Summer Break: The Fourth of July!

 It was so fun to be in South Carolina for the Fourth!  Mimi and Papa and Logan took Connor and Kylene to see Despicable Me 2 (which they are still quoting) and when the came out of the theater, a major storm was moving in.

 That changed our plans for the baseball game and fireworks in the evening so Bev and Theresa went to the store and came back with fixings for steak and pototoes, mac n cheese, salad, biscuits, ect.  It was an impressive spread when we came to the table and Connor and Kylene were excited to dig in!  (Actually, we all were.)

 We played games, watched some Duck Dynasty and called it a night. 

It was so low key and relaxing, I even got a long nap that day.  Now that's my idea of a good time!  I told Byron it was one of my best July 4th's ever. :)

Summer Break: Days 22-29--South Carolina Trip

 When Byron got home from work on Friday, we hopped in the van and made our way down to South Carolina to visit Mimi and Papa!  We only stopped twice and pulled into Mimi and Papa's at 2 am.  It was great to have a full day on Saturday to dive into all the fun!

 This was Caleb's first time in South Carolina. I was fascinated to see he was just as interested in the animals as Kylene but also had no fear.  He fed Princess and Smurf (the horsed) hay, petted them, and just pretty much always wanted to be outside with them.  He also loved Reese and wasn't bothered at all if she came up and licked his face.  He looked at us with a look of thrilled surprise when he first came upon the cat, Izzy, inside the house and spend a lot of time trying to catch her.

 Kylene of course was in her element amongst the animals and being with her Mimi.  One of her most proud and thrilling moments of the week was getting to ride Princess "by herself". (Mimi was walking by the horse just not leading the her by the reins.)

 The kids loved being outdoors playing in the sand box, going fishing at the pond, scooping horse poop of course, picking vegetables from the garden and apples from the tree.  Mimi and Papa had brand new bikes waiting for the kids and they got some serious riding in also.

 Uncle Logan happened to have the week off of work and was at the house as well.  That made the trip extra special and fun as we all love Uncle Logan!(or Mr. Logan as Kylene calls him.)

 Byron and I also received a fantastic gift from Bev and Theresa and got to go down to Charleston for a few days while the kids stayed with Mimi and Papa and Logan.  I've told people it was magical and it really was!  We got to go to the beach, saw movies, ate out, laid in bed and watched TV, took naps, shopped, hung out at book stores, and just had a wonderful time being together.  It was a second honeymoon!

 While we were in Charleston, Maw Maw and Paw Paw made the trip down from Virginia to see the kids and meet Caleb for the first time!  It sounds like Caleb put on quite the dancing show for them. :)  We were so glad they had the chance to see how much Connor and Kylene have grown and meet our sweet baby boy.

 One major event for me was that I upgraded to my first smart phone while on vacation!  It's amazing that something so small has had such an instant impact on my life.  It. is. awesome.

 It was sad to pack up and leave Saturday morning.  Connor kept on saying, "I just wish we could stay."  I told him I wished the same thing, but vacation can't last forever, even Mimi and Papa needed to get back to regular life.  But that's the beauty of regular living, it makes these moments in time that much more special and wonderful.

 The kids did great on the way home and I think they're becoming good little road warriors.

We're already anticipating our next gathering with Mimi and Papa.

Thank you Bev and Theresa so much for everything, we had the time of our lives!

Summer Break: Day 16 {Fair Oaks Farm}

 {You will notice in this post about our trip to a dairy farm that there are no pictures of the many dairy cows we saw or pictures of the delectable cheeses and ice cream we ate.  It is simply because we were too excited about the cows to allow mom any free hands to snap a photo and we were much too busy eating and enjoying our delicious dairy to pause for a photo op.  Now, to our day!}

(Connor doing one back flip after another!)

 Yesterday we went to Fair Oaks Farm ,one of the ten biggest farms in the United States.  We first took a bus tour of the dairy farm.  We were all fascinated and it was amazing to see all the new calves being tended too.  After our tour, we went to the indoor play area where the kids went around and around on a carousel (manually operated by the parents, heart pumping work) practiced milking a cow, went down slides, and Connor tried out the magnetic climbing wall!

 We went outside to find an amazing play land waiting!  There was a train, a tractor race track, a bungee jump, a rock climb wall, a corn maze and a huge inflated trampoline.

(Caleb trying to get up on the trampoline.  A shoe has been lost in the process.)

