Ryan's Birthday Pictures

Last week, I had Ryan's pictures taken for his 4th birthday. He was happy but not very cooperative. Very jumpy. It made it very hard to get a good picture. We did get some really cute ones. I dressed Emma up to see if I could get some together. But the one here is the only one she would cooperate for - and not a great pic to me! I was impressed that Ryan's pictures really do look like he is getting older. Such a young man!

Woodward Dream Cruise and Stoneycreek

Last weekend, we drove to MI to spend some time with my family. The kids and I drove up on Wednesday and Kris met us there on Friday. On Thursday, we spent some time playing at the mall with Nana and getting some school clothes shopping done - boy has that kid grown. Friday, my mom and I took them to Stoneycreek Beach. They loved it. Both loved digging in the sand (Ryan loved throwing it, but that didn't last too long because it got crowded fast!). Both of them also loved the water too. Overall, it was a great day!

On Saturday, we went to Royal Oak for the Woodward Dream Cruise. This is one of my favorite Detroit events and I try to go as often as I can. Robin was house sitting for her friend, Katie, who happens to live 4 houses off Woodward. So we were in heaven! No having to find parking, no having to drag the kids around way past the time they are tired! It was great.

Ryan loved the cars. At first, he was comparing them to all his 'poop' cars (Hot Wheels) and he was right, he had a lot of them! Then I took some pictures of him with the cars and that was his new favorite thing. Every other car, I would hear 'Momma, cheese me!' He did get tired fast because it was very hot. Emma strolled around in her stroller for most the time, taking a nap when the heat hit her too much. By the end of the first outing, I had to carry her in the carrier because Ryan needed the stroller. He overheats quickly, like me, and looked like he was going to pass out. Luckily, we were on our way back to Katie's for some rest. We went out again after the break but only for a short while. And during most of it the kids played at a playground, while my dad and me looked at cars. He was very happy because he found his dream car. And they even let him and Ryan sit in it! They also had a bouncy house that the kids adored in the kids area (also free Faygo, which the rest of us adored). Overall, a great time! Maybe next year, we can convince Katie to set up chairs and a tent and just sit and chill the whole time!

Waterpark Days

We've been going to the waterpark at our gym all summer. Two weekends ago, I finally remembered to bring my camera. Unfortunately, I forgot that you can't 'turn' a video and took all these really cute videos of Emma sideways! Except the one that I will put here where she is going down the slide and fell underwater!

Emma, my fish, loves the water. Her new favorite thing is to walk as far out as she can until her feet come out from under her. She loves to put her face in the water. Ryan is getting braver and braver. Now he wants to go to the deep end, but we're not sure what he wants to do. He likes to 'swim' but is scared out of his mind to have us let go.

By the way - she was ok!

Home Pool Time

Here are some pictures from playing in the pool a few weeks ago.

Shade Gap Picnic 09

We attended the annual Shade Gap Picnic in PA the first weekend in August. As always, our family had a great time. The potluck meals are wonderful - although they are starting to lean a lot towards desserts (who's complaining, though??). Ryan loved playing in Grandpa's camper and all the rides. Emma took a nap on my back since she wouldn't settle down in the pack n play outside and loved the rides, except the Ferris Wheel. Kris did good until the last 'adult' ride that he took Ryan on and then was rather woozy the rest of the night. Kris won at the dime pitch and we both lost at Bingo. We enjoyed some great fireworks and Emma fell asleep on the walk back (seriously a 5 minute walk).