Brady is 3

It's hard to believe that three years have gone by already.  We had lots of fun last weekend celebrating Brady's birthday.

On Thursday, his actual birthday we asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate.  He picked to go to Smileys to play mini golf and McDonalds for dinner.  Golf is his very favorite activity right now.  We're hoping maybe the Woods last name will help him with his game (on the course) in the future.

We had lots of family come to KC for the weekend festivities.  On Saturday Morning Brady had a kids party at Little Monkey Bizness which is a play place for younger kids.   He had lots of fun, but was fairly distracted by a new air hockey table that they had gotten since the last time we visited.  Of course it was the only thing that cost money, but how do you say no when it's his birthday.

After Monkey Bizness we celebrated with the family at the house.   It was a full house and made for a special birthday weekend for Brady.    I am also happy to report that he received the blue bike that he's been talking about for months and he got a set of 'real' golf clubs.

Tanner's Apple Orchard

We visited Cory's family in Peoria two weekends ago.  On Sunday we went to Tanner's Apple Orchard which is just outside of Peoria in Speer, Illinois.  I was pretty impressed with the setup.  They had a market that had all sorts of different food items (mostly apple related) and had samples of almost everything.  They also had tons of pumpkins and mums. 

For the kids they had farms animals and a huge playground area.  Brady had a blast playing on the various playgrounds, taking a tractor barrel ride, mining for 'gems', riding bikes, playing mini golf and driving the school bus.

After the playground we capped off they day by picking our own apples in the apple orchard.  Brady loved sampling the fruit and most of the trees had apples low enough he could pick.  While picking we stumbled upon a caterpillar and after a bit of apprehension Brady decided to hold it.  Then he gave it to Papa and Cory to watch while we walked through the pumpkin patch.  Somehow Papa and Cory managed to lose Mr Caterpillar, but no worries we stumbled upon another one on our walk.  Brady got real excited and said "There's my caterpillar, he followed us."  Well, pretty sure it wasn't his caterpillar, but maybe they were related as they looked strikingly similar.

Boat Ride at Papo Larrys

My Grandpa Larry likes to play boat captain and take the family on a boat ride through the neighborhood.  Brady thought this was pretty cool.  This is a great way to check in on the neighbors and see what's going on.  Backyards can be much more interesting than front yards.

First Hawkeye Game Inside Kinnick

This wasn't Brady's first time to a Hawkeye football game, but it was his first time going into the stadium.  He watched most of the game.  We did pull the iPad out during the 4th quarter, but I would say watching three quarters when you're not even three yet is pretty good.  He meet a friend at the game who's about 9 months older than him.  It helped having her sit with us as Brady and her had fun playing with each other.

Toy Story on Ice

We visited my mom in Edmond, Oklahoma for a few days.  Grayson & Melissa came down as well and we all took the boys to see Toy Story on Ice.  Brady LOVES Buzz Light Year so of course this was right up his alley.  The boys had a great time and were pretty good during the show.  The show was taking place on the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds so the most challenging part of the show was navigating the boys through the carnival rides to get to the arena.  As soon as they saw the rides they were thinking it would be a good idea to stop and enjoy a few rides before the show. 

First Dentist Appointment

Brady visited the dentist for the first time and thought it was a pretty cool place.  Who wouldn't like the dentist when you play games and match movies in the waiting room, get stickers, see fish, put tokens in a machine to get a prize, get a balloon, get a spinning tooth brush and a sack with various other surprises and get a certificate with your picture.  To top things off after your appointment you get real ice cream.  How cool is that.  For the parents the waiting room has free Starbucks coffee and bottled water.  With all the freebies, I'm not sure how this place makes any money.  The report from the dentist is that Brady's teeth look great.  If you ask Brady about the dentist he will say, "She counted my teeth and I got treats."  Hopefully the next appointment goes as smoothly as the first.

Rome - Vatican City

We were all pretty jazzed up to meet the pope at the Vatican.  Little did I know I would actually get a couple of feet away from a pope, but that he was in a glass coffin.  Honestly I'm not real sure about the glass coffins.  Cory pointed out a group of nuns posing and taking pictures with the late Pope John XIII. 

The outside of the Vatican is fairly standard issue.  The large stone wall is functional, but doesn't have much character.  Inside the Vatican however is an impressive world of religion, history and art.  Some come on a religion pilgrimage, others want to appreciate the beauty of the arts.  Even if you are not an art lover, there are some spectacular things to be seen.

St. Peter's Basilica

The paintings in the Sistine Chapel are simply amazing.  You are not supposed to take pictures while you're in the chapel so I abided by the rules although I saw many people sneaking in photos.  Learning about how Michelangelo stood on scaffolding and painted with dust falling into his eyes for years to the point of causing him near blindness just amazes me.  Despite having thousands of tourists visiting each day it is still a serene, peaceful place.  We did get a bit of a chuckle because you are supposed to be in complete silence in the chapel and Brady started signing Happy Birthday in full volume to Everyone.  "Happy Birthday to Everyone" he sang.

Swiss Guards, not the most masculine uniforms.

St. Peters Square