The Works Boys

Eli--My how you've grown...

2011-05-20T14:37:00.004-05:00

Last Day of Kindergarten

First Day of Kindergarten

Eli's First Soccer Game

2011-04-15T20:15:00.004-05:00

Eli had his first soccer game last weekend. He loved playing and did a great job. His team won and he scored two points.

Eli on the far left getting ready to start the game.

Eli playing goalie.

Eli (3rd from the right) getting ready kick the ball and get the game started.

Owen 2 month old pics

2011-04-15T20:04:00.003-05:00

At 2 months Owen you are full of smiles, especially when your big brothers are around. You continue to do well sleeping most of the night, getting up once or twice. You are learning how to put yourself to sleep at night. During the day you are a "cat-napper" seldom staying up for more than 2 hours at a time. Now that you have been on your reflux medicine for a month you seem much more content with fewer fussy spells. Now that the weather is a little nicer outside you have gone on several walks and end up falling asleep within minutes of starting. You are a good traveler and usually fall asleep in the car. We all love you very much and couldn't imagine life without you!

4 weeks old

2011-03-21T13:56:00.003-05:00

A little late, but had to share! Owen is 4 weeks old in this picture. What we're learning about you: sleeper during the day and at night-usually only gets up once at night to eat. Your nickname is "firecracker"-- generally very calm but when you want something you want it now and let everyone around you know. You love having your hands close to your face and it helps calm you. You've been struggling with reflux and so we started you on some medicine to see if it would help ease your fussiness and tummy pains...we should hopefully see improvements in 2-4 weeks.

February Snow

2011-03-15T09:45:00.002-05:00

The boys had a blast building a snowman and snow forts with their dad during our last snow.

Our newest addition-Owen Henry!!!

2011-03-15T09:39:00.003-05:00

Owen Henry Works

Born January 28, 2011

8#8oz

21 inches

Proud brothers meeting Owen for the first time

December Events (Continued)

2011-01-13T19:13:00.002-06:00

The family making christmas cookies for Santa!

Spending some time with dad making Gingerbread Houses.

December Events

2011-01-13T11:30:00.005-06:00

Eli's 6th Birthday Meal

For months Eli had been telling us that he wanted to go to El Charro for his birthday so he could have them smear ice cream on his face, so that's what we did! Avery on the other hand wanted to stay with Grandma in fear they may mistake him for eli. As you can see he warmed up to the festivities and actually wore the hat for a little while.

We went and visited Santa in Iola one evening. Eli sat on Santa's lap and told him all that he and Avery wanted for Christmas. Avery kept his distance from Santa and gave him a sweet smile from behind my leg; maybe next year he'll sit on Santa's lap for his little brother.

We were able to get our forms poured for our house the beginning of December when we had a few days of nice weather.

East end of house

West end of house

Building Site-Ground has been Broken!!!

2010-09-01T10:45:00.005-05:00

Last week Tony began clearing the land for our future home. The next step is to start digging out the basement.....

More pictures to follow as we move along.

Butterhorn Rolls

2010-09-01T10:29:00.006-05:00

Here is a picture of some yummy butterhorn rolls Avery and I made last week. Avery did a great job shaping the rolls and needed little direction from me, quite the little baker!!!

Summer FUN!!!

2010-09-01T09:33:00.007-05:00

The boys have fallen in love with Tony's boyhood hobby of building rockets and launching them. The boys were so grown up and safe when going through the process of launching the rockets. This was our first of many launches!!!

This year at the Allen County Fair both boys rode sheep (Mutton Bustin') and "almost" made it out of the gates still atop the sheep. Mom wasn't quick enough to snap the pics "in action" so here are the boys after the event... all smiles and no tears.

This summer Tony and I coached Eli's (& Avery's-he was actually too young for sign-up, but got to play anyways) T-ball team. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time to take pictures so here is the one of Avery running to first.

Eli's First Day of Kindergarten & Avery's First Day of Preschool

2010-08-30T16:43:00.006-05:00

Avery on his first day of preschool, he was very excited!!! He had a great time and can't wait to go back.

