Future ATV rider.

Aunt Ali let Thayer borrow Dustin's ATV helmet and he pretty much wore it all weekend until it got to heavy. This kid is in love with any ATV's especially 4wheelers and dirt bikes. He continually asks for Santa to bring him one for Christmas, and Kip or I have to explain that boys his age don't receive those yet as presents...or at least til he's 16. So for right now he is fine with checking out numerous books from the library on ATV's and looking at Uncle Dustin's magazines filled with them. My how he is growing up.

Baby shower weekend.

This past weekend the kids and I headed to Fort Scott for 2 baby showers honoring my sisters. My awesome classmate, Alison, outdid herself once again and made 2 unbelieveable cakes. Megan and Lauren received numerous gifts and their babies will definately be well stocked. We are so excited to meet Londyn and Paxton and can't believe it's almost time for their arrival!!

Kip spent his Father's day in Omaha with his dad and brother, Doug, for the last College World Series held at Rosenblatt Stadium. They scored some great seats at a great price and ended up with perfect weather. It was our Father's day gift to him and I'm pretty certain he enjoyed himself a lot more there than at baby showers;)

Improvement.

Here are some recent clips of Linley working on her swimming progress. She has become more comfortable in the water than she was last summer. Her private swim lessons don't begin til July which she is very excited for. Now if Thayer would only follow in her footsteps, he is quite shy around the pool right now.

Linley's Zoo Performance.

This past week Linley was involved in the Zoo program that's offered during the summer. Each week has a different theme, this one happened to be tadpoles, insects, etc. They visited the KSU insect zoo and did fun activities at the zoo. She had so much fun that she asked to be enrolled in the next session, which starts this week. It's amazed me at how grown-up and independent she acts at her young age of 5.

Thomas the Train.

We were fortunate to go with our good friends Julie and Brayden to ride Thomas the Train in Baldwin City on Sunday afternoon. Despite the muddy mess the kids had a good time and were treated to ice cream after our little adventure. This was a great age to take the kids for their first ride on a train.

Library reading kickoff.

Saturday we started our day off with the library's summer reading kickoff party. They had activities the kids could do and win prizes. Regardless of the hot weather both Linley and Thayer had fun. From there we took off down to city park to let them ride their bikes and run off some enery at the playground. We are always running into friends there which makes our time there more enjoyable. To top it off we headed to Tad's for a snowcone. It was the perfect way to end our funfilled afternoon. Both kids are resting, which makes for a quiet house right now.

Summer fun @ splash park.

After work Friday the kids and I ran a few errands and then hit the splash park to cool off while Kip worked. We had a blast, Linley couldn't get enough of the water ring tunnel while Thayer and I played it safe with the sprinklers on the ground. He isn't as comfortable with the water yet like Linley, give him another year and he'll be at ease just like her. He starts swim lessons Monday with Kip and Linley starts her summer fun attending the zoo program for a week. Looking forward to going to the pool when Kip has some free time!

Taking turns.

These are the pictures I find on my camera when these 2 rascals get a hold of it and take off snapping. There were many more, about 40, that I will spare posting because they were of random items around the house. I thought these 2 were great, Linley itching her nose (taken by Thayer) and Thayer cheesing it up for Linley.

Giddy up!

Good thing Linley was holding on, otherwise she'd have been bucked off...if it were a real horse. Grandma Carol has this horse at her house and apparently Kip and his brothers rode this horse when they were little. Linley loves to get into character when she hops on and gets to riding. I got a kick out of watching and listening to her "giddy up". I wish I could remember what she named him, it's quite creative.

1 mop bucket.

Thayer and Jackson had no idea what they were playing with but they were bound and determined to get it to work, that is if they knew how it worked:) This mop bucket kept them entertained for quite some time, until Thayer finally gave up and asked for help. Who needs toys when your child can push around an empty mop bucket?

Ms. Emotional

I realize I am saying calling my daughter emotional, but these pictures are proof. Apparently Thayer was taking her pictures and one minute she is posing for the camera and the next, well it speaks for itself. I have a strong gut feeling that her teenage years will be quite trying in our household. Thayer already asks why she acts this way, I wish I had the answer. It's rather amusing to hear him try to console her when she breaks down. He eventually gives up and walks away, there are no words of reason for Linley when the hormones take over her body. At least that's what I blame for this behavior. There aren't many dull moments in our house:)

Three Pregnant Beauties.

Can you tell who is due first? 2 of the pregnant beauties are my sisters (pink and blue) and are due within 4 weeks of each other. This Christmas is going to be a bit more lively than our previous ones. Linley and Thayer are beyond excited to have 2 new cousins to play with, especially since they won't be getting a sibling anytime soon. My cousin April (in black) is due first and I was fortunate to make it home for her shower this past weekend. There will be much excitement come August and September!