Patriarche Park

On a whim last Thursday, I called up my sister and asked if she and Louie would like to meet us at Patriarche Park in East Lansing.  It had been a long time since I had been there and the weather was beautiful for a trip to the park, followed by a picnic lunch.

We met at 11:15 am (both pulling into the parking lot at the exact time!) and spent several minutes unloading the kids and making sure that everyone had sunscreen, water and their shoelaces tied.  And then off we went.

It turns out that a lot of other people had the same idea that we did and the place was pretty busy.  But, the girls stuck together and this allowed me to focus on Jack and his location at all times.  Louie spent much of his time in the stroller just people-watching.

Jack loves slides of all kinds.  Long ones, short ones, twisty ones ... and ones like this that are really meant for walking UP them.

Sophia stretched her legs a lot by making multiple trips up and down this rock wall.

Such a happy little girl.

It was difficult to catch up with Samantha, as she was constantly onto the next big adventure.

The teeter-totter shaped like a dragon fly!

In and out ...

This girl was born to climb!

And her little sister wasn't too far behind:

Right around noon, everyone's internal clock was telling them that it was lunchtime, so we took a break and headed out into the parking lot to get the picnic basket.  'This wasn't my first rodeo,' so to speak, so I managed to pack every last little thing that we would need -- right down to a disposable tablecloth and baby wipes for sticky fingers.  Plus, we found a picnic table directly located next to a trash basket.  Perfect!

(In full disclosure though, we had a picnic lunch just the day before down at our subdivision beach -- the girls had invited two friends over for a playdate -- and I packed sandwiches for everyone ... but me!  So, I was feeling pretty good about this particular picnic lunch success).

After lunch, the kids were off and running for another hour of fun!  Needless to say, it made for some great naps later that afternoon!

Jack's First Haircut

Yesterday, we went as a family to get Jack's hair cut ... for the first time.  To be perfectly honest, I have been wanting to get it trimmed for a while now -- even before his second birthday.  It was just looking long and uneven ... and then the back was beginning to resemble straw, especially right after he woke up from a nap.  But the curls were so cute and it just never seemed like the right time to go and get it trimmed.

But, I woke up yesterday and decided that it was THE day that we were going to make this happen.  No ifs ands or buts about it. 

We loaded up in the van and drove into town to the local hair shop, hoping that they weren't too busy and that Jack would be able to sit still long enough for the hair dresser to work her magic.

(Jack is so sensitive to mosquito bites, and despite keeping him being covered with bug spray, he managed to get several bites on his face the night before.  A few of them even blew up in size, looking like small "goose egg bumps" on his temples.  Hence, the marks on his face for the photos).

Look at those blonde curls!

And as a complete and utter shock to all of us, Jack sat perfectly still the entire time!  I mean, we are still talking about how amazing that is.  Jack never sits still for anything -- he is always on the go.

Trimming off the curls in the back so that I could save them for his baby book:

The girls wandered over to get a closer look:

(Samantha found a stuffed animal there and played with it for a bit while we waited).

Steve was one proud dad in the background, as you can see:

And Jack was just as proud, as evidenced by the smile that he gave me:

The hairdresser was leery to use the clippers on him because this had been such a positive experience (and we didn't want the clippers to scare Jack and ruin his favorable first haircut), but decided that it was inevitable.  So, we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. 

Jack never flinched.  He just sat there like a perfect angel.

The final result:

Jack looks like a completely different person to us.  We have been staring at him for the last 24 hours, chuckling over how grown up he looks now.  Seriously, he looks like he is four years old, not two!

Such a handsome little man!  Now, I wonder how long his hair will stay blonde and if the curls will come back?  (He does have quite a bit of natural wave left on the top).

End of the Week Randoms

It is a well-known fact that Jack is all boy.  He is the happiest outside, with his dad, being as active as he possibly can.  If he even suspects that Steve is getting ready to leave the house, he is running after him ... saying "Out, me."  It doesn't matter what he is wearing (or not wearing), he is right there with his dad, ready to go.

They spend a lot of time together on the four-wheeler, taking rides through the woods, in the subdivision and down to the lake.

