JM&MB: Back to School Edition

This summer has been so busy and full, we haven't really been able to squeeze in any "Just Me & My Boys" Days.  With school starting back up in just 6 short days, I knew it was now or never if we were going to get one in!  Thankfully, my boys were gracious and let their littlest sister tag along for the day. . .

There were a couple of things that needed to be accomplished before school, the first of which was physicals at the doctor's office.  The boys are both growing well and everything checked out just fine, thankfully.

 I had pre-warned them, however, that they would probably require some shots at this appointment.  I explained to them that they need these shots to keep them healthy and to help protect all of the other kiddos they play with.  I explained how lucky we are to live in a day and age where they don't have to worry about getting some horrible disease that would make them incredibly sick and possibly even die. Yes, I told them all about why we have to get shots.  They didn't care.  So I resorted to Plan B: "If you're good, you can get a toy when we're done!"  At which point they were fighting over who got to have their shots first.  Whatever works, right?  Oliver had to get 4, two in each leg.  I remember when Calvin had this round of shots and screamed and kicked the poor nurses administering them.  I was so proud of Oliver as he seriously didn't make a noise.  He looked me in the eyes the whole time, said "Ow" and then we were done.  Awesome. This picture was literally seconds after his legs had been hit 4 times.

Calvin needed just one, and got it in his arm.  Here the boys are trying to look very pathetic, showing off their Tazmanian Devil band-aids.

So we went straight from the doctor's office to the new Family Dollar store that just opened, and they each picked out a new matchbox car.  I'm pretty sure they would get shots every day if toys were guaranteed as a reward.

From there, we drove on to the Overland Park Arboretum, where we would spend the majority of our day.  I was amazed at how well they have managed to keep their gardens alive -- and beautiful -- despite the drought this summer.

I could have looked at all of the gorgeous flowers all day, but the boys were more interested in running around.

 And they did.  Run around, that is.  God was looking out for me, and kept the cloud cover and a nice breeze for us the whole time we were there.  (The temps ultimately approached 100 degrees yet again by the end of the day.)

 I tried to slow them down long enough to appreciate all of the butterflies.  There were so many beautiful varieties flying all around.

 We found our way to the Children's Discovery Garden, and I knew the boys would have a hay-day herer.

This guy is called the "Copper Hopper Chopper" and he leads the way to the frog pond.  The boys were a bit disappointed that the "pond" was a dry bed at this point, and there were no frogs to be found.  Maybe next year?

 They loved watching the huge koi in the lake. . .

 . . . and they relaxed a bit in the cool chairs of the Council Ring.

 

All that exploring really worked up an appetite, so we got our lunch from the car and found a shady spot to eat.  The boys always want Subway, and a Subway lunch seems to have become a JM&MB Day requirement.

 

After lunch, we started on a scavenger hunt that I printed off the Arboretum's website.  The boys are always up to a challenge and set off searching for the items on the list.

One of the items was to find a leaf smaller than your hand, and one bigger than your hand.  The small leaf was easy, but they had to search a while to find the big one!  I think this is the one that Oliver ended up using. . .

 

. . . and Calvin found a really big one!

They had fun comparing the vein patterns and edges of their leaves and talking about how different they will look in a couple of months as the seasons change.

 We did some more hiking before the heat became a little too much.  The boys liked to compare the water temperatures of the different water features on the trails.

 We will definitely be going back to the Arboretum -- There was so much to see!

Our next stop of the day was to get school supplies!  The boys each had their own basket and list as we went up and down the aisles.  As a kid, I always LOVED getting all new school supplies for the first day.  On a side note, if you look closely, you won't see any pencils in the boys' piles.  Wal-Mart was out.  Yellow #2 pencils.  Out.  Seriously, how does that happen?

Our final activity for the day was checking out the class lists that were posted promptly at 3:00 p.m. at the elementary.  Calvin couldn't wait to see which teacher he got and who was in his class.

 He couldn't have been more pleased to see his name under "Wiseman" and I think this is pretty fun, too!  Marcy was one of my friends from high school, and I'm so excited that Calvin gets to have her as his first grade teacher.  He was also pumped that two of his best friends, Chase and Allee, are in his class again.

I'm so glad we were able to have this final JM&MB Day before I lose my boys again to school :( --I'm already checking out the days Calvin will be out so I can plan our next one!  And by then, their baby sister won't have to tag-along anymore. . .and it will hopefully be a bit cooler as well.