Summer fun and Grandma's Visit

I'm waaayyy behind in posting photos and updates of our family activities.  Here are some cute (and recent) photos of the kids and some photos from a visit from Grandma earlier this summer.  The kids love Grandma's visits and her fancy condo with a pool, craft activities, and lunch at the grill poolside!

All photos can't be serious!

So sweet

Luke shows Grandma how to connect the trains

Granddaughter and Grandma

Luke poolside at Grandma's condo... he looks cold but this is actually his smile

Luke and Maddie playing in the condo pool

Maddie with her friend Sarah

Luke and his friend Wesley

Luke Turns Three!

On July 3rd our little guy turned three years old! A week or so before the actual birthday, we celebrated at Bounce U with Luke's (and Maddie's) friends. Several of Luke's buddies were out of town, so only 1 of his "little friends" was at the party. But that's okay since all of Maddie's friends love Luke so much we still had a full party and lots of fun. (Actually, Luke was just starting to get sick a day or two after this party, so we're pretty sure he wasn't feeling his best this day - but he hung in there and had a great time)

Luke enjoying some jumping (and falling) time in a bounce house

The birthday party friends pose with the guest of honor

Luke and Dad load and fire the Foam Ball Blaster!

Luke - stop eating that cake and look at the camera!

Yum!

Mom and the birthday boy

December 2012 - Catching up but still late

We're still late catching up with blog posts and sorting through the hundreds of photos that we take each month.  This post will complete 2012 events/photos and we'll eventually get around to posting more recent (2013) posts!

Photos in this post are from Christmas time (a few weeks before and Christmas Day) and a visit to the zoo during the Christmas break.

Enjoying hot cocoa (and a lollipop) on a cold evening a few days before Christmas

Mom and Maddie bundled up waiting for the Christmas train ride

Luke shows Mimi his toy plane

Luke in his spaceship on Christmas morning

All smiles on Christmas morning

Dad and Luke working on a puzzle

Luke doesn't waste any time trying his new trampoline

Maddie opens a persent from Dad... or is it a present FOR Dad?

Luke giggles at the monkeys



Silly monkeys are fun to watch

Mom and Maddie meet a kangaroo (or wallaby?)

Luke stay close to Dad... these goats are big!

Mom and Luke see an animal

Zoos have playgrounds too!

Luke and Sissy

Maddie pets Mama and baby goats

Maddie and Mom pose for a photo

October 2012- Better Late Than Never!

I'm late catching up on my blog posts... have tons of photos to post and getting more every week.  This batch of photos is from October 2012.  October is always a busy month for us with a camping trip (Camping 2012), our annual visit to the pumpkin patch, Halloween (of course!), and sometimes a travel vacation (Charlotte 2012).  Enjoy some moments from our pumpkin patch visit and Halloween 2012!

Luke finds the pumpkin he wants... now if he could just pick it up!

Forget the pumpkins... this dirt is much more interesting.

Maddie gets a ride on Dad's back

Luke wants a ride too...

Carving the jack-o-lantern the night before Halloween

Luke inspects Maddie's pumpkin clean out

Maddie tries to look scary... she's just too cute.

Cheese!  Luke (a.k.a. Thomas the Train) really just wants to be left alone to enjoy his lollipop!

The neighborhood kids gather before the trick or treating starts

Camping October 2012

Once again this past October we continued our annual group camping tradition with some close family friends (see posts for Camping 2010 and Camping 2011).  This year Maddie and Mom joined Dad and Luke in a cabin... which was a really good idea since the first night of the camping weekend was cold and rainy.  Our friends who slept in tents had a pretty miserable first night, but we slept cozy and warm!  The rest of the weekend was beautiful weather and lots of fun.

Kids pose with the traditional camping stick that everyone signs



Luke combs his hair with a sand shovel...hey, we're camping...

Luke and Dad get ready to eat lunch

Maddie and friends sitting on a tree branch

Luke and Mom take a break from playing catch to pose for a picture

Maddie and Luke with their camping journals

The whole crew... 6 kids all looking directly at the camera!

Girlfriends

Going fishing

Luke enjoys some time in the dirt with the toys

Luke pulls Dad in the wagon... sort of

When the sun goes down... the dance party starts!

What else is there to do with the extra worms after fishing?

Luke gives Dad a big camping hug

Although we added an extra day to our camping trip this year, the time still went by too fast.  Next year we're all going back into the tent, which will be Luke's first "real" camping weekend.  Now that Luke is getting older, we can start camping more frequently... we can hardly wait!