SIGS Birthday Party

 Saturday afternoon the kids went to Abby's 5th birthday party at SIGS.  The loved swinging on the rope and landing in the cheese pit.

 It took a little bit for Gabriel to decide to try it, but once he did, he loved it too.

There were lots of kids at Abby's birthday party.  All of them had a ton of fun enjoying open gym at SIGS.  I would have taken more pictures, but I forgot my camera at home.  I took these with my phone.

Vietnam War Memorial

Last week the kids, Grandma, and I went to see the traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall.  It was set in front of the Clarksville Police Station, and we had been watching the preparations and set-up of the wall for a week.  I had been talking to the kids, as we saw the preparations for the wall being made, about how important the Vietnam War Memorial was to our country's history.  I told them that each name was a person who was someone's father, brother, son, or uncle.  I explained how they died protecting the freedom of others.  You get the picture, right?

Well,Grace promptly walked up the wall and said, "This does not impress me!"  She tossed her little head and stomped off with her nose in the air.  Geez!

The kids did like seeing the Hummer that was part of the display.

Gabriel climbed to the top.

There were various statues representing different conflicts that the United States military has been involved in.  Grace liked this one because it showed the soldier carrying a child.

As we left the memorial, Grace wanted to pose by this Hummer.  Get a load of that pose!

Gabriel refused to have his picture taken with his sister, so I had to take two pictures.

Oh, and then Grace wanted to do a different pose, and Gabriel bombed the photo.  I'm not sure they really "got" the history lesson I was trying to teach.  I'm not sure they fully understood the significance of the memorial.  I gave it a good try though.

Meet Baby Roa

 Saturday afternoon we went to a little cookout to meet Baby Cousin Roa.  He is about three weeks old now, and this was our first opportunity to meet him.  The kids love to go to Cassidy's house to play.  This time the girls were ganging up on Gabriel and trying to snatch the ball from him.

 Here are the proud new parents, Brantley (Cassidy's brother) and Krystal.

 There was cake from Adrienne's.  Yum-O!  It was delish!

While Krystal opened baby presents, these girls acted silly.  I know that is such a shock!  It was a beautiful afternoon for a cookout and so fun to meet our new cousin.

Goldfish Run

 Saturday morning we went to the Jeffersonville Aquatic Center to participate in the goldfish run.  The event, sponsored by the Jeffersonville Parks Department, is $2 per child.  200+ goldfish are poured into the kiddie pool, and the kids are allowed to get in to the pool and catch the goldfish in Solo cups.  It was a chilly morning, but Grace did not let that keep her from wearing her two-piece bathing suit.  She just had to snuggle with Daddy to keep warm.

 The McAfee's were there too.  Jake was a little unsure of what to do.

 The kids were so excited for their turn to get in the pool!

 When Grace's age group was finished, she was one cold little girl, so she laid on the ground wrapped in her towel.  I'm sure Nora was thinking, "What's her problem?"

 Gabriel was a great goldfish catcher!  Or maybe the goldfish were just plum worn out by the time the six-year-olds had their turn.  He caught his quota of fish, which was five.  Then he finished out Grace's quota by catching two more.  Then he started catching them for Sam and Jake.

My camera battery died, so I didn't any pictures of the final prize goldfish.  In all we took home 12 fish!

 We had nothing at home to keep the fish in, so Dan used this opportunity to go buy a 20-gallon tank with all fixings.  What a castle for 12 little goldfish!  The funny thing is that our $4 fun morning turned into $200+.  Ha!

It's alright though.  It's fun having a fish tank.  The kids have named the tank Bikini Bottom --- like on Sponge Bob. Oh my!

Doggie Box

 Friday evening Dan wanted to eat out for dinner.  Gabriel chose Kansai.  Yeah, this kid has expensive taste!  When our dinner was over, we all combined our leftovers into one doggie box to take home.  I was teasing that it would be my lunch the next day.  Gabriel took a pencil and wrote his name on the box --- like that would stop me from eating it??  He was giggling at how clever he thought he was.

In case you can't read the words, he wrote, "Gabe's   No Grace."  Yep, that's a big brother for ya!

Happy Birthday, Gramps!

 Grampy turned 70 last week!  Barbara invited us over to celebrate his big day with some homemade lasagne, salad, garlic bread, and dessert.  Let me tell ya . . . that was more like a gift for Mommy!

