SetonFest 2009 Day #2

I don't know why, but I just adore this picture of the kids!

Ben and Mommy ride the giant swings together.

Ben, and our neighbor, Becca, on the teacups.

Maggie, and our neighbor, Ava, drive a car together.

SetonFest 2009 (Day #1)

Ben, Maggie, and Quinn Sweeny really enjoyed the rides. Unfortunately, Molly Sweeny was too scared to do some of the "big kid" rides with the other three.

Daring Ben was eager to hop on the ferris wheel. Maggie thought it would be a good time. However, she SCREAMED and clung to me the entire time we were on it!

One of the many family pictures we attempted. Since we had matching festival shirts, I really wanted to get a great family picture. The kids were less than cooperative. I'm surprised Brian remains married to me after all the times I made him pose!

Playing games and doing crafts in the kids tent.

Ending Day #1 with the fireworks display and a huge sno-cone to share.

Only Once!

Unfortunately, we had to attend a funeral Mass today.
The kids, however, behaved really well. So, I told them that we could buy lollipops.
Ben informed me that lollipops are NOT the round balls on top of sticks. He said a REAL lollipop would have to be rainbow-colored, and it must also be a flat circle, not a ball.
Brian had the ingenious idea to try Cracker Barrel, knowing that they carry all sorts of candy. And, of course, they had the lollipops!

I told the kids that these were the kind of treats you only get once in a lifetime.
(We don't want to make a practice of buying these every time they exhibit good bahavior!)

Summer Movies

We took advantage of the FREE summer movies at Regal Cinemas this summer.

Ben, Quinn, & Maggie are getting ready to see Charlotte's Web. Fruit snacks in hand... Ready to go!

Bowling

Ben's 4th Birthday

After the trip to Holdiday World yesterday, we expected the kids to be completely wiped out, but they were so excited about Ben's birthday that they kept the energy high. Maggie said that she wanted to have her birthday again, so Ben said he would share his with her. He even let her open most of his gifts for him, and they have been sharing his new "GeoTrax" all day.

We invited both sets of grandparents over for a grill-out to celebrate.

mmmm.... BIRTHDAY CAKE....

Ben has celebrated all four of his birthdays thus far wearing this same birthday crown and topping his cake with this same frog-prince.

He asked for a chocolate cake with fudge for frosting. He even specified that he wanted frosting in the middle of the two layers. (picky, picky) I have always remembered that my sister, Amy, made my fourth birthday cake. It was pink and blue with big marshmallows baked inside. I don't know how she accomplished this. I put marshmallows in Ben's cake batter, but they mostly melted during baking. There was only a hint of marshmallow by the time we ate the cake, but it was still really good!

Holiday World 2009

Our first trip to Holiday World was a HUGE success. The kids were great travellers on the 3+ hour trip, not even asking to stop once, and they were total troopers the entire day. Brian and I thought we would be leaving the park by mid-afternoon, but we actually stayed until after the water park closed. We spent almost the entire day in the water park (since it was above 90 degrees), but I got most of our pictures during our last hour, which we spent in the "Christmas" section where the toddler roller coasters are located.

Airplains, mini-rockets, bumper-boats, a seahorse carousel, etc. My favorite thing was to accompany Ben on this crazy ride that took us slowly up and then dropped us straight down. I thought he would hate it, but our little dare-devil LOVED it. He giggled and giggled. He rode it two more times - once with Mommy and once all by himself (so I could watch his expression).

We ended our day with theme-park food: a funnel cake and cotton candy. This was Maggie's first experience with cotton candy. It was so funny. She kept saying, "My hands... STICKY!"

Oh, and we had our picture taken with Santa Clause. This might have to be this year's Christmas card picture.

First Day at the Pool

After MUCH begging on Ben's part, we have finally made it to the swimming pool for the first time this summer. I'm sorry to report that the heater is broken in the main pool (as it was last year), so the water temperature was less than desirable. Ben didn't seem to mind. Maggie's lips turned blue, but it didn't stop her either.

Dan Zanes Concert

Last weekend (May 31st), we went to the Dan Zanes concert at Hilbert Circle Theater. We have been waiting for this concert for months. I was so bummed that about 90 minutes before we were supposed to leave, Maggie suddenly came down with a fever and began vomiting. She LOVES to dance, and this concert would have been ten times as fun with her there. Of course, she won't remember that she missed it, but we will. It took Ben until about the 3rd-to-last song to really come out of his shell, but when he did... WHOAH! He was a dance-machine! We had a blast, and we will definitely get tickets again the next time Dan Zanes & Friends are in town!

Neighborhood Campout 2009

Once again, the end of the school year signifies the time of the Annual Lakes at Hazel Dell all-neighborhood camp-out. Perfect weather this year. We invited our friends, the Sweeneys to join us for the fun.

Bub's Burgers sold dinner, and everyone ate burgers and dogs. I worked the kids' games, which Ben and Maggie totally enjoyed because of all the awesome stuff they won!

Definitely, the best part for our kids is the whole tent experience. Maggie really wanted to spend the night, but we thought it would be too much for a two-year-old to stay out all night with Daddy and Ben. She still got to put on her jammies and watch Madagascar 2 with all the kids, but she went home with Mommy after the movie.

Yes, for those of you who follow my blog, I'm actually creating this entry a year after it happened. I was putting in the 2010 camp-out pictures, and I realized that I hadn't made an entry last year for the 2009 camp-out. These are the kind of fun events that I don't want to exclude from my blog, so I'm putting it in - a full year later!

Avery & Alex Wall

We FINALLY got to meet our new friend, Alex Wall today. We have been waiting since January to meet this little guy, and the wait was worth it. He's the happiest little dude under the sun.

I thought that Maggie would be so interested in the baby since she loves to play with her "baby," but she paid him no attention. She was more interested in posing for the camera (as usual). She and Avery also managed to get into a bit of trouble spilling yogurt smoothies and playing in the pantry. Thanks for coming over today, Avery and Alex!