Happy 4th of July!!!

We were there for the annual July 4th party this year. It was good to see everyone and catchup a bit.

Party games...

Enjoying some water on a hot Ohio day...


Yikes, be careful with that thing....


Loved the fireworks this year (what a change from last year!)

We made it!

We made it to Ohio! First order of business was fishing. Grandpa was very exited to take the kids fishing at the pond down the street.

We even bought the kids each a little fishing pole. Paige got Tinkerbell and for Luke it was Spiderman. They loved it. I wasn't sure how fishing would hold their interest but as soon as the fish started biting, they were loving it. Hot dogs for bait. Within 30min or so we had 3 or 4 fish. Mom was very nervous we were going to hurt the fish....what can I say, I'm a PETA card carrier!?!!!

Waiting for our first bite...

GOT IT...

Any more out there...

Vacation 2011

This year, we kept it simple. We went to Ohio for vacation. Works out great when we drive because we get to visit our friend in Hershey, PA. Luke and their son, Cooper and good friends...they go way back to the Kaiwah days!

We went to a lake. Jay and I couldn't believe this place. Man made lake. It was wild. The kids had a great time and the weather was great. We had some dinner before again getting on the road. Worked out perfect!


We even saw a baby snake in the water...yikes!
got really crowded...
lunch break...
Chilaxing with Cooper before dinner...
Paige "fixing" Brandt..

Southwick Zoo

We went to the Southwick Zoo with some friends on Friday. Luke loved that they had different animals than "our zoo". Loved the kangaroo and the caribou the best he said...and the rides!

Boating...

We went boating with friends this weekend. Kids loved it. The water was SOOO cold but they didn't seem to mind too much.

Luke started swim class today. At one point during the class, the swim instructor asked Luke if he wanted to doggie paddle or kick on the board. He said, "I want to do the beaver paddle"

On my way home from the gym this morning, bought a blueberry muffin for the kids (and a coffee for the big kid). As Luke was eating his share, he said “Mommy, these are blueberries in here. These blueberries are purple…not blue. They really should call these purpleberries not blueberries.”

This is the cutest picture..

Luke's Graduation from Circle School -

Luke "Graduated" from the Children's Circle Nursery School, or Circle School as we call it. He has been there for 2 years. Both years Tues and Thurs. He would have gone a third year but he is starting at his NEW BIG BOY school in the fall...more to come on that. Paige will most likely go to Circle School too but I'm not sending her right away. She'll probably start this winter or the following fall. Luke was pretty much unfazed by the fact that school was ending, maybe because he will be back this summer for a couple weeks of camp or maybe because he hasn't processed it. He LOVES school. LOVES when it is a school day. Gets bored when we are on school vacation. We'll have to work hard to keep him busy this summer. Living on the coast makes my job much easier :) Where's Waldo? Can you find the big guy? White and blue polo, sitting to the left-



After graduation, a few of us went to Luke's little friend, Colin's house. Kids were lovin' the pool and hot tub.

YOGA

Apparently, the kids have taken up yoga without our knowing. Maybe they go with Paige's friend Katie :) At any rate, I've done yoga before but never seen moves like the looks of these:

Katie -

Paige has a new friend. Her name is Katie. Seeing that Paige plays with boys 98% of the time, this would sound great except for the fact that we don't actually know who Katie is.

Luke has a friend named Katie. Originally, we thought maybe that was who she was referring to. But, we knew chances were slim since the real Katie has been living abroad in Zurich, Switzerland since January.

We know no other Katie's.

We have found out a lot about Katie in the past week or so. Paige likes to talk about her and will answer just about any question we ask about Katie.

Katie is from Ohio. Although, sometimes Katie is in our house and has sleepovers. She has black hair and is 2 years old. Paige met Katie at a restaurant. Katie eats lots of soup. She has a little sister named Baby Sadie. She has a small dog (smaller than Marley, we are told) and a cat. Katie does like Marley. She likes to give him hugs.

Paige says she loves Katie.

Paige talks on the phone with Katie a couple times a day.

Paige gets all dressed up with her accessories when she is "going to see Katie"

I echo Luke's sentiments on the subject when he said, "What the heck are you talking about, Paige"