 Kylene jumped and jumped and jumped some more giggling all the while.  Kylene also got to run over with another friend and mom to the birthing barn to see the birth of a calf!  Connor was sad to miss out but he was waiting for his turn on the bungee jump which was exciting in itself.

 Caleb made it!  Still missing a shoe.

 Caleb LOVED riding this little train.  There was never a line, so he just stayed on and kept on going around and around.  He cried and cried when it was time to get off and kept on running back over to it, so what did I do?  Put him back on and let him ride around and around and around some more. :)

We finished off our day sharing a melt-in-your-mouth grilled cheese and a smooth and creamy ice cream before we made the trip back home.

Connor said it was our best summer trip yet.

Summer Break: Day 8 and 9

 We've had a "hang out around the house" day today and yesterday.  We've needed a few days to play and for mom to get some things done around the house.

 Don't worry, we've still found a way to have fun

 A little too much fun even.

Happy Father's Day!

 We started off our Father's Day Morning delivering doughnuts and chocolate milk to Daddy in bed and then closed the door to let him get some more luxurious sleep, special for Father's Day, while we went downstairs and gobbled up our own doughnuts and milk, yum.

And here's to our handsome, wonderful Daddy whom we all adore!

Summer Break: Day 5

 This morning we headed over to Nana's house and played for a bit before heading to Quaker Park to meet up with our friends, the Kemp's, for a picnic and playing at the park and splash pad.

 The weather today is so heavenly, high is 77, low humidity, sunny with a slight breeze.  The perfect day to spend all day outside.

 Caleb got brave at the end and decided to give the water a try.

We're back home now, Caleb is napping and Connor and Kylene haven't even been inside the house yet.  We were greeted by a swarm of neighborhood kids and they jumped out of the van and ran off to play some more.  Like I said, the perfect day to be spent all outside!

Summer Break: Day 4

 This morning Connor, Kylene, and I went to see the most amazing show at the Palladium in Carmel called "Erth's Dinosaur Petting Zoo".

The act is put on by a group based out of Australia so it felt cool right from the beginning to listen to the MC's cool Australian accent.

She started off the show by asking if anyone had any good dinosaur jokes.  I was surprised when Connor's hand shot up and he was called up on the stage and given a mic; I was even more surprised when he, without hesitation, said, "Do you know what a T Rex's least favorite thing to do at the gym is?  Push ups!"  Everyone clapped and cheered and he felt like a million bucks.

 The show started off with two baby dinosaurs, then moved up to a prehistoric Dragon Fly, then to two smaller, walking dinosaurs all the way up to the mighty T Rex.

 The puppets were so lifelike in their look, movements, and sounds that I had to keep reassuring Connor and Kylene that the T Rex wasn't real, it was just the coolest puppet we had ever seen!

 I can't explain the show well enough to do it justice, but all I know is, it cost a pretty penny to go and I think it was worth every cent.  Certainly an experience I'll remember for a long time as something wonderful I got to do with my kids.

 Oh, and Caleb?  He got to have his own magical experience over at Nana's where new toys and new snacks are in abundance.

Connor and Kylene had a fun time giving Caleb a Mohawk in the bath tonight.  Kylene in particular was giggling uncontrollably. :)

Summer Break: Day 3

 Today we met our good friends, the Bray's, at their neighborhood pool which also happens to be my parent's neighborhood, so the kids were familiar with their surroundings and dove right into fun!

 Kylene is interested in learning how to swim independently and was proud leave her water wings behind.  I just need two more arms to take care of Caleb so I can help her practice swimming with the other two.  I don't think that surgery has been pioneered yet though.  Bummer.

I've been pleased that Caleb really enjoys the water.  He and I spend a lot of time bobbing, which I find delighful.  {Once again, those extra arms would come in handy so I can take a picture of us in the water.  You'll just have to take me at my word!}

Summer Break: Day 2

 We went to the Monon Center in Carmel today and spent four hours playing in the water.  Caleb loved the zero entry pool and we all enjoyed the lazy river together.

 Connor in particular enjoyed all the Monon Center has to offer and went down the slide, jumped off the diving board, did the ropes course and body boarded multiple times.

We all came home with the "good" tired; you know where your tuckered out from doing something fun and then you have the chance to rest your weary bones for a bit.

Just had dinner and baths and now watching America's Funniest Home Videos re-runs.  It's been a happy day!