A Perfect Rainy Day

Yesterday the weather was yucky and rainy, so we decided to use the awesome gift cards that Aunt Erin and Uncle Brian (and Owen and Kayden) bought the kids and spent some time over at Build A Bear.  The kids absolutely LOVED this!

I forgot how cute it is over at BAB.  Oliver loved pumping his stuffing into his Ninja Turtle.

And Claire enjoyed pumping up her sparkly kitty.

Then they had to warm up the heart.

And rub it on their hearts.

And rub it on their muscles so that their bears would be strong.

Then rub it on their heads so that the bears would be smart and always know that the kids were thinking about them.

Oliver is not messing around.

 Then they had to jump up and down and spin.  I am not sure what the significance of that was, but the kids had fun just the same.

Then the hearts were sown in.

Then it was time for a bath.  The nice woman working there told Oliver, "Your Ninja Turtle needs a bath because he lives in the sewers and it is smelly in the sewer."  Oliver looked at her with utter confusion (he scrunches up half of his face when he does not believe you) and firmly stated, "He is not smelly at all."  After a few minutes of explaining that the bears all get a special bath before they leave the store he finally caught on and had a blast giving his Ninja Turtle a bath.

After choosing the perfect weapons for his bear Oliver was all set with his brand new Ninja Turtle!

Claire chose a fancy new outfit for her kitty so we had to head to the dressing room and get her changed.

Once she was all dressed, we were good to go.

Finally, we filled out their birth certificates and gave our new friends their names.  Oliver named his "Hardy" and Claire named hers "Sparkle".

After we paid we were all set with our new additions!!!

THANK YOU AUNT ERIN AND UNCLE BRIAN (AND OWEN AND KAYDEN).  WE HAD A BLAST AND IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS!!!!

After BAB Claire wanted to "walk around the mall" so we took a walk (she is such a teenager already).  Then we stopped and rode a few of the "rides".  Oliver loved the school bus.

And Claire loved the robot.

Then we stopped and had a great lunch at PFChangs!!!  I love that place!!  And the kids were very excited to have lunch at a "grown up place".

And finally we came home and it was time to relax.  Relax or play "Boxing" as Claire and Oliver called it.  Sometimes I wonder why we don't just give them empty boxes instead of actual toys.

Overall it was the perfect rainy day.  We had such a nice day.  We didn't rush anywhere or try to get 1,000 things done. We just took our time and spent the day together.  It was perfect.  These are some of my favorite summer days, even if it is rainy.

Snuggling

One of my most favorite things about summer is just relaxing and snuggling with my favorite people.

Horsin' Around & Quaker Days

Last week our town celebrated "Quaker Days". Quaker Days combines different Village, Chamber, and community-sponsored events.  We always have a blast enjoying all of these events. 

 Before all of the village fun, Claire's friend Kathleen invited us to check out her riding lesson and hang out with her horse.  Claire was THRILLED to spend some time with the horse!  Of course, Oliver tagged along too and he loved it.  After we watched Kathleen's lesson, the kids got to help brush the horse.

Oliver had to brush the lower parts of the horse because he couldn't reach the top part :)

The kids all did a great job taking care of the horse.  Here they are cleaning the horse's horseshoes!

 

When they were finished cleaning up the horse, they gave the horses some treats.

Kathleen was so sweet helping Oliver give Buddy a treat.  Oliver got a little freaked out and threw the treat at Buddy the first time.  But after a few tries, he got the courage to keep his hand still long enough for Buddy to eat the treat.  We really had a nice time!  It was nice of Kathleen to invite us along!

 That evening was the Quaker Days "Taste Of Orchard Park".  Usually we go up and eat dinner there sampling all of the delicious food.  This year we decided to have a delicious dinner made by Daddy and then we headed up there for dessert.  Oliver had fun playing a bean bag toss.

Claire was a little nervous for some reason and she wanted me to go with her.  She ended up knocking the teeth out and winning a prize!

We couldn't find any desserts that we all agreed on, so we kinda cheated and walked over to Yotality and had some delicious dessert there.

On Friday, Quaker Days had an ice cream social and fireworks.  We met up with the Cappelli family and had a great time.  The kids loved the ice cream and playing!  And of course, we all loved the fireworks!

It was another great Quaker Days.  I can't believe it is already over!  That always reminds me that summer is moving right along! 

Claire's Friend Party!

Claire had her "friend" birthday party last weekend and as usual, it was a success.

This year Claire wanted a "Girly Skull" party.  She has a slight obsession with skulls.  I actually had to push the "girly" part.  Claire would prefer biker tattoo style skulls but we compromised.

Claire had a great time with some of her buddies from school.  Notice my photobomber Oliver.

Did I mention that she is 7.  Seriously, 7.  That is too old.

Her friends got her some great gifts.  They all got her things based on her favorite stuff, I think it is so sweet that they all know her so well.

The gang. Too old.  They are all too old.

And of course, a silly picture too.

Again, old.  Too old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

 

 

Movie Night

Yesterday was another busy day.  Claire had a party to go to and Mark had to bike for 5 hours!  So after dinner we were all a little tired.  The weather was dark and rainy so we decided it was the perfect night for a MOVIE NIGHT!

We love our movie nights around here.  We get some snacks and we all curl up together and watch a good movie.  Last night's feature was "Charlotte's Web".  We all loved it.  Well, Oliver loved it but he was an absolute train wreck when Charlotte died.  He was so upset!  Other than that, it was a great night of snuggling and just relaxing.

Fun In The Sun

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous so we packed up early and headed out! 

Our first stop was to the local pavilion for some fun kid friendly entertainment.  

 Claire was so excited when she got called up on stage.

It wasn't too long before Oliver got called up too.

The only problem was that Oliver didn't want to stop watching the show :)

Then he wormed his way onto the stage.

And had to be escorted back down off the stage.

After a great show, we headed over to Green Lake to meet up with some friends and enjoy the beautiful weather. Claire loved going down the big slide.

Oliver loved the slide too, even though he needed a little help from Aunt Jessica.

Even Owen and Kayden made a visit!  The kids had a blast!

Oliver loved hanging out with Miss Amy.

 Claire even ran into her buddy Selena!

After a great nap we headed over to Claire's last soccer game!  Here is Claire receiving her medal for a great season!

She had so much fun this season.  She had a bunch of friends on her team and she loved hanging out with them every Friday!

Claire was so proud of her medal.

Not everyone made it to the last game but here is most of the team.  It was really a great bunch of kids!

After the game the kids enjoyed some delicious pizza!  Oliver wormed his way into the pizza celebration too!

It was a busy day but these are my favorite days and the reason that I love summer!!!!