by Linc and his teachers.  They gave him beads and an elastic band to make a custom bracelet for his gift, and he was so proud of it.  Perhaps the thing he was the most proud of was the gum.  His teacher asked if she could give Mommy a candy, and he replied that his Mommy doesn't like candy.  True!  When she asked what his Mommy like instead of candy, he replied, "My Mommy likes to chew gum when she works out at night."  His amazing teachers found a few pieces of gum and helped him tape those to the card.  Not only is Lincoln so sweet to think to make special things, his teachers love to encourage him and help him make it even more special.  Best.Card.Ever!!!!  (He made sure that one of the pieces of gum was chewed during the workout this evening!)

We had Nana and Pops over for dinner again, and Lincoln was in charge of planning all of the birthday dinner details.  He chose the menu: garlic pesto pork tenderloin, (dutch oven) roasted potatoes, and steamed broccoli.  What an awesome dinner!!!!   

After such a yummy dinner, we had cupcakes with a candle.   

The boys sang Happy Birthday again and watched Mommy blow out the candle.  The cupcakes were delicious, and they requested seconds!  After such a nutritious dinner, who could deny anyone seconds?!?! 

Lincoln was so happy to be the party planner.  He picked the menu, instructed Nana on what plates/napkins to buy, helped choose the cupcakes, decorated the whole house with tons of balloons (thanks N&P), and made sure that we were having fun at our party.  Love his amazing heart! 

So 35 . . . that sounds like a milestone, right?  On my first day of being 35, I already have so many blessings.  A husband who loves me, two amazing little boys who think I'm the best Mommy ever (most of the time!), my own family and Kevin's family who love me and help us out all of the time, a great job, lots of time off from that great job, a wonderful home for our family, and great health for all of us.  Maybe turning 35 is the best thing ever!  Lincoln decided today that you are young if you are not 80 or 81.  Well, that's good news and gives us many years before we get old!  Thanks to all who made this birthday special. 

Saturday and Sunday Fun

Lincoln had a play date scheduled for Saturday morning at the elementary school playground with other incoming Kindergartners, and he was so excited!  We've been to a few of these "get to know you" play dates this summer, and it has been great playing with kids that will all be in Kindergarten together.  They all go to different pre-K programs now so it's nice to get acquainted.  Usually Beau accompanies us, but we left him home with Daddy this time.  (Lincoln and Beau area so used to playing together, it's more comfortable for Linc to play with Beau first than branch out and play with the other kids.)  Right away, Isak and Nick from our T-Ball and soccer teams ran up to Lincoln.  They had the best time on the playground and tossing the Frisbee.  Lincoln has never looked so 5 years old as he did on the school playground just playing with his friends as his Mommy wasn't needed and just looked on from the pavilion.  It's great that he feels so comfortable with the kids and the playground.  He can't wait for Kindergarten!

We did some shopping, had some lunch, played in a super intense indoor soccer game (that we won-still undefeated!), and had a delicious dinner at Mia's.  Two superheroes got all cleaned up and decked out in their Spiderman pjs, and they looked super cute.  It was a fun day! 

Cuties all ready for church on Sunday morning . . . Mommy needs to work on tucking shirts in, right?  They both look so grown up, and it's totally true that there are no babies in the Kuhlman house anymore.   

We went to brunch after church and stopped by Central Market for dinner ingredients for the week.  On the menu: beef fajitas, garlic pesto pork tenderloin, lemon rosemary chicken breasts, broccoli, Yukon gold potatoes, and green beans.  Yummy!!!  Daddy went to play golf in the afternoon, and the boys and Mommy hit up the pool with Nana and Pops.  So much fun!  Beau conquered jumping to Pops.  Lincoln floated for a while then initiated a lively game of catch.   

A few hours later we reconvened for fajitas for a pre-birthday celebration dinner for Mommy.  Turning 35 means extra celebrating, so we had a pre-party on Sunday night.  The fajitas Daddy grilled were delicious!  Lincoln had wrapped a special pre-birthday gift to open on Birthday Eve.  It was a framed picture from the dining room wrapped in notebook paper and taped up like crazy.  It was super awesome because he is the sweetest and most thoughtful little gift-giver ever!!!!  (He also gave me a wrapped and coin-filled liver pills bottle earlier in the week that he got from Poppa at our Arkansas visit.  Love that he's giving me money!  We might need to take that to the bank to get dollars!)  Such a sweetie! 

It wouldn't be a pre-birthday party with out pre-birthday cake, and the boys were most excited about that!  They sang Happy Birthday so sweetly and gave lots instructions about how to make a wish.   

These two had two slices of cake each!  With extra icing!  At 8:00 at night!  And they wanted more!  And they got chocolate everywhere!  And the chocolate will never come out of these shirts in the wash!  And it was awesome! 

