Splish Splash!

We've definately had some fun in the sun this summer! Especially in the water. My kids love the water. We have our neighborhood pool that we go to all the time, as well as swimming lessons at the same pool. We usually go to swimming lessons then end up staying afterwards for open swim time for a good hour or two. It's nice and relaxing and the kids love it. On one of our 95 degree days last month (yes, I'm a month behind on my blogging!) we decided to venture out to a spray park near by. We had never been there, and of course we go on the hottest day of the summer to try it out. It was VERY busy, but the kids had fun. I was sweating to death, chasing my baby around and making sure I kept an eye on the other two who were running around. It turned out great though. The kids made new friends, we ate a lunch under a very small tree (meaning little to no shade!), played on the playground, and watched some cool break dancers show off their stuff in the middle of the park...Kind of random, but entertaining. And, to top it off, before we even got all the way out of the car to begin our adventure I ended up consoling a nanny who had locked the kids she was watching in the car!!! Yes, on a 95 degree day!!! It was a little nerve racking, but the police came and with a hit of a hammer on the car window, the kids were free. After that, all was good. SO, here's a few pictures of our spray park adventure!

The Park...

My red headed boy taking it all in.

Enjoying the water!

Collin was content with hanging out by the huge globe. Water ran down it and it made his day!

Sam on top of the HUGE whale. The kids liked to climb to the top and slide down it's head.

The dragon head was a big hit as well!

Lookin' a little hot!

Like I had mentioned before, we did swimming lessons. Actually, we're still doing them...This was Parker's first session of swimming lessons and he's done great! No fear! Sam is just a fish and such a good swimmer. I'd love to put her on the swim team next year! As long as she can swim the length of the pool, she's in. I'm thinking that won't be a problem. Here's my kids just loving the water!

Collin, wishing he was in the water.

Sam with her teacher and classmates. Her teacher is actually in our ward, so it's been fun having him help her along.

Goggle boy!

Doing great with the kickboard. He's willing and ready to do all they ask. I'm so proud of him!

Good job, Sam!

He always climbs on the railing and acts like a monkey, noises and all!

Straight arms and legs, Samantha!

Parker loves his teacher, Hannah!

Laughing, Walking, Crying...A Little of Everything!

I just thought I'd post this video of my kiddos being kind of silly...I have Collin fake laughing and showing off his new walking skills, Parker crying about stuff (as usual!), and Sam being the Big Sister. This gives you a glimpse of my day...when they aren't fighting! Enjoy :) P.S. I'm working on updating this blog! We've done a lot this month!

Independance Day Weekend

We had a fun, but WET Independence Day Weekend this year. It all started on Saturday, with Jeremy and his brother and friends playing a game of wiffle ball. The guys had fun, while us girls chatted and the kids played on the toys. Collin enjoyed scooting around on his bum, of course, in the dirt. He was absolutely filthy! On Sunday, we first celebrated by watching our annual neighborhood parade. It was right before we were leaving for church, so we sported our nice Sunday clothes out on the side of the road while catching candy and waving at everyone. I felt a little out of place, but it was worth it. The kids loved it. After church we came home and all of Jeremy's family came over for a BBQ. We had a ton of food, like always. We also celebrated our nephew's 1st birthday, which was actually on the 7th. After eating and waiting for the rain to stop we headed outside for some fireworks. Every year we like to buy a few for the kids and put on a mini show for them. We try not to buy too many because we also head over to the park to watch the fireworks there. Now, that's where the show really is! Everyone in the neighborhood likes to bring their fireworks to the park, including a man who owns a firework stand. It makes for a really amazing show, actually. It's incredible. It's almost as good as the professional ones. It's great! Our kids all wore head phones to block out the loudness of it all. Apparently, they work really well, because Collin fell right to sleep in the middle of it all! He's such a good boy! Even though it was a bit wet and soggy, we had a really wonderful 4th of July!

Sad, Sad Boy!

Collin is starting to really act like a toddler lately (minus the walking part). He loves to do anything his brother and sister are doing. One of his most favorite things to do is anything he can do at the sink. He wants to wash his hands, he wants to brush his teeth, he wants to stand on the stool and just stand there. He loves it! This day though, I wasn't being very cooperative and I didn't help him do anything he wanted to do. The water had been on while Parker was doing something and right when Parker left Collin got right up there to get into that water. I wasn't in the mood to hold my 30 lb. kid and play in the water. Even on the stool, he's a little too short to actually touch it, so what happened? He stood there and bawled! Just screamed like he was dying or something! Miserable. It made me laugh, so I had to get a picture of him being way overly dramatic. He sure knows what he wants!

Glimpses of Summer

We have had the lousiest summer so far! We've hit the low 70's occasionally, but only a handful of times. It's been bad. SO, those few glimpses of summer that we've seen we've either headed to the pool, or ran through the sprinkler. This day I was a bit lazy and thought the sprinkler sounded fun and a good change. Collin made it into the water a couple times and cried each time. Poor kid! I'm sure it was too cold and from what I saw, he wasn't able to get out fast enough. It was actually quite entertaining, for me. He's funny. Here's the kiddos having some fun in the sun!

A Little Behind...

Remember that "staycation" we went on? Well, here's the other half of all our fun times! We took it a little slower that week. I think the first week kind of wore us out. We managed to do plenty though. We visited some fun places and ate at some yummy restaurants again. It was still a blast and we created some really great memories. Here it is...

Salt Water State Park

A New Truck!

We finally got rid of our old 60's Ford beater truck right before our little "staycation", but during our "staycation" we bought a MUCH, MUCH newer '93 Ford Ranger. I love it! I'm just so happy to have a reliable truck again!

And, our mini van, which I also love! (don't mind the wood project mess in the corner there...)

Chuck E. Cheese

Museum of Flight