this last week...

We just got back from a quick trip to Kansas.  By quick I mean we left Wednesday at 2 p.m. and got home Sunday at 10 p.m. we were actually in Kansas for less than 3 days.  That's okay, though, that's what's nice about living so close, we can make short trips like this.  Anyway, the reason we made the trip was to attend my little brother's Eagle Court of Honor.  Congratulations to him for earning his eagle; he's barely 15!

The kids did decently in the car.  I don't have the kind of kids who get in the car and sleep the whole time.  Jaxon took a 45 minute nap and then didn't go to sleep until 9:30 p.m.  It made for a long day, but really the kids did pretty good.  Especially when we turned the popcorn over to Jaxon.  He got to eat and make a mess at the same time (and that is chocolate stuck to his forehead).

The whole family, including my grandmother (and minus my sister).  That makes 3 eagle scouts in the family!

Although our trip was short we were able to get in a few fun, family activities, including:

Playing at the FREE petting zoo.  Seriously, it's the coolest petting zoo I've ever been to and it's FREE!!  

Jaxon started out wading and ended up drenched.

Madison liked all the animals and wanted to feed them, but when it was her turn she chickened out.

Roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in the backyard fire pit,

Having a campfire is one of Madison's new favorite things!  Making messes is Jaxon's favorite, but that's not anything new.

Feeding ducks and playing at the park,

And playing chalk with Grandpa. It's really cool to have a grandpa with a BA in Fine Arts.

Then when we got home Madison got to start preschool.  I'm only a little bit excited about this :).  This girl needs some time doing her own thing.  Mostly so that I can have time with Jaxon!

I made her a special first-day-of-school breakfast.  Which is a big deal for me because I usually only make breakfast for dinner.

She was so excited and so stinkin' cute.