The Lindsey family brought candles that look like sparklers to go on a cookie cake.  How fun!  And they go out all by themselves . . . no one needs to blow their spit all over the cake!  Ha!

Happy Birthday, Grampy!

Labor Day Weekend

We spent Labor Day weekend camping at O'Bannon Woods State Park, despite the threat of rain generated by Hurricane Isaac. Our theory is that rainy camping is still better than no camping at all.

I'm pretty sure that we hadn't been at camp for 15 minutes before Ninny and Pap broke out root beers for all of the kids.

To entertain the kids, Candi took them on a bubble parade around the campsites.

Cassidy had just celebrated her birthday, so we brought her birthday gift with us to camp.  Grace was so excited for her to open it.

Saturday morning was so perfectly laid back.  I enjoy sitting around the campfire drinking coffee and watching the kids play.  I think Grace likes hanging out around the campfire in the morning too.

Grace was cuddling in my lap when Alicia snapped a quick picture of her being silly.

The boys nearly wore the rubber off the tires of their bikes riding around the circle.  That is one of my favorite things about camping in our circle at O'Bannon.  The kids can ride and play, and the parents don't have to hover.

Gabe was having a ball hanging with his buddies.

The boys broke out Monopoly.  I'm not sure how long they actually played, but I feel certain they didn't actually finish a game.

This sweet baby girl was so sleepy.  She fell asleep in my arms.  It's been a long time since I've had a sleeping baby in my arms.  I have to admit that I miss it.

Saturday morning we loaded up in the back of Daniel's truck and went to the pioneer village to look around.

The kids were killing the candy.  Someone put out suckers, Twizzlers, and Smarties and let the kids eat to their hearts' content.  Yikes!

The donkeys and oxen were in the same pen.  One of the ox brayed and scared the girls to death.  They were much more comfortable talking to the donkeys.

The sheep were chatty little fellows too.  They were making all kinds of ruckus.

The kids got to play with pioneer toys . . . a far cry from a Nintendo DS.  Ha!

Dan and Wayne tried out a two-man saw.  They agreed that it was more difficult than it looks.

Dan found a baby mouse in the rocks.  After the kids got a chance to check it out, he took it to the nature center so it could become a snack for a snake.

Silly Grace and Cassidy used Wayne as a seat while waiting for the hay press demonstration.

After watching the hay press for a little bit, the kids decided they wanted to go back to the village to make a basket.

Dan has a basket weaving merit badge, so it's no surprise that he was a regular basket weaving expert.

It started to rain about 1:30 or 2:00, just as we were finishing up at the pioneer village.  Back at camp, Grace couldn't wait to splash in puddles.

So what happens when the sun comes out right after a good rain?  You get a beautiful rainbow!!  This one was amazing!

Janelle, Alicia, and I checked out Scout Mountain Winery, just a few miles from the park.  We all agreed that the sweet red wine was our favorite.

While Dan finished fixing dinner, Alicia, Janelle, Marcia, and I headed to the playground with the kids.  Grace insisted on pulling the wagon up the hill while Mazden and Nora rode.

The boys played fighting games . . . like boys do.  Grace went back to the camper for buckets and shovels.

I know it's a shock that Grace was digging at the playground.

The boys played hard!  I feel like I barely saw Gabriel on Saturday.

A camp-out just isn't a camp-out without roasting marshmallows over the fire.

I know I've said this before, but I'll be happy to say it again.  One of my favorite things about camp is sleeping with my baby girl.  We cuddle in bed all night.  Waking up next to her in the morning is such a sweet little treat.

Sunday it rained.  The nerds read their books under the canopy while it rained.  (I poke fun because if I had still been reading Fifty Shades, I'd have been reading too.  As luck would have it, I'd finished mine.)

I got out sand art for the kiddos.

There is no better place to do sand art than at camp!

I tried getting Cassidy and Grace to make sand pictures with the spilled sand, but that idea didn't go over very well.

The boys watched each other play Sam's DS.  I'm not sure how long they played the DS, but I'm pretty sure they exhausted their screen time for a week.

See the muddy mess?  Oh, and the nerds reading . . . still!  Ha!

Like I said . . . a rainy weekend at camp is still better than not camping at all!  We had a ball hanging with our friends and family.  I'm already looking forward to NEXT Labor Day Weekend!