All caught up!

I finally got caught up on the kids' summer! There are several new posts that are so short they don't really do justice to the activities, but still, I got it done. Be sure to take a look!

Splash Pad

So, I guess we occasionally do something fun on our own. We missed the MOMS Club outing to this splash pad earlier in the summer. So, we loaded up one morning and went. It went really well. I even jumped in there with them! I didn't get many good pictures because it was so humid my camera lens kept fogging up.

Texas Sea Center

Again, we would never do anything cool without MOMS Club! We visited the Texas Sea Center in Lake Jackson. Both kids had a ton of fun. I managed to snap this during the one rare moment that they were actually near one another looking at the fish.

Trevor says "Fish!" in his own way, of course.

They have a touch pool where the kids can touch shells, crabs, etc. They aren't supposed to touch the fish, but they might have. You know, it happens.

Lubbock Vacation

My parents, Dale, the kids and I all loaded up and went to Lubbock to visit family that we haven't properly seen since the last of us moved away about 3 years ago.

We walked around part of the Texas Tech campus. Naturally, the kids' favorite part was the fountain.

We stayed out in the country with some relatives who are farmers. So, the kids got to ride in a tractor. They really had fun with that!


Jordan bonded with their dog. She wanted to go outside as soon as breakfast was done to play with Scooter! She and Scooter found a lot of frogs. Much to my surprise, my girly-girl is not icked out by frogs - at all. She had the time of her life playing with this one.

We took a day to go stay one night with my grandma. Jordan had a blast playing with this little tea set that happened to be set up upstairs. I had a blast taking pictures of her in her imaginary world and loved the way the light was coming in from the window. Later that day, she broke 2 pieces of the tea set. Grandpa glued it back together, but she wasn't allowed to play with it anymore.

All in all, it was a good, but tiring trip.

Fire Station

We would never do anything cool if it weren't for MOMS Club. In August we went to the Alvin Fire Station. They have a great presentation on fire safety, even though I think my kids are a little young to understand. They still had fun. They even got to see a fireman in full suit, and tour the station. My kids were the ones screaming and holding on to their mom for dear life during the siren demonstration. Most of the other kids thought it was cool.

Challenger Park

In July we went with MOMS Club to Challenger Park Learning Center. Again, my pics uploaded in reverse order. We did the outdoor activities first. But, no matter!

This is Jordan petting an alligator. Yep. How cool is that? This presentation was fantastic! We got to see a dove, a frog, the alligator, a flying squirrel, a tarrantula, and probably a few others that I forgot. We were all thouroughly impressed!

Outside, the idea was to see what we could catch in the water and learn about it. Jordan (and I) didn't catch anything but mud. However, our instructor caught shrimp, crawfish, spiders, and baby fish. We still got to see all of it!

Fireworks.

We were at my parents house for the 4th of July. I had fireworks related outfits for both of the kids, but I forgot to pack it. Fortunately, a trip to Goodwill turned up these tops, which suited just fine and work for the rest of the year, too!

We didn't feel up to going to a show and keeping the kids up past their bedtimes, so we just picked up a few things to do in the back yard. Trevor was mesmerized by the sparklers! Can't you just see him thinking "Ooo - Fire!"

And, Jordan was just happy to be outside with family.

Wisconsin Vacation.

I took a zillion pictures while were were here, but this will just be highlights. We went to Wisconsin in the last part of June to visit Dale's family. Jordan and Trevor both had a great time playing with their cousins. My pictures in this post loaded in reverse order, but it is too much hassle to change it. So, we were on the airplane first, then did the other stuff.

Dale's sister, Dale and I were challenged with the opportunity of taking 6 kids to the zoo. Two 1-year-olds, a 2-year-old, a 3-year-old, a 4-year-old, and a 6-year-old. And did you count the number of adults? Three. We had a good time! The adults were exhausted because we spent more time counting to six than looking at the animals. But, overall, it was a good trip.
We spent some time out in the backyard playing in the sprinkler. Trevor was determined to learn how to go down the slide. When he ended up in the splits, I snapped a few pictures BEFORE I came to his rescue.

Jordan, surveying the area and getting ready to run in the sprinkler.

Both kids did suprisingly well on the airplane. Jordan kept busy with stickers and coloring. It was a little more than they could handle, but they did well.

I loved this picture! We are waiting at the gate for boarding. Trevor kept himself smashed up against the glass looking out at the planes and people out working.

Fishies!

Also from June. This feels like such a "mommy" post. Probably, that is because I carry a small camera in my gargantuan purse all the time for just such moments as this. Every time I take the kids with me to Walmart, we HAVE to go see the fish. There is no getting around it. So, we go see the fish. It makes me want to have an aquarium at home. Almost.

Petting Zoo.

Also from June. Every summer our library has a guy bring his animals over and set up a petting zoo. Jordan, being a lover of all animals, loves it. Trevor had fun this year, but he was a little unsure of the animals. This goat seemed to like him, though.

We are not allowed to feed them, but they sure acted like we had food! Jordan got to love on goats, rabbits, and there was even a deer this time!

Kemah!

This was back in June. MOMS Club went to Kemah to let the kids splash in the fountain. There is always a good time to be had here! These are some of my favorite pictures.

Jordan having fun with her friends getting wet.
This is my favorite picture from the whole morning. Jordan and her friends Amory, and Ian, were crouched over this particular fountain waiting and waiting for it to squirt. Amory is the one who got it - right in the forehead.
Trevor, as usual, was a bit nervous about this new place. After a lot of tears, clinging, and ingnoring his behavior, he finally ventured out into the great unknown - and had fun!