July

What else have we been up to this month?  Getting lost among the stuffed animals.....

"Painting" with water outside....

The Lewis Family Reunion

Party in the Park

Party in the Park is held at Yeatman's Cove along Cincinnati's riverfront every Wednesday night in the summer.  They have free live music, beer tents and food.  Sign us up!  We saw that "Lt. Dan's New Legs" were playing so we took the kids for a night out.  I'll admit, I felt a tad bit weird having the kids there because it was mostly young socialite's hanging out. But really, it ended up being an awesome night and I'm looking forward to doing it again.

When we first arrived, there weren't many people so the kids took advantage and ran around the field area.

Madeline even went up and danced with the band for a bit.

We took a walk and checked out the boats on the water.

Andy played football with a few guys he met there.

Meanwhile, a photographer caught me and Fia relaxing in the shade.

On our way home, we took the kids across the Purple People bridge.  Madeline is such a goofball.

Summer Vacation

For vacation this year, we went to Topsail, NC with Andy's parents and stayed right on the beach.  It was super relaxing and we all had a fabulous time.  Fia LOVED swimming in the ocean. Madeline preferred to just play in the sand and surf.  We also celebrated Andy's birthday!  I took a million pictures and can't post them all, but here is just a sampling of all the fun we had (mostly of the kids, of course). 

Horseback Ride

Recently, the kids and I had the opportunity to check out a "Western Town" and visit a horse stable nearby.  The western town is on a private property located way out in Maineville on a gorgeous wooded property.  The owner loves to build things.  Lots of things.  She, yes SHE, built this entire town by herself over the course of a few years.  Frankly, it's pretty incredible.  In the first picture here, you can see the Jail, General Store and Saloon behind us. We are sitting in the center of the "town" at the fire-pit.

Here are the kids "shopping" inside the general store.  

This here is the Livery.

And of course you have to have a Church.

This is inside the church!

There was also a teepee, cemetery and Railroad Station.  The Western Town was so neat and I hope to get a chance to take the kids back again for them to run around and play.

Our next stop was the horse stables and the kids favorite part of the trip.  I'm not exactly sure how many horses we saw, but it was a lot.  Just in this area alone there were probably a good 15 or so.  Can you make out little Fia there walking through?  

Madeline was even able to ride on a horse named Joy.  She absolutely loved it!  Fia had the opportunity as well, but she was too scared.

It was a fantastic trip and we went home with a souvenir.  

Making of Father's Day Trophies

As you all know, I've been watching my nieces for awhile now.  But alas, all good things must come to an end and their last week was this past week.  I was glad that it fell on the week before Father's Day so I could do one last big project with them.  The kids were also super excited to make something for their daddies, of course!  All of them loved putting the pasta on their trophy's.  And the big kids did really well with sharing and taking turns with the little ones.

Looking good!  Then they needed to dry out...

Once dry, I took them outside to spray them to look like a gold trophy.  

Then the kids finished them off with jewels and pictures of them with their Daddy.  It was a super fun project and they loved it!  The best part....I think their Daddy's really liked it too.

Happy Father's Day!

As the kids get older and understand more, these special days get more and more fun.  I was really excited for the kids to make something for Andy and it took me awhile to decide on exactly what would be perfect.  Once I came across this idea, I knew it was the one..... a macaroni trophy. Madeline couldn't wait to give it to him on Father's Day.  Then she and Andy took off for the movie theater to watch Madagascar 3 together.   (We didn't think Fia was old enough for the theater experience yet. Maybe next year. )

My creative juices were flowing and I wanted to do something fun for my Dad too.  So Jackie and I made him a candy card.  It was fun putting it together and he really liked it.

4th birthday interview

Happy 4th Birthday Princess Madeline

Starting around Christmas time, Madeline has gotten increasingly obsessed with Princesses. So it was no question what her answer would be when I asked her what kind of birthday party she wanted.  I think you can probably guess her favorite color as well as you look through the pictures.  A royal good-time was had by all!

A throne for the princess, of course!

After dinner, we played a quick game of Pin the Tiara on the Princess before opening gifts.

She received lots of great new toys and other gifts from everyone!  Including a new princess bike from Mommy and Daddy.

She's a little intimidated by it, but we are working on building up her confidence.

Double chocolate birthday cake as requested by the princess.

The few kids in attendance each received a goodie bag from Madeline.  She personally decorated each one with their name and a picture of her and her friend together.