Summer 2011 (or man, my kids are spoiled!)

So far, even though summer has only been going for two weeks, we have managed to do quite a bit! Olivia's fourth birthday was last Sunday, and she had a great time at her ice cream themed party! My sister Jen and her kids stayed on from Monday to Wednesday, so on Monday we met Shell and her kids at Chuck E Cheese for lunch, then grilled out burgers and hot dogs while the cousins played outside in the hose and slip n slide. Tuesday we took all the kids to Busch Gardens, but got rained out before the fireworks. Jen's kids haven't been to an amusement park in ages, so they had a ball! Wednesday we caught the dollar movie (Megamind) before the cousins headed for home. Thursday I took the day to clean up the house, and it was Olivia's actual birthday so the kiddos spent the whole day outside playing in the hose and slip n slide, making water bottle tornados, eating Popsicles and drawing with sidewalk chalk. We got dressed and hit Chick fil a for dinner ( birthday girl's choice) and came home pretty worn out after letting the kids play in the funky smelling play area! Friday Ryan was off, so we hit Busch Gardens again. The fireworks were great, but we didn't get home until 12:40, and had the kids in bed after 1!!! Saturday we took it easy, but Connor and Caden came over to play outside with the kids and then it was our first edition of Kids in the kitchen! Jackson helped make eggplant parmesan, slicing the eggplants, breading them and dropping them in the pan. He also helped pick the basil, and chopped it up with scissors, and added the salad dressing ingredients and shook then up. Sam was in charge of brownies and did everything himself, including putting them in the oven. Olivia made the pasta, salting the water, and adding the pasta, and stirring it, of course! it went much more smoothly then I anticipated, and the kids were very proud of all their contributions to the meal. Today, we went to church and then spent a lazy afternoon playing outside and on the wii. Ryan made hot wing and fries for dinner (or chicken on the bone as the kids call it!) and we roasted marshmallows for s'mores on the fire pit. We pulled put glowsticks and flashlights and the kids played beside the tent we (Ryan) set up in the backyard. they showered and got Jammies on outside which was declared SO MUCH FUN! And settled into the tent with daddy to play chess and read stories. All in all, it has been a fun filled summer and it has only begun!