Luke's Late Birthday Date.......

This post has been a long time coming!!!

Not only did we have to wait over a month past Luke's Birthday to take him on our Grandparents date..... It took me an additional month to finally download these pictures and get it posted because of problems I have had with my computer.

Luke's B-day is on November 28th and he turned two years old. Like I have mentioned in previous posts, we have a tradition to spend some quality individual time with each of our grandchildren when they have a birthday. (I love the way Luke looks at his Papa Howie)

When we got Luke for our date he was ALL smiles and grins! I think he knew he was in for a GREAT time with Papa Howie and Grandma T!

We have tried to make each outing special and unique to the grandchild's interests. We had changed our ideas as to what we wanted to do with Lukie several times as we arranged our schedule to make sure he had our undivided attention. With my sickness during December, the holidays and the "stinkin' weather.... we finally decided to go to the Bounce Zone in Sandy. We had never been there and Ashlee assured us Luke would love it!

He really seemed excited. He was so interested in everything going on around him. By the way... he LOVED these wrist bands they put on him and did not want to take them off even a day later! He almost went to church with them on :))

The Bounce Zone had a nice toddler area that Luke seemed to enjoy a lot. Everything was just at his level. He spent quite some time just playing by himself running through the obstacle course, inside the tent area, and up and down the slides.

He was even able to go down the slides by himself.

I put a few short video clips into this post so you can see how dang cute this little guy is!

Jungle Time.....

He was finally ready to go into the BIG KIDS area!

We started with the jungle area. It had lots of climbing, jumping and swinging activities for the kids. At first Luke seemed like he was in AWE! Maybe he was experiencing a bit of sensory OVERLOAD at first. Lots of kids, lots of noise, and lots of bright colors and toys.

But before long he was wanting to join in with all of the other kids who were playing and having fun....

He absolutely loved this bouncing chair thing....

I know I posted three of basically the same pose but I couldn't decide which one I liked the best. I loved them all. He is so cute.

I love this boy so much! He has the sweetest little face!

He loved swinging on the Tarzan swing and just held on for dear life....

Each time I would push him he would giggle and laugh so hard...

He did not want to stop. Even when he looked like he could not possibly hold on for another second he would say "More! ..... More!" He was hanging on like a little monkey!

The Ball Cage.....

There was a caged in inflatable area with balls to play with....

He loved it!

He is a good little basketball player.....

I loved watching him try to keep his balance as he played with the balls. Then he decided it would be funny to throw the ball straight at his poor little ole Grandma T's face! He thought it was so funny! I think he probably wanted to knock the camera out of my hands so that I would stop snapping pictures at him!

He is king of the mountain..... Taking a rest!

Time for the Fun Slides.....

Next we went to the SLIDES! They were HUGE!

It was a real workout just getting him up to the top of these slides but it was well worth it. The ride down was a BLAST!!!

FUN TIMES WITH LUKIE!

Steve is so good at teaching the grand kids how to do things themselves. It is much easier that way. He taught Luke how to climb up these gigantic slides by using the ropes and positioning his feet just right to hoist himself up! WOW!!! Very Impressive! He is one STRONG little guy!

As soon as he would reach the top he would begin to giggle and get all excited. He absolutely loved these slides!

He even wanted to go on this enormous slide. I could not even climb up on it myself (I am such a wimp at my old age) Luke did not even wait for Howie......

After he got set.....He was OFF! Look at that kid go.

His little legs were so stretched out he could barely reach each of the steps ahead of him. I was scared he would fall so I sent Howie to the rescue..... but Luke did not need any help.

This slide was so steep that they were really bookin' it down to the bottom....Hence my blurry picture! You could hear them both laughing and squealing even before they rounded the corner.

More slide fun......

Luke even got brave enough to go down the slide by himself. I sent him off on his own (sitting down feet first) but he did not seem to like that very much. But then he realized he could go down feet first on his belly and he thought that way was pretty cool!

The slides were a lot of fun but I think Luke liked body slammin' Papa Howie the best! He also liked just jumping around on them.

This place is EXHAUSTING!!!! Howie was Seriously sweating up a storm! We were both BEAT! I was so tired that I could not even stand up. I had to take a break on the side. It is really a workout hiking up and down those slides. As I sat on the chair to rest I noticed Luke was all rearin' to go!

He was all grins and eager to go.... Not even the slightest sign of being tired. Oh man.....this is going to be a LONG DAY! Hey where do these kids get all of their energy from anyway?!?

This button board was one of Luke's favorite things there. He would press the buttons and this deep loud voice would talk to you. It was a timer to see how long it took to get through the obstacle course. He would run around and play for a while and then hurry back over to push the buttons. He thought it was sooo coool!

Playin' Hard.......

Does this kid ever slow down???

YEP!!!! Look at those eyes... He's getting groggy!

I think this small video clip is pretty funny because you can see how tired Luke is getting. He tips over and hardly has the strength to stand up. He basically face planted it. He had played hard for at least 2 hours by this time. It is finally catching up with him.

Time on the Track......

After leaving the slide area and getting a drink Luke was all charged up for more fun. We had brought the motorcycle that we gave him for his birthday. We had heard that he could ride it around the track there at the BOUNCE ZONE.

It was fun to watch him. He would go a little bit and then stop to make sure his lights and sound effects on the bike were lit up. He looks a little dozed! Like he is in his own little world.

It was kind of scary watching him because he was oblivious to what was going on around him. People were zooming past at some pretty high speeds. I am amazed that there was no collision on the track.

