Happy 4th of July

Went over to The Cousin's House on July 4th to watch fireworks. They really liked the super-long sparklers.

Trying to get them all to smile at the same time is almost impossible!!

The Three Amigos....literally!

Most of the clan...
Emery at the park July 3rd...

Rebekah talked me into climbing the rock wall with her. It didn't seem too hard at the time but I was sore the next day!!

Is this really summer?!?!?!

Our summer had not been very warm. This was one of two sunny days that we have had so far. But we've managed to stay very busy. Between Summerfest, basketball camp, T-ball, swimming lessons, church playgroups, the gym and family coming into town, we have had a very fun-filled and eventful summer. And we're just getting started. This little girl from church was giving Ben a flower (dandelion) and I managed to get a picture of it. Esther and Emery going down the slide at the gym...

Benjamin swinging on the rope at the gym...

Ben, Rebekah and Esther going down the slide at the same time...

The magic show that we went to where Esther got to participate in a four kid levitation!
Ben climbing the rock wall at Summer fest...
Rebekah climbing that same wall.
She made it to the top...

Father's Day at our house!

We had Father's Day dinner at our house this year. The first thing we did--Daddy Bingo!

We got daddy some of his favortie treats! Tom is not a big fan of presents but he put up with it!

So, of course, he shared with the kids! The dinner table was all ready!

We also made a tree with tributes to our fathers and grandfathers. It was a fun night with family!

Basketball Camp for Esther and Rebekah

Esther and Rebekah were able to attend the Lady Hornet's basketball team. It is run by the head coach and players of the White River High School Girl's Basketball Team. It was such a great camp...very organized with skills actually being taught to them. Esther was the best at "boxing out" and Rebekah was the best "stealing." If you notice in this picture, Esther has her fingers tapped on her right hand. She got her first jammed finger...I told her it was the first in a long line of jammed fingers. I was a proud momma! Rebekah shooting...
They got their certificates from the head coach at the end of camp...
Here they are with their teammates and student coaches.

Ben playing T-ball

Ben was able to play T-ball for the first time. He has played soccer and basketball before but this was his first time playing T-ball. He loved it!

Here he is with his friend, Riley!
He loved batting...and for his first time, he always did great!

Last Day of School

After school was over, we met with some friends at a park to celebrate... Emery found a pal of her own!
We made caramel popcorn for the kids to give to people at school....
Then each of the kids made their teachers a fancy clipboard....to say thanks!

Rebekah...and More to Come!!

Rebekah had a field-trip to the North West Trek. And I have to say...that she is a trooper! It was raining all day...I had Ben and Emery with me...and we had a pass so I didn't pay for her to go with the rest of the group on the tram! Everyone says that blogs are all about bragging and presenting only the best side of yourself and your family. Well, this was one of those moments that I really screwed up! I didn't take any pictures because of the horrible rain and she didn't get to ride the tram with her friends. Luckily, we caught up with some of them later on...but Rebekah was awesome about it. She didn't complain about anything. She didn't mind Ben and Emery being there! She is a sweet girl with a gentle disposition. She always comes home ready to do her homework and work hard...We love you, Rebekah and I'm sorry I messed up your day!

Ben's second field-trip to the zoo (my third) and his end-of-the-year picnic from pre-school

I did a pre-school co-op with Ben this year as well as his pre-school at our neighborhood school. And he was able to go on a second field-trip to the zoo. Here they are touching sea-stars and anemones. Emery was with us...and she loved this part! Looking underwater at the smaller aquariums...
Ben also had a picnic at a skate park with his classmates from pre-school to celebrate the end of the year! It was very wet and rainy...and Mom locked her keys in the car. Luckily, Tom was at the school with the girls doing "Donuts for Dads" and the Walk-a-thon (which he didn't take any pictures of) so he came and bailed us out. Sliding down the skating ramps....

Daddy DID take a picture of us!

Esther and Rebekah performing at the school Talent Show!

Esther and Rebekah played the piano for their school Talent Show. I was very proud of them. I don't think I could have done that at their age. They were a little nervous but they didn't make any mistakes. Don't grown up too fast!

Esther's field-trip to the zoo!

Esther is in third grade going into fourth grade...and it's hard to believe that she's growing up this fast. Here she is with her friend Harley at the zoo! Some pictures Esther took of the animals! I thought she did a great job!

Ben and Emery's Birthday Party--"COME AND JOIN THE CIRCUS!!"

Ben and Emery have Birthdays that are 4 days apart. So this year, we combined them (as we did last year!) I think this is the last year we'll be able to do it. We had a circus-themed party, which was very fun for me to create and easy for the kids of every age to enjoy! I made the banner...LOVED it!! Wanted to keep it up longer but Tom thought that was a little silly!

Ben's cake...didn't turn out so well!

Emery's cake...delicious and very easy to make!

My house had circus-themed things splattered everywhere!!

I'm sure you might be sick of seeing my cupcake holder...but it's so awesome and makes it so easy to serve the kids.

We had watermelon, pizza pin-wheels, homemade chocolate chip cookies, white chilli, lemonade, two birthday cakes and a bunch of cupcakes. I was a little exhausted afterwards...but everyone loved it!

Our photo booth...we got a couple of little cuties to sit still long enough to take some pictures!!

My personal favorite....

Tom had this marvelous idea to hire a clown to come and do the entertainment so everyone could enjoy the party together. It was a great idea. Her name is Glitterbug..and here is Ben cooking up some magic with her!

The clown brought balloon corsages for all of the ladies at the party. Emery really liked mine!

Each of the kids at the party had their own balloon creation made and given to them by Glitterbug! Ben's was a ginormous Octopus that he still has almost two months later.

We definitely had a full house...thanks to everyone who came!
Emery in her birthday dress...it's hard to believe that she's two!

The kids loved Glitterbug's car...thanks for making the party a hit, Glitterbug!