Summer Fun 2009

Jim and I feel a little guilty about this summer. Because of the wedding in June and the reception in July, we weren't able to do a whole lot of exciting activities with the kids this summer. But thankfully, we have awesome kids who had a fun summer kicking it at home anyway. Here are some of our summer highlights:

Every year we have the girls during the 4th of July, we have taken them to see the fireworks at Emerald Downs. We don't actually go INTO the racetrack, but my family gets together and barbecues on the grass outside the race track where the view of the fireworks is just as spectacular. The girls also love to watch the airplanes come in for a landing as our viewing spot is right above the runway to the Auburn Airport. The planes literally come within feet of your head as you sit there and watch them come in for a landing.

Katlynne and Kayla Getting Ready For Fireworks To Start

Kayla, Katlynne and Kelsey - Ready For The Show

At the end of June, Jim and I decided it was time to put away Kayla's scooter and make use of her bike. We finally took off the training wheels and convinced her it was time to try riding a two-wheeler. After a few tears and many tries later, she finally got it down! As the weather has been so nice this summer, that's all she wants to do now is ride her bike!!!

Jim is Definitely A Better Teacher - I Have No Patience

There She Goes!

Off Into The Sunset

After finally getting the two-wheeler routine down, her only complaint is that the seat made her butt hurt and she told me she just isn't into princesses anymore. I guess I was supposed to know that. So - for her birthday, Jim got her a squishy seat cover for her bike and I took off the little handlebar tassles and anything else princess related that was on her bike (stickers, decals, etc). Now she's a happy camper.

Getting Her Up Early To Open Her First Gift

Her Bike Is Now Up To Satisfaction

Can I Just Go Ride PLEASE!

Since our new house is just a hop, skip and a jump away from the old Valley Drive-In Movie Theater, we decided to take the girls to see G-Force and Harry Potter at the Drive-Ins! They had so much fun lounging in the back of the car. Kelsey fell asleep not even half-way through G-Force, but we made her wake up and watch it. After that movie, we threw the little girls in the front seats to fall asleep so Jim, Katlynne and I could watch Harry Potter in the back. Katlynne had been DYING to see Harry Potter. Jim and I had already seen that movie when it first came out - so I ended up falling asleep too!

Waiting For The Movie To Start!

We've managed to take the girls camping every summer for the past three summers but this year, we just had so much going on, we didn't have the time to plan a camping trip anywhere. So - we compromised and had an indoor camping excursion in our living room! The girls had a great time! And I was shocked that our ginormous tent actually fit in the living room.

Kayla and Kelsey In The Tent

We Played Lots of Games....

Katlynne loves to bake and cook - so we have decided that every time she comes over to our house, we are going to pull out the bread maker and experiment with a new kind of bread. This summer, we made Mozzarella and Sun-Dried Tomato bread and Cinnamon Swirl Bread. They were YUMMY!

Mozzarella and Sun-Dried Tomato

Cinnamon Swirl

When we bought our house, the front yard came landscaped and we quickly discovered that it was very poorly landscaped. The plants had already started dying and falling apart. So - we have slowly been redoing the front yard, getting rid of some plants and transplanting other plants, giving them a better root system to survive. The planter area was originally on a slope which meant every time we tried to water the suckers, it all ran off before the ground had a chance to absorb the water.

So I came up with the idea to build a raised flower bed to level it off, add more top soil to give the plants more room to grow and to make the yard look more finished. Our solution was actually pretty inexpensive and took us only two weekends. I love that Jim is such a handy man. I can come up with the ideas and he figures out a way to execute it. We make a good team.

Before Picture

Before - Close Up Of Flower Bed Area

The Finished Product

Close Up Of Finished Product

That pretty much sums up our summer. We are now in the process of getting Kayla ready to go back to school. I can't believe she's going to be in 2nd grade already!!! How exciting!