pre-holiday fun

since brandon had july 3rd off, we decided to venture out to the fall creek pool with the kids for the first time this season. i obviously could have been taking them all summer, but wasn't sure how hard it would be to keep an eye on them both. you see, the fall creek pool is like a mini-splashtown...and now that my kids have seen it, there is no turning back. they loved it. ok...they REALLY loved it. and it is so close that we just walk to it. now i am afraid they are going to turn their noses up @ the pool in their backyard after the fun they had on friday :) beckett was crazy for the slide. he climbs the stairs, hoists himself into the tunnel, slides down, and trenches through the water to do it again. all by himself. he did this no less than 30 times on friday. maybe that explains his 4 hour nap? oh yeah...we will for sure be going back.

as you can see in the above pic, it has big slides too. my kids are too young for those right now...but brandon is not. he had to show off for ellis :) also in the above pic is the splash pad or whatever people call those...where you just run through the water. and below is what i like to call the water fort...this is what beckett climbs and slides down...so fun!

off they go!

the water is only around 1 1/2 ft deep...but i still make em wear floaties...better safe than sorry right?

where's beckett?

there he is!

and again! we never knew how he would make his entrance...front, back, feet first, head first, etc... we were cracking up!

and little miss :)

yes...she always swims w/ a bow in her hair :)

if you haven't already noticed, i am one of those moms that makes her kids take really cheesey photos...

a little chilly?

couldn't help myself :)

come swim w/ us @ the fall creek pool!!!

a little something i overheard from the kitchen...

beckett picked up a book and took it over to ellis for her to "read" to him.  it is one of those 100 first word books or whatever...just a picture and the name of the object underneath.  she is pointing the objects out to him.  he is loving it.  then this happened:

ellis:  "okay, beckett...now you tell me...what is this one?"

beckett:  blank stare

ellis:  "beckett...what is the one?"  

beckett: blank stare

ellis: "beckett...please stop wasting my time.  this is an elephant."  

and the she closed the book!!!  teaching is clearly not her strong suit :)

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

he is trouble. nothing but trouble. he is still super sweet and as happy as ever, but he is B-A-D!!! i am just not used to it. i swear ellis never acted the way he does...or maybe i just have a bad memory? she is just so easy and he is the total opposite. i know...people just say it's the difference between boys and girls. but i do have friends w/ good little boys. i guess i just got "lucky"! he does everything i don't want him to do and then ignores me when i ask him to stop. ellis gets SO mad at him when he is being bad...telling him, "you are going to get in trouble from mama". she loooves to be the boss of him. she will be great on safety patrol @ school someday.

we had his 15 month check up last week. those are always fun. attempting to keep him busy for the 30 or 45 minutes i have the pleasure of spending with him in an 8 X 8 room w/ nothing to do. to keep myself from beating him, i started taking pictures w/ my phone. here is how he spent his time:

pulling the paper down, ripping it, and then eating it.

of course opening every cabinet. but they are on top of their game @ the pedicatrician's office...all cabinets are empty :)

and the drawers...

let's get outta here before the doctor shows up....

booooooo...

i wonder what this does...

this looks bad...now, if i could just get in here...

next time i think i will bribe ellis and get her to join in the fun...maybe she can entertain him better than i can?? she wouldn't come in this time...she was afraid the doc would get confused and give her a shot too. she and bebe made some new friends out in the waiting room :)

another option

it is so HOT outside. like you haven't noticed right? we basically play in the pool everyday...at least for a little while. it is just too hot to do anything else outdoors. and my kids have to have time out of the house. they (ok...beckett) would go crazy being stuck inside for too long...which, in turn, would make me crazy. but i don't want them to get tired of the pool...we tried going to the park the other day @ like 9 a.m...nope...too hot. we were gone after 5 minutes. but here's the good news...last week i found out about an indoor playground 5 minutes from my house!! totally free (it is @ a church)...anyone can go...and it is air conditioned. so...i can add a new "out of the house" idea to my list :)

that's ellis up there...

my friend ally had to go up and get beckett...he wouldn't come down. no surprise there.

father's day

the above handmade card was brandon's father's day gift.  she has quite a talent, no?  he had circled clothes in the jos. a. bank catalog that he wished for.  when i went to the store to pay for them (he had the lady put them on hold for me...sooo thoughtful), they had a cute little craft table set up for the kids to make a card for their dad.  sweet!  talk about killing 2 birds w/ one stone huh?!?!   and actually, i made one for my dad too!  ha!  so i guess i killed 3 birds w/ one stone??  brandon is a pretty perfect dad...i don't know anyone who would argue that :)  i never have to worry, explain, instruct, remind, etc. when he is going to be with the kids.  it is totally second nature for him...and he never complains for a minute.  i had 2 girls weekends in the last 4 weeks...i can't complain!!!  and over those weekends, he took them both to 2 birthday parties solo.  he earned a gold star for that :)

discovery green

friday we headed out to meet the leaman girls at discovery green...it was our first successful trip there. the first failed attempt ended with a rainstorm that hit downtown right as we drove up. second time was during the swine flu outbreak...we pulled up and saw crowds of germy kids. we left :)

i loved discovery green...i will for sure be back. i was very impressed...they keep it SO clean...lots of fun things to do. and so cool that it is right downtown. i do suggest going early...we met @ 9:30 a.m...beating the crowd and the heat (if that is even possible!)

aren't they cute together?!?! matching swimsuits :) they have an insane amount of fun together...acting so silly...avery has a fresh summer haircut- thanks to big sis :)

they were so not into this picture idea :)

who wants lunch?!?! i do! they were actually playing a game called "milk"....you have never heard of it because they made it up.

just being cute...

did i mention the munckin was there too? he just runs around following them...thinking he is part of the group...

beckett doesn't seem to understand what they are doing...

it was a fun day...we ate @ the lakehouse...right there @ discovery green...great food...kinda pricey. just burgers and stuff but i think it was like $35 for me and the kids...clearly not mcdonalds! next i want to try the grove...probably w/ out kids :)

not sure what i was thinking...

but beckett had his first ice cream today. one would think vanilla would be the best flavor choice, or i guess i should say color choice, for a 15 month old...but NOOOO, ellis chose "crazy color" flavor. not sure if that was the real name or if that was just what the kids named it...either way, it was a crazy mess! he sure loved it though. one person who didn't love it was the "ice cream man"...as ellis called him. he is probably cloroxing the floors as i type. it looked like a crime scene in there. next time- vanilla :)

p.s.- these pics were taken w/ my new only $99 iPhone...love it!

here are michael and ellis w/ theirs...michael is due to become a big brother ANY day now...can't wait to meet little miss j! dress and bracelet from target :)

and here is the little devil...getting every last drop

mmmm...blue bell

i just want to squeeze him...he's so bad but so cute :)