My Kidlets

Here are some pictures of my little kidlets.  We've just been hanging out and playing, enjoying our summer.  

Ava was teaching Dawson ballet.  

Dawson taking a picture of me, taking a picture of him.  Kids are such little imitators.

Carter was very proud of the picture of a praying mantis that he drew.  He is pumping his fist in the air saying "I ripped it!"

This is a semi-old story, so pardon me grandparents if you have heard it before.  Carter has been having difficulty using an appropriate volume of voice.  He will start yelling and shouting for no reason.  So we have been discussing inside voices quite often.  But recently Mike said to Carter "Why are you yelling at me, I'm right here."

Carter said "But Dad, this is how everyone talks in Pittsburgh."  

Boy that kid is right.  Pretty funny if you have ever spent any time at all around my Mom's family.

Beautiful Wedding

This weekend we went to visit Meme and Bob-Bob's house and also attend a wedding of a friend of mine, Amber.

She looked gorgeous, the ceremony was very touching and the kids had a ball!

Cassie, Amber and me

A wedding with cotton candy, an ice cream bar and cupcakes?  The kids liked. A lot!

SUGAR!

A bounce house for the KIDS to enjoy.  But that didn't stop two older kids from joining in on the action.  For the sake of the kids, of course.

I'm so happy we had a chance to see old friends and spend some time together.  It was a great evening, and even then we choose to leave dockie doodle at home he also had a great time.  I heard that he climbed to the top of the tallest slide in the world {according to Riley} at least 15 times!  

Backyard Babies

I was so tickled to look out the back window and see Dawson and Carter wearing matching camo hats.

Of course, we can't take a picture of the boys without a matching girls picture. 

My little foodie

Recently we finished our summer reading program and they earned the reward of a free book {yeah!} and a kids meal at McDonalds {boo}.  I was thinking about just throwing away the kids meal coupons, but of course the librarian made a big deal about them to the kids.  Once Carter knows about potential junk food, he will not let it go, so off for fast food we went.  At the drive thru window Carter picked a cheeseburger and I was waiting for Ava to make a choice.  I offered her the options of a cheeseburger, hamburger and chicken nuggets.  She kept saying no, no, I don't want that.  Finally she told me "Mom, that's all junk.  I can't eat that food.  Just get me a salad."

I thought that was hilarious, so of course I ordered her a salad.  She wanted lettuce with no tomatoes, so that's what she got!  

Five Fever

Lately a certain little boy in our house has caught birthday fever.  He has been heard on several occasions running through the house yelling 


"I'm going to be FIVE
I'm going to be FIVE
I'm going to be FIVE"


Which is really pretty cute.  But now the begging has begun and it goes a little something like this:

• Mom, now that I'm almost five I need an iphone.
• Mom, do you have any heavy machinery?  Now that I'm almost five I need heavy machinery like an ATV.
• Mom now that I'm almost five I need a pocket knife to kill the big snakes in the woods.  They are so big they will eat your face off, Mom.

By the way, the answer was NO on all counts.  

Bug Baby

Dawson was making Mommy and Daddy laugh on the trip home this week.

Vacation Wrap-up

What a busy, fun, exciting week we've had.  On Wednesday we dropped the kids off at Meme and Bob-Bob's house and went down to Cincinnati to visit friends and go to the Summerland concert.  We had a blast!  Dinner, drinks and 90's music, what more could we ask for?  Meme, thank you so much for taking good care of my kiddos for the night.  I think you earn the Meme of the year award for taking care of all five kids for close to 24 hours.  Keep in mind this also included a little stinker who refused to take a nap!  I also said to him "Dawson, be a good boy for Meme" to which he replied "uh uh."  In case you were curious "uh uh" is Dawson speak for NO."  

The concert was great, the sushi was delicious and the company was the  best!

Now onto a tale of two brothers.

Cautious Carter at the Pool: refuses to put his head in the water, does not want to remove his safety gear {puddle jumpers} and walks the entire time so he will stay safe.

Daring Dawson at the pool:  obsessed with the diving board, throws a fit when we take him off the diving board, and takes off running at random times to try to outwit the adults and get to the diving board.  Um hello, you are 19 months old!  No diving boards for you until you can swim!

As you probably gathered, we spent some time at the pool with Meme and the cousins before returning home.  We also had a BBQ at our home with some of Mike's friends from high school and today we rested.  

Promised Ballet Pictures

Here are some more pictures of our little ballerina.

She was supposed to be doing first position in this picture, but she just wasn't feeling it.

Love my ballet girl!