Indoor Play

It's summer in Texas. It's stinking hot. School is also out. We have a lot of togetherness. The kids need to get out their "wiggles," but outdoor playgrounds are totally out unless we want to deal with heat stroke. So....I am very happy to have found 2 great new indoor playgrounds right up the street in some local churches. One of them even lets the adults get in on the play too. Here are some photos from our play outings over the last few weeks. Enjoy! We did!

Cousins

The kids got to really meet their new cousin, Benjamin, over the weekend. They totally love him, as you can see from the photos. Candice told Emily to go wash her hands & use some sanitizer if she wanted to hold him. Emily then practically sprinted to the bathroom to wash up. Jonathan even asked if he could let Benjamin hold his baby - that's huge! They sang him a few songs (even Kat got in on it as much as she could). It's going to be so fun watching them grow up together!

Science Museum Fun

We visited the local science museum today. They have a great imaginary play area. The kids favorite thing is the kid-sized grocery store complete with carts, food, and cash registers with scanners. It's pretty cool. I would have loved it as a kid too. Katherine liked driving in the pretend ambulance. There were cool dinosaur bones and a HUGE light bright too. Very nice indoor outing for a hot summer day in Texas! When we got home the older 2 jumped in our little backyard pool while Kat napped. Apparently it needed the little tykes car in it for that added level of fun (photo below). ;-) Notice in the pool picture that the bamboo behind the kids is half cut down. We are in process of attempting to rid our yard of the bamboo forrest that has taken over. It will likely be a project that spans into the fall season...but one that will be conquered, none the less!

New Camera & the Swim Park

Joel is a photographer, a good one too. He has several awesome cameras, with amazing lenses. They rock. They take great photos. They are also large & expensive. To get a good photo from them it helps to know what you are doing (f-stops, aperture, etc.) I do not have that particular set of knowledge and it makes me a bit nervous to handle these prized possessions of Joel's anyway. So, I've always had my own no bells & whistles, small, simple little digital point-and-shoot. However, last year, while celebrating our anniversary no less, I dropped this great little camera & broke it. Permanently. No fixing. I was sad.

So for the last year I have really missed my little camera. Especially when a great photo op arose during a normal day with the kids. Recently we've been able to replace the camera for me. Joel did a TON of research & found a great little one that is **drop proof** and bonus: waterproof too. So....when we took our first trip to the local swim park this summer the camera got to come along too! Here are 3 of my favorite shots of the kids having fun in the water & sun. Looks like this new little camera & I are going to get along just fine. Thanks, Joel!

Zoo Day

We braved the Texas heat today to visit the local zoo with Grandma. It was a good time. Katherine usually rides around in the stroller & checks everything out in chilled-out style. Today she wanted to get out and become a part of the exhibits. She LOVED the herpetarium. I think she would have gotten in the tanks with the snakes and other reptiles if she could have. With Katherine out of the stroller Jonathan quickly requested to ride in it (pretty smart little guy). Here are a few photos from our outing.

First Grade

Emily had a great teacher this year for first grade. We were so pleased that Em was placed in her class. Last week she emailed me a link to all the photos she took in the classroom over the year. I ordered a few & thought I'd share. It's pretty neat to get to peek inside the classroom to get a small glimpse of Emily's days in school.

The classroom - it was a jungle theme

Who doesn't love a good painting session?

Thanksgiving feast

One happy first grader!

Bug Lover

Jonathan LOVES bugs. Loves, loves them! He even told me one day that he likes to find bugs so he can protect them & make sure they are safe. When we take walks in our neighborhood he will often request a bowl to take along to collect all the doodle bugs he finds. I'm not too big on the bug thing, but since having a boy I'm slowly warming up to the idea. I can at least appreciate that HE thinks they are amazing. One day while weeding our little flower bed I pulled up a deep weed & up came a long garden snake. I held back my freak out scream & instead told Jon to check out the cool snake I'd found. We had to make sure we put him somewhere safe so Jon knew the snake would be OK before we went back inside.

Last Sunday on the way into church he found a doodle bug on the sidewalk. I told him it was OK to pick it up & bring it in with us. He spent the first half of church watching it & playing with it. I love this picture. He really enjoyed his time with his new friend. The bug did end up crawling away, probably under the seat. So we left him in the sanctuary to enjoy the air conditioning. Maybe we'll find him waiting for his 4 year old friend again this Sunday. I'm trying to take in his wide-eyed fascination with the world around him while it's still so fresh and big. I know as he grows, the world will loose some of it's wonder and awe, but for now it's refreshing to see it through his eyes.