Oshkosh Or BUST!

"Oshkosh, here we come!"

"BYE-BYE BOYS!!!

Have fun!

Girl's Weekend: Day 1

Day 1: Wiggles World and Hurricane Harbor

Early this morning the boys headed up to the Oshgosh Air Show for the weekend. (More to come about their weekend get-away.) So, what will the girls do now that the boys are gone?

Why, go to one of our favorite summer places of course! What a beautiful day to play at the waterpark!

Today, we met up with our buddies Heather and Joshua and spent the day at Great America.

Here is Joshers playing musical sunglasses with his Mommy's and Grandma's glasses!


This is Josh's fun-loving Grandma!

Who's that in the middle???

Why, it is little Ethan, Joshua's cousin!


Can you find Uncle Jim?

Thanks Eric, Heather and "Grandma" for spending the day with us at Hurrican Harbor!

Local Artists

Our neighborhood friends were so inspired by our cuteness that they wanted to capture it on the ground with sidewalk chalk as the medium of choice. Allyson carefully studied Amelia's face (or at least tried to get Amelia to look a her for a second) and Branden created a drawing of young James.

Everyone was impressed by their completed masterpieces!

It was a shame to see them get washed away during the evening storm.
(Also, pictured is a random kid from down the street, very sweet but really who is she???)

A New Puzzle and Quality Food Service

Nana's Magic Bag held a very special surprise this week. It was a humongous farm puzzle. We all worked together to complete the picture. We enjoyed looking at all of the different animals around the farm. Thanks Nana for our awesome puzzle!

Shortly after we completed the puzzle we wanted to play with our new kitchen set. James was being so silly! He was ordering food from beneath Amelia's crib and Nana was filling his orders and then delivering them to him!

"I would like hot dogs and eggs, please!"

"Thank you, here's your tip!"


Thanks Nana for spending the day with us by playing, taking us to the park and then giving us a yummy lunch!

Sprinkler Fun

This afternoon we did a lot of playing in the front yard. Our friends from across the street came over to join in on the fun. We played with chalk, our bikes, a board game and then Mommy brought out the Elmo sprinkler!
Amelia was trying very hard to smile as she was getting squirted in the face with water!
Thanks Allyson, Branden and Kayleigh for hanging out with us on this beautiful summer day!

Amelia's Kitchen Arrives!!!

Thanks to our dear friends the "V-Family," Amelia is now the proud owner of a gently used kitchen set! We are all excited to try everything that it offers. Please allow us to brag about all of it's features (Mommy apparently was a little scarred when she was a child when her very used piece of plastic that once resemble a kitchen set was suddenly thrown into the trash by someone whom shall remain nameless...)

Our Kitchen comes fully equipped with:

sink/faucet

microwave

stove/oven

refrigerator with ice dispenser with actual ice cubes!

dishwasher

little cabinet on top of the refrigerator, to store dry/canned goods

Needless to say WE LOVE IT!!!

As you could tell our grandparents enjoyed setting up our kitchen too!

(Although, Papa said "I have played long enough with the pretend kitchen thing, I need to go now and do some guy things!" He is so silly!)

Thanks Grandma Judy and Papa for helping set up our kitchen and move the things that were necessary to make room for the set!

Summer Days with Our Grandparents

Today, originally was suppose to be a "swim day", but due to illnesses we were the only ones able to go. We missed our swimming companions, but the day was surely not wasted. We got to spend the entire day with our grandparents. (James actually spent the night before, he didn't want to leave after the shower/birthday parties.) Here's just a few things we did together:
Grandma Judy loves to read us the silliest of stories! ( I think she said we are close to our goal of number of books required for the summer reading club at Border's book store.)

Then, we changed into our suits for a warm swim on a beautiful summer day! James and I love to look into Grandma Judy's sunglasses to see our reflections in them.

Then, we had a delicious lunch of leftovers from the shower. With our dry clothes on, we went for a swing on the tree swing. Grandma Judy pushes James really...

HIGH!!! WHEEEE!

Here comes Papa! One last golf cart ride before we had to head home! Thanks Grandma Judy and Papa for a wonderful day just hangin' out together!

(The good news is that they are coming back to our house after our naps and they are bringing us Portillos for dinner! Yumm! )

Uncle Jim's Birthday Present

This was our gift to Jim for his 27th birthday, it was an 7ft inflatable hydro-rocket! It had Uncle Jim's name written all over it! I am not sure how it all worked, but I know it needed some water and air pumped into it.

I help Uncle Peter do the count down...

"THREE, TWO, ONE...

BLAST OFF!!!

This was sooo cool! I think it touched the clouds!