Best pre-birthday party ever, if you ask this birthday girl.  Can't wait for the real deal on Monday!  Lincoln has planned the menu, and he and Nana are in charge of décor and gifts and dessert.  It will surely be a great day!

Friday Night at the Club

The cooler weather continues to surprise us in mid-July.  We are setting record lows and loving it!!   

We had plans to meet the Brosnahans at the club to swim on Friday evening, and we pretty much had the pool to ourselves.  Private party!! 

The kiddos took a dinner break, and my guys loved their hot dogs, tater tots, and apple slices.  All-American boys! 

We headed over to the practice greens to play watch the kids run around for a while, and they had so much fun!  Seriously, we can't believe this amazing weather! 

After the sun went down, the kids watched a movie on the big screen while we hung out on the patio.  I have many vivid memories of watching The Little Rascals as a kid.  I'm thinking that the world was a lot different in the late 80s when I watched these.  It's not exactly politically correct humor . . . it's actually a little offensive in today's world.  None of the kids noticed, of course, but the girl in charge of movies might want to borrow some movies from me for the Friday night movie.  I'm sure Disney movies are a little more appropriate!  However, I totally loved Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Spanky, and Darla . . . Bubbles must remember taking me to the video store in Dumas to rent Little Rascals movies on VHS!!! 

After so much fun, we came home around 9:00 for baths.  Beau crashed out on the couch before he could read his new book from the library trip with Nana and Pops today.   

Great fun and ready for the weekend.  We have play dates planned, soccer games to go to, more pool time scheduled, and a birthday dinner for someone (Mommy!), so we are ready for the weekend!

Playing Outside Because It's NOT HOT!!!!

Well, it's mid-July and that means crazy hot weather, right?  We usually are locked inside with the air conditioner running like crazy at this time of year.  Surprisingly, it was mild and pleasant with a cool breeze on Tuesday night, so we had some fun outside.  Beau practiced his pedaling skills on the tricycle.  Such a sweet face from such a sweet little guy!  He went straight for the bubbles after riding his trike.

Lincoln raced up and down the sidewalk on his scooter.  Of course, he had the sweetest smile ever and posed so perfectly!

We made homemade pizza for dinner before we went out to play.  It was delicious!  Thin crust with rotisserie chicken, pizza sauce, cheddar cheese, (and a few peppers and onions on Mommy's slices) made the coolest pizza. 

Who knew it could be only 86 degrees on a mid-July evening?!?!  Such a little blessing!  The rest of the week looks to be cooler and rainy, so we'll have lots of fun avoiding the rain.  Luckily, these boys can have fun anywhere! 

Monday at Home

After such a busy and fun weekend away, Mommy needed a day with the boys to just hang out!  We spent Monday together doing lots of regular yet special things.  We went for a 3 mile double stroller run in the morning before it got too hot . . . except it was crazy humid and hot by 11:00.  We'll have to do that earlier next time.  As we were heading back to the house, Lincoln waved at a neighbor and her dog.  His sweet little hand sticking out of the stroller almost brought a tear to this Mommy's eye.  That sweet little hand conveys so much joy, friendliness, and compassion.  That sweet little hand will be in Kindergarten next month and develop so many new skills.  That sweet little hand still wants to hold his Mommy's hand.  That sweet little hand will grow into a man, husband, and father one day.  That sweet little hand is only mine for so long, and it needs to be cherished.

After almost flat out crying in the middle of the street, we were distracted by the recycle truck that was turning in our alley.  Beau has a major obsession with trash trucks these days, and it made his day that we followed the recycle truck down our alley to watch them at work.  I'm not sure what the recycle truck workers thought about us stalking them, but the boys were in heaven!  The loved the arm that grabbed the recycle bin and lifted it up to empty it into the back, and they loved the compactor part that smashed the recycled items to make room for the next recycle can.  Maybe they will grow up to be engineers who design the next recycle solution.   

We cooled down from our run and had a little lunch, then we made peanut butter pretzel chocolate truffles.  Uh, no one liked them but Mommy.  We delivered some to Nana at work then headed to the pool to swim in the afternoon.  Unfortunately, it started lighting when we arrived and the pool had to shut down for 30 minutes.  We had a tater tot snack while we waited, but the storm came anyway.   

The short drive home in the rain was enough to lull these two guys to sleep.  This may be the first time they have fallen asleep in the car at the same time.  Apparently, we had been playing hard! 

Even though swimming in the afternoon was a bust, we had a reading lesson with Lincoln at home.  He's getting pretty good!  The boys played while Lincoln's dinner request of beef fajita/tacos were being cooked up!  It was delicious and a great idea by Lincoln.   

We had a little more rain in the evening, and we passed the time playing at home and reading more books.  It was a super fun Monday at home with the little guys!  Back to reality on Tuesday though!