Summer Fun List - Post 3

Here are a few more pictures of things we were able to cross off our summer fun list 2012:

We went to a Springfield Cardinals baseball game.  It was lots of fun.  Well, there was good and bad.  The good: my dad was able to throw the first pitch since he was Physician of the Year at Mercy Hospital.  The bad: We forgot our tickets at home and had to turn around and go back.  We missed my dad throwing the first pitch.  Aarrggghh!  The good: our seats were great, and the team was doing well.  The bad: our kids were mostly into the food.

 

Here is a picture from our Secret Agent Spy Day.  This was navigating a laser obstacle course.  We also lifted fingerprints and bagged evidence, as well as coming up with a secret code for messages.

Aren't these kids a total riot?!  This was water pinatas.  We combined it with our backyard Olympics.

Hurdles.

Yes, our grass was dying.  It was a combination of a really hot, dry summer and our slip 'n' slide escapades!

Crossing the finish line.

It started raining, so we moved the javelin throw indoors.

On another day, we made balloon rockets.  Honestly, they didn't work that well.

This one was really fun.  I froze a bunch of dollar store stuff inside huge ice cubes.  Luke and Audrey had to "dig" for the buried treasure.

Here we are covering the driveway with chalk artwork.  I particularly liked Luke taking possession of it.

Funny Kids

Max Turns Two!

On Sunday, July 15th, our baby turned 2.  We had my parents, brother Alex, and Grandma Gibby over for dinner and cake.  Everyone wanted German chocolate cake, but I wanted to do a soccer ball cake.  So, I combined them to make this interesting concoction.  It was delicious, and I was happy that it at least kind of resembled a soccer ball!

Grandpa teaching him to say two.

Presents!  He loved everything: the soccer goals, the train set, the train table, the jumping and singing duck, and the dinosaurs!

Truth be told, Max hasn't enjoyed being two very much.  His tantrums and sensitivity have increased ten-fold.  We see a lot of this:

Here he is in nursery.  He fell asleep with his little fingers sticking out of the bottom of the baby gate at the door after screaming for a while.  Needless to say, he is struggling in there.  

Although he is quite a handful, he brings so much joy to our house at the same time.  He is just so dang cute.  If we aren't pulling our hair out, we are smiling, snuggling, and laughing with Max.  He is so independent, smart, and fun.  We love our wonderful, terrible two-year-old!

Goodbye for Now

My brother, Mitch, left on his mission at the beginning of July (the 3rd to be exact).  It was really nice to have spent a couple of weeks with him before he had to go, and then we were there at the airport to see him off on his way to Brazil!  

Here he is with my folks.

My two youngest bros.  Good looking, don't you think?

I love this one of him with my grandma Gibby, because she is laughing.  

We are missing Mitch already, but we have tried to send him lots of letters and packages and talk all about how important missionary work is.  We are so proud of him and love him tons!

Summer Fun List - Post 2

Here are a few more things we have been up to from our summer fun list: 

Slip 'n' Slide Hockey!

This was so much fun.  Yes, I even got in on the action.  We had a long sprinkler going on the side of the tarp and periodically doused it with biodegradable dishsoap.  Lots of sliding and lots of laughs.  It was totally worth killing the grass underneath the tarp.  :)

Bubble Snakes

Kid Wash.  Cool, but I don't know if it was worth the effort.

Creating rafts and boats and sailing them in our whirlpool tub with the jets on.  Lots of fun!

 Elephant Toothpaste.  Really cool.

Blowing up balloons with baking soda and vinegar.  Another favorite experiment.

Her face is totally staged, but I love it anyway!

Soap clouds or Exploding Soap.  Did you know a bar or Ivory soap could look like this?!