Warming up by thinking back

Having celebrated a wonderful Christmas and being snowed in, more or less, I thought it would be fun to rewind a little with more summer fun pictures.

Four weeks of swimming was enjoyed by the three oldest.  Mary enjoyed her “mommy” and god-mommy time every morning :).  We sat in the lounge chairs and visited.  Made the 8AM start much more fun!  We even enjoyed walking to the pool most mornings.  I don’t think the kids even noticed that it was barely above 60 some mornings!

A year after we bought the blow-up pool, we finally got it out and got it filled up.  It was a blast to actually “swim” in the backyard some.  And Mary loved playing over the side. 

After a while, Mary decided it was ok to get in the pool – as long as she was on my lap.

Mary had a lot of fun playing with her friend Maria.

Katie, Grace and Mary love playing dress-up.  I have a feeling we have MANY years of fun outfits ahead of us!  I love that they love to play together!

 

With MUCH help from my cousin Lori and Aunt Lisa, Grace entered the world of American Girl dolls for her 6th birthday in June.  Lori had two American Girl dolls, and she very generously gave them to us to give to Grace and Katie.  Grace’s doll is Kirsten.

Grace wanted to have a big cookie for her birthday cake.  Hers was my second try, and it turned out very well.

Grace loves all things horses, so horse stationery fit perfectly.

Instead of a birthday party, Grace chose to go horseback riding.  Aunt Sara and Aunt Melanie took her for her first horseback ride while we were in Wisconsin.  They had a fantastic time and said the trail was beautiful.

For the other part of Grace’s birthday present, we made a girl trip to the American Girl doll store in Chicago.  Kirsten and Samantha (Melanie’s doll) got their hair done and then everyone posed for a picture.  We had a great, if a little overwhelming, time!

 

Grace and Katie were so excited about their present for Jack.  They woke up early and spread it on his bed before he woke up.  It is a Lego Star Wars t-shirt.

Jack is still very excited about Pokemon.  Star Wars is starting to increase too though.

  

Jack also wanted a big cookie for his birthday cake.  His was my first try at making my own.

Aunt Melanie, Jack’s Godmother, was able to be there for both birthdays, which of course, everyone loved!

Mrs. Chapko made delicious cakes and cupcakes for both Jack and Grace for their birthday parties.  No more “box cakes” will do!  These were adorable AND yummy!  Thank you, Celeste!  You are awesome!

We went to Brookfield Zoo on what turned out to be the hottest day of the summer.

After a quick rest at lunch, we headed back into the zoo.

   

The kids took turns cutting food for the elephants.

The Dinosaurs Alive! exhibit was a huge hit.  Jack had a blast taking pictures with his new camera.

Mary’s seat was probably the most comfortable!

At the last minute, we decided to drive around and try to see the fireworks from our car on the 4th of July. (see previous post about the rain :))  Not too bad!

  

We decided to wait until the next day to do our own though.

The 5th of July was nice and sunny, perfect for a family picnic in the park.

 

The theme at Vacation Bible School this year was, “Building God’s Kingdom.”  Each day the children worked on a different service project.  This is Joey and Jack presenting backpacks filled with personal items for a local shelter.

Basketball camp, trips to the park and soccer camp rounded out our shortened summer.  Wisconsin was beautiful and full of fun.

Every day is a new adventure, and we wouldn’t change that for anything!