Just hanging around our house

Just goofin' off with the kids yesterday morning (and because I don't think I have posted enough photos of Katie lately).

This is Katie's new "smile" face....

She is looking so proud that she just stole her brother's new toy that he won at the fair. Seriously, she is sneaky and so smart. She will wait until the exact moment that Kevin steps out of the room and she will swoop in and steal his stuff. This happens constantly. I am not sure if I should laugh and encourage her (this is my gut reaction after growing up with an older brother) or act as the peacekeeper and defend Kevin's toys.

All aboard

My parents came to visit this weekend and brought the kids goodies from their recent trip to Alaska....

Kevin was thrilled with his new train conductor costume, complete with a real whistle (so far, the whistle hasn't been too loud)!

State Fair!

We had a busy weekend. Nate and I started the weekend by attending the Train/Maroon 5 concert at the State Fair on Friday night. My mom and dad watched the kids. It was a great, kid- free night out with the Spradlings.

On Saturday we took my parents and the kids to the great Iowa State Fair. There was so much to see, and eat. Kevin's favorite part of the Fair are the rides. Katie was a good sport in her stroller and we gave her some ice cream so she could have some fun too.

Katie was very scared to meet Clifford The Big Red Dog (I think this is a foreshadow for how she will react to Santa Claus this year!)

Very silly, yet very Iowan. (Yes, it really is a cow made entirely of butter. And yes, people really do line up every year to see it!)

Skinner's Annual backyard water party

Thank you Skinner's for hosting your annual backyard water party, we had fun! It was a little crazy trying to get the kids in the hammock with Nate...

Tag-along

I snagged this tag-along bike at a garage sale this weekend. Nate hooked it up today and Kevin is so excited to ride the trails in our neighborhood!

Family trip to the zoo

This week we met Nicole, Isabel, Jessica & James at the zoo. The weather changed and finally cooled off this week so we were able to enjoy a stroll at the zoo and a picnic afterwards without the awful heat.

James & Katie were excited to get out of their strollers and explore the lion exhibit.

Kevin & James love the Jeep in the lion exhibit.

Science Center

Last week we made our first visit to The Science Center of Iowa. My first thought when we walked into the "Small Discovery" center (i.e. - the kid room) was "why haven't we been here before - this place is awesome"! Both kids that they were allowed and encouraged to touch everything. I did too. We will definitely be back again.