Jellystone

This year we took our first family vacation.  We packed up the kids and headed to Jellystone for a few days of camping and fun.

We had a great time grilling up our food and eating outside.

Claire and Oliver a great time playing together the whole trip. 

Jellystone was so fun!  They had soo much to do there!  Not only was there a spray park with water slides but there was also a beach and a pool.  And on top of that, there was all kinds of events for the kids to do.

In the evenings they had a "Hey, Hey, Hey Ride".  It was super cute.  The trailer rode around the park and sang camp songs, it was great.  Claire was so excited to see that Boo Boo was going to join us on our ride (even though she was a little let down that Yogi wasn't going).

 This was her face when I let her know that Yogi wasn't coming.

Oliver had a quick drink while we waited in line for the "Hey Ride".

Then Oliver practiced his walking.

And then finally it was time to go!  And no Oliver is not crying in this picture.  He is laughing because he LOVED Boo Boo.

He would laugh really loud and reach out for him.....

And then get shy and flirty.  It was hilarious!!!

We all had a blast on the ride!!!

One of Claire's favorite things to do was to go to the big pool to swim and have some snacks.

Oliver discovered juice boxes on our vacation.  He gets a little messy but he loves them!!

Seriously he loves them.

Oliver also discovered whole pieces of watermelon.  As you can see, he really enjoyed it.  Have I mentioned that Oliver moans the entire time that he eats?  It is hilarious!

Mmmmmm......mmmmmmmmm....mmmmm!!

Mmmmmm.....mmmmmmm....mmmmmm!!

Claire loved this trip and was so excited the whole time we were there.  She did not stop talking from the minute she woke up until the minute she went to sleep.

 One of the nights there was a Caribbean band.  It was so fun to listen to the music and dance.

My family.

Claire went up to do the limbo while Oliver and I cheered her on.

My man givin' me some smooches.

Claire loved doing the limbo.  She had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Work smart not hard.

After the limbo we walked up to get some ice cream.

Which Oliver enjoyed.

And so did Claire.

Then Claire burnt off some of that sugar by running around on the playground.

Then Daddy caved and bought Claire a Cindy Bear Doll to remember this great trip.

My boys.

On our walk back from getting ice cream Claire saw the "Hey, Hey, Hey Ride" and was NOT happy when she saw that Yogi was on this ride.  She really wanted to see him!  She just kept saying "But we only got Boo Boo"  and I couldn't have that!!

So I pushed my baby up front in that line.

And she got to meet Yogi!  I didn't get a shot of it but, he gave her a big hug and she was thrilled!

Mark even snuck Oliver over too!

On our last night, we let Claire stay up late and join us at the campfire.

 

Claire loved roasting marshmallows and watching the fire.

And of course, she just loved being with her Daddy!!

 Hands down...best family trip EVER!  We can't wait to go back next year!!!!

Tubbie Paints

For Claire's birthday Uncle Greg (who will sooo get his when he has children) bought her bathtub paints.  Uncle Greg buys the best gifts for Claire and Oliver.  Notice I said FOR CLAIRE AND OLIVER!  Not so much for Mom and Dad.  Some of his previous gifts have been the bathtub paints, Singamajigs, and the best yet A DRUM SET!  Like I said before, he will soooo get his when he has children (sorry Aunt Sue:)).  Anyway, Claire has been dying to use the paints.  So the other night I busted them out (of course on a night that Daddy was working).  As you can see, Oliver couldn't wait to touch it.

Then eat it.

So I finally set them up on the side of the tub.  If you look closely you can see that the paint is dripping down on to my floor.

This worked for a while.  That is until Oliver noticed the shaving cream.

I quickly removed the shaving cream and then Oliver noticed a new tub of paint. And no, no one is bleeding in the tub.  That is just the red paint. 

Yep, he almost got it.  It was at this point that I noticed the blue paint around his mouth and realized that maybe this should be a toy for Claire and Claire only. He was not happy with this decision but hey, what are ya gonna do.  So I started to clean everything up.  It was at this point that I realized the bathtub paint was in fact soap.  Sounds like a good idea right?  Yeah, it was...that is until I TRIED TO CLEAN IT UP AND THERE WAS SOAP SUDS EVERYWHERE!!

I finally got it all cleaned up (you can only imagine how long that took).  Then I refilled the bathtub for a regular bath.  The bathtub paint/soap made EVERYTHING slippery.  Poor Oliver usually walks along the edges of the tub but today he just kept sliding down.  It was hilarious!  Claire and I were laughing so hard we could barely help him!  So my overall rating on the bathtub paint......super messy, terrible to clean up, may blind your children and cause diarrhea, but SUPER FUN AND WORTH EVERY SECOND OF THE MADNESS!!!! 

PS I secretly love Uncle Greg and Aunt Sue's gifts.  We always have a blast playing with them.  

But shhhhhh don't tell him that :)

Fourth Of July

Every year for the fourth of July Mark and I go to our local parade and fireworks display.  This year our friends joined us and we had a blast!!

Nick, Jessica, and Giada joined us for a nice dinner and then we walked up to the parade.  

The girls had a blast and loved all the candy from the parade!

We got a pretty good spot this year too.

Oliver loved the parade.  That is until the firetrucks came.  I don't think the sound bothered him as much as the scare of the initial sound.

The girls didn't really love the firetrucks either.

 After the parade Nick got us a great spot for the fireworks.  Where we all proceeded to eat our weight in kettle corn!!

Oliver loved hanging out and playing with the glow sticks.

The girls loved the fireworks.

Oliver was a little nervous at first but once he got used to the sound he loved them!

 Then we packed up some tired kids and walked home.  Giada loved this part because had to walk through some woods at night!  Next time we decided that Uncle Nick is gonna bring us a fancy flashlight and it will be even more fun!!!