CLASS of 2025

Can you believe it....the class of 2025 is starting first grade!  This year is the year the uniforms kick in.  I must say I LOVE the idea of uniforms.  Believe or not, 

Dawson does too!  

Our picture as we walked out the door and headed to our first day of first grade!

One more picture...I grabbed a quick Iphone photo as they lined up in morning care.  She was all smiles as she headed off to her new classroom.  We are off to a great start!

Annual Movie Night

Movie night....perfect weather, 10 kids, parents and a viewing of the Little Mermaid = tons of fun!

Everyone laid out their blankets and got ready for the movie.  I can't even tell you how excited everyone was to watch a movie outside.  Some friends have done this with us before and others were new!

We had a small, free concession stand which included: pizza, popcorn, candy and juice boxes.  It was quite busy all night long.   Dawson even requested a short intermission so all the kids could stock up on the snacks!  

As you can see, the kids didn't sit through the whole movie....some were watching from the swing set and others from inside the jumpy house.  They were all over the place!

At the end of the movie, the big girls loaded YOUTUBE videos and our night became a dance party.  These two decided to be the D.J.'s for the night!

Tubing Anyone?

 We have had a lot of rain and cooler weather this summer but, between all the clouds, we jumped in the car, grabbed a few friends and ventured down to the lake.  No one ever said you had to have sun to go tubing!

We tied this big floating raft to the dock and the kids played on it for hours.  The water is about 6 feet deep at our dock so no one could touch.  It makes jumping off the dock a ton of fun!!!

They got on it and off it all day long in between tubing!

 At times, they just sat and rested.

Other times, they played king of the inner tube.    

 These two were ready to go tubing just about every minute of the day.   I did take a break driving the boat to get a bottle of water and one of the kids said "is 15 minutes a long enough break for you?"   That made me laugh.   

 The best part of being at a lake house is having your friends with you all day long!

 

 My fearless tuber!

 Dawson can not wait to get back to the lake to do some more tubing.  Maybe the sun will come out before school starts?

Nature Camp

Our small town holds a week long nature camp each summer for all different age groups.  The do a fabulous job exploring nature and learning all kinds of plant and animal characteristics.   Dawson LOVES it as much as I do.  It's a well kept secret.

 When they first arrived, they each did their name in chalk...always tons of fun!

A lot of learning about the four animal types...mammals, birds, reptiles and insects.

Another chalk drawing.  Can this "D" get any bigger?  It was about 3 feet tall!

Biking Day and Night

 Biking, biking, biking...what we do in our pajamas until we need flashlights.  Dawson LOVES her new bike.  We hit the bike trail a few days ago with Aunt Beth, Uncle Mike and Papa.  Her little legs biked 2 and 1/2 miles after she had done a mile hike with nature camp. I have to say she was tired after that ride.  

 Dawson is following Aunt Beth on the trail!

Often times, she would stop to get a drink from her water bottle.  Sometimes she would just stop and forget to tell the rest of us she was stopping.  Good thing we had quick reactions!

And when we are not on a trail, we are riding on the sidewalks and in the cal-de-sac.

We can never get enough of our family bike rides....Hopefully we will have a few more good months of bike riding before winter hits us!

Kidz Day

Grace and Lynn joined us for some Kidz Day fun over the weekend.  This was a day filled with many hands on kids things to do and experience.  Grace and Dawson are both filled with independence and 6 year old attitude.....I have to admit, it's extremely funny!

 Can you see the attitude when we asked them for a picture together?

 A flower by the balloon guy!

 Decorating a Smiley cookie by Eat and Park.

The two largest snow cones I have ever seen!
(Thanks for the  pictures Lynn.  I forgot my camera!)

Orlando Business Trip....

 Daddy had an important business trip to Orlando and invited us to go along.  Of course we couldn't say NO!  We did not want it to be a total Disney trip, more of a relax and swim trip to beat the rainy weather we have been having this summer in Ohio.  

 We did hit The Magic Kingdom one day from morning until the Electrical parade.  Our friends happened to be visiting relatives in Florida at the same time so we met up for the day!  Nothing beats a Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich!

 The three girls waiting patiently for the Electric Parade!

 The next day we his Sea World.  As many people know, we used to go to Sea World ALL the time when it was in Aurora.  It was a school fieldtrip also!  Here is a pic of a mama and her baby dolphin.  It was fun to watch the baby swim all around her mama!

 And lastly, the Shamu show!  These animals never cease to amaze me.  There were five of them and their trainers doing some amazing things.  Unfortunately, two years ago a trainer was killed so the trainers are no longer allowed in the water.

Look at this JUMP!