4th of July Weekend

The Vroomans were back visiting from Seattle and they invited us to spend some time at their house at Lake Viking.  Sarah's sister and her family were also there so there were lots of kiddos to play with.  Unfortunately it was cold and rainy the whole weekend (in July!).  That didn't stop the kids from swimming in the lake.  But it did stop the lake's fireworks show. :(

We brought some legos for indoor fun.

smoke bombs

fish that they caught in the lake

Hannah's biggest catch!

 Steve and Hannah's first time on the jet ski

We had a great time with the Vroomans.  It's always easy to be with old friends.  You just fall right back into place even though you haven't seen each other in months.  And we have lots of memories at the lake house, too.  Like Tyler and Sarah's wedding shower and when we stayed there right after Sarah and I found out we were pregnant.  Ah, memories.

Then on the 3rd we went back to our house in KC.  Aunt Marissa and Uncle Casey were visiting so we invited our friends the Hipps over for a game night.  This was an intense giant Jenga game.

The cooler weather was nice for our neighborhood parade.  This was the closest we were to the girls because they took off on bikes and we didn't seem them again until the end.

 One-legged riding.  Trick riding works better with your tongue out.

After two nights of staying up late (at the lake and at our house with friends) Olive was in no mood for pictures.  We barely got her to the parade at all.

After some treats, her mood got better.  We went to Village Fest, or as Steve likes to call it- Line Fest.

flying with Uncle Casey

And we finally got Olive to pose for a family photo.  A root beer float bribe might have been involved.

That night we watched Shawnee Mission's fireworks show.  Olive is really too big for bear chair but he is a necessary part of any fireworks show or camping trip.  Although when the show started she sat on my lap and Hannah sat on Steve's.  And that's my favorite way to watch fireworks- cuddling with my kiddos.  I've told them they can't grow up any more.

Old Shawnee Town and Johnson County Museum

I love the olden days!  I finally coerced Steve to going to Shawnee Town.  It is a small town and farmhouse made to look like 1929.  We told the girls this was when their great-grandparents were young.  They were amazed to see how life has changed in just a few generations.  

Great-grandma Velma actually gave us a typewriter very similar to this.

We toured the farm house and looked in all the buildings.  Steve and I recognized a lot of the farm equipment from our grandparents' farms.

 And since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped by the Johnson County Museum.  It was a day of history! Steve loved every minute of it. :)

Theater for Young America and Science City

We went to the Theater for Young America inside Union Station to see a Jack and the Beanstalk play.  It was our first time at the theater, although Hannah had been there before on a field trip.  We haven't been to many live theater shows and I want to see more.  Having a baby/toddler really limits your activities.  I'm so glad Olive is old enough to sit through a show now and enjoy it!

And since we were at Union Station, the girls couldn't leave without spending some time at Science City.

Every time we are there we see something new.  This time it was these spinning chairs and a new "forces and motion" exhibit upstairs.

Serious builders.

Someone stole my pose.

T-Bones Game

It was our first time at a T-Bones game and the girls' first time at a baseball game.  We went on a very hot day so that led to some crankiness.  You can see Hannah was not too pleased and Olive refused to be the picture altogether.  Olive's quote of the day: "Nine innings?!?  Why don't they just play one?"

We were going to sit on the grass (the cheapest tickets), but it was Dog Day.  Or as we like to call it, Olive Scream Day.  There was NO WAY she would sit in the grass with dogs all around her.  So we sat in the bleachers.  All the seats were so close!  Since the girls have never been to Kauffman Stadium, they didn't really appreciate it.   Steve and I thought it was awesome.  He even caught a foul ball!

Sizzle, the T-Bones mascot, walked around and took pictures with anyone who asked.  And there was a kid area with bounce houses and playground equipment.  The kids also got to run the bases at the end of the game.  We had a good time even though we lost.

Father's Day

So somehow I didn't take a single picture of Father's Day weekend.  Oops.  Steve chose the activities (kayaking in Shawnee Mission Park and building a lego table) and the food (BBQ).  The girls got him a batman shirt.  I mowed the lawn for him.  And on Sunday morning Steve competed in the Corporate Challenge triathlon and his team won their division!

As I say every year, the girls are blessed to have such a great dad.  While some dads might be disappointed to have girls instead of boys, Steve doesn't mind at all.  In fact, he does the exact same stuff with them as he would with boys.  They wrestle, climb trees, play sports, and build legos together.  And he also participates in the "girly" stuff they want to do like watching ballet, coloring, and playing dress-up.  He does it all and we are very grateful.

STEM Camp

Our school district offers summer enrichment camps in a variety of areas.  I thought Hannah was too young last year since some classes are grouped K-3.  This year we decided to try it out.  Each class is three hours long (either morning or afternoon) and lasts a week.  There were lots of classes that interested her, but of course she chose a science/engineering class.  Bonus- her friend was in it too so she knew someone!  They would read a fairy tale and then design something related to the story.  They built a beanstalk out of paper towel rolls for Jack and the Beanstalk.  And they designed a new house for the Three Little Pigs that would stand up to a fan on full blast.  Hannah loved it and was sad when the class was over.  We will definitely do another class next year!

Anniversary Camping

We went camping at Pomme de Terre Lake for our 12th anniversary.  Steve's family camped at Pomme de Terre every year when he was growing up.  Meanwhile I think the first time I ever camped was with Steve in college.  Neither one of us especially likes camping, but our girls LOVE it.  And we love to see them happy, so it works. :)  They commented many times how much better camping was than a hotel.  They love being outside, swimming, kayaking and getting their own tent.  We have a two-person kayak, but we fit the whole family on it.  In fact we kayaked to the little island in this picture and then on over to the other shore.  In all of his years at Pomme de Terre, Steve had never been to the island and he always wanted to go.  Dreams really do come true.

So excited for the campfire!!

Olive likes it if her marshmallows have seen a fire...but never actually been heated by one.  This is as close as she got.  If the marshmallows had even a hint of brown on them, they were inedible.

Our annual anniversary picture.  Photo credit: Hannah.