Topeka Railroad Festival 2014

We were able to attend the Railroad Festival again with Grandpa Dick and of course had a great time.  Ethan loves trains!!

He even got to sit in a real fire engine!

Topeka birthday party!

Birthday party #2 was held in Topeka the weekend after Ethan's birthday.  This party had a train theme and with the help of Christine, I decorated the cakes!  We had a lot of fun with our brunch and enjoyed more time with family.  All the immediate family except Uncle Doug were able to join us!

The 1 in pictures I did last year with the 2 in pictures I did this year.  I hope to continue this tradition!

I was so happy with how the cake turned out!

The food table!  The food was in aluminum loaf pans with oreos attached with frosting for wheels!

His birthday shirt!

Eating his own train engine!

Ethan loved the bubble mower he got!

Sliding with cousin Callie!

Sliding with cousin Grace!

Another western KS trip, birthday party #1, fair parade, and carnival!

Wow - this trip was crazy fun!  We headed out on Thursday after Jed got off work.  On Friday we hung out with family, went to our friend Levi's first birthday party, then headed to the Wallace County Free Fair Carnival Friday night.  Ethan had a blast!  He loved the train and the cars.  He rode the horses and helicopters as well.  He wasn't too sure of the helicopters until Granny convinced him that they were fun and awesome!  We stayed until about 9:30 pm (10:30 our time), so he was up about 3 hours past his bedtime for the second night in a row!  He did great!

Saturday morning we got up, I went and ran in another 5K (the first one I ran by myself).  I actually had my best time yet, and actually enjoyed myself (I can't believe I actually said that, haha!).  I headed home, got ready, then we all headed to the fair parade.  Granny and Grandpa were driving in the parade, so we stood on the side and picked up candy.  Ethan had a great time and loved the cars and tractors.  Every time someone threw candy out, Ethan called out "uh-oh"!  After the parade we headed back to mom and dad's house for Ethan's 2nd birthday party.  This party was a cars theme.  We had about 40 people over for burgers, hot dogs, salads, chips, beans, and cake and ice cream.  We had so much fun and Ethan was blessed with awesome gifts!  After a long nap, we headed back down to the carnival for the BBQ and more rides.  It was quite chilly this evening, which was crazy for July 27.  Ethan had a great time again.  We were up late again, and even got to watch fireworks from the driveway!

Eating his birthday cake and ice cream!

Fair parade in his birthday shirt!

Watching Great-Grandma drive by!

Watching Great-Grandpa drive by!

Watching Granny and Grandpa drive by!

Watching cousin Joel drive by!

Watching cousin Ryan drive by!

Birthday cakes!

Sunday was Ethan's actual birthday.  We started the day with his favorite food of waffles for breakfast.  We then headed out to the church where Ethan was baptized for more family baptisms.  We headed out to Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa's for lunch and hanging out for the day.  It was a great birthday for Ethan!  Jed and I headed out for KC the next day and left Ethan with Granny and Grandpa.  Jed and I spent a few days in KC, and Granny and Grandpa brought Ethan back to Topeka on Thursday.  This was Ethan's first time away from both Jed and I for this length of time.  He did great and we really enjoyed our mini-vacation!

Birthday waffle breakfast!

Putting money in the birthday church.  We weren't sure whether to put 2 pennies or 6 pennies in since every time you ask Ethan, he says he is 6!  He picked out a nail file for his gift because it had pictures of fruit on it!