Aiken Touch a Truck

I have been wanting to take the boys to a Touch-a-Truck since they were infants. They were very popular in Virginia, but there were never any really close to us and the boys were still too young to justify driving a long time to go to one. We missed the one last year in South Carolina because of weather. We finally took the boys to their first Touch a Truck last month and it was as fun as I expected.

The ad for the Touch a Truck said that the firefighters were going to turn on the water for the kids to play in, so to wear their bathing suits. I put the boys in their swimming trunks, but the water wasn't turned on before we left. It was a VERY hot summer here this year, so we got there right at 9am when they started, to try and beat the heat.

The first thing we saw when we walked up was a couple fire trucks and one with the ladder extended.

The point of the event is for kids to get to explore all different types of trucks and vehicles, so it was very hands on. This was perfect for the boys, they loved being able to climb in and touch everything.

Carter in the fire truck.

In the back of the firetruck.

There were several different law enforcement vehicles and one police officers brought a dog for the kids to pet.

This police officer let the kids sit in the front seat, talk on the walkie talkie (to get a call) then they had to "respond" to the call, so he told them to turn on the lights and drive to the scene. It was so cute, the boys loved getting to play with all the things. The police officer was so sweet and good with kids.

After the fire trucks and police cars, we started exploring the huge field of other vehicles. They had everything you could imagine, ambulance, power company trucks, garbage trucks, school buses, helicopters, etc.

The boys, especially Carter, really love garbage trucks. They even got to pull on the rope that honks the horn.

All kinds of tractors, lawn mowers, etc there to explore.

I'm so glad we got there right when it started, because it was so busy. The boys were able to get on pretty much everything they wanted and we didn't have to wait too long.

In the back of a hum-v. I don't know if that's how it's spelled, I've never seen it written down, I've just heard people talk about them. Like an army hummer?

The ambulance had a stretcher out that the kids could lay down on.

The helper wanted to strap them down, but Carter was like "Nope!"

Haha, I love how Evan looks in this picture, he reminds me of a fish flopping around.

There were also several bounce houses--big ones. The boys spent some time over here, too.

They definitely have to try out all the bounce houses at anything we go to.

State Farm was there, handing out free waters and other goodies. I guess this bear is their mascot, but Evan went straight for him and just hugged him! I wish I would have got a picture of him hugging him, it was very sweet.

It was a little less than an hour to drive up there from our house. I plan on going next year also, I think it's so fun, even Greg was checking out different things. The boys really enjoyed it and it was free, so you can't beat that!

Saturday, August1st

The first Saturday in August was a busy one. We started off at Home Depot, right at 9am, when the Kids workshop started.

The boys do so much of the project themselves now.

They love being able to use the hammer and not need our help as much.

They made these cute little chalkboard signs.

They wrote on them, right away.

Straight from Home Depot, we went to their tball game. We got there a little early, so the boys entertained themselves by letting me take pictures of them on my phone.

They love to make silly faces. I usually have to promise to take a silly picture also, before they'll give me a normal pose.

They were very excited about their game. Carter didn't play in the first one, he was shy and just wanted to sit next to me, but he warmed up and played in every game after that.

The boys are so much better than they were last year. They know and understand the basics. They're coachable. It's been a fun experience.

Evan on first base.

Carter up to bat.

He had a game where he would not keep both hands on the bat. He'd let go and end up swinging one handed. We've worked on it and he doesn't do it anymore, but it was pretty funny when he was.

After our t-ball game, we ran some errands and then it was time for a birthday party. The boys' friend, Cooper, has a little brother named Sullivan. It was Sullivan's 2nd birthday. They had the party at Putt Putt, which the boys have never been to before. They had a blast. When we first got there, they ended up playing on the play area, climbing sliding thing that's outside the party room.

Then, everybody had pizza and Sullivan opened presents.

The boys loved watching what he was getting.

Group picture!

Evan, Carter, and Cooper.

Another group shot.

The boys before going in to play laser tag.

After laser tag, the boys went on the bumper boats. Each boy was able to ride with one of the older cousins that were there to help with the party. Evan and Carter loved that you could squirt people with the gun on your boat.

You can see Evan squirting away!

Look how soaked they are! I am not sad about sitting this one out at all. :)

Look how wet they are! After bumper boats, they played a little bit of putt putt golf, before getting bored with that and then going inside and playing with the arcade games.

We weren't out here very long. It was hot and the boys just didn't have the patience to sit and play golf.

Although he looked super cute doing it.

The boys played arcade games and got several tickets and they combined them and got a little prize at the end.

The boys had the best time here, we'll definitely have to come here again sometime.

CFA Firetruck

There are several Chick-fil-A's in our area and they all have several fun activities for the kids throughout the month. A lot of the time, the activities are either at night (which is usually inconvenient for us) or on a day the boys have school or their summer program. So, after their summer program was over with, I decided to take the boys to one of the activities before school started. The Chick-fil-A in North Augusta (in South Carolina) was having a firetruck come that the kids could explore, so I took the boys.

This was after the Touch a Truck and I wasn't sure if the boys would be that interested in it, but they were. Firetrucks never get old to little boys.  

They got to sit in the back and try on some of the gear.

There were a couple different vehicles. Here's Carter, checking out this one.

All the kids got to climb on the back and play with this hose thing and they loved it.

Carter waving at me! Haha, I got so tickled when I noticed he was waving because I was getting a picture of Evan and didn't notice Carter waving at first.

Carter's turn to climb up and check things out. The boys thought this was the best part of the experience until they got down and found out what they were doing next.

The firefighters decided to turn on the water and let the kids hold the hose. This really made the boys' day and they are still talking about this.

How cool is that?!

Carter turning the hose on, he didn't want help doing it.

Afterwards, I got the boys and ice cream and let them play in the play area for awhile before heading home.

Evan doesn't have time to bother with spoons.

I'm glad we were able to make it to this event before school started. There will still be things to do, in the evenings and weekends, but I'll miss these weekday activities we liked to do.