Ye-haw! Today starts VBS! We’ve put on our duds and are ready to start the day!
Mommy is teaching 5th grade and decorated to look like a gold mining camp, complete with a waterfall, river and gold nuggets!
Lance pans for gold…
…while Ivy rustles up some grub.
WANTED: Little boys with cute smiles
Ivy tries a jail break but Sheriff Lance keeps a tight house. These two had fun on their first day at the “Ranch”!
With the heat of summer coming on fast our kids have been introduced to the fun of swimming! Ivy has taken to the water fearlessly! No walking along the edge or sitting in a floatie like Lance – no way! She barges right through the kiddie pool, oblivious to any danger. Mommy and Daddy have to keep a sharp eye out because repeated falls and their subsequent dunkings do nothing to phase her desire to explore. I can hardly get Lance to put his face close enough to the water to blow bubbles but Ivy will reach for the filter at the bottom and come up spluttering. Swim time is anything but relaxing. However, it really wears the kids out!
These pictures are from Memorial day at our friend’s house. Ivy loves any type of fruit and quite enjoyed her watermelon. Lance, typical to usual behavior, spent quite some time throwing the Bocce balls in and out of the pool. Of course, splashing Ivy was fun too 
We had the twins over on a hot day but when we got dressed for a swim, a huge storm rolled in and it rained the entire time!
Having kids can mean you have a wonderful excuse to have a lot of fun!
Saturday we went to a birthday party at “Pump it Up” a place full of bounce houses and obstacle courses.
Both kids LOVED it (as did their parents). Lance was so tired at the end that he could barely eat the cake.
With the warmer weather we’ve also set out the pool for a cool activity during the day. They play and splash while mommy takes a break and reads nearby.
Yesterday I felt like taking on a mess so we “finger painted” with shaving cream – I colored it with food coloring just for fun.
Ivy had no problem figuring out what to do! Surprisingly she didn’t really try to taste it – the stuff on her face is from slapping her hand on the table to make the foam fly!
Lance decided to take finger painting one step further and ended up with body painting. (Notice the cream is now green instead of blue and yellow) Bath tub for both kids! They smelled so nice after they were clean
And this morning we met with a group of friends to tour a fire station. Lance enjoyed sitting in the driver’s seat and got to honk the horn.
After the station we went to story time at the library. After lunch we hit WalMart (always a fun outing for whoever gets to sit in the basket with the food). At the check out line Lance helped me unload the cart onto the conveyor belt. By the time we made it home, both were fast asleep.
Mommy unloaded the kids and the groceries and then had a fun time, all by herself.
Ivy put her best foot forward yesterday and surprised us with her advanced walking skills! I couldn’t wait to tell daddy when he got home.
Daddy was very proud of his little girl and we held “practice” for half the evening. Of course, Lance had to get in on the action too
The kids also invented a new game with the wheat order that just came in – this time Lance was the star and Ivy was the one two steps behind.
Taking advantage of half price Wednesdays, several friends and I met at the zoo.
Here are most of the kids (minus one who didn’t want his picture taken) posing on the baby elephant. At the giraffe exhibit Lance and Ivy were more interested in the huge goldfish close at hand. We also stopped by the monkeys first thing – Lance has an obsession with them and had a good time watching them play around. We even got to see a baby chimp.
I know this is a bad shot of the white tigers but we got quite a show from them and I was too busy watching to take any of the action. Apparently these two didn’t like each other this particular day and after some baring of teeth and some heart thrilling passes at the glass, these two had a full blown fight, up on their hind legs clawing at one another. You should have heard the crowd. Quite impressive.
Next stop – the bird feeding cage. Lance and Ivy both enjoyed having the birds close enough to touch, and feeding them was even more fun.
Well, if the birds like it, it must be good. Right?
Our friends had to leave after lunch so we explored the barn area on our own. The favorite here was all the little flaps you could lift – how fun!
The last stop was the reptile house. The snakes failed to hold their interest but the big turtle tanks were fascinating! One big turtle swam straight at the glass near Lance and it made him a bit nervous.
Ivy was very sleepy by this time but there was so much to see she kept fighting it off.
Here’s a Komodo dragon for my brother Brian – he did a report on these years ago. This fellow is huge, at least 5 foot long and that’s only half as big as they can get! Scary creature to ever come across!
By 2:00pm we’d seen enough. Nap time was calling and we all went home. Such a fun day!