Eli and Avery on Eli's first day of Kindergarten.

Eli "all smiles" on his first day of Kindergarten.

Bun in the Oven

2010-07-06T11:05:00.002-05:00

There's a bun in the oven!!!!!

That's right were having a baby!!! Anticipated arrival is February 10, 2011.

Take me out to the ball game...

2010-06-10T14:40:00.002-05:00

We took the boys to their first Royals game last weekend. They didn't win, but we didn't care!!! Hope to do it again soon, we all enjoyed ourselves.

St. Louis Science Museum

2010-06-09T12:09:00.004-05:00

On our last stretch of driving home from Ohio we decided to stop in St. Louis at one of the boys' very places- The Science Center. Once again it was a big hit and nice break for all of us during our long drive home from buying our Armada.

Tony and the boys putting together a dinosaur fossil puzzle.

Tony and the boys building a bridge

Eli and Avery pretending they are on the moon in a "space car"

The museum has an observation bridge that goes over a road. Along the way they have glass openings where you can watch cars drive underneath you.

Ohio Trip

2010-06-07T21:01:00.007-05:00

So about a month ago as family we traveled to Ohio to pick up our new Armada that we had bought through Ebay. We drove straight through on our way, but decided to take it slower on the way home and ended up stopping at one of best children's museums in Cincinnati. The boys loved it, especially the tree house play area. One other activity they enjoyed was building their very own rocket and then knocking it down!!!

Preschool Field trip to the Zoo

2010-06-07T20:48:00.002-05:00

As their final field trip together, Eli's preschool class went to the Independence Zoo. I was lucky enough to have the day off from work, so I got to join in on the fun too. Below are some pictures (in reverse order) of a few of the memorable experiences. Eli was a very sweet brother and wanted Avery to come along, so he got to enjoy the zoo too.

Eli enjoying some ice cream @ DQ

Eli & Avery riding the carousel

Avery & Eli waiting for the train ride

Eli and some of his classmates (& Avery) take a break for pictures

Easter Pics

2010-04-14T22:34:00.002-05:00

Below are some pictures Tony took of the boys on Easter

March Snow Storm

2010-04-12T21:51:00.002-05:00

The boys playing in the snow fort we made during a snow storm in March.

Decorating Easter Eggs

2010-03-29T11:53:00.009-05:00

We all had a fun time decorating easter eggs (& our hands :)

Eli showing off his green fingers

Avery & Tony coloring easter eggs.

Avery showing off one of his colored eggs.

Eli concentrating hard on coloring his eggs.

Crown Center Trip

2010-03-29T11:43:00.005-05:00

On one of my days off in February I decided to take the boys to Union Station & Crown Center for the day. Here are a few pictures of all the fun things we did there.

Avery stirring the porridge in the "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears" playhouse.

Eli posing in a knight board @ the Crown Center playhouse.

Eli & Avery playing at Science Center

Eli and Avery posing in the "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears house"

Eli patiently waiting for our food to be delivered on a train at Fitz's

Eli and Avery pretending to fly a rocket-ship at Science Center

Gingerbread Houses and Visiting Santa

2009-12-18T19:02:00.005-06:00

Elias and Avery visiting with Santa

Eli creating his gingerbread house

Avery working on his gingerbread house

The finished products!!!

Halloween

2009-11-04T09:43:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful halloween this year! The boys quickly caught on to trick or treating this year and came home with a load of candy.

Avery my sweet Brown Bear

Elias the bear hunter

The hunter caught his bear early on:)

Preschool Pumpkin Patch Trip and Mr. Potato Pirate Pumpkins

2009-10-25T19:42:00.003-05:00

Instead of carving pumpkins this year with the boys we came across these Mr. Potato Pirate pumpkins which were a big hit!!! Thanks Target :)

Eli's preschool class had a field trip to a pumpkin patch in Independence last week. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a fun time-- picking out their own pumpkin, going through the corn maze, eating a picnic lunch, playing in hay bales & slides, and a bonus was having their cousin Ashlynn ride with them in our truck.

