Our September

September was an eventful month, some good and some not-so-good.

We started out Labor Day weekend in East Peoria for Caden's cross country meet. Nana and Papa were visiting (thankfully!), so they came along. Curt was on call, so he had to stay back home. As we walked up to the cross country area, Cole spotted this fun playground. He was so excited because it had something similar to American Ninja Warrior. I promised he could go back to this playground after we watched Caden run. 

When we got closer to the race area, I was thrilled that there were more playgrounds. Cole and Kieran usually get bored waiting for the race to start and finish, but the playgrounds would keep them happy. That is, until Cole slipped off the monkey bars and landed wrong, breaking the two bones in his right wrist. I went straight into panic mode, of course. Thank goodness for so many things--my parents were with me, fellow cross country parents helped both my parents and me, and paramedics were at the race!!! Cole was so brave and did an awesome job staying calm even though I know he was in so much pain and scared. The paramedics were able to splint his arm, gave Cole some good pain medicine, and called an ambulance for us. All of this happened before Caden even ran. My parents and Kieran stayed back to cheer on Caden while Cole and I took our first ambulance ride to St. Francis. My friend, Dawn helped calm and focus me. She snapped a few photos for our memory book and shared them with me later.   

Cole being so brave

Cannot put into words how thankful I was for these paramedics! They were so good with Cole (and me)!

Not exactly what we expected to do on that Saturday morning!

The damage...curse those monkey bars!

It was an extremely long day! Cole broke his arm around 9:40. We spent all day in the ER. Thankfully, we were in our own room! My parents, Caden, and Kieran came to the hospital after the race and lunch. Cole and I were starving, but he wasn't allowed to eat due to the upcoming necessary anesthesia. I hadn't eaten anything since the night before because I was going to eat my breakfast at the race. Cole does not handle hunger well, so we had some rough (rightfully so!) moments but he pushed through. Since the wait was going to be very long, my parents were going to take the boys back home, and one of them was going to come back to Peoria to get Cole and me. Then Curt called to say he found someone to cover his call shift for a few hours, so he drove over before Cole went back to the operating room. My parents went back to Springfield with the other boys when we found out Curt could come. Cole and I were so happy to see Curt! Luckily, the pediatric orthopedic specialist was on call over the holiday weekend. He finally took Cole back to the operating room to set his bones under anesthesia around 5:00. We were very pleased with everyone at St. Francis. They made a long, hard day much more bearable.     

Casted and in recovery

We finally made it home a little after 9:00 Saturday night. Such a long and exhausting day!  I was so proud of how well Cole handled the day. We spent the next several days getting used to the cast and using his left arm. 

Still in some pain and less than pleased with the situation

Got a slight smile from him

An exciting day in a better way...Kieran started five-morning preschool with Mrs. Steber at Cherry Hills. He was so happy to return to school! The requested photo shoot...

Just because we like to keep Saturday cross country meet days interesting...We went to Normal for Caden's cross country meet. My parents met us there to cheer on Caden. After a great race and a delicious lunch at Biaggi's, we said good-bye to the van and bought this SUV. I have driven a van for ten years, so this is quite a change for me. We LOVE it! 

For nearly a year, Kieran asked about his next soccer season. The time finally arrived, and he was thrilled! Kieran played every Tuesday and Thursday evening with the BACH soccer league.

Neighbor buddy, Hugo and Kieran

Patiently waiting for his practice/game to start

Bored and frustrated--It was Cole's soccer season too, so he was extremely bummed to only play a few times before being sidelined by his broken arm. I hadn't even snapped any photos of Cole playing before his injury. :( To make matters worse, he had to just sit and watch Kieran on most Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Defending the goal

Running after the ball

He loved running up and down the soccer field.

Cole and Jake at lunch for Jake's birthday

Kieran's preschool hosted a back-to-school picnic. Rain chased us inside.

My cheetah

We fit in a quick visit to the Edwards Place Fine Art Fair on a busy Saturday.

Kieran crashed after a bounce house birthday party for one of his best buddies, Kody.

Barely on the couch

Our August

In August, we fit in a lot of fun before the start of another school year.

The boys spent a weekend with Nana and Papa in Rankin. They enjoyed a ride in one of the old cars that belongs to the dad of a childhood friend of mine.  

Likely playing American Ninja Warrior at one of the parks in my hometown

We spent a couple days in St. Louis. Our first stop was the zoo.   

The Colobus monkeys were very entertaining. We could have watched them all day.

Next stop was our hotel down by The Arch before going to the Cardinals game. 

The next day, we went to to Six Flags. 

A sure sign that school is around the corner...I had to take Caden to school to practice his new locker combination. Although he is in the same building, 6th grade is completely different than 5th grade. The BIG change for 6th grade is switching classes, so Caden walked his class schedule a few times.  

First of two visits to the Illinois State Fair...

Cole and Caden on the hang glider ride

Kieran taking a rest in the shade...It was HOT that day!

Cole and Kieran on one of Kieran's favorite rides

Photo op after checking out the butter cow

Caden's friend, Ryan joined us for a few rides.

We had an awesome visit with Aunt Charlene and Uncle Fred from Vermont, Aunt Shannon, and Nana and Papa. We spent an afternoon at Island Bay Yacht Club.   

One of Kieran's many tricks

After dinner on the deck at Island Bay, everyone (minus Curt and the boys) went to see West Side Story at The Muni. It was an excellent performance! The next morning, we took a hike at Lincoln Memorial Garden. 

The crew (Curt snapped the photo.)

Cole was our leader since he attended camp at Lincoln Memorial Garden this summer.

It was a hot and sticky morning, so Kieran shed his shirt at some point.

Cole and Uncle Fred deep in conversation

We spent a morning at Glow Golf with friends.  

My boys with the Sherwoods, Tolivers, and Yeagers. 

Summer flew by! The boys were excited to start another school year.

Caden-6th grade

Cole-3rd grade

The weekend after school started, we hit the Illinois State Fair again. This time, Nana and Papa went with us. Thankfully, the weather was much more comfortable for this visit. 

Caden squeezed in Kieran's favorite ride.

Nana, Kieran, and Papa

On the Sky Glide

Kieran--I think this was Kieran's first time on the bungees. He had so much fun!

Cole

Caden doing a flip at the top

Kieran's face sums it up--exhausted from State Fair fun

With the big boys back in school for a few weeks before Kieran started, I had to keep him entertained. He was bored without his big brothers. 

Kieran and Evan at Springfield's zoo

Kieran enjoys having his brothers home on the weekends. I had just thought about getting rid of our Planet Heroes, which we've had since Caden was around 3 years old, and then Kieran brought them out and recruited his brothers to play with him.