 

 

Jack also loves to ride the lawn mower with Steve.  The whole week that Steve was down in Texas working, Jack would go into the garage and climb on the mower, saying "Daddy.  Home.  Now.  Mow."  Needless to say, that night when Steve finally came home, the first thing that they did was mow the lawn.  Jack is so relaxed riding with his daddy on it that he even fell asleep one time while Steve was driving.



Jack loves all of Steve's tools.  We have to be careful to keep all of the dangerous ones out of reach, of course.  One day, Jack found the leaf blower and was so pleased to have it within his grasp.

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Samantha was invited to a birthday party for some friends (twins!) of hers, so Sophia was able to have us almost completely to herself.  We asked her what she wanted to do and she said that she wanted to color with dad.  Ok.  Easy!

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One of Samantha's favorite things to do at the park is the monkey bars.  She is truly like a little monkey on them!

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These two are the best of friends.  And I hope that they stay that way forever.  Every once is a while, they might argue, but within minutes, they are back to playing together.  I just love their imagination these days.

Their friendship means a little teasing ... and a lot of laughs!

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Filling up water bottles to play with in the yard:

Or ... you can use them to water the plants. I guess.  Thanks, Jack!

This is the look that I get when he feels that I have taken too many photos of him.  "C'mon, Mom."

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He had three trees taken down in our yard last week -- two walnuts and a pine tree.  The pine tree was half-dead and the walnut trees were getting quite large and walnuts are so messy. 

It was pure entertainment for the kids to watch out the window as the men cut the trees down.  In fact, they had such a great time watching that I popped some popcorn and they continued to eat it while observing all of the action.

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Summertime means lots of impromptu trips down to the beach.  And what is better than that?  When Aunt Minnie and Louie (and sometimes Grammy!) can join us.

These two little boys are going to be best friends for sure.

 

 

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About a month ago, we bought a hot tub.  This is something that we have been saving for and researching for a while now and we came across a great deal that we couldn't pass up.  Since then, we have been using it as much as possible ...

Jack doesn't look too enthused, but the sun was in his eyes and I couldn't seem to find his sunglasses!  Ha!

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4th of July

We had a busy and fun-filled three day weekend this year celebrating the holiday with family and friends.  On Friday night (the 3rd), we were invited to Steve's sister's house for dinner and to watch their fireworks in Williamston.  Jack really enjoyed them and was a real trooper ... staying up until almost 11 pm before falling asleep in the van on the way home.  Sophia made it almost to our subdivision before she was fast asleep herself.  Into the house for quick baths (the kids were covered in bug spray -- the mosquitos are horrible right now) and then tucked into bed before midnight.

On Saturday morning (the 4th), we ate breakfast and then got ready to partake in our subdivision's annual festivities.  First up -- the parade down to the park.

I helped the kids decorate their bikes and the wagon the day before in preparation for the event.  Throw in a couple of crazy headbands and some beads and you have a festive group!

Sophia declared that very morning that she would like to work on riding without training wheels.  Hmmmm ... maybe that will be something that we will practice this summer.

While Jack jumped on his bike for the picture, we knew that he would need to ride in the wagon for the long parade.

Such a patriotic little man:

Cheering on his way out of the driveway:

The girls were way ahead of us on our way to meet up with the rest of the parade participants:

Ready to take off:

Once we made it to the park, the kids grabbed some refreshments -- a donut and a cup of apple juice.  Just what they needed after the long parade ride.

And then they joined in some water games with all of us cheering them on:

Jack was especially intrigued by the buckets of water with sponges.  It was all I could do to keep him from taking the sponges out of every single one of them.

I distracted him by taking him over to get a tattoo.  I think that it was his very first one.  The girls have had approximately 12578359 of them by now in their lives!  Ha!

The girls found the craft station and set to work coloring.

Samantha chose to have her tattoo put on her cheek.

Sophia was a little more conservative and had her American flag placed on her arm.

Time to decorate cupcakes!

Of course, you need to eat your decorated cupcake the second that it is finished!  (Jack got to have a cupcake without frosting -- this momma knows better than to give a two-year old a cupcake with lots of gooey frosting and sprinkles!)

And then the beach finally drew them in.  Yes, I didn't put bathing suits on the kids this year (major Mom failure), but I gave them permission to play away.

And Sam took those words to heart.  It wasn't long before she was soaked ... but she didn't seem to mind one bit.

 

Yes, it was the most perfect day.

Happy Birthday, America.