Wordless Wednesday

Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July was pretty low-key, but it was still a fun one! We went to the Fourth of July parade in Hamilton in the morning. There were veterans in Corvettes, Shriners in little cars (Daddy's favorite), marching bands, and lots and lots of flags. The boys enjoyed waving their flags at the participants--in between bites of ice cream, that is.

Later, we grilled out and ate dinner on the deck. This is a rare treat for us, and the boys ate it up. (Pun intended.) They especially loved having cupcakes for dessert. Hmmm...seems like we love our desserts around here!?

The next night, Daddy took the boys to see fireworks at Hueston Woods State Park. Colby wasn't a huge fan, but Wyatt seemed to have a good time!

We enjoyed wishing America a Happy Birthday, and we're thankful to call this great country home!

Fenwick Festival

Yesterday evening, we found ourselves with only two children! (Wyatt was spending the night with Mamaw Mary and Grandpa Danny.) We decided to take Colby and Jackson to the Fenwick Festival, and we ended up having a fun time! Colby rode the giant slide with Daddy, something he wasn't ready to do last summer at the County Fair. As he would say, "I'm FOUR now." Of course, four-year-olds have way more fun. We rode a few other rides and enjoyed a pulled pork dinner. Mommy and Daddy entered a basket raffle. Colby had a blast playing games, including Mommy's favorite Price is Right game--Plinko! He won a handsome purple plastic samurai sword. As we prepared to leave, we were treated to a hot air balloon launch. We got pretty close as the pilots and crews filled the balloons--close enough to make a certain four-year-old nervous. All was well, though, as we watched the colorful balloons lift off.

A couple of days later, Mommy got a phone call and was surprised to learn that we actually won a basket in the raffle! We're now the proud owners of a Vera Bradley duffle, wallet, and bulletin board. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Mudhole

What happens when it's a hot day and you just don't feel like waiting for the pool to fill up? You take out your water hose, of course! And then you spray it up in the air so your crazy kids can run through the water and cool off. And you think, "Yeah, I've got things completely under control. I can think on my feet. I'm flexible."

Until...your crazy kids realize that the water has created a small mudhole in the yard. But is any mudhole a small one when boys are involved? Uh, no. Before you know it, they're sliding in the mud, wiping it on themselves, wrestling in it. Your gut tells you to stop them. They'll get dirty! They'll need showers! We need to go eat lunch! But then you see how happy they are and you decide that none of those worries matters. Yep, you've got things completely under control indeed.

Strawberry Fields Forever

We joined some MOMS Club friends the other day to try something new--strawberry picking! The boys enjoyed hunting for big berries, although Mommy had to help Colby out a little. We couldn't have asked for a prettier day to be outside, and we sure did enjoy the fruits of our labor later on. Strawberry shortcakes all around!

Wordless Wednesday

Live Action!

By far, the boys' favorite thing to do this summer has been catching critters. And by boys, we mean Wyatt, Colby, AND Daddy. So far, we've "hosted" turtles, fish, frogs, toads, and bugs. We've also had brief visits from bunnies and a poor white cat that got treed by the dogs. Oh, and we should also mention the snakes that have taken up residence in our compost bin.

Most of the critters take up residence in the green Brute trash can, as you can see in the photo above. On the day it was taken, Daddy and the boys had captured a rather large snapping turtle, similar to the kind caught on the show "Call of the Wildman", which is a favorite around here.

Who needs the zoo when you've got your own live action all around? 

July in Pictures

We got a new playset! The boys couldn't wait to play on it the minute it was installed. Colby went for the swing and Wyatt climbed into the second story.

What says summer more than popsicles with your favorite cousin?

Colby loves to build. Here he is next to a Magna-tile creation.

He also likes to make silly faces for the camera. Look at his big blue eyes!

Our usually camera-shy Wyatt joined in on the silly-face fun.

We went to the County Fair at the end of the month. Wyatt liked petting the pigs. Colby was a little uncertain.

Wyatt rode the kiddie car ride and somehow wound up sitting between two little ladies.

Colby had fun riding the carousel with Daddy.

Daddy made a blanket fort for the boys to lie under while watching a show.

Wyatt went to his first soccer practice!

We had a laid-back 4th of July. While the rain poured down outside, we enjoyed ice cream with sprinkles inside.

June in Pictures

Our sweet little Colby turned three. He's getting cuter every day!

Wyatt still loves his lamby and mink-mink. They've been his comfort items of choice for three years now.

