We had Milwaukee friends join us at the beach today!
Then for the first time this summer, both boys feel asleep on the couch while I was putting Kaitlyn down for her nap.
We had Milwaukee friends join us at the beach today!
Then for the first time this summer, both boys feel asleep on the couch while I was putting Kaitlyn down for her nap.
Milwaukee friends come to the beach.
This is currently one of Kaitlyn’s favorite toys. Maybe the rocket ship bed should go in her room…
I’m pretty sure Kaitlyn is wondering why I abandoned her and let Teague be in charge of her fate.
Wade and I decided an afternoon hike would be fun. The boys quickly decided it was too hot, buggy, and they were tired. We persevered and reached the end (and then told them it was a one-way trail and they had to hike back out).
Such a different reaction to the sprinkler pad than last year (see here).
Today was Alex’s last day of Winshape camp. Family and friends were invited to spend the morning participating.
After watching a video on Winshape, I am even more impressed. Chick-fil-a does some wonderful things and this camp is definitely one of them! There were complimentary chicken biscuits handed out at dropoff, there were gift cards distributed almost daily, and today lunch was on Chick-fil-a ā chicken sandwiches for everyone!!
The best part of this picture is that I took it from my chair on the back deck where I sat reading and enjoying the sun as the kids entertained themselves – for over an hour.
Kaitlyn has discovered Playmobil in recent weeks. She loves to get out the bin and set up the train with all the people. I love seeing it enjoyed with by a third child. It’s one of my favorite toy companies.
This one is always dancing to her own beat.
Kaitlyn’s kitchen is getting a phone.
Alex started camp yesterday and is gone from 8-5. I’m trying to convince Teague not to tell Alex every single fun thing he misses, but that isn’t going so well. Alex really enjoys camp until he comes home and hears about our day. Today we made plans for the beach – here’s hoping Alex isn’t too upset.
We love the beach and especially the beach with friends.
Pop lends a helping hand.
Pop is here to read the bedtime story.
Pop comes up with the best games.
I think both these girls enjoy having another girl next door.
They love to play in the shop. Today Wade encouraged them to clean up after they were done.
Picnic with her babies.
We went to our neighbor’s tonight for s’mores. Before long the kids were in the pool and Kaitlyn had discovered the slip ‘n slide. She was pretty quick to figure out how it worked!
Cut. Cut. Cut.
(Today I decided to see if all her cutting had taught her anything useful.)
With a week free of anything scheduled, we headed to Milwaukee to see some old friends!
But I think Kaitlyn was there only for the snacks.
We took a trip to Milwaukee and spent the morning at the pool!
This cracks me up because neither of them ever wears slippers, but today they both wanted them.
The growth chart has been sitting in the closest since we moved. It is finally on the wall – just in time for Kaitlyn’s 2 year mark!
Testing out the boys’ new room.
I want to document for Kaitlyn that her fashion sense began at an early age.
I took this picture mostly for the railroad track. No one appreciates the time I spend to build the track on demand and then it is either played with for a few minutes and forgotten or immediately destroyed. The life of a mom is hard.
Birthday breakfast celebration for Granny!
(The only picture of the kids taken today. The full story on my blog – here)
Today we played! Mostly everyone else played games (while I worked on editing pictures) and stayed inside to beat the heat. We ventured out in the late afternoon to indoor putt putt. I have never heard of this idea, but was amazed it existed. The kids loved it and we all had fun!
A little bonding time with Aunt Emmy.
Wade’s research landed us at a hidden stream behind some ballfields. It was fabulous. The water was cool. The kids could wade or swim and the adults could get their feet wet.
Other than the last walk across the rocks (the ones under the water are insanely slippery) where Wade slipped and got his phone wet it was an excellent morning.
It’s a water-kind of day.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say today’s morning activity was definitely Teague’s favorite. We went go kart driving!
The rest of the afternoon we were lazy and spent around the house or in the pool!
That night I made everyone pose for a group picture.
(Can’t you feel the excitement coming from my boys?)
Wade is a researcher – both by nature and job. He spent time before the trip and after we arrived researching all the local activities, reading reviews, calculating distances, and creating a schedule for us. On today’s agenda was the fish hatchery. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was actually pretty cool. There were huge tanks of fish and the kids loved feeding them. It was insanely hot! The fact that we went early in the morning didn’t provide much relief so we were all ready to go before too long, but it was a fun morning activity.
Most of the planned afternoon activities are all indoor ā due to the predicted insane temperatures this week. Today a car museum was on the agenda. Initially just the guys were going to go, but Judy and Emily offered to stay with Kaitlyn. I decided getting out of the house sounded like fun and off we went!
Feeding fish.
Kaitlyn gets one more Birthday celebration with Wade’s family.
(Note the tiny wooden bowls – made by Jerry for Kaitlyn’s new play kitchen.)
The plan was to find a place to meet Wade’s family halfway between us all. We finally settled on Branson, Missouri. We all arrived yesterday at various times and settled into the house we rented. The kids loved the amenities – a pool table, toys, Granny, Pop, and Aunt Emmy. Wade and I were just happy to finally unload and set everyone up into a semi-permanent location for a little while!
Fearless.
(Alex never made it off the ground into the treehouse. Teague had to be coached. This one just started climbing.)
Vacation officially begins! We started our long drive to meet Wade’s family yesterday afternoon. We spent the night in St. Louis and decided to explore the City Museum this morning. We all loved it! What a great morning.
Let vacation begin!
That also means lots of nights in strange beds and strange rooms…
Shower? Why would she need a shower? She made sure to thoroughly scrub her hair with sand.
I still get comments all the time about how much Kaitlyn favors Alex. I’m not sure these pictures really show that, but I was amused to realize they were in the same pajamas.
(Alex was about 14 months and Kaitlyn was about 19 months.)
Smelling the flowers.
(Or destroying them – whichever sounds more like a 2 year old.)
I knew someday Kaitlyn’s observation and mimic skills would get her in trouble. I turned around today to see that she had gotten a pot out of the cabinet, managed to get it on the stove, and was on her tiptoes trying to reach the knob to the stove. Ugh! We had a quick talk about that one.
Then I sent her to cook in her kitchen while I made lunch. (Note that she is back to makingĀ baby soup.)
Worn out from piling up pillows.
We have discovered the best schedule for us is to have a morning at the beach with a picnic lunch, and then return home just in time for a 1:30 nap for Kaitlyn. She sleeps the afternoon away while the boys do a little homework and reading. Errands and housework have definitely taken a break this summer, but we are enjoying every minute of our summer break. Today we met friends at the beach and had an awesome day!
Then came the water pictures. These kids were ready to sit for a group pictures and then dying to jump in. My favorite picture is the last one!
Jumping pictures might be even better.
First time at the Shedd Aquarium.