Funny Faces

2009-10-18T20:38:00.003-05:00

Elias and I being silly one afternoon. Avery refused to put the glasses on :)

The boys just LOVE washing dishes and want to do it all the time. Hope this lasts through through high school!!!

Family Memories of September '09

2009-09-28T21:41:00.003-05:00

We took a family trip to Saint Louis a few weekends ago and it was a great time! We took the Amtrak train, which the boys loved. A few highlights of our trip included: City Museum, Discovery Room @ Science City, Build A Dino @ Science City, The Gateway Arch, Ferry Boat Tour, Union Station, etc. We hope to do it again some day.

Build A Dino @ Science City

Discovery Room @ Science City

Avery on the Train

Eli & Tony on the Train

On our way up to the top of the Gateway Arch

My baby turned "3" this month!

You are such a loving, affectionate, happy, curious, smart, and wonderful little boy, luv you!!!

Weekend Camping Trip

2009-08-31T21:02:00.012-05:00

We headed to Big Hill this weekend for a camping trip. It was a perfect weekend for camping. The boys had a wonderful time. After setting up camp, I headed down to the dock to tell the boys to come up for supper. The boys were throwing rocks into the lake and I was watching the fish jump all around. Next thing I knew Avery had taken an extra step and fallen into the lake!!! I immediately jumped in after him, needless to say the boys didn't go down to the dock without us close by. Here is a clip from our flip after the accident. Eli was pretty shakin' up and was so sweet to his little brother.

San Diego Vacation

2009-07-02T15:12:00.010-05:00

Wow I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted!!! Last week we had a wonderful vacation with Tony's family in San Diego. The 19 of us all stayed in a beautiful beach house off of Mission Beach! We enjoyed going to the beach and making sand castles, boggy boarding, and just relaxing. A few highlights of the trip included the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, IKEA (for Tony and myself). Also, the adults took turns staying home with the little ones so some couples could go out at night. Tony and I enjoyed visiting LaJolla and the Gas Lamp District on our nights.

We plan to gradually start moving things to our new rental home in Humboldt over the holiday weekend, with hopes of being completely moved in by next weekend. We are going to live in Humboldt over the next year or two while we work on building a house out in the country-- northwest of Humboldt. We'll try to keep you updated on our process. Right now we're in the early stages of house plans with our architects and probably won't have those finalized for another 3-4 months, it's so exciting!!!

Future site for our house.

Future site for our house :)

Fall River Camping Trip

2009-05-26T15:36:00.003-05:00

We took the boys on their first camping trip to Fall River this past weekend and it was a success. We've gone before in a camper, but this was the first tent camping trip, which the boys loved. We were lucky to enjoy this experience with Tony's brother and his family. Below are some pics of a few of the many things we did. Overall, we just relaxed, played, and heard some great campfire stories (thanks Cody :) We hope to do it again some day!

Tony, Cousin Cody, and Eli fishing over the damn. No luck catching any fish :(

Happy Baby Jack.

Uncle Josh, Jack, and silly Avery hanging out at the campfire.

Avery roasting marshmallows.

Cousin Cody and Eli roasting marshmallows (or "marshing" marshmallows as Eli put it :)

Just a pic of Avery "hangin" out around the campfire

Eli's Preschool Field Trip

2009-05-25T13:33:00.004-05:00

Eli and I went to the Topeka Zoo last Thursday with his Preschool Class. We spent the morning at the zoo, had lunch at the park, enjoyed riding the train and playing in the park all afternoon. I think he enjoyed having "one on one" time with me, but commented several times about how much he missed Avery....

Eli and I on the train

Eli playing at the zoo

Eli looking at a baby deer "up close and personal"

My handsome boy!

Eli looking at the lions

Superman Prayer

2009-05-10T23:32:00.004-05:00

Here's a clip of Eli singing a new prayer he learned at daycare to the theme song of Superman. We tried to talk Avery into singing too, but he didn't want anything to do with it.

Below are a few pics from easter:

Avery our chocolate lover!

Batman duo in shades

Easter Fun 2009

2009-04-12T22:18:00.004-05:00

Patiently waiting our turn to hunt easter candy at the Humboldt gymnasium.