Colby had a Dinosaur Dig birthday party. Here he is discovering a baby dinosaur in the sand.

He had fun opening his gifts, and he received more toy dinosaurs than he ever could have imagined.

Blowing out the candles on his dino fossil cake!

The boys decided to make beds out of laundry baskets one morning.

Wyatt was an excellent driver during Safety Town. He had a blast!

We busted out the luxurious blow-up swimming pool. Wyatt dove right in!

Colby would only get in if Wyatt got out. He didn't like getting splashed. He did, however, enjoy squirting Daddy with a water gun.

We visited a huge dinosaur exhibit at the Museum Center.

We went to Touch-a-Truck in West Chester and Wyatt tried out a street sweeper. He was disappointed that there were no garbage trucks.

Goodbye Summer

 Goodbye, days of barefoot teeball in the driveway.

 Goodbye, days of digging in the sandbox...

 ...and dumping sand on your neck!

Goodbye, days of lounging on the patio table. (That is Mollie, who thinks she is a cat.)

This was the first summer that we all really enjoyed as a family. There was no tiny baby in a Moby wrap, no one-year-old who couldn't take two steps without someone hovering over him. There were two little boys who found games they liked to play, even games they liked to play together!

We're sad to say goodbye to our summer days, but we know we have a lot to look forward to next year. (And hopefully less sand on the neck!)

I Getting Bizzy

Sometimes summer isn't about the big things like trips to the zoo or ballgames. Sometimes summer is about the little things, like spinning around until your head is so "bizzy" (as Colby calls it) that you can no longer stand on two legs.

Our boys never tire of asking to be swung around. They especially love it when Daddy does this task, but if Daddy's not available, they've been known to start twirling around on the spot in order to achieve bizzy nirvana.

And the big smiles that follow are nirvana for Mommy and Daddy for sure.

Summer Bucket List: Marble Races

Pool noodles are pretty fun in and of themselves, but what if you split one in half and send marbles racing down the groove? Well, you get about twenty minutes of toddler/preschooler occupation, that's what! They could not get enough of this. Really, a marble rolling down a slope into a bucket is all it takes to mesmerize them. 

Wyatt of course decided to up the ante and send multiple marbles at once. You can guess what happened, right? Marbles rolling all over the floor, into the kitchen, under the couch. He worked on his technique, though, and with a little help from Daddy he was keeping them on the track and enjoying the plunk-plunk-plunk at the end.

We'll definitely be off to the marble races again soon!

Wordless Wednesday

Summer Bucket List: Visit a Museum

We recently went with some MOMS Club friends to the Heffner Museum at Miami University in Oxford. It really is a hidden gem. The boys loved the children's learning room, where they spent a long time crawling through a man-made hollow tree trunk. They also had a ball tossing little plastic animals through a hole in the top of the log.

 

In addition to the children's learning space, the museum has a room featuring Dr. Heffner's amazing mollusc collection. Although they couldn't touch the mollusc shells, Wyatt and his friend Rachel had a good time admiring the beautiful, shimmery shells. They're all housed in drawers, so pulling open a drawer is sort of like opening a present!

  

Mommy's favorite area was the museum's main gallery, which featured preserved wildlife from around the world. The most striking exhibit was this full-sized grizzly bear. Let's just say that this is as close to one of those big guys as we'd ever like to get!

We had a fun time with our friends at the Heffner Museum, and we definitely plan to return sometime!

Take Me Out to the Reds Game

Last weekend we lucked out and got Reds tickets through Daddy's work. We were excited to go to the big city and see the Reds take on the Brewers.
 

 

As we approached the stadium the boys found a couple of sculptures outside that grabbed their attention.

 

We took the obligatory "outside the ball park" photos.

And then we made our way to our seats and settled in for the game...or so we thought. It seems our little guys aren't really into baseball. They watched one batter strike out, and that was about the extent of their attention spans.

While their attention spans were lacking, their appetites were plentiful. Colby enjoyed the peanuts (and the shells).

Wyatt enjoyed peanuts, hot dogs, pretzel bites, ice cream, etc. When we asked him after leaving the game what his favorite thing was, he quickly replied, "The food!"

It's okay, though, because he worked it all off at the playground inside the stadium. Doesn't he look like a fifth grader scaling that climbing wall all by himself?

We had a great time at the ballpark, and maybe next year we'll actually get to watch some of the game!