Saturday

On Saturday we started off our day at Cole's favorite store...Bass Pro Shop! Cole is constantly asking to go to the zoo, but since the weather is still so crummy he settles for Bass Pro Shop. As long as he can see some animals he is happy! If Cole's love of animals continues he may grow up to be a vet or something animal related.

Posing for mommy!

After Bass Pro we hit up Red Robin. Although they have delicious burgers, we all managed to get chicken. It was good and Cole was happy to be there.

Then we headed to the mall so daddy could look at tools at Sears. Cole is definitely his father's child as the first game he "played" involved a gun and shooting. Oh the joy of having a boy! :-)

Then we let him do the mall jump. He got all strapped in...

he was all smiles and ready to go...

Wee! He couldn't go as high as the bigger kids, but he had fun doing it. He has always been a pretty good jumper so this was right up his alley.

After that it was time to head back home! We sure our enjoyed our day together!

Union Station

Friday we went to Union Station in Kansas City so we could see the trains and go to Science City.

Here are Jonathan and Cole as we headed in.

Trying to get a good picture of the two of us.

This one is pretty cute. Love Cole's happy go lucky face.

Dancing on the piano at Science City.

Checking out the big dinosaur.

Playing the trash can drums.

And sliding down the sewer pipes. Jonathan almost didn't make it. :-)

Out comes Cole.

We headed over to Crown Center and had lunch at the Crayola Cafe. Good food and very family friendly.

They have a new exhibit at Crown Center called Under the Sea so we checked that out too. Cole got to ride a dolphin.

And we had to let Cole experience the candy store. We both had a blast picking out all the yummies to go in our bag.

He was very excited about his candy!

We headed back to Union Station after lunch and went to an Imax movie called Ocean Wonders. Cole fell asleep about halfway through, but I think he enjoyed what he saw. :-)

Great Wolf Lodge Weekend

After church Sunday we headed down to the Great Wolf Lodge/the Legends for some waterpark fun, shopping and eating.

We started out at the Legends first for some lunch. Jonathan and Cole were all about the motorcycle.

We were going to eat lunch at the T-Rex restaurant, but a 45 minute wait and a scared kid (they have big, moving, loud dinosaurs in there) made us go for another choice.

It was off to Dave & Buster's we went.

But not without a stop by the horse first.

Cole was such a big help pulling his suitcase in to the resort.

Goggles on and ready to go!

Splash!

Taking it all in.
We also made a stop by Cabela's where Cole got to see a crocodile up close and personal.

And of course he loved seeing all the other animals too. Dead or alive, he likes animals! :-)

He even got to sleep in a cool bunk bed. He thought jumping on the top bunk was very fun.

Of course I was right there to supervise him. A fall from the top would not be fun!

Worn out from a fun weekend!

Cole (and us) had a much better experience this time around at the Great Wolf Lodge. It was so fun, we hope to go back one more time before we move this summer.

A first for Cole...

On Saturday Big Brother Big Sister had a Valentine party at the local (very old) roller skating rink. Cole has been talking and talking about roller skating so we thought it would be something fun to do with him and Matthew together.

Jonathan, Cole and Matthew getting their skates on

Ready to go!
A quick picture with me first...

And he's off. He did pretty good for a 2 year old!

Matthew wouldn't let go of the wall at first, but he got the hang of it.

This thing helped balance Cole a pretty good bit.

After skating we headed to the Mules basketball where we caught up with Bryce and Kaitlyn.

We had a fun Saturday and are enjoying all of our time together!

A little of this and that...

Cole and Daddy in their matching Alabama toboggans getting ready to head outside and clear the deck of all the snow.

Cole showing off the cave he and daddy made.

This gives an idea of how much snow we had!

I bought a Zumba skirt from my sister before I left Alabama. Cole thinks it is great entertainment to wear it and jingle all around...and I must agree it is pretty entertaining (and cute too)!

Shake, shake, shake!

We are so enjoying having Jonathan home. Our house now feels complete again and we couldn't be happier!

Homecoming

Jonathan got home yesterday from his 3 month stint at Kandahar AB in Afghanistan. We are SOOOOO glad to have him home and we have picked back up as if he never left.

Cole seeing daddy for the first time. I love this picture because their huge smiles say it all. Cole definitely knew who his daddy was and has not let him out of his sight since. He kept telling Jonathan all day yesterday that he missed him so much and missed him a long time. So sweet!

The three of us in the hotel lobby. He actually got into Kansas City about midnight the night before and due to weather conditions we waited until the next morning to go and get him.

Oh, how I love these two boys! They are the light of my life!

We went to lunch at Chick-fil-a and Cole got in a little playtime and then it was off to the mall for some more playtime and shoe shopping for daddy. And for the record, I did NOT buy one thing at the mall yesterday. :-) I am just glad to have my hubby home!

The super cute banner Dani made for Jonathan's homecoming. Thank you so much Dani, it added the perfect touch.

And here are the remnants of our blizzard of 2011. I was nervous of the road conditions driving to get Jonathan, but they were perfectly clear. Yet another answered prayer! God has been so good to us and blessed us so abundantly.

We are so proud of Jonathan and the sacrifice he made (and makes everyday) to protect our country.

We love you!!