Elias decorating easter eggs.

Avery decorating easter eggs.

Eli concentrating very hard while decorating easter eggs.

Avery decorating easter eggs.

Avery hunting easter eggs.

Wal-Mart Trip

2009-03-30T12:12:00.003-05:00

This morning was a typical Monday of running errands, which included getting the oil changed in the van at Wal-Mart. While we were waiting I let the boys go to the toy section of the store to look around. After a little while I noticed Avery was doing the "cowboy" walk-he had done #2 & I was not prepared! (Now that the boys are older I have grown more laid back on our outings and no longer carry with us diapers, wipes, extra clothing, etc.) Fortunately I keep a few extra diapers & wipes in the van so I ran out and grabbed them while Eli looked over his little brother. Of course we were in the back of the store and the restrooms were in the front so I had to carry Avery all the way through the store. By the time we reached the bathrooms he had leaked through his diaper, pants, and onto my shirt! We got cleaned up, wrapped Avery in his jacket, and I luckily had a t-shirt underneath that didn't get dirty so we headed out in search of clothing...I guess one good thing about this situation was where we were! Now that I look back I can laugh about it, but at the time I was pretty frazzled. Also thinking back, I'm really proud of how good the two boys were and how helpful Eli was during my "panic" mode. I'm feeling very blessed to have such wonderful boys!!!

Nurse Elias

2009-02-20T20:12:00.007-06:00

Sorry we haven't posted for a long time, but we've been busy trying to get over illness after illness. This past week Avery has been pretty sick, which has required mom to stay home with open arms for lots of snuggling....I loved it, but didn't like him being so sick.

I have posted some pictures of Elias taking care of his brother. Avery was very reluctant to have mom take his temperature or listen to his chest until Elias let me use him as a "model". Avery still wouldn't let me, but instead let big brother do it. It was so cute how patient and gentle Eli was with Avery, wonderful bedside manners!!! Currently, Eli loves anything that has to do with the human body and spends hours looking over his human body books he got for Christmas... we may have a future nurse or doctor on our hands!

Eli and Avery posing for the camera.

Avery letting Eli take his temperature.

Eli's Birthday Party at CoCo Keys

2009-01-30T17:40:00.005-06:00

Here are some pictures taken during Elias birthday on December 20th. We went to CoCo Keys water park in Kansas City. His cousins, Brooke and Megan, were able to join us for the fun weekend.

Eli blowing out "4" candles on his batman birthday cake

The cousins-Brooke, Megan, Avery, and Elias taking a break from playing "batman and robin" for a quick picture

Eli helping Avery up the stairs to the water slide.

Eli and Avery going down the water slide side by side

A sweet picture moment of Eli and Avery.

ELI'S CHRISTMAS PRESCHOOL PROGRAM

2009-01-30T17:21:00.003-06:00

THESE ARE A LITTLE OLD, BUT I JUST CAME ACROSS THESE PICTURES OF ELI AT HIS PRESCHOOL PROGRAM.

ELI SINGING AT HIS CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

ELI PERFORMING AT HIS CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

ELI SITTING ON SANTA'S LAP

ELI TELLING SANTA THAT HE'S BEEN A GOOD BOY THIS PAST YEAR!

ELI COMES UP WITH THE CUTEST THINGS...HE TOLD TONY "DAD I KNOW HE'S NOT REAL" "WHERE'S HIS SLEIGH AND WHY ISN'T HE WEARING HIS BLACK GLOVES" TONY THOUGHT QUICKLY AND REPLIED BY SAYING THAT SANTA ONLY USES HIS SLEIGH ON CHRISTMAS EVE AND MAYBE HE LEFT HIS GLOVES AT HOME. ELI WAS HAPPY WITH THAT ANSWER AND DECIDED TO SIT ON SANTA'S LAP IN THE END.

Saturday Fun

2009-01-17T17:44:00.013-06:00

It was a great day! The boys had fun staying in their pj's all morning, watching cartoons, and playing "batman and robin" in a "cave" that Tony made in our living room. I wish I would have taken a picture of the cave, because it was huge--it filled our entire living room!! The boys actually slept in it last night, well part of the night-that is until they crawled in our bed, pretending it was a hotel room.

