June - phew!

So, there is this moment at the end of the school year where all the moms panic:  OMG, it's summer - what will I do with them everyday?  

Well, no need to worry.  We have been very busy (hence my lack of blog posts).

There was the Principal Charity Classic golf tournament.  Kevin was given a ball by one of the tour players (who asked if he was bored!)  Both kids enjoyed hours at the Principal Family Fun tent.  There were bounce houses, face painting, snacks, fire trucks, crafts & more.  Katie skipped her nap that day and we had both kids to bed by 7PM.  Nate and I enjoyed a bottle of wine on our new deck - yeah us!

 Tell me again - why did I think it was a good idea to enroll both kids for swim lessons at the exact same time?  I thought it would be efficient and I could handle it during the day so we would not have to rush to the pool when Nate came home from work.  Kevin LOVES swim lessons.  We have him in private lessons for the second summer in a row and with the same teacher, Miss Kala.  He's made great progress (strong kicks, big scoops is what we say).  One day in to Katie's class I realize that it will be a challenge.  Katie enjoys the pool - but on her own terms.  She in no way whatsoever wants to be held, assisted, coached or touched by me or anyone when she is in the pool.  This is impossible when the class is held in the deep end of the pool and I'm expected to lovingly hold my child while we all sing songs.  Not happening.  About 5 minutes in to each class she starts screaming & points to the shallow end as she yells for me to put her down.  We stuck it out for the first week of lessons, but this week we are skipping Katie's class to watch Kevin.

We LOVE our town's pool.  We have a season pass and swim there regularly.  Most of the lifeguards know Kevin by name and he thinks it cool to chat with the highschool & college kids.  One of our favorite things to do is go there in the evenings once Nate is home.  We found a floatie that Katie will wear and she can play in the deep end (of the kiddie pool) with us all evening.  Crisis averted.

Camp.  At first Kevin will be shy, but after one day of camp, he loves it!  The counselor painted his face on the last day.  A few weeks ago he went to a 1/2 day camp at a local park where they played in the creek, chased bugs, rode bikes, tie-died, and painted rocks.  Fun, right?!  This week he's in cooking camp at the Y.  Yesterday the kids make pizzas.  He enjoys running around with his friends and I enjoy a few hours of quiet.  On a perfect day, Kevin is at camp and I can get Katie to nap at the same time (It's a win-win)!  After 6 hours - you can sort of see that this was Batman:

 Father's Day - I surprised Nate (and Kevin) with a new tent and sleeping bag.  Nate and Kevin have enjoyed a few campouts so far and we hope it's a tradition that continues.  Katie hasn't been invited yet, but soon.

Cute Father's Day message that Kevin made:

Baseball.  Kevin's league plays every Sunday afternoon.  They have a 30 minute practice followed by a "game".  By "game" it means every child bats once then they take a turn in the field.

 They posed for pictures after the practice, all the kids were sweaty. Kevin says this makes him look tough!

 Team photo, cute!

VBC.  I don't have pictures of this fun event, but our family continued the tradition of Vacation Bible Camp.  Kevin was a camper, Nate and I were volunteers and Katie played in the nursery with a few other little sisters.  Nate was assigned to help Kevin's grade, I was assigned to 3rd graders.  We all had a fun, but exhausting week.  Camp was held each night from 5:30 to 8:00.  These were late nights for Katie, but she seemed to love the music and excitement of being with all the kids.

On to July!  We look forward to a fun 4th of July celebration with friends and we're taking a trip to Chicago.  Happy Summer!

Trying out her new bed

 -Finally asleep, but looking too big for her crib-

-She was not too happy that I snapped this photo as she was waking up in her new bed-

Katie has been hopping, jumping, bouncing, dancing, yelling and playing an awful lot in her crib lately.  Sometimes, she's still awake when we got to bed at 10:30!  It worries me that because she is so tall she can easily climb out.  We don't know what to do to help her calm down in her crib so we set up her new big girl bed.

There is already a double bed in her room so I bought these cool bumpers for it and pushed it against the wall.  She was excited to try sleeping in it the first night, but she kept getting out of bed and playing in her room so we put her back in the crib.  We coaxed her into taking a nap in her new bed on Saturday (after several hours swimming at the Clive pool, she was exhausted), but we haven't gotten her into the bed since.

What to do?  Do I just take the crib away?

Memorial Day

 We spent the Memorial Day holiday in Nevada for their parade and veteran's ceremony.  It was a small (very small) town parade, followed by a ceremony in the cemetery.  Kevin enjoyed the fire trucks and the marching bands.  Beautiful day to be outside!

Nate and our nephew Tyler (7 months)

"I am 2 years old and I will decide when I want my picture taken.  I do not care that you want a picture of me in my new dress!"

She decided she wanted to be in this picture with me!

Last day of Pre-K

Kevin with his teachers, Mrs. Patten and Miss Forrest

-Orange Fish class 2012, (Kevin, on the right, making a funny face)

Kevin finished PreK last week.  I cannot believe how much he has learned during his past 2 years at this amazing school!  We are so excited for him to start Kindergarten this fall, but I am sad to leave behind all the wonderful friends and families we met at Seeds of Faith Preschool.

Katie will start in the 2 year old class this fall and we look forward to a whole new batch of memories and friendships from her class as well.

Cousins at the zoo!

(Yes, bad shadows on these pictures, I know... But wanted to share the pictures of Katie, James, Isabel and Kevin at the zoo this week).

While mom & dad were away...

... the kids had SO MUCH FUN with Grandmom & PopPop!  

My parents watched the kids while Nate and I enjoyed a trip to Savannah, Georgia for a wedding. 

Katie spent time at the park during Kevin's baseball game.  She insisted on carrying a book, wearing her pajama shirt and socks with her sandles - can you tell, she is TWO!

She really is a climbing monkey.  Makes me wonder how much longer I can keep her in her crib!

Kevin's first baseball game was on Sunday.  His team is the Rockies and Kevin "played" second base.  Nate and I weren't home from Savannah yet, so my parents took him to the game.  He did great; listened to the Coach's instructions, bat, and played in the field.  Most importantly, he enjoyed a snack after the game with his team.  Really, isn't that the best part?

I LOVE this picture!

Thanks Mom & Dad!  We had a great trip and the kids had a blast too.

Birthday party - a few pictures

We had a cookie cake for Isabel & a Curious George cake for Katie.

A friendly baseball game amongst the guys

Amidst the chaos, Nicole & Joe snapped a few pictures of the party :)