messy kids

The title is redundant.  Kids =mess. I don't know why it still surprises me just how messy they can be.  Before we get to that though, look at this adorable pic of a hippo Katie drew! Total mom moment. I wish it was on paper so I could frame it.

 Levi eating ice cream out of the cone with his fingers.  Oakley knows what's up.

 And here is where I found the ice cream after putting the kids to bed.

 Gray is finally old enough for supervised baths with the big kids...highly supervised.

 Look at Gray's smile.  He is so stinkin cute. And loves him some prunes.

the fair

We went with a bunch of kids to the county fair. This year, as last year, was so much fun! This is one of my top favorite things to do in the summer with the kids. Get ready for some wild animal fun.

Watching a goose get a bath.  We called it a duck and were gently corrected by the 4-h owner. The kids were gently splashed with a little poo-water.  They, of course, loved it.

 Gray woke up that morning with a fever.  It wasn't very high and a little advil knocked it out but he was still really tired. We didn't stay home though: 1-because I freaking LOVE the fair. and 2-because I wanted to present Taylor with 3 living children at the end of the day and I wasn't sure if that could happen if we all stayed home.

Petting the bunny.

 Levi was not all about the pigs.  I can't say I blame him as a kind farmer had just shown us his "pig bite." These pigs looked hungry for little boys fingers for sure.

 A bunch of the playgroup regulars.

 We bought a bag of kettle-corn. It was sooo good.

 Mommy milking a cow.  After waiting in line, both Levi and Katie refused to milk it. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Kind of nice to be the milker and not the milkee:)

 Caught Katie looking comfortable petting the goat.  Most of the time she was slightly hysterical and leaping away from animals.

Gray getting tired and Katie lulling him to sleep by continually being in his space. 4 year old adoration.

 Giant rooster that crowed right in front of us.

 Stokes and Katie petting a pig ear.

 A big difference from the corn last year.

Overall a wonderful time.  I can't wait for next year!

a little of this and that

We found a video on how to do Rapunzel hair. It was hard to get the whole thing, but it was really pretty.

 Playing with some of the cousins.  You can see my amazing garden in the background.  See the one corn stalk:)

 Playing in the pool. Hopefully 2t swim trunks will fit Levi next year.

 We had some dear friends visit us who are now living in China. We get to see them and their kiddos about once a year and truly enjoy it.

 Grayson is into everything.  This kid can army crawl with the best of them. I am now having to check for small object on the floor, there are many, and make sure stairs are blocked off and doors are shut. How is my baby crawling already!?

 Levi is always so gentle with his brother.

 Grayson totally zonked after a trip to the pool and skipped morning nap. He didn't move when I took him out of the car and slept for 4 hours!

 Gray's first haircut.  I wanted to try and get it all one length and scrub out all the dry skin.  I need to take an after shot. He loved the mirror and thought the clippers tickled. He giggled the whole time.

Oklahoma!

We just got back from a week visiting friends in Oklahoma. To say we had a good time would be such an understatement.  They have a 3 week old baby and spent the majority of their time making sure we were comfortable, fed and having fun. We are so blessed to have such good friends! They have 3 kids that are partners for our 3 kiddos. Caroline turned 4 while we were there and she and Katie are a hoot together.  Both assertive, imaginative, loved to boss each other and play together. Gray is 2 and is 3 months older than Levi and outweighs him by at least 15 lbs.  He and Levi liked watching movies and were both pretty much into individual playing.  Ben and Grayson are 6 months apart. Ben is only 12 ounces smaller than Grayson and already rolling over! Such a sweet little snuggler! It is amazing how quickly they change in just 6 short months!

We left at 3 in the morning to drive down.  The kids didn't fall asleep until well after we had stopped for breakfast.  They did wonderful as long as I rotated between snacks and new activities every 30 minutes. Oklahoma was so pretty. Lots of trees and rolling hills.

Gray hanging out.

Ha. Katie just starting to wake up from her nap.

Levi loading up on snacks.

Katie and Caroline. She is called Katie Madison down south:)

Breakfast for the 4 big kids.

When we stepped out of the car, the "Gator" got pulled out.  The kids were enthralled.  I think they hit every structure, vehicle and fence on the property as well as each other. We want to convince Grandma and Grandpa they need one at their house.

Katie and Levi driving like hooligans.  The biggest problem was getting them to watch where they were driving!

Katie was in baby heaven with Ben.  She adores babies and is always trying to get to hold them.

We went to a nearby museum and after much coaxing got the kids to play the drum. 

We got to see a huge dinosaur skeleton the was found about 15 miles from here.  There was also a talking dinosaur on the wall that moved and opened its mouth. The kids were scared/loved it!

My hope for this trip was to get the kids swimming better watching the Gillem kiddos who live at the pool in the summer. Mission accomplished! By the time we left Katie was diving off the diving board and practicing swimming with no floaties. Even Levi was swimming with floaties by himself.  He was hilarious to watch.  He swims perfectly upright and looks like he is paddling a bike around the pool. Grayson loved splashing too!

Diving in!

 

Watching Dora or Umi Zoomies.  We can all sing the theme song now!

Fireworks! Mommy was somewhat freaked out but decided I could trust our firefighter/emt trained friend Robbie.

Katie was freaking out. They really didn't like the big fireworks we set off.

A group shot minus Ben on the 4th. Grey is bigger than the 4 year olds!

Another firework shot.

This was as close as Katie would get to Sadie the Great Dane.  Her head comes up to my chest!

The kids getting ready for a cow and corn tour.

You can just barely see the cow peeking in the car.

Some cows.

Andrea got Katie a matching princess doll like Caroline's. She has slept with it every night.

It was so much fun to be there to celebrate Caroline's birthday.  We talk all the time on the phone, so I feel like I know her kids, but it was so fun to see them and get to know them in person.

Katie was letting everyone know that Caroline was 4 too.

We went jet-skiing at the lake.  So much fun! At one point Katie turned around and screamed, "This is so much fun!" Taylor came home and started looking up jet-skis on Craigslist. The lake was beautiful and warm.  Only after we got home did they let me know that a huge alligator had been pulled out of it! It was several years ago, but still!

Taylor and the big kids.

A side by side comparison of Ben and Gray. 6 months apart.  I think Ben will catch and pass Gray in the next month!

Our travel caddy idea I stole from our friend Mandy. Kept everything accessible and organized the whole trip.

 

We took two days to come home. I don't know if we would do that again.  It felt really long and the kids were wiped out, as were we!

We had such a great time and would love to visit again.  We were shown true southern hospitality! The food was amazing. We had all the stereotypical southern food. Fried okra, fried chicken, amazing BBQ and the best Cherry Limeade ever!! I will have to post the recipe! Thanks again to our awesome friends the Gillems!