After nap they headed outside to play on a beautiful January day, while I chased them around trying to get pictures of them. They are such good friends and brothers...I hope this lasts forever!!!

2009-01-05T23:06:00.008-06:00

We had a wonderful christmas this year. We spent Christmas Eve with the extended Works family @ Grandma & Papa Joe's and did our traditional oyster soup & snacks, sang carols, and ended the night with the kids listening Papa Joe read "The Night Before Christmas"--good memories.

On Christmas morning we opened gifts at home with the boys, then headed to Gma and Papa Joe's for the Joe Works family Christmas. We spent the afternoon there while the kids played, the adults sorted through old family pics. The adult kids got Joe and Janie a gift of archiving their old pics to digital format.

Late afternoon we went to Great Grandmom Works's house for the extended Works Christmas. We watched the younger kids open their gifts and had dinner with one another. Eli enjoyed playing with his boy cousin Evan who is just a few months older, they spent most of the time playing Star Wars and Batman. He keeps asking us if we can go visit Evan, they were so cute together!

The day after Christmas we went to Ottawa and visited Great Grandma Wollen and had lunch at Sirloin Stockade with the family. By that time the boys were ready to be home for a while so they could play with all their new toys. It was nice to just stay home for a few days and let them play while we played on our new toys-Apple Touches (we each got one another Touches for Christmas). Lately, they have been playing so well together, but don't get me wrong they have their moments...but don't we all.

On Sunday, we had our Vantuyl Christmas in Marion. We decided to leave a day early so we could spend some time at Gma O'Dell's and were glad we did because we all had a great time.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T17:23:00.002-06:00

The boys got police costumes for christmas--they love to dress up.

Eli...I mean Officer Works!

Avery opening up one of his gifts.

Avery coloring along with his cousin Sophie

I will try to post more about our Christmas along with some more pics.

Christmas Carols

2008-12-15T21:59:00.002-06:00

The boys were especially cute tonight after supper, and I caught Avery singing what sounded like "Silent Night", so I got out the video camera. That which is below is the last take, when they had just gone beyond silly.

Autumn Pictures

2008-11-09T18:31:00.005-06:00

Here are some pictures Tony took last weekend at Antioch Park. We had a great time playing in the park, it was such a beautiful autumn day!

2008-10-25 at 16-33-54

2008-11-09T18:25:00.002-06:00

2008-10-25 at 16-33-54
Originally uploaded by Tony & Kate

Halloween Pictures

Halloween Pics

2008-11-09T17:52:00.004-06:00

Kate & Avery carving pumpkins

Tony & Eli carving pumpkins

Batman & Robin (aka Eli & Avery) posing by their pumpkins

Manhattan Trip

2008-10-15T19:43:00.003-05:00

Well we finally experienced our "first" of having a sick kid away from home. We went to visit Josh & Jessa in Manhattan for the weekend. The boys had a great time playing with their cousins and then we went out for dinner. This is when we should have known something was wrong with Avery, because wouldn't eat...which hardly ever happens. We chalked it up to not having an adequate nap that day. So we went back to J&J's, put the boys to sleep, and enjoyed our evening with J&J. Then all the fun started: at about 2 am I woke up to Avery with a fever, coughing and gagging, and ultimately throwing up x3 times. After an hour of caring for him and waking the whole family, we decided to hit the road home so as to not expose J&J and baby Jack to his illness anymore then we already had. We stopped off at Wal-Mart, loaded up on paper towels, loads of caffeine & cleaning supplies for our trip home. We had a few more messes to clean up on the way home, but all in all it went fairly well. We rolled into our drive at 6 am before the sun was out, put the boys to bed and hit the sack until late morning. So far no one else has gotten sick and Avery got better just as quickly as he got sick. I hope

Avery's 2nd Birthday

2008-09-14T23:31:00.002-05:00

Avery has changed fairly rapidly the last couple months from that sort of early-toddler that is always sweet, quiet and easy-going into that sort sort of mature toddler that terrorizes the twos. His talking is evolving, but not as fast as his desire to communicate or his opinions on things leading to such desire to communicate.

