By amy on June 11, 2010
Last weekend our friends, Addison and Landon, celebrated their second birthday at a kids playhouse.
Lance like the individual trampoline, the coop cars and the kid sized bounce house maze (Daddy liked the maze too).

Daddy’s favorite was the ball pit – he had a regular war zone going in there; he and the kids against mommy.

Lance liked this “do it yourself” roller coaster. He would ride the car down, jump off and push it back up the runway to ride again.
Ivy preferred a little more thrill to her ride – as long as daddy was holding her hand 🙂 Mommy and Daddy think this would be a neat thing to have once they get a house.
Posted in Family News
By amy on June 10, 2010
My 5th grade group is a lively bunch – with anywhere from 20-27 kids, things stay hopping.

Generally we open with a quieter activity – here some girls do a Bible scavenger hunt.

Craft time is always popular and provides a good break between “teaching” moments. Here the girls show their marshmallow animals.

We’ve also made “rustic” crosses with foam and pine cone chips, personal journals and tin can lanterns.

Snack time is a cookie fest for the kids so we’re glad rec comes next to run off a little bit of that sugar!

Today we had a bounce house

and obstacle course!

When rec is over we come back to the room for a wind up session before they leave. Here the kids are doing a wildlife ID challenge.
Of course, my kiddos are having a great time as well. I catch glimpses of them throughout the day. Here Lance is putting pennies in the boys collection bucket while Ivy checks out the supply of donated Mac and Cheese. Meanwhile Addison and Landon enjoy the bounce house. I’ve also seen them heading for the playground and enjoying snow cones.
Posted in Family News
By amy on June 7, 2010

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”!
Posted in Family News
By amy on June 3, 2010

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!
Posted in Family News
By amy on May 26, 2010
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. 🙂
Posted in Family News