Mommy thought it would be fun to reenact the photo that was on the box that the rocket came in. Really it was only filled with air!
Thanks boys for hummoring our Mommy!
We think that Uncle Jim should blast the rocket over to Joshua's house, we think Josher's would get a kick out of it!

Uncle Jim and Jill's Wedding Shower

Jill and Jim's Wedding Shower

Today was the perfect day to have a garden wedding shower. These were the beautiful favors that Jill's Mom planted and potted. (The brightly colored cup wrappers were plastic disposable table clothes! I am so stealing that idea!)

Time to mingle and eat some delicious food!

Uncle Peter was so kind to take Amelia for a walk to see Nana's horses. James joined them shortly after. Too cute!
Here's the butterfly cake!

The bridesmaids!

Umm... boys??? I think you are a little too big for the kiddie table!

So after all of the guest left it was time for the second party of the day... Papa and Uncle Jim's birthday celebration!

"Happy Belated Birthday, Papa!!!"

"Happy real birthday, Uncle Jim!"

Wow, check out the evening sky!

Congratulations Uncle Jim and Aunt Jill on your upcoming wedding!

A Table For 2!

We are trying this out this week and we will see how long Mommy can take it!

Up, down, Up, DOWN!!!!

Swim Day Lunch Time

I thought it would be fun to add some pictures of our lunch time during Swim Day. Our Swim group is growing each year, so eating is sometimes a little crazy and noisy, but always a lot of fun!

Liz and Ryan
Missy, Baby Makayla, Heather and Amelia

Joshua down on the floor.

James and Lauren sharing a seat.

(Not Pictured: Grandma Judy, Papa and Mommy)

Maybe next time we can somehow get a big group picture and make it an annual each year to see us grow!

Monday, Monday..Na, Naaa, Na,Na,Na,Na

Monday, Monday!

Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that!

Play Dough Time

Pool Time & Water Hose Time

Jumpy Time

"One, two, three, JUMP!"

(Amelia has been practicing very hard to jump off of the stool.)

*Yes, Mommy is not thrilled of this new found talent*

Fine Motor Development and Color Recognition Skills Time
(Playing the Color Wheel Matching Game while Mommy makes dinner.)

All Done!!!

Pony Party and Picnic

Nana's Pony Party and Picnic!

When the party was just getting on its way, the kiddos explored all of Nana's toys, including the very cool rocking horse!

"Giddy Up! Look at Addie go!"

Joshua looks like he is giving Ryan some driving tips since his is very familiar with driving a Cozy Coupe.

Here is Pony Macaroni!

(James named him)

Addie and her "Wita" (grandma) were checking out how April likes to eat grass.

Munch, munch, MUNCH!

Grandma Judy helped make sure all of the kids and families were having a nice time. Grandma "Judy" helped Amelia enjoy a quick snack before heading out for more fun with her friends.

Start the music! It's time for a pony parade!!! All of the kiddos got to ride on their very own stick horses!

Now, it's time for some pony rides!


James is really starting to look like a pro on a pony. Nana is getting him and April ready for a parade next Memorial Day!

Yea for Lauren! This was her first time on a pony without any fear! She did a fantastic job and had so much fun that she rode April twice!
Here is Miss Hailey. She seemed to really enjoy the ride. Check out the her cowgirl hat!
Yee! Haw!!!



Well, Joshers lasted a whole 3 seconds until he was ready to be done riding! Both he and Amelia seemed to more interested in eating then riding today! Maybe next time they will last a little longer.

Addie was a true natural on the Pony. She even got the pony parade wave down! Look at that little cowgirl go!
After everyone had a chance to ride the pony, each of the young riders received a "Prize Ribbon" for a job well done! They got to decorate their ribbons with some fun foam stickers. Thanks Liz for helping them out with the peel off stickers! I love the fact that James searched for all of the blue airplanes to decorate his prize ribbon with! He is too cute!
After the kids got to have some pony rides, they were welcomed to try the obstacle course that Nana herself designed made out of hay bales, wooden planks, a log and a big plastic barrel. It was a total hit with with the kids!
Nana also made a bean bag game that had three lines to toss from and labeled them as "Walk, Trot and Canter." Everyone got to pick a prize from the basket that hand horse figurines with yummy gummy treats tied to them and at the obstacle course there was a basket of bubble toys for everyone to choose from!After a yummy BBQ/picnic lunch it was a perfect time for a swim. Don't worry no one developed a cramp from eating then swimming! (Also, thanks to everyone that made such yummy dishes that were shared!)

Wow, what an awesome day spent with wonderful family and friends!

Until next year...


right Nana?!?