Fourth of July block party

On the 4th of July we had our annual block party with the neighbors.  We blocked the street off again so the kids could ride their bikes around and not have traffic in the way.  We had a pool, slip n slide, bikes, basketball, cars and of course fireworks.  We had a potluck dinner where we grilled hot dogs, had sides and desserts.  We invited a few other couples to join us, so there were more kids this year.  The kids had a great time riding all over and Carter loved that he was able to light off some fireworks this year by himself.  We only bought a few daytime fireworks, like parachutes and smoke bombs.  He was very excited to be able to hold a punk and help people light off their stuff.  Luckily the neighborhood had a ton of nighttime fireworks going off that we just sat in the driveway and watched.  The night before another neighbor had a huge display and we stayed up late watching those as well.  Watching the kids on the 4th is one of my favorite things.  I love how excited they get about the fireworks and being able to stay up late, being outside with friends and just being kids.  Thankfully after two late nights the kids did sleep in a bit.  I think until 8 or 8:30 which is huge for our kids.  Poor Callan must have been sick all day (which I just thought was tiredness) because when he crawled up into my lap he was burning up!  I asked him if he felt ok and he said he did.  But all day he seemed tired and a little out of it.  I guess I didn't think about checking him for a fever.  Thankfully he was super tired and I didn't treat his fever so that it could burn off that virus since we had big plans the next afternoon as well. He woke up as fit as a fiddle and was raring to go.  Here are some pictures of our party.

my 3 boys with recycled shirts from last year

these are all the rage around our neighborhood

he is too big to be riding that trike

taking a break from the pool

it was tough to get them to stop playing to take this photo

this water was so cold but it never stops callan from getting in

jackson and carter

he loves his scooter

carter and emma

slip n slide fun

ethan and camden

the neighborhood boys, Jackson, Carter, Callan, Ethan, Camden, and Carson (missing Josh and Colton)

trying to capture the parachutes

dinner time!

callan and carter

lighting a parachute

waiting for the bounce house to be set up

we even had a pinata!

Carter and Landon (this is one of Carter's first grade teacher's kids)

callan and ava with cookies in their mouth

jumping off a slide because going down on their bottoms was getting old

emma, camden, ethan, callan and ava

Nebraska Nice Vacation

My parents were nice enough to rent a van and take all 6 grandkids on a two day mini vacation.  They went to Kearney Nebraska to see the arch way, to the water park in Grand Island called Island Oasis, kids kingdom playground, and the Hastings Museum with a 3-D IMAX theater.  The kids had a blast spending all the time together and of course the water park was a huge hit!  They talked mostly about the water park and the IMAX theater.  Carter told me he learned all about the solar system.  The little ones were amazed by the 3-D effect and kept reaching out to grab the animals.  When they got home they were pretty wiped out.  The loved being the van with all their cousins so no naps were taken.  We had a family picnic to get to that night and they all 3 feel asleep around 5:30 on the way to the picnic.  It was so much fun to hear them talk about their time and Chad and I spend Monday relaxing, going out to dinner and a movie!  It was so nice.  Thanks mom and dad for taking the kids.

3 of the grand kids all packed into the van ready for the trip to begin

goofing off. I see callan is giving himself bunny ears

outside the Hastings museum

at the arch way in Kearney

a cave inside a hill in Kearney 

did you know kool-aid was invented in Nebraska?

it was, in Hastings to be exact. so the kids saw a little exhibit on kool-aid

ready for their 3-D IMAX experience

still wearing his glasses and passed out on the way to the picnic

another one passed out

and the last one, out for the count

The kids really did have a blast on this vacation.  Memories they will talk about for a long time to come.  Glad they got the opportunity.

Triplets birthday party

Last weekend we celebrated the triplets 8th birthday.  On Saturday we went to Champions Fun Center for their friend party and then we went over to Erin and Brian's house on Sunday for the family party.  At Champions the kids played arcade games, did cosmic (black light) bowling, and rode go-karts. My kids have never been out there and of course they loved it.  Both Carter and Camden hit some ticket jackpots and we ended up with around 800 tickets.  You would think this would buy you a *nicer* prize, but not so much.  We got a stuffed snake, a pen that shoots a ball, some trinket toys (bleh) and some candy.  They kids thought they were all amazing and wanted to go back as soon as possible.  They also bowled for the first time (all of them) and it was a hit.  Thank God for the bumper rails, they made it more fun for sure.  The excitement of the night was go-karts.  Carter found out he was tall enough to ride on his own and he could not contain his joy.  He talked non-stop about it until he got into the kart.  I was a bit worried of how he would do but he did a great job.  Camden and Callan had to ride with an adult but they both enjoyed the ride as well.  Then on Sunday we went over for pizza and cake with the family.  They kids took mustache pictures and played outside most of the night.  It was a good time had by all.

carter's loot

he won 500 tickets

camden bowling for the first time

callan doing it all by himself

carter taking a crack at it

waiting patiently for their turn

pizza time!

more pizza

a group picture at the end of the night

I mustache you a question

i love this one

camden and sebastian

the cake and cupcakes

hanging out with uncle brian

playing "hoppe hoppe reiter" with Oma

he was proud of his tree climbing

cousins under the play structure

carter, will and grace

callan, grace, and camden

camden, xander, sebastian

me with my grandma

present time

Puppet show

My mom takes the kids to the library every Tuesday morning to check out books and go to story time. While they were there, they learned about a puppet show that was coming to Lincoln and the kids begged to go.  So my mom and I ventured out with the kids to see it.  The guy who does it used to put on shows in Lincoln and then he moved to Kansas City with his puppeteers to continue his work there.  He came back to Lincoln and put on a show for the kids.  He did a great job and the kids really enjoyed it.  He did a rendition of Old Mother Hubbard.  It was about a 45 minute show.  After the show he showed all the kids the different kinds of puppets and how they worked.  After the show my mom took the kids to Zesto to get ice cream which of course they were very excited about.  The best part was when I got a call at 7:20am from my mom (thinking someone must have died) to tell us that the kids made the paper!

waiting in the front row for the show to start

old mother hubbard and her dog

showing the kids how the puppets work

waiting patiently for ice cream

ice cream with butterscotch dip

this was the picture in the paper of the kids