Summer Visits with Gaga and Papa

As most of you know, my mom had major back surgery on August 7. So the kids and I headed to Iowa a few times before and after to visit Gaga and Papa O’Brien. Alex loved playing “Go Fish” with Gaga and both Alex and Lauren love having Gaga read them books. And Papa helped Alex and Lauren plant a new plant that someone gave Gaga while she was in the hospital. Lauren and Alex also love picking all the tomatoes on Gaga and Papa’s tomato plants. They get so excited when they see red and ripe ones waiting for them. They are both anxious for Gaga to be feeling better so they can go down there again soon!

Prince, Princesses & Superheroes

Alex was in a summer camp in July titled Prince, Princesses & Superheroes and he LOVED it! He did many different activities with a lot of his friends and he couldn't wait to go every morning that he had it. Here are a few pictures, he loved being a prince and loved being superhero (Batman) and even let Lauren in on the fun!

Camping

We had our first family camping trip. Yes, we were brave enough to take a toddler and a preschooler camping…in a tent. Although we were a little apprehensive over how it would go, we had a fantastic time! The kids were so excited to see our new tent all set up that as soon as we got all unpacked, Alex asked if we could stay there forever. It was really a great weekend, Dad already agreed to go again next year and we may even try to squeeze a trip in this fall. We cooked all our food over an open fire, slept in our giant new tent, and watch the kids have an absolute blast being outside for an entire weekend. They went swimming, played at several playgrounds, and even went for pony rides. The campground had a petting zoo too and the kids enjoyed feeding all the animals. And surprisingly enough, the weekend went pretty smooth. No rain, thank God, and the weather was great. Lauren struggled a bit the first night sleeping in the great outdoors – didn’t fall asleep until 11:45 and was up at 5:30 but did much better the second night. And Alex was a champ – sleeping in until 8:30 both mornings, he was wiped! Now that we’re home, Alex and Lauren go on pretend “camping trips” daily in our living room. They pack up their backpacks and go on pretend picnics and camping trips. It’s very fun to see their imagination so active and creative. Guess they must have enjoyed their weekend!

Fourth of July

We had a lovely 4th of July weekend this year. We spent 4 days at Nana and Grandpa’s house on the lake. The kids went swimming (thanks to Nana’s inflatable pool) and also jumped in the lake off the boat to swim a little bit in their lifejackets with mom and dad and some of their aunts (by the way – the lake water was FREEZING – kids didn’t mind, mom and dad stopped breathing upon entry into the water). We went to a little carnival in town, which the kids loved! The kids did some fishing, Alex caught about 6 fish and Lauren didn't catch anything though she kept saying that she caught a big fish. We had bonfires, smores, and watched the fireworks from out on the lake in the boat. It was a great weekend and a wonderful time with family.