Throw an older brother into the mix, and we're in for a fun year. It's so fun to watch them develop, but you can't help but mourn the loss of the purity of what they were.

Regardless, here is a bit of video of his 2-year birthday party we had last Sunday, September 14, 2008.

Eli's 1st Day of School

2008-09-02T23:00:00.000-05:00

What a milestone. Eli started preschool September 2, 2008. He is going to Teresa Cook's preschool here in Iola, and he is loving it. He goes Tuesday and Thursday from 9 - 11 am. Avery sure misses his brother when he's gone--even to the point of crying in frustrated anticipation when Kate goes to pick him up.

Here's a bit of video of him prepared for that first day.

Home Depot Marketing Genius

2008-08-25T22:32:00.008-05:00

Last Sunday we took the boys to the zoo in Topeka. It was a perfect day for seeing the animals and playing in the park across the street. Afterwards we headed down Wanamaker in search of a place to eat. From the back seat Eli yells, "Mom, look a Home Depot." My response was "Yes, what about Home Depot?" Eli continues, "Welcome to Home Depot where you can find a tool for every project." This kid always amazes me with his memory.

Papa Joe and Grandma Works have a toy tool box that they bought at Home Depot, and it has a couple buttons. Most buttons make tool noises, but one plays a short plug for Home Depot. That plug is what Eli absorbed. Just goes to show how pervasive (and invasive?) marketing messages are to our kids.

Kinda evil, but cute.

Vacation Bible School - Flip Mino

2008-07-23T21:55:00.005-05:00

Over the weekend, I got a new toy for my birthday: a Flip Mino. It is a little camcorder, small and efficient enough to keep within reach for those special moments. Hopefully that will facilitate a bit more of a multimedia approach around here.

This week is Vacation Bible School in Humboldt. Eli is participating, and mommy is helping with the refreshments. Eli loves it, and we're getting good use of it as a reward for good behavior. Here's a bit of video showing us trying out our new toy, and Eli--somewhat reluctantly--placating his mommy with a tune he is learning at VBS.

Birthday

2008-07-18T10:01:00.003-05:00

Today is my birthday. The plan is that Kate is taking me to Kansas City for the weekend--that's all I know. This being the Works Boys Blog, this is merely background for the fact that Grandma O'Dell is down here for the weekend. She's taking care of the boys today through Sunday, and they are excited about it.

Eli has been asking about Grandma O'Dell every half hour for a few days now. We went outside yesterday early evening, when I knew she was almost here, and he spotted her van as it turned down our street, was jumping up and down and yelling, "Grandma O'Dell is coming!" over and over.

Kate and the boys woke me up this morning with a pastry and candles singing "Happy Birthday". Eli carried it and started the song (in key) all by himself--he's growing up so much. The look on Avery's face was unforgettable: a mixture of pride, joy, and unadulterated love. After the 30 seconds of singing and blowing of candles, Kate and Eli were off to get ready for the day. Avery laid down and snuggled with me, sharing my pastry. Through his limited speech, "mine?" I know he's looking forward to his own birthday. It was a great moment. Thank you, Kate, for that.

I'll tell Grandma to keep notes about her weekend, so we will have material for Sunday.

Third Haircut in Three Days

2008-07-08T21:47:00.002-05:00

Every family has this story; here's our iteration.

When I get done shaving in the morning with my electric razor, Avery is typically curious and asks me to let him have it. I usually do, since he just pretends to shave his face like Daddy. Sometimes he'll turn it on, and I have to warn him about nicking his lips, tongue, etc.

This morning, he wandered off with it, and his older brother evidently showed him how to flip the sideburns trimmer up, and turned it on. The story from Eli is that Eli did this to Avery's head, and not Avery himself.

We had just given the boys haircuts a couple days earlier, which probably accounts a bit for their action, it being on their mind and all. So tonight, in the bathtub, I took the 1.5 guard to Avery.

