Yesterday we got the play sprinklers out for the kids and just sat in the backyard watching them enjoy the water. Belle likes watching the kids play in the sprinklers.
Hold me closer tiny dancer…
Belle and I were just sitting there chilling but she needed to get in on the fun too. Apparently Belle came pre-programed knowing how to play fetch and bring the ball back to us. Being part greyhound, she’s pretty fast.
Afterwards Belle like to join us for dinner.
The kid’s and I had the opportunity to go listen to a classical music group known as Cactus Pear on Friday. It was an event that was hosted by the local Children’s Museum to help expand the horizons of our youth. I’m not sure the kids loved it, but I enjoyed sitting and listening to the music very much. The group played several pieces using the flute, violin, viola, cello, and harpsichord. The kids were well behaved and looked to be paying attention at least.
Decorating the violin shaped cookies afterwards was a huge hit though!
Eating their masterpieces proved to be worth sitting through the concert as well!
Dalton with sprinkles galore!
Addie, skipping the cookie and going straight to the icing.
I couldn’t update the blog without including a picture of Belle. Here she is tormenting, I mean playing, with the kids.
Addie is, for the most part, a little tomboy. She loves trains, cars and planes. She’s never found bug she wouldn’t pick up. And if you let her pick out her own clothes, she would wear her overalls everyday. However, there is a bit of girly girl in her too. She loves shoes, bracelets, and pretty bows for her hair. She is also pretty good about sitting still and letting me fix her hair. The other day, we tried our hand at her first french braid. I have more practicing to do, but she seemed to like it anyway.
Blake had a long weekend off from work over the Fourth of July weekend, so we were able to enjoy lots of time together as a family and made some fun memories with friends.
We started the weekend off with the annual parade. Since we live in an area of San Antonio that is basically made up of a million tiny little communities, the parade mostly consisted of about a million fire trucks, police cars and city vehicles from all the surrounding communities. The kids didn’t seem to mind though. What is better than a parade of nothing but fire trucks with a few tractors thrown in the mix? Here are some of the highlights.
Getting ready for the parade to start.
Half motorcycle/Half VW Beatle - Who wouldn’t drive that?
The first fire truck.
The Sweetheart Float.
Tractor float complete with fresh crops for decorations.
The Shriners and their crazy little cars.
Enjoying the parade!
More fire trucks.
Some guy on a crazy bike. Notice the fire truck in the background.
The double decker bus.
And the grand finale!
We also enjoyed some of the family events sponsored by our new YMCA in the area. They had free popcorn, an obstacle course and face painting for the kids.
Addie showing Dalton how to do the tire run.
Dalton doing the army crawl.
Addie doing the army crawl.
Dalton’s “turtle”. Apparently the Y does not employ any art students.
Addie enjoying her popcorn. She wasn’t to keen on the idea of someone painting on her face, so she settled for popcorn instead.
She also didn’t much care for the “Y”. I guess it brought back memories of Santa for her. Remember the Christmas card picture? Dalton sitting calming on Santa’s lap while Addie was running away in terror. This wasn’t quite that bad, but almost.
We also enjoyed some time at the park. This was very special treat since Daddy was able to go with us.
Doing a little climbing.
Jumping (or getting ready to) and spinning equals fun times!
And then finally, we finished the weekend off watching fireworks with friends. Taking pictures of fireworks didn’t turn out so well, but here is the crew we enjoyed watching them with.
Look at all those kids…and almost all boys. Poor Addie!
The twins are home and doing well! Sophie got to come home on July 6th and her brother Asher followed her the very next day. They are just over a month old now and are growing like little weeds. They have both gained over 2 pounds, sleeping as well as can be expected and are overall very good babies. Here are some pictures of the precious little ones.
All snuggled up and ready for a nap.
Sophie
Asher
We’ve taken two trips to Angelo so far this summer to visit family. The kids always have a blast, as there doesn’t seem to be many dull moments when we are there. Dalton finally took the plunge and is now able to swim without floaties, thanks to Macca and Poc’s pool. Addie thinks she can too and doesn’t seem to be bothered by finding herself on the bottom of the pool after she has taken her floaties off and stepped out into deeper water. She is fearless to say the least. Belle seems to enjoy her visits with Mr. Butters too. However, I don’t know if I can say the same for Mr. Butters. He tolerates her, but doesn’t like to share all that much. Here are some pictures from our trips in June and July.
Addie being silly. Macca always seems to have something new and exciting for the kids to enjoy. Who knew a sun visor and pair of glasses could be so much fun?
Addie and Macca taking a peek at some of the creatures at the San Angelo Nature Center.
Dalton and one of the MANY rattlesnakes at the nature center.
Addie enjoying watching the Alligators at the nature center.
Watching the bobcats at the nature center or kitties at Addie liked to call them.
Dalton holding a baby raccoon at his cousins house. Blake’s uncle is a game warden and they often rehab injured or abandoned animals. It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity for our city kids.
Addie LOVED the baby raccoon. We had to pry it out of her hands when it was time to leave. The kid’s got to go over and help feed it during our second trip home.
Father’s Day 2010 with all four generations.
