++Life These Days++

We got a new table for our deck so most of the meals these days are consumed outside.  It didn't take too long to figure out that the two of them side-by-side on the bench wasn't going to work out so well. Clearly the kids are fans of the whole thing.

++VBS++

We just finished up a week at vacation bible school at our church.  As a two-year-old Claire could attend but I had to be with her the whole time (a bit of overkill if you ask me, but I don't make the rules).  It was fun.  This is really the first "school" experience for the little one.  She was super cooperative but SO QUIET.  I'm not used to that side of her!

++Fireworks!++

After still working on getting back into a grove from our two weeks in the heartland, we decided to lay low for the Fourth.  Whomever thought it was a good idea to plan a holiday that involved pyrotechnics at nightfall clearly didn't have young kids.  Yes, I've turned into that lady who views everything through the five-and-under lens.  I'm lame, I know.  It's a good thing our neighbors aren't!  Enter our own private 7pm pyrotechnic extravaganza: 

 Do you see the amazement in those eyes? 

We did not need to leave our home to have noise too loud for our baby's ears.

There were even some fireworks of another kind going on.  (Seriously, we need to hang onto this so we can bribe them as adults.)

For the record...James is super cute, she could do so much worse!

Clearly, these monkeys enjoyed the show...and we were home before bedtime!

++Sprinkler Fun++

Words not really required on this one.  I love how Wyatt "dives" into the water and how Claire watches with her little hands on her hips. 

And that is how we spent the one and only warm day we have had so far this summer. 

++Family photos++

I got a fun little remote shutter control for my camera which allowed us to take a family photo while we were in Stevens Point.  I don't have a tripod so a ladder had to do.  Guess who got the shutter control job?  Here's a hint: he's cooperating much better than usual.  No, it's not Mark!

 Here is the original family.  Untouched by the two crazy ladies that now run the show :)  Ok, who am I kidding...the show is really run by the two shortest members. 

 And, here is a little lesson in photo posing for you.  And a face save for me.  As "nice" as it is to have that first shot of the whole family, I hate it of me.  Isn't it amazing how just a little move of the arm gave me a waist and shaved a good 50 pounds off me?  I get the right to prove I'm not *quite* as portly as I appear in the first photo, it is my blog after all. 

++Twenty Images++

We had a wonderful trip to the Midwest.  I took lots and lots of photos.  I actually spent a lot of the free time that I had on my hands at the in-laws to go through years and years of photos and just try to get them a little more organized.  If I did a posting for each detail of our event I'd never get caught up.  So here's a quick recap of some of the highlights in twenty images.

1. Remember last summer when I had a fun little outing with two of my girls?  Well they have each added to their family since then and I got to meet the newbies.  Stella:

 2. And Dexter (who was like 13.5 pounds when he was born or something crazy like that):

 3. Wyatt kept Uncle Matt busy with games like corn hole.  You know you live in Washington when the small yards in Saint Louis Park (and like we used to have in South Minneapolis) are HUGE to your kids.

 4. We got to spend some time at the coolest park ever with some of our very favorite people. 

 5. I told you this park was cool.  The kids could have played there all day.

 6. Corralling them for a photo was not easy.

 7. I got to spend some time with my girls at a baby shower for our friend Janet.  How pretty is the table the set up? 

 8. Seriously.  Such a treat to get back with my girls.  They know how to do it up right...and they are pretty fun ladies as well!

 9. Claire got some time in with her Uncle Matt.  She got in some Aunt Taylor loving too but for some reason that never got documented on film.

 10. We left Minneapolis and headed for Camp Grandma and Grandpa in Wisconsin.  Wyatt wasted no time getting busy in the wood shop with Grandpa. 

 11. For some reason the Midwest decided to pretend it was Seattle so it was cool and rainy a lot of the time we were there.  What do you do when it's cool and rainy?  You take the kiddo for his first bowling outing.  He was a natural!  Bumpers make me a far better bowler as well for the record!

 12. I just love this shot. 

 13.  Mark and I spent some fun time away from the kiddos and headed to Door County.  I didn't take a lot of photos (for some reason my kids are more fun to photograph than Mark...) We did visit this pretty lighthouse though.

 14. We returned just in time to surprise Mark's parents with a 40th wedding anniversary dinner.  The greatest part?  The place where the had their reception is still in business so we were able to celebrate there. 

 15.  Taylor's talented sister made the cake.  Notice the missing flowers? I think some kiddo hands may have been busy before I shot the picture.

 16. We invited Rick's siblings and Busha.  It was so nice to have everyone together!

 17.  This one made me laugh.  Leaving the restaurant.  Two hot convertibles.  One belongs to Mark's Dad, the other to his Uncle Doug.  Mid-life crises must run in the family.

 18. Speaking of Uncles and their toys, we returned to Minnesota and spent some time with my aunt and uncle.  The kids had lots of fun going for tractor rides behind Uncle Dick's lawnmower.

 19. We also discovered another super cool park.  Have I mentioned I can't get enough of that smile?

20. Seriously, my lens wasn't wide enough to capture the entire tower.  They don't make them like that here.  I guess that's a casualty of having mountains and oceans in your state.  They make you play with the real thing. 

And then we went home and rested.  And talked about how much fun we have when we visit. 

++Last Day of School!++

Another year has ended.  I must be honest.  I really don't look forward to this day as a parent.  We thrive on the schedules that school guarantees us.  Wyatt loves the social interaction.  I love the time alone with Claire (Wyatt had 2.5 years of me all to himself so we have a lot of catching up to do!).  He really had a great class this year.  Lots of boy buddies to pal around with. 

I do love to do some comparing.  Here's my buddy on the first day of school:

And here he is on the last day of school (and loving every minute of his mother's photo session):

We had a couple of parties at the end of the year.  The first was a class picnic.  I didn't take a lot of photos as I was busy organizing it. 

 Wyatt is hanging in the back.  His best buddy Isaak is to his left. 

 On the last day of school we were invited into the classroom for the last few minutes to celebrate.  It was fun to see Wyatt in his element with his friends.  They were a tad wound up. 

And that ends Wyatt's third year in preschool.  Onto the fourth.  I'm thinking this kid is going to be plenty prepared for kindergarten, how about you?