Teachable moment???

Saturday was a beautiful day! The weather was just perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, warm (but not hot) sun shining, and dry (as apposed to the very humid weather lately). Chris had the idea of heading to Charmingfare Farm for the day. Perfect idea for the perfect day.





Ben was having his first ride in the back pack and seeming to enjoy it even though he was still a bit short. I thought it was adorable watching him peak out!



When we first arrived things were going great. The kids were loving the animals...
The kids spotted some frogs and turtles....

They even caught this guy!

Then things went down hill quickly! Connor didn't want to let go of his frog and refused to listen when I said it was time to let him (or her, I can't tell the difference) go. The whining quickly turned into a terrible tantrum! I won't go into details, for one, they are embarrassing. I said I was taking Connor back to the van while Chris continued on with the others. Well, that set Maggie into a tantrum because I wasn't letting Connor stay. (Have I mentioned before that my children stick up for each other to a fault??)

Long story short... Chris and I carried and strolled two children who were throwing a fit out of the farm. It was miserable! We left.

So do we look at this as a teachable moment? Or one of the most embarrassing times ever?!?!

By the time we got home everyone had cooled off. Chris took Katelyn for some special time at the pool. We felt bad that she had to leave the farm when she was behaving just fine, but she took it like a trooper and didn't complain at all. I took the other kids out to play in the yard.

Maggie did some tree climbing...

When Daddy got home Ben did some crawling in the grass...

We all ended up staying outside till dinner time enjoying the beautiful weather. I wish we had spent the day at the farm, but I do feel like we did the right thing leaving. It was, after all, a teachable moment. Right???

Family swim...

We just love our town pool! It is a great place for families and very reasonably priced for the season. Most years we spend just about every day, some days twice a day, at the pool. This year has been the exception because with four monkeys and not great weather I just haven't braved it. Plus, swim lessons for Katelyn were out when she broke her wrist at the beginning of the summer.
So, this summer has been a bit different. If Chris can get home early enough and the weather cooperates then he takes the three older kids to the pool. Well, we finally had some nice hot weather that warmed up the pool so last week we all went for the first time this summer. The water felt great, although I only went in the kiddie pool. (That water is usually warm, wonder why??)
Katelyn practiced her swimming as well as her hand stands...

Connor stuck his face in the water for the first time this year...

Maggie was her normal "fish" self...
Ben seemed to really like his first time in the pool...

And, my favorite part... Watching my family have a great time!

Guess who's crawling...Already!

Tough guess, I'm sure! Probably, notsomuch.
Yes, my baby Ben is already moving around! He is only 5 1/2 months and really got on the move last week. It blows me away! He is slow but surely not for long. If he sees something on the other side of the room that he wants he will get it. He is a very determined little guy already!


I put the fish a few feet away from him but by the time I got back with the camera he was already almost there.

" Got it Mommy!"

"And now.... I must taste it!"

Then he spotted my camera and wanted it! When he made his way to me and I wouldn't let him have the camera he screamed to let me know he was not happy.

Go figure, the baby I wanted to really take his time growing is the quickest of all!

Ben's eating...

Over a month ago I began introducing Ben to baby food. To put it mildly he really doesn't like it! I've tried oatmeal, applesauce, sweet potatoes, and squash. Other then the handful of Carmel dipping sauce he got the day we went to the zoo (grabby baby!) he has not liked anything but breast milk. Until today!

I bought "the net" from Babies-R-Us this morning and at lunch I put pieces of sweet potato in it. He loved it! When I took it to put more in he screamed!

Guess what happened when he turned it the wrong way and put the handle in his mouth??? Yep, he screamed!

And, when I finally took it away... You guessed it, he screamed!

Wonder what this means for the whole eating thing???

Campfire night...

During the kid's week at summer camp they had "campfire night" on Wednesday night from 4-8pm. They went for a night hike, cooked dinner on the fire, sang campfire songs, and ended the night by roasting marshmallows over the fire. They had a wonderful time, as they did the rest of the week too!


I took this picture before they even noticed Chris and I were there to pick them up. I loved walking in and seeing this site!

Maggie was soooo beyond tired! These monkeys head up to bed at 7pm so this was a bit past their bedtime. The teacher's husband said he thought Maggie was going to fall asleep standing by the campfire!

Each of the kids got to pick a goldfish for their very own! It was exciting but since we don't have the stuff at home to properly take care of these guys we decided they should live a the Greeley school. We did get to bring these fish home though! How cute are these??? By far the best fish have for pets!

Summer camp was a HIT!!! I am sure they will all go again next year for a week....

The bubble show...

Last week I took the kids, along with Sarah and Kyle to see a bubble show at the school. It was put on by our public library.

May I add that the library has done an amazing job this summer putting on different shows for the kids! They were concerned that because of the economy families would need some free things to do. Because of them and some local businesses we have seen some great shows. Remember the reptile one and the birds of prey show too?? We are so lucky to have such a great library in our town!

Anyway.... The show was FANTASTIC! This Man had great talent! Not just with his bubble art but also his entertaining skills. He had the whole place laughing many times, adults too.

I wasn't able to get great pictures, unfortunately. I really tried to get pictures of some of the really cool bubble art, such as an ice cream cone and a rocket ship. Oh well. The good thing was that the kids absolutely loved the show too! It really was amazing!

I now introduce...

Emily "Emmy" Grace

Born on

July 28th at 9:13am

7lbs 10oz