Living It Up!

We're already past the mid-point of summer! Man, it goes too fast! There's just so much to do when you don't have any obligations. Ha! 

Now that Hadley is four, she's traded out the Strider bike for a pedal bike with training wheels. Hopefully this is a short phase, and we'll get her off training wheels before summer is over. She seems to have picked up the pedaling aspect pretty quickly, though she's slow as molasses. :)

However, she does still enjoy her scooter! She was free-styling a bit the other night. Reminded me of "I'm the king of the world!" pose, while rolling!

We also celebrated a No More Diapers milestone! I think I should have done this months ago. She's had no problems at night; I think she was just lazy, unmotivated, or unaware before. Hurrah for the big girl!

We've been keeping active with swim lessons, VBS, and lots of soccer (baseball is finally over, too!). Owen has enjoyed a weeklong UK soccer camp this week - he's in bright green in front - brushing up on his skills...

And Hadley started on her own soccer team. We were pleasantly surprised by her aggressiveness and interest on the field, since we weren't sure what to expect for her first team-sport experience. (She's in the red socks and blue shirt.)

We've been enjoying the mostly beautiful weather (a week of nearly needing jackets followed by a perfect week followed by "let's find some shade!") by getting outside as much as possible.

Or staying cool by eating popsicles over the A/C vent. :)

We've even tagged along on some "unstructured" play dates where getting dirty and exploring are encouraged in local parks, creeks, and ponds. The kids have absolutely loved it! The highlight was probably studying a tadpole (with two legs) up close.

We've also been getting close to nature at Bear World. Some a little too close! Owen must have smelled like deer food that day.

They always have fun with friends there. (Another mom is holding up the two kids in the middle behind this prop!)

Bear World has also upped its roller coaster game, and the kids were fans! H was too short to ride by herself, and since the cars spin while going around the track, I could only accompany her twice without upchucking. But Owen must have ridden that coaster a dozen times in one visit (he's the blonde head at the end). We might have to check out some REAL roller coasters soon.

We also had to see the adorable baby snow leopard at the zoo!

But it's nice to take it slow at home sometimes too. Yes, that's a zip-lining doll!

Especially if your BFF from out of town pops in for a visit!

Finally, let's not forget the library. Owen is getting to be a pretty solid reader, and the Easy Reader section's Star Wars and Fly Guy collections are keeping him interested! They do a fantastic program in the summer with Book Bucks and prizes, and Owen even 'acted' up on stage as Prince Ferdinand in the Tempest! He overcame some shyness, and even asked a girl to marry him with a hug.  So proud of him for getting up there! :)

And the Other Fourth

Happy Independence Day! Idaho Falls does a pretty great 4th of July celebration.  We started off with the traditional parade watching with our friends. The kids love the music, cheerleaders, cars, horses, but mostly the candy they get during the parade!

Afterwards, we could head downtown to the festival on the river, but we always opt to eat lunch at home and rest up for the other remaining festivities. (And make our potluck entry, which was more strawberries: this time strawberry cupcakes with red, white, and blue toppings - homemade frosting with blueberries and tiny strawberries from our garden.)

Then we head over to our neighbors' for some backyard Olympics (Norwegian horseshoes, cornhole, and KanJam), grilled fare, and libations. It's always a good time! Someone is very into brackets, so the Olympics are no joke.  Serious bragging rights are at stake!

The kids run a little wild with water balloons, trampolines, slides, etc., but they all get along pretty well. Some take a little calmer route with sidewalk chalk.

As the sun sets, it's time to head to the river for the big fireworks show. $1 million in fireworks go off every year set to music over the radio! We have a pretty nice setup at a friend's office to avoid the traffic.

And Hadley wowed the audience with her dancing down in front of the fireworks (you can see some in the background). She's usually pretty reserved around groups, but she couldn't resist. Plus, I think she picked up some new moves from the cheerleaders she saw that morning at the parade. 

Celebrating the Fourth

No, not that fourth... We celebrated Hadley's fourth birthday this weekend! It was nice that we could celebrate it on the actual day (a Saturday), and we were able to have a pretty good group despite the holiday weekend. She wanted a Hello Kitty theme, so I attempted a cake, which turned out pretty well, but nearly killed my hand.

And it's easy to enjoy summer birthdays outside, so we did a backyard water party with pools, squirt guns, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk.

Once the kids got cold, we did "Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty"

and a pinata!

The wind extinguished our outdoor candles, so we took the party inside to sing Happy Birthday. (The birthday girl had a lot more trouble blowing out her candles than the wind did!) All in all, a great party for our little girl.

And don't forget the family celebration! (We discovered that someone has difficulty giving his sibling the full spotlight or solo pictures on her special day.)

This year's notables:

• listening to her preschool teachers better than she listens to mom
• cleaning up Owen's room (if he's pre-occupied), in addition to her own, so that they can watch their shows sooner
• phasing out naps (yikes!)
• making her own friends
• becoming interested in "girly" things, like dresses, dancing, Barbies, etc.
• dancing very seriously during in-home performances (mostly jumping with a stoic face and splayed arms)
• creating her own songs (her birthday song was called "It's All About Me!")
• writing her name and counting to 39 (after that it goes to 80)
• still pronouncing Ls and Rs as Ws. I need to get this on film as much as possible before she stops doing it! Some of our favorites: "ceweal", "Hidiho" (Idaho), "cuduh" (color), "cawots", "Wittle Einsteins", "Cindawella", fork tenderloin, b-nana, b-structions, b-nastics, "gortilla" (tortilla)
• wanting to be an artist/dancer when she grows up (a change from Supergirl a few months ago)
• She measured at 3'4" (60%) and 34 lbs (40%)