A few minutes after putting him to bed tonight, I caught him just laying there, rubbing his head.

Summer Fun

2008-07-08T00:17:00.003-05:00

The boys had a fun day staying at home with Mommy. They played around the house till mid-morning and then headed outside to play in the wading pool & sand box while mom mowed the lawn & worked in the garden. The tomatoes I picked made it as far as Eli's mouth, he loves veggies! Next we headed out to run errands & stopped by Daddy's office to say "hi" and dropped off his lunch. After lunch the boys took a great nap while I finished up mowing the rest of the yard.

The boys played so well with each other today. Over the last few weeks we've noticed how much better they actually "play" with one another. Until recently they would each do their own thing. What we think has changed is that Avery has evolved into a two year-old toddler and is now able to do more of what Eli normally does & can understand most of what Eli would like him to do. However there are still times when they are not on the same page. Take for example today, Eli was pretending to be at a hotel and Eli wanted Avery to take a "nap", immediately Avery jumped off the bed, said "no" and made a quick dash out the bedroom before Eli could catch him. Needless to say Avery avoided Eli for a while in fear that he may have to take another nap. They are so much fun.

4th of July

2008-07-06T22:40:00.003-05:00

We have had a busy and wonderful holiday weekend with the Works Boys. It started Thursday evening after work; we took the boys down to Papa Joe & Grandma Works's house where we played with Seth and Sophie, jumped on the trampoline, ate pizza, and visited.

Beth and Steve showed up later, and we followed them to take a tour of their new Barn/Home. It's the classiest barn we've seen.

We went to B&W's parking lot at dusk to watch Humboldt's fireworks display. Attending: Blair and his wife with Beth & Steve, Sophie & Seth; James & Andrea with Britnee and Ashlynn; and G-ma & G-pa Works.

Eli loved the fireworks and being with his cousins. He got to do his first sparkler, but still was a bit too cavalier with it. Avery was in awe of the first couple explosions, and then became a bit worried about it, and so was stuck to Mommy the rest of the show. He did get to chow down on a big wedge of watermelon, though. A late night for the boys.

Friday we just stayed home all day and gardened while the boys played in the sandbox and wading pool. We had the bright idea to take them to the Humboldt Pool pre-nap, but got down there to find it closed for the holiday. Imagine that. After nap we headed down to Great-Grandmom Works's for barbecued ribs. The boys loved wandering around the farm, looking at the combine, pond, etc. Tony let Eli drive the van on his lap from G-ma/G-pa's to Grandmom's.

We had packed Friday afternoon for a brief KC visit, and so after a good meal and visit with Grandmom, got the boys in their pjs and headed for KC. Eli doesn't miss a thing, and based on some minor details asks, "Are we going to a hotel?" It took him a bit longer to fall asleep because of his insight. We reached the Extended Stay America at around midnight.

Earlier our plan was to just go to the petting zoo and visit the Hesseltine cousins on Saturday. When we contacted Jen & Rick, they said they were going to Worlds of Fun late on Saturday, so we decided to join them. We booked Saturday night at the Sheraton, let the boys play with Brooke & Megan in the morning, took a nap at the hotel, and headed to WoF late afternoon. We didn't leave until 10 pm, and the boys had a blast. Avery was gung-ho about riding all the rides, and despite being denied the first ride (Viking Voyager) for being a 1/2 inch too short, got to ride everything else: Octopus, Fjord Fairlane, Train, Carousel, and everything at Camp Snoopy. Eli got to do the bumper cars all by himself, and got to ride Viking Voyager with Daddy. It was a perfect 5 hours at Worlds of Fun with two young toddlers.

Tornado last Friday night?

2008-07-01T16:03:00.005-05:00

Last Friday night - early Saturday morning we had a pretty nasty thunderstorm come through. I was awakened just after 1 am by our county's phone notification system, so I got up and opened my laptop to check the radar. This is what I found.

Needless to say, I was quite disturbed by the large mass of rotating air coming toward Iola, and Kate, the boys and I spent the next 20 minutes in the basement until it blew over. No tornado in Iola, but I've not heard whether Neosho Falls saw anything destructive.