Father's Day

Last year on Father's Day, Justin's department had their annual family picnic. It was at Heritage Square. We didn't love the fact that it was on Father's Day, but we loved Heritage Square. It is full of amusement park rides that have been scaled down for younger kids. We left Noah at Grandma and Papa's house and had a great day.

This year, we left our day up to Justin. While the kids were napping, he decided he wanted to go back to Heritage Square. This time, Noah was big enough to enjoy it with us; he even got to go on a couple of rides! Of course, my camera battery died just after Hannah's zip line, so I didn't get any good pictures of Noah on the rides. Bummer!

The first stop was a face painting booth. Hannah decided on Spiderman, and I thought the lady did a pretty good job. However, I couldn't believe she used MAGIC MARKER for most of it! Isn't that cheating?


Next up was the Alpine Slide. Hannah and Daddy went together first. I could hear them yelling halfway down the mountain!


I didn't really feel the need to go, but Hannah wanted Mommy to go with her, so once she and Justin returned, I took her up the chair lift and back down the mountain. We had a great time. She was so cute, constantly reassuring me that I would be okay, just not to look down while we were on the lift. Apparently she is a little protective of Mommy!
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Zip Line!

After the Alpine Slide, we headed off to go find a good place to eat our picnic dinner. We stumbled across a little zip line that Hannah had seem some kids doing earlier, but totally wasn't interested. This time, there was no one else there. She said she wanted to do it, so we got her all harnessed up. She was a little nervous, so the nice kids running it helped ease her fears, and she was off!


To come back, the kids were supposed to unhook themselves and run back to the other side. Justin told them to forget that; he was going to pull her back across himself. This way, she got 6 rides instead of just 3. Way to go, Daddy. She has so much fun on the zip line and said it was her favorite part of the day. Note to self: no skirts next time we go to Heritage Square. They are not the most zip line-conducive article of clothing.

Splish Splash

After our walk to the park on Father's Day, Papa and Grandma went home, and we decided to get out our little pool for the kids Hannah has learned that she loves to go down the playground slide into the pool, so she had a great time doing that, while Noah found out how fun it is to pour water from a bucket. They played and swam for almost 2 hours, then had lunch and took some great naps!

For anyone who's ever attempted to take a baby swimming without a swim diaper, you'll appreciate the bottom picture, pun intended!

Father's Day Breakfast

We had my Dad over for Father's Day. I made up a recipe for some breakfast burritos that turned out to be quite tasty! After we ate, we walked (Hannah drove her Jeep) up to the big park in our neighborhood to play. Papa and Grandma were watching Milla and Aiden, so we were excited that they got to come as well! Papa needed a new screen saver, so we posed the kids with their grandparents and got this wonderful picture. I just love it. The kids played on the playground and had a great time, although it got really hot pretty quickly. What a great morning.

So Serious!

I just LOVE this picture of Noah. He was sitting atop our little playground in the backyard, debating sliding down into the pool that we had set up at the end. It was cold that day, but Hannah and her second cousin, Logan, were determined to swim anyway. Noah was leery of the water, since it was so cold, but still wanted to slide. He looks posed with the soccer ball, but he had just been carrying it around all day. He's going to be such a handsome guy. I'd better get a big stick to be ready to fight off all the girls.

The Mess

Hannah somehow came up with the idea of playing with all her little dolls and plastic toys on the table. Actually, I think it started because Noah was always running off with them when she played on the floor, so she figured if she moved to the table, he couldn't reach. So, for about 2 months, we lived with this mess on the table. We'd put it away, sure, but the next free minute she had, it would be right back out.

One day, Noah realized that if he asked (ie. grunted) enough, we would put him up on a chair to play with his sister. They loved it. Together they would sit and play with the little figurines (Noah, always the boy, would mostly play with the cars). My first day off for the summer, I found a cute little set of plastic chairs and a table, so their mess has been moved. The table suddenly seems huge and empty, but I can't say I miss the mess!

Henry Comes for a Visit (and brings his parents!)

Josh and Jackie came for a visit a few weeks ago. Hannah and Noah just love little Henry so much! We also couldn't get over how much alike Henry and Noah look. Noah is a GIANT, but still, they look a lot alike. Henry is such a happy baby, and we are all excited that the two cousins who are closest in age are also the two boys. They will be buddies, for sure!