4th of July Recall

 We enjoyed a beautiful July 4th with some great friends from our ward (Gardners, Mortensens, Dicksons) and from Shyler's residency (Hancocks).  I probably enjoyed it more than past years because I got to sit back, relax, and chat with great friends while Mr. Handsome sat with the kiddos up front and took the pictures.  This is the parade we love the most.  It takes place up in Hilliard, OH which is a short jaunt from our home.  We hit Bob Evans afterward for some breakfast even though it was already lunch time.  I'm a sucker for  French Toast.  For dinner we all met again at the Gardner's home for a BBQ and sparklers.  They built a fire pit in their backyard last summer which makes having hot dogs and mallows so much more fun.

 I asked the two ladies in the background if they would mind if our kids sat on the curb in front of them. They were very kind to concede.  They later said, "We thought you were talking about maybe two or three."  ha.ha. 

Patriotic cuteness.

Addie was all about collecting coupons with free deals on them. And we are still so grateful 3 months later.

A new mom and two prego ladies watching behind the scene.  It is a lovely day at a parade when the dads are present and monitor the children at the front lines.

The cheapest, yet most popular candy to throw at a parade?  The infamous Dubble Bubble. Flavor lasts 10.2 seconds and the bubble most inevitably gets all over your face.

Looking to see what comes down the road next?  Maybe.  Looking to see what type of candy they throw?  Definitely.  Who needs Halloween?

Still blogging about Summer

Flashback to the end of June. Part of our summer was a little one night camping excursion.  We had a fantastic time together and hope to do it more next summer.  The kids behaved really well.  No one got burned.  No one got lost.  No Poison Ivy.  Our Eagle Scout came in quite handy and I got to sleep on an air mattress.  What more could we ask for?  This summer it was sort of a one time deal before my belly really started bulging.


The final thing we did after packing up our campsite the next morning was to let the kids try their hands at fishing. I spent most of the time holding the back of Coy's pants so he wouldn't go overboard off the dock. No one else thought this would be a problem if he fell in.   Someone could just jump in and get him.  Oh, yeah, sure. It would likely be me and I wasn't going to swim in that muck.

 We had poles, but the only bait we owned were cold hot dogs.  Before we packed up our campsite Addie decided she would take care of the bait situation and dug up a handful of worms.  What a kid.

 Just when I had enough of patrolling the Coy boy so he could stay dry I mentioned to Shyler maybe it was time to call it a day and head home.  We hadn't caught a fish, which the kids were just dying to do, but as in all fishing it is mostly slow going.  In that instant of my resignation Shyler reeled in a little Perch and said, "Hey, look what I've got. "  The kids were ecstatic and each had to touch the little fish and get a good look before Dr. Dad performed a small surgery to remove the hook in its mouth and throw it back in the pond.   Emery actually volunteered to throw it back.  My daughters are not squeamish around slimy things.

  Aren't those the cutest skinny bums ever?  We could see fish swimming down below, it just took awhile to get one on a hook.  I think they even saw a few turtles at the bottom of the pond, too.

 Here's the dad showing the boy to take his shoes off before he enters the tent.

 Addie only cleans when she wants to and it is typically outdoors.

 This guy loves the outdoors.  I think he has a strong future in the scouting program.

 Despite Coy's obvious unhappy expression, we had a grand feast out in the woods.  You can't go wrong with a weenie on a stick to be followed by char coaled marshmallows.  That's how I like them anyway. A little carcinogen does a body good.

I couldn't get this picture to flip right side up, but I think we can all get the point. Addie's other shoe started having problems with the sole and became half way detached during our camping adventure.  We kept trying to wrap first aide tape around it to hold it in place, but it was futile. She threw in the towel and decided to mix things up with a flip flop.  I think the funniest part was that I threw the bad shoe away once home and Addie was insistent on keeping the other. What do you do with one good shoe?  72-hour kits? 

 Shyler purchased some PVC pipe at Home Depot before we left so we could shoot marshmallow guns while camping.  I think we all loved this part the best. Coy even got the hang of blowing the little mallows through his gun when he wasn't devouring them.  We hid behind trees and formed alliances and gained up on the innocent.  I love the way Shyler makes me laugh. I don't love it when he does it to me while I'm pregnant thus resulting in some serious incontinence.   I had to keep crossing my legs during the war so as not to wet myself. He insisted on a picture. I thought he wanted something cool with my gun...no he wanted to document my crossed legs and discomfort. Meany.  

Farewell to Summer

The kids have spent most of the summer in swimsuits.  I put them in 6 weeks of swim lessons at the YMCA.  We wanted them to become stronger swimmers, yes, but it was also a good routine to have each morning and they loved it.  Coy missed out because I wasn't interested in launching my whale belly into the water each morning for a "Mommy and Me" class.  He had just as much fun in the child watch where, as he will tell you, " I play TRAINS, CARS!" The kids insisted they needed goggles to become efficient swimmers so I invested.  Dashle and Emery wore theirs religiously while we have yet to locate Addie's.  She lost them shortly after the purchase. She never expressed as much passion for them as her siblings except when at the store to buy them.  Isn't there one of those kids in each family?  They convince themselves (and you) they just NEED it yet once it gets home it is never used except for an occasional purpose for which the product initially was not intended.

Summer break has come to a close...

On our way out of Minnesota in early June we took the kids to the Mall of America.  The best part of the mall hands down is the indoor amusement park.  It's not too big and it's not too small. The kids had a really great time and surprisingly were quite well behaved.  There isn't much else to say about the experience.  I think the pictures speak for themselves.  I will mention one of our last rides was a balloon ride in baskets.  I rode with Coy.   Shyler rode with Dashle, and the girls paired off as they had been doing all morning.  It was during this slow lift airborne that I once again had a moment of, "They are mine and I am theirs and this is happiness."  Gone are the days of superior reliance on my parents or Shyler's.  We have progressed into a new realm of what family means. It means him, me, and the little rug rats running around with our faces on them. 

A highlight for Emery was stopping by the American Girl store so she could purchase her very first doll. She worked hard for nearly two years to earn enough money to buy her own doll. There were many friends and family who donated a dollar or two along the way, but she did most of it herself by doing extra chores around our home.  Her patience and perseverance is something to be admired.

You know it was a successful trip to the Mall of America when the boys are both fast asleep before leaving the parking garage. Too sweet.