Labor Day Picnic

Our family tradition of brunch and games over Labor Day weekend was, yet again, another success.

 Every year the musical chairs event is quite fun, but some players get overzealous and, well, someone could get hurt either physically or emotionally. ;)

Look out for the small children! Cousin E fell victim to an overzealous player. You know who you are. Shameful, I tell you, just shameful.  Hee-hee ;)

 Kickball is another big event. E was excited to play on a team, kick and run all by herself.

 Run home!! RUUUUN Home!

Tragedy struck.  The ball exploded on impact at the beginning of what could have been the inning to win the game. Instead, the game ended.

What's So Funny?

There was plenty of laughter behind the boys' door. We knew it could only mean they were doing something together...very close together. We discovered O had ditched his bed and jumped in with W. They had several books between them, but the "conversation" between them was hysterical.

They were eager to share their funny stories...but I just laughed at them.

"And then the guy said....HUHUHUHU!!"

Funny guys. O, back in your bed.

O: Huhuhuhu....Wha??

W: Oh! Busted!

Look At Me

Pictures of the kids.

 O decides to be like sis and stick his tongue out. He doesn't have as much flare.

 

E trying to get O to smile.

Ta-Da!

Look at them! They're getting so big!

Hello Friends!

It's not often enough that we get to visit with our good friends, The Movin' and Groovin' Family. We don't exactly live minutes from each other anymore. It's a dreadful shame, I know. So, when we finally do throw all 11 of us in a house for a weekend, we're bound to have a good time. 

We had a grand time at the local festival, despite the fact that we were among a million people walking around downtown in the summer heat. I think it was 157 degrees that day. 

We watched a movie, played with the kids, the moms went shopping (where we were practically locked inside for the night! Hello! We're still here!), and went to church together. We got to hang out, which was the best part.

We have a lot of things going on in this shot. Some crowding, a little squealing, showing off the baby, baby becoming quite fearful, a little "hey, you're all up in my grill". Good times! Thanks for having our crazy crew over. We had a splendid time!

Let's do it again soon!

Trick of the eye. It looks as if O is driving in the front seat while W rides in the back. But really they are seated side by side.

Uncle Nay Nay

We love Uncle Nay Nay. We love his stories. We love his humor. We love his mad skills at just about everything. We love the crazy childhood memories and the wisdom he now shares. The kids love to be with him...to wrestle, to draw, or just hold hands in the back seat. We do not love, however, that he and his adorable family live so far away. 

Uncle Nay Nay flew here solo this summer on a whirlwind tour to visit family. He and his brothers also went to Maryland for some brotherly bonding and baseball. We were happy to be one of the stops along the way.

We enjoyed drawing with him. We also loved seeing his family pics and fun videos.

We loved seeing you. Next time, you have to bring your family!!

Off To Virginia!

We made our way to Virginia to visit my sister and her clan. This was the last time we were going to see my brother-n-law before he shipped out to Afghanistan for duty as a medic in a MASH unit.

Here are the kids as we're getting close.

W is always awake for car rides, except the last 5-10 minutes. Always.


We visited the way cool aquarium.

 The Kimodo Dragon was huge and not really green. It's just a green spot light overhead. You  know...because they like random spots of color in their habitat.

 The girls went inside the dome for a closer look.

 E really acting it out...swallowed by the big shark.

Touching starfish, crabs, and whatever else they have in there.

There was a TON of dress up. Huddle up with the QB and Fairy.

Gotta hit the beach! The weather was perfect and waves were monstrous that day. We also witnessed a photo shoot of a wedding party in full navy dress uniforms!

We got a good laugh over O eating. He held that position while eating his entire sandwich.

Fun in the pool.

Saying goodbye. Always hard to do with these girls.

 

 She's trying to be brave. Look at that single tear on her cheek...so sad!

On the way home...determined to stay awake!!

Goodbye Family!

Classic pose...S, you gotta point your toe more! ; )

Finally, the Slide!

It's been months...and months...and E kept reminding us that we needed to get a slide for our swingset. Finally, her yellow slide has come!

Pa came over to help Daddy build the addition onto the swingset. There is now a platform, railing, and stairs for the slide.

Hooray!

On a goofy side note-

Later that day, Daddy cleaned his umpiring gear and E helped make a list of his equipment. She couldn't resist digging through the bucket and trying things on.

The Balloon Lady

The library had an end of the summer reading celebration. If you completed your goal of reading x number of books, you get free admission. The celebration this summer was The Balloon Lady.

The theme was Under The Sea, so she made tons of fun balloon characters.

This was W's reaction for a good portion of the show.

Or this.

E loved the show, of course. She was dancing away in her chair as she ooed and ahhed with each balloon getting blown up.

O was reading his Mike Mulligan book for half the show. He was somewhat interested, especially during crazy music or the crowd going wild.

After the show, E asked to see the Balloon Lady. She wanted to thank her for the show. How sweet! We got a picture with The Balloon Lady and her colorful rainbow. As we walked away, E whispered, "Mommy, why does she smell?"  Too funny.