Cowboy Bryce

Yesterday's theme at school was cowboy/cowgirl.  Kari had absolutely no interest in dressing the part.

 

 

Thinking of Christmas

Hard to believe but we've already started thinking of Christmas.  Kari was looking for an afternoon craft and we came upon this:

 

 

 We're making our own wrapping paper. Look out family!  You'll be seeing this in December!

Second Crazy Race of the Summer- Warrior Dash

Crazy Race #2 is officially behind us now.  We had some Ragnar Relay repeat offenders- The Clawsons, Tom and myself- along with some new folks, Natalie, Shane and Vicki.  All in all, yesterday's Warrior Dash was a great way to wrap up the summer and participate in yet another one-of-a-kind event.  Nothing like Ragnar, we did not make this a competitive event, instead we stayed together as a group and took our time making it through the various obstacles.  We tackled Marine-like barrier walls, scampered over cargo nets, climbed 20 ft. high walls, ran through water, fire, barbed wire, and lastly army crawled through a huge mud bath.  I carried a disposable camera with me most of the race.  We're not sure if the film survived but we'll see what our trusty photo technicians can do with it.  Hopefully there will be more pictures to post soon.

 

Pre-race photo.  Our shirts spell out WARRIOR.

Post race and post pond rinse-off photos.

 

Meanwhile, Kari and Bryce spent another fun-filled weekend in Indy with Gran and Beep Beep.

First Dentist Appointment

She was a pro.

A Red Wagon Birthday

Sunday was an absolute blast.  We could not have asked for a better time (although any temps below 90 would have been welcomed!)  Once again we celebrated just with immediate family; we feel so fortunate that all three sets of grandparents were able to come and live close by for regular visits.

Bryce loves his red wagon and so we thought that would make an appropriate party theme.  Red with aqua seemed to go really well together and between eBay and Grandmo's garage sale-ing prowess, was able to collect a variety of toy wagons for decor.

 

 

 

 Bryce had a great time opening gifts- all were so thoughtful and perfect for an active two year old!

 

Bryce ready for camping and tailgating this fall with his new chair.


Bryce got a huge kick out of his Jack in the Box

 

 

A Week With The Grandparents

To say the kids (and Mom and Dad, for that matter) have had a frantic end to July would be a massive understatement.


We took a few days to jet off to Las Vegas once again. This wasn't a renewal of vows, rather a chance to get away with some friends for some quick R&R. It also provided a chance for Kari to spend a week at Nature Camp in Indianapolis again.  When she wasn't at Nature Camp, she got to visit Beep Beep at the hospital, go to the Splash Park, the zoo (twice!!) and the Children's Museum of Indianapolis (one of the best in the country!)

 

And we wanted to provide an opportunity to see how Grandmo and Grandpo could do with Bryce to themselves for a full week!  Bryce did equally well in Glen Ellyn. Grandmo made sure to always have something planned to avoid the boredom stage that might not sit well with a 2-year old. Bryce went to Glen Ellyn's Splash Park, the DuPage county fair twice, fed the ducks, and got to play with the next door neighbor boy Travis.

 

By all accounts upon our return, things went swimmingly well for both sets of grandparents. Kari thoroughly enjoyed her time at camp. She also had just as much fun going on errands with Gran, visiting Beep Beep at his office and sampling all kinds of yummy food throughout the week.

The Keckler parents also enjoyed their week away from home. Unfortunately there weren't any significant winnings to bring home, except for lasting memories with friends.

Tomorrow, believe it or not, Bryce turns two.  We had his party yesterday with all the grandparents.  Expect a separate post soon.

Have a wonderful start to August!