We'll start with the 4th of July. We spent the day with my family in Grandville while Kevin worked out at the South Lyon station. The kids and I arrived in town just in time to see the parade. Thank goodness that people are soo good about letting kids sneak in front as the streets were lined with saved seating hours before the parade started. At the parade, the boys grabbed lots of candy while Colby and I hung out with Scott and Laura. From there we went back to the house for nap time, swimming time and a little shopping. Dinner was spent with my grandparents as we celebrated my mom's b-day. Finally, we found some cushy seats out in the driveway and watched the city's fireworks. Fab event and amazingly, Colby slept thru them all! I think she might have been tired, Mason almost feel asleep during them. This was the first year that he actually got to stay up to watch them. Sorry, no pics of this event as I forgot to grab the camera on my way out the door.
The next day we hung out with Jeff and Marie at their house. The house looks amazing! Also, I am continually impressed that you all fit in there. =) The kids seemed to have a great time playing together out in the yard. I believe the favorite toy was the riding lawn mower. (For those of you who are insanely worried, we took the keys away.)
The next day (yes, insanely busy weekend) was Sophia's baptism out at the compound. The baby was beautiful! And, my kids actually remained mostly quiet through the whole service. I think it helped that we sat in the balcony and that we brought lots of snacks. =) The party afterward was also great and it was a lot of fun to hang out with the family again especially the out-of-towners.
The guest of honor
Sophia, mom Anna, grandma Cathy
Just for fun, after the baptism gathering we all went over to the in-laws so Colby could try on a dress for Kelly's wedding (Patsy's daughter, Colby is going to be the flower girl). This was a funny experience as Colby really did not enjoy getting changed and attempted to take the dress off. I'm sure the no nap and busy day had nothing to do with it. =)
After that weekend, things did slow down a bit. I've had the last week or so off from UM so Kevin could work the art fair. The check will be nice, but it put him at working 11 days in a row. Not sure how his sanity is going to be. =) His b-day was spent at art fair where he made a brief appearance on Fox news. When he got home, his b-day present from us and all the parents was waiting for him in the garage... a sailboat! Hopefully we'll actually find some time that he can use it. The kids and I spent all day at the lake getting it ready to bring home. Of course, we had to play in the water a bit while out there. The water was so warm! It was great. The kids and I even went canoeing for a bit. Once again, slacker mom has no pics of the first canoeing experience.
General updates: Colby is climbing everything like mad. Her vocabulary is growing with the addition of some body parts. She is also becoming very good at using the word "no". It tends to comes out when she doesn't want her brother to do something. This is then often accompanied by a push, pinch or bite if the brother does not comply. Yesterday I learned that she does not like finger painting. She tends to be a little compulsive with being clean at times and I think that's why she's not into the finger paints. She's down to one nap a day and sleeps well at night. If everything goes well at bedtime, she'll go down with hardly a peep, however, mess up her routine or don't do something that she feels needs to be done, and there's a bit of crying/screaming. She is also getting into doing things for herself including buckling her seatbelt and getting dressed.
Mason is eating everything like mad this past week. I'm pretty sure that he has a growth spurt coming. The kid is still tall and solid and has outgrown a few items of clothing without even wearing them. He prefer to wears pants and long-sleeves and it's sometimes a small battle to try to convince him that it's 90 degrees outside and he's going to be warm. Of course, I don't think he cares. He's the kind of kid that likes to wrap up in blankets and such no matter the temp. Lately he's been very into making up songs for every and any occasion. He continues to learn new words and has learned how to sound words out in order to spell them. Also, for some reason he has little bruises on his arm and a bite mark on his back. =) Eventually they will have to learn how to respect each other's space, right?
Well, the kids are starting to rouse from quiet time. I will try to get some cute pics of the kids just being kids. I need to learn to bring the camera with me when I go places, or even just for hanging outside. However, here a couple...
(Reminds me a bit of Indiana Jones)