Arcade Games.....

Howie went out to take the bike to the car and Luke found the arcade area. He walked in and instantly picked up this gun that he could barely reach.

Luke looked like a pro standing there with this gun. No money was in the machine but you wouldn't know it by watching him. He would aim it and shoot at the screen (which he could barely see) Hey this is cheap entertainment! He was mezmerized. Who needs money to entertain this kid?

We decided to let him play a few games before we left and it was a riot watching him. I think one of his favorite parts was actually putting the money into the machines. He would be in the middle of a game and want to put in more coins. Very Funny Boy!

Hey Papa Howie do you have any more coins?

He has an unbelievable arm. He could really throw the balls!

Papa Howie had an endless supply of coins.....

Roller Coaster Fun....

This was by far the funnest game for Luke. He started off on Papa's lap as he learned how to use the buttons to shoot off the balls

But he could barely see over the cannon shooter....

Once he stood up he was in HEAVEN! He had a quick finger on the trigger and made a lot of points for himself.

He loved it!

Howie and Luke made quite the team. Steve would hold the gun to stablize it and Luke was the TRIGGER MAN!!! They would shoot balls into rotating holes on a target board and it was amazing how well they both did. I love watching them play together. By the way... at this point I was still beat from all of the slides. Howie and Luke are like the energizer bunny... They just keep going and going and going.....

Luke was a little confused about what to do with these tickets that kept coming out of the machines. He would try to thread them back into the machines. He is such a fun kid!

We took him to shop with his tickets....

Choices....choices.....choices.....

We spent about 4 hours there and it was finally time to head home. I need a nap! I have a feeling Howie and Luke have only just begun!

Snuggle with Grandma T....It's freeeeezing out here!

Dinner and Bedtime.....

He is so opposite from his big brother Brayden. He loves any food you set in front of him.

Chicken nuggets and fruit for dinner... Yumm Yummm!

He was so hungry he was "double fisting it"

After dinner we went up to get his pj's on for bed.

But Luke had a different idea in mind.....

Out comes his snow clothes.....

He got into his backpack and pulled out his gloves, boots and snow hat. He kept saying he wanted to go outside to play. IT WAS 9:00 AT NIGHT!!!

What is this funny boy thinking? He is half asleep (notice his eyes closed)

No matter how tired he may have been he was determined to go outside and build a snowman!

I figured I would just let him play a bit with his snow clothes and then he would be ready for bed. BUT NO.... The more he worked on getting his clothes on the more awake he got. He started to get really silly. I would try to capture him so that I could get his jammies on and he would run off to have Howie "save him"

Showing off his wrist bands......

I would try to get them off and he would say, " MINE! No MINE!"

Howie helping out with his gloves....

Well I decided if I just played along with Luke's idea about going outside he would realize it is DARK and COLD and change his mind. I honestly think he was sleep walking..... He had to have been exhausted cuz I WAS!

He stood on the porch for maybe a minute at the most and he was yawning uncontrollably. I asked if he wanted to go in now and he said "yes.....COLD" I honestly thought he was satisfied with his little experience outside for the night. Now it's time for bed :)

Nope.... Within a minute I found him like this. All wrapped up in his little blanket heading for the front door again. WHAT IS THIS BOY THINKING? What a goof ball.

He said how cold he was but he still had it in his mind to go ouside again....WOW he is one determined young boy!

Bedtime Stories.....

OH I can't believe it.... He is finally winding down. Finally all ready for bed.

He insisted on going to bed with his blanket, his toys, AND his BOOTS!

Before I had a chance to leave the room....HE WAS OUT COLD!!!

Morning Fun....

I woke up to laughs and giggles.

Howie and Lukie were already up and playing.

Howie sure knows how to make the grandkids happy.

He is a pro at spoiling the kids. Mostly with the time and energy that he spends with them.

Luke playing with one of his new little toys he bought with his tickets last night. It was fun. You blow up the balloon and then it flies thru the air spinning the props. Very Cool!

My Big Helper.....

I was in the process of putting away my Christmas decorations the day before and needed to clean up a few things quickly before we left for church. I asked... "Who wants to help me clean up this place?" and he started jumping up and down saying...Me, Me, Me!

This kid knows how to clean! He is always helping his mom at home and I was surprised how much help he really was.

He worked for quite some time trying to roll up this rug. He would get it just right and then go to pick it up and it would unroll again.

Finally he just layed on it and wanted a "magic carpet ride" around the kitchen. It was a great way to sweep up the remaining pine needles left on the floor.

More Fun With Papa Howie......

Steve knows how to make the kids laugh and giggle no matter what they are doing. Here they are enjoying a little afternoon snack. Fun times and fun memories.....

I love to watch these two interact.....

I also love the way Luke looks at Steve. He is always excited to see him. You can tell they have a special bond!

Church Time.....

Each time we have our grand kids for their birthday celebration we also take them to church with us.

He learned about being a Child of God in nursery today. He definately is a Special child of God. We feel very fortunate to have this little guy in our family. He has a sweet, sweet spirit! He has a very calm and gentle personality and it has been such a joy to have him with us the past two days.

I love the way he crinkles his nose when he say "CHEESE" for the camera!

I love being his Grandma "T"

I love him with all of my heart!

I always look forward to the time we can spend with the sweet grandkids that we have. Can't get enough of 'em! This time with spent with Luke has really been enjoyable. These memories we made together will never be forgotten. We are so blessed!

Happy Belated Birthday, Luke!

WE LOVE YOU!