Farmland Extravaganza

Colin and Liam spent the week at Sports Camp so I had more time than usual to cater to the little ones' (okay, Eamon's) whims. We spent one day at Davis' Farmland, another out to lunch and a third blueberry-picking. Eamon was actually a very good blueberry picker, although Sadie ate a lot of our bountiful basket. She squeaked and shouted like a big-mouthed baby bird at me anytime the blueberries didn't find their way into her beak fast enough. The big boys had a ball at their camp and fell in love with Coach Susie. Both Coach Susie and Coach Peter were from the UK, so Liam came home one day chattering out the fact that they played Football which he loved. "YOU call it Soccer, mom, but WE call it Football!!" Apparently he'd forgotten the fact that we are no longer an English Colony! Colin thought it was so cool that Coach Susie was from Scotland and "talked like Shrek".



The water park was the perfect way to end a very hot and sticky day. Eamon loved brushing the baby calves, feeding the goats and being chased by the runaway sheep. He REALLY loved hanging out with his new best friend Olivia on the hay ride and chatting up "Wookie" the shorn alpaca on the bottom right. Anything Star Wars-related always increases the fun factor by 3000% for him. Sadie absolutely cackled through the entire water park but was a little more hesitant about the baby goats nibbling her fingers. It didn't stop her from putting her chubby little fingers through the fence though! She mostly enjoyed snacking on the strings of her sun hat which kept her occupied while the bigger kids played.

Here's Baby Sadie learning cause and effect from the water sprinklers. She was mesmerized and spent a long long time covering the holes and then being surprised all over again when it would spray her in the face! She isn't crawling yet but she can certainly scoot around to get whatever she desires!

This year there was a new bubble area that Eamon adored. He spent quite a while slipping and sliding around the gigantic bubble bath, scooping up the bubbles and trying to pop them!

Seven Months Already?

It's official!

The "official" last day of school for Colin was on the "official" first day of summer. We celebrated by taking a hike through Cook's Canyon. It was an easy hike even for Eamon although the big boys were disappointed we couldn't go straight down the gorge to the river in some places with Sadie on my back. Colin was our "official" guide and carried the map, which didn't keep us from getting "lost" as we wandered off into the land next door to the sanctuary and didn't realize it until the path got mighty... non-path-like and we had to backtrack a mile or so. Our fearless leader found a torn up log that looked "just like a Triceratops" so the boys had to pose next to it. I have to say, it really did! We ended the afternoon with our first "official" ice cream of summer and that was a happy ending to our first "official" fun!

Liam is "officially" a swimmer now. No more floaties, even in the deep end! Sometimes having the boys so close in age makes the competition so much more keen that they try to outdo each other and learn new things so much quicker than they would if they didn't have each other. Makes up for all the fighting, at least a little bit. Colin is the "official" King of the Cannonballs and you can hear a lot of "Cowabunga"s coming out of him as he jumps in. (Liam is fond of saying "Gorillabunga" or at least that's what it sounds like instead!) Sadie "officially" loves the pool now too. She got submerged a number of times and did nothing but giggle over it. Eamon is getting more confident every day and now "officially" goes up to his chin without batting an lush-lashed eye. You can see our chunky bug-eye at the top, thanks to Auntie Kelly putting some goggles over her plump little face, making her "officially" the cutest baby we know!

Guess That Baby!

It's that time again. You guessed it, it's time for the Guess That Baby game! People are constantly telling me that all the kids look so much alike and that Sadie is just a mini pink copy of her brothers. So, I went through some old photos to see just how true it is! I had to convert them to black and white or else it would be too easy, though. The pink clothes and being the only kiddo with my brown eyes made picking Sadie out less of a challenge. Try your hand at it and see how you do. I'm actually getting a little confused on a few of them, but I think I've got it down.

Happy Father's Day!

A very belated entry for Father's Day. I meant to post this on Sunday and bam! It's already Thursday again. The days do tend to fly by around here. We went out for fondue on Father's Day which Chris and I really enjoyed. The boys mostly enjoyed using their long fondue forks as weapons and begrudgingly tried a bite of each course so they could have the pleasure of the chocolate fondue dessert course. They had no real interest in the melted cheese but they did nosh on lots of apples and chunks of bread. Not surprisingly, they all ended up very chocolatey and somehow Sadie's car seat was also doused in melted chocolate, but the only really important thing was that Daddy enjoyed it! We've mostly run out of things to buy for him since he either doesn't wish for anything or gets it himself, so we had to resort to secret crafty doings and took the photos on top for him to show off on his desk at work. Nothing spells love like D-A-D!

Summertime? Time for the Farm Stand!

Our first trip to the local farm stand means sun hats, moo cows, roosters, baby goats, fuzzy bunnies, the playground, ice cream, friends and fun!

Sleepy girl

Sadie has a knack for playing wonderfully all day and then suddenly snoozing wherever she may lay. Just this week alone, these are the places I have discovered her napping when moments before she was happily cackling and cooing. It is HARD work being a baby. All that eating (I'd forgotten this stage where cheerios find their way into every nook and cranny of our house), sitting up (here she just fell over backwards when she fell asleep and stayed there) and bouncing really make a growing girl tired! Luckily she is easy to transfer to her crib and she is seeming to enjoy it up there in her little pink slice of Heaven these days. From Day One she had been sleeping in the kitchen while her minions ran circles around her but as she outgrew her baby swing, we started using her crib for naps. At first she wasn't used to the quiet up there, but once we gave her Eamon's old noise machine, she is doing a lot better sleeping in her crib during the day. And a well-rested girl is a happy girl. Most people have never heard her cry or fuss at all and don't believe she ever does. You'll have to trust me on this: she DOES have her moments, but they are few and far between.