4th of July

4th of July is fast becoming one of my favorite holidays.  One of the best things about it is our family tradition of walking in the neighborhood parade.  It's not a big deal, but the kids really look forward to it and it's fun to decorate the stroller.  The first year we had the double stroller, then a trike and a stroller, now a bike and a stroller.
  

 

 

 

After the parade we went to Village Fest.  It was a beautiful day for it!  Hannah loved the bounce houses and slides....
 

Olive...not so much.
 

But they were both excited to ride the train.
 

And Olive said her favorite part was looking at the "horsies."
 

 

Hannah really wanted to do the zipline, but you had to be 60 pounds.  She settled for the rock climbing wall.  That girl is an amazing climber!
 

 

After naps we went to Parkville for dinner with Grandpa and Grandma at Marissa and Casey's house.  Then on to the carnival in downtown Parkville.  It was Olive's first time riding rides.  This was her face before it started...
 

And then as soon as it moved there were big smiles and waves.  She loved it!  I had to drag her off.
 

 

skydivers over the carinval
 

  

Trying out some "cool" faces for selfies.  You're welcome for this Marissa. :)

Olive and her main man:  Grandpa

 

Best memory of the night:  Hannah's first ferris wheel ride.  When it started it moving it took my breath away.   Then I started laughing so hard I was crying.  Hannah was laughing and yelling.  It was so much fun!

I brought glow sticks for the fireworks show.  They were a hit.  Both girls pretended to direct the fireworks with their "magic wands."  They stayed up super late and didn't get cranky at all.  Best day of the summer.

Tug of War

Last Corporate Challenge event:  Tug of War!  Steve's team got 2nd place in his division.  We got to play at Longview Lake beach. 

 

 

 

 

Arboretum

Overland Park Arboretum with Aunt Marissa.  Hannah didn't remember going last year.  I showed her pictures from the blog and she couldn't wait to see the train go under the sidewalk.  When we got there, I was disappointed to find out they are now charging admission. :(  Still worth a visit, though.  Especially for the trains.  They were a big hit!  We even got to go inside the train car and climb up to the lookout spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flags for Freedom

 Happy 4th of July.  Earlier this week we went to Merriam Flags for Freedom.

 

 

 

Ironwoods Park in June

Every Tuesday in June the city of Leawood hosted free kids events in Ironwoods Park.  I wanted to do them last year, but Olive was still taking her morning nap.  This year we went to all of them.  Plus we explored Prairie Oak Nature Center and the Oxford School (one room school house) also at Ironwoods Park.

First up was the Doo Dads Concert.  The girls liked it because of the bubbles.  Olive is in purple and Hannah has a braid.
 

Next up was Stone Lion Puppets.  This one was my favorite and Olive's favorite.  As soon as we got home the girls wanted to put on puppet shows.

 

 Then we went to a Dino O'Dell concert outside.  It was a hot day, but they still got up and danced.

 

 

And last was the juggler.  This was Hannah's favorite.  I think mostly because she got up on stage.  Tip: if you want to be picked as a volunteer, wear a tiara to stand out from the crowd.
 

And of course we had a juggling show once we got home.  We are already looking forward to next year's events!

Catsitting

We volunteered to cat-sit Jules while Aunt Marissa and Uncle Casey were on a cruise.  I thought it would be a good test to see if we are ready for a cat.  We are not.  Or maybe I should say Olive is not.  She spent most of the time chasing Jules trying to grab her tail and yelling "Juey!!"  Jules spent most of her time in hiding.  She started running away as soon as she heard Olive's voice.  She was more tolerant of Hannah.  But she was most happy to sit on my lap at night when she knew the girls were in bed.  The girls loved having Jules at our house and I was surprised by how low maintenance she was, but I think we'll remain pet free for another year or so.  

 

Total numbers- 3 scratches (1 for me and 2 for Olive), 2 bites (both Hannah), 2 girls who are in love with cats.  Their new favorite game is crawling on the floor and pretending to be kitties.  Olive says "You Mama cat."  And every cat she sees is now "Juey."  We're ready to catsit again!