4th of July

We had a fun 4th of July weekend - full of friends, family and fireworks.

We kicked off the weekend with a BBQ with some friends.

Elle was so excited to see "baby Taylor".

Gold cart rides were a favorite for the kids.

After the BBQ we headed to buy some fireworks!

And then shot some off when we got home.

Little dude was wiped out after his bath and ready for bed!

On Sunday we stayed home, played outside, took baths then made our fist batch of slime!

Ollie's showing off his muscles.

Slime time!

On the 3rd we headed to mom and dad's for a BBQ...

and some pool and bounce house fun!

It's funny watching the kids pair off now. Elle and Charlie play together so much better than they used to...their ages line up perfectly for imaginative play right now. 

And Henry and Oliver are obsessed with each other!

We stayed up late, shot off some fireworks and watched the fireworks display from mom and dad's house.

After our late night it was hard to drag ourselves out of bed early for the parade but we did it!

Breakfast while waiting for the parade to start!

He loved waving at the floats. :)

It was a HOT morning. My poor girl takes after me and doesn't handle the heat well.

One float was handing out popsicles and it was just what she needed.

After the parade he crashed hard!

We were all hot and exhausted.

After showers and naps we headed back to my parents house for night 2 of fireworks and we walked to the fair to let the kids ride some rides.

Hold on tight Doodle Man!!

After the fair we walked back, shot off more fireworks and had another late night.

One thing we did miss this year was Henry's annual glow-stick party! I can't believe we forgot!!

We will have to make up for it next year. :)

Swimming Lessons

Y'all...

Swimming lessons this year were rough.

Don't let these sweet little faces fool you. 

I remember being a pain about getting in the water at my swim lessons when I was little but it wasn't out of fear...just being cold. :)

That "being a pain" thing has come back full circle for me x2.

We talked A LOT before class about how going in the water is fun, there is nothing to be scared of, etc, etc, etc.

They seemed happy walking in...then the lesson started.

We did private lessons this summer hoping it would work out better than a class (more one on one time, constant working in the water instead of waiting on the ledge) but these 2 had other ideas.

She was able to get Ollie in the water and as soon as she put him on the ledge he was done and crying to be in my lap.

Elle would get in the water but she clinged to her teacher like she was scared to death. 

By the last day Eric and I decided to just have Elle take the class. Elle did MUCH better but there is definitely still fear. Which means we will be signing her up for winter lessons and hope that over time her fear goes away and actually learning to swim can begin.

Ollie was happy as a clam the last day to be out of the water and playing with this alligator.

The crazy part is these two LOVE going to the pool, they play all around the kid area..they just want nothing to do with the deep end. And when Eric and I take them in the deep end to show then it's ok they both kind of loose their mind.

Soo...here's hoping next year is better, with less crying and more swimming. :)

Father's Day

Father's Day morning the kids and I woke up, snuck out of the house and grabbed breakfast for Eric.  My plan was to get him biscuits and gravy but Elle was certain he would like donuts as well so we did both...and also swung through Starbucks to get him an iced coffee.

When we got home we woke him up for breakfast (more like brunch at this point) and presents.

Earlier in the week I had taken to the kids to a pottery painting place and they painted him a black and gold coffee cup with their hand-prints and had them write "Daddy's Little Tigers" on it. 

Next we stopped by Eric's parents house so he could wish his own dad a Happy Father's Day. The kids played outside, sat on the motorcycle and Ollie dragged out every figurine on their TV console to play with. 

Our next stop was Will & Paige's house for dinner.  

Thanks to PawPaw they each got a treat from the ice cream man. 

Look at that big Bear bite.

It was the perfect day to hang outside, and Henry and Will took full advantage by playing lots of hockey. 

Little dude had the time of his life pretending to fly like Buzz Lightyear while Unc skated him around.

Flying into PawPaw's arms...

and now MawMaw's.

This is the look of pure JOY.

Flying like Buzz...hanging with his BFF Unc...life gets no better for Dude-Man.

These 2 are so lucky to have this guy as their daddy!

And since we somehow missed a picture with my dad on Father's Day these pics in Ireland and Paris will just have to do. ;)

We got a good one, the best of the best!!!

While Mommy Was Away...

Eric deserves the biggest shout-out for daddy of the year. Earlier this summer while I was on my European adventure he held down the fort for 8 days by himself. That alone is impressive but on top of that he kept these babies BUSY while I was on my trip. He had all kinds of fun things planned for them. When I returned home they had crossed off almost half of the things listed on our Summer Fun list.

And at my constant insisting (we had several talks about this before I left) he kept me in the loop with lots of pictures of my babies.

Saying goodbye was HARD (hard, hard, hard, hard, hard, hard, hard). I made them a little gift bag with a note and surprise for everyday I was gone, they opened their first one right after I left the house.

I received this picture when I was sitting in the airport in Chicago getting ready to board the long flight to Ireland. They went to the Voss house for a BBQ and some playing in the sprinklers for the kids. 

They had a fun night with Aunt Paige on Tuesday while Eric was at his hockey game.

The 3 of them went to the Butterfly House with Grandma Chris and Harper one day.

I could tell Eric was letting Elle pick out her outfits by herself while I was gone...and I think Ollie wore this hat the entire week I was away. :)

I LOVED receiving pictures of the kids throughout the day.

Museum of Transportation with Grandma Chris...Eric sent me the cutest video of Elle and Oliver riding the kiddie trains.

Sweet little sugar wore one of my t shirts to bed. :)

Dinner with daddy at PF Changs

These next 2 pictures are the ones I received while reading every news article I could find after the London Bridge terrorist attack. I have never in my life wanted to hold these two so badly.

 These pictures sent me into an emotional tailspin. 

Eric said he was in the living room and noticed it was suddenly very quiet. They had made their own little comfy spot in the dining room and decided to watch a movie together. :)

My little family picked me up from the airport (because I couldn't even stand to wait an additional 20 minutes to see them :) and there were so many tears, hugs and kisses.

The trip was AMAZING, I am so thankful that I was able to go.

And Eric is AMAZING for never once complaining that I was jetting off on this unbelievable trip and he was burning vacation days. He really enjoyed his one on one time with the kids.