Independence Day Kickoff

Our city has a ton of events during the week leading up to Independence Day and we've never done any of them because we've always been busy.  Today we decided to make time.

 

We left too late to make it to the parade, so our first stop was a car show.  The boys really enjoyed this.

Jim and I agree that the cars from the 50's were neat looking.  This was one of Jim's favorites.

I really like this car...again from the 50's.

This was Annie's favorite car because of the pink on it.  Funny girl.  The owner was letting the kids sign their names on the two race cars; they were happy to oblige.

After the car show we headed over to a church that had advertised some family fun.  We didn't know what to expect, so we were pleasantly surprised.  Everything was free (including the food) unless you wanted to make a donation.  Nobody was asking for donations, though; they just had a few donation boxes out.  There was no pressure and somehow that made us all the more inclined to put our dollars in to help cover the cost of the event.  (It also made it totally affordable.)  Anyway, there were lots of fun things to do.

Here Annie is standing in front of the dunk tank with her popcorn.  Logan dunked the girl in it twice.  He thought it was so hilarious.

Here are Jim and Abby waiting in line for a barbecue lunch.

There were three inflatables that Annie and Logan really enjoyed climbing and jumping in.  Alex was a bit overwhelmed and didn't last long.

There were also carnival type games and crafts for the kids inside the church.  Our timing was excellent because it decided to rain while we were in there doing those.  The kids also ended up with goodie bags after doing the games and crafts.  It was a nice event without being overcrowded and we'd gladly go back again next year.

Back at home again, Abby was all smiles before her nap.

Everyone was wiped out.  It's been a while since the whole family took a nap.

Notice the bow in Annie's hair.  She was the last one to fall asleep because she was playing with her hair; she is such a girl!

On the agenda this evening: a house cleaning race.  Then my mom arrives tomorrow, my sister arrives on Thursday, and my in-laws arrive on Friday.  Yay!

Summer Fun

I've been squeezing the fun in every chance I get with everything we have going on right now.  Since we had to be out of the house for an inspection last week, I took the kids to a park they've been wanting to re-visit.  It has a splash pad, big sand box, really cool playground, and lots of shade.

 

I parked myself between the splash pad and sandbox, so the kids could run between the two.

Logan learned that it's a good idea to dry off before getting in the sand.

We picnicked...

Abby had a little nap while I relaxed on the blanket.

We moved over to the playground for the last little bit and Abby woke up.

Today I had a dentist's appointment and other errands to run, but we still squeezed some fun in there.  I made one errand a trip to the library to pick up the kids' summer reading prizes.  Then we used their coupons to have lunch at Noodles N' Company.

Alex REALLY loved their mac n' cheese.  He finished every noodle in his bowl and started eating Logan's.

Abby let me put her down while I enjoyed my meal.  She is such a happy content baby!  She's up and down all day and perfectly fine with it all.  All I have to do is look her way and she'll smile at me.  She is such a joy and so easy going!

 After we came home, I sent the kids outside to splash around.  This has been the best activity to keep Alex out of mischief in the afternoons, plus it wears them out.

Here Alex is running away because I wanted to take a picture of him.

Then he changed his mind.  Note the shoes in this picture.  They were having fun floating their Crocs and wanted to be sure I had a picture of it.

The Many Faces of Abigail

If Abby ever complains about not having enough baby pictures, I will direct her to this post.  :)  I've been extra inclined to take pictures of her this week.

 

I'm finally capturing facial expressions.  Yay!

She definitely has our blue eyes.

I love this one.

Don't you just want to kiss these little cheeks???