swimming and more kickball

Today, we swam at North Park pool. It was a great day for swimming, very sunny and hot. The pool wasn't that crowded. Unfortunately, everyone had to get out for about an hour due to some bacteria or something in the water!
For dinner, Grandma brought up a turkey and we played in the yard and on the island again tonight.

Summer night at the drive-in

Tonight we enjoyed one of Russ's favorite summer traditions, the drive-in movie. We saw a double-feature of Cars 2 and Mr. Popper's Penguins. Daisy and I left after the first film, as she fell asleep about ten minutes into it. The five bigger kids had a great time together and they stayed awake for both features! I didn't like Cars 2 very much. The plot seemed unnecessarily complicated for a kids' movie and strangely political. Mater is one of my least favorite of the characters and the film's focus is on him. Where Cars is not great but simple and watchable, Cars 2 is convoluted and hard to watch. The drive-in was still fun, however!

Cousins come!

Last night, cousins Nathan and Isaac and Russ's sister, Kerri, arrived from Zionsville, Indiana. Today, we went to the Aviary together for fun and bird viewing! We cooked out for dinner and played kickball on the island until dark.

Vacation Bible School starts

Today Virginia started Vacation Bible School at a nearby church. It has a panda theme and she had a really great time! There is a girls vs. boys contest to bring in paper products for a homeless mission.

Weekend at Camp, continued

On Sunday, we went to the lake. It was cold, but the kids took out the paddle boat and wanted to tube with their friends!

Weekend at Camp

We spent a fun weekend at Grandpa's camp about 2 hours away. Leah and Ruby each brought friends along so we took two cars and set out on Friday afternoon. Our first stop was Baldinger's Foods From All Nations, where the girls all spent a while picking out penny candy, none of which is really a penny anymore, but they have a great selection of candy and the place is a lot of fun.
When we got to camp, the girls moved into their rooms, unpacked and showed their friends around the camp while I made tacos. When Russ arrived, we had a taco bar and some great cookies that Leah's friend made for the trip. Russ realized that I forgot to pack shoes for him so he headed into town for a pair of weekend shoes, and the kids watched Napoleon Dynamite. The girls were up pretty late Friday night.
On Saturday morning, Russ went out to get us doughnuts. Ruby and her friend awoke and wanted to wake up the other girls for four-wheeling. Russ took the four over to the garage to get them started, and they had a great time. The two friends took to it well. Virginia also had time to play with Daisy and take a nature walk with me. Russ, Virginia, Leah and Mallory were out on a trail and saw a bear and two cubs!













That night, we grilled shrimp, vegetables, and hot dogs. We had potatoes and watermelon, and then Uncle Craig made us a campfire for s'mores.

The next day, the girls took a little boat around the pond and Ruby and Sophia showed me a really, really tall tree stand. We climbed up fearfully and had a wonderful view. The climb down was a little scarier still!

The girls had fun scaring Daisy with a coyote skin that seems to live at the cabin now.

Evening in the Yard

Tonight we mowed the lawn, cut branches from the fruit trees, and played in the yard until dark. Leah likes to give Virginia a really wild ride on the swing. Then, we came in the watch a mystery movie, Rebecca.

Summer Solstice

Today is the longest day of the year. We made the most of the extended daylight by staying out at a playground until it got dark around 9:30. Before that, we had ice cream at Kool Kones and before that we had an awesome Dipositano pizza at Tomato Pie and before that we girls went swimming. The three big girls are really great swimmers and Daisy is getting used to the water. At first she would just stay planted where I stood her in the shallow end, but after about two hours she would walk through the water, mostly to get other babies' toys. Next time, we will have to bring a few pool toys of her own.

Camp and Cleaning

Today, Ruby began her summer camp, a musical theater camp that she is very excited about! In addition, we tackled a few areas of the home today. The big girls each cleaned their rooms thoroughly and Virginia and I did ......THE PLAYROOM! Our task was daunting but we persevered and defeated the huge mess. Since our air conditioner is still broken, the playroom is one of the most bearable areas of the house right now. Curiously, during the cleaning session no one found Mulan, Ruby's red-eared slider turtle that ejected itself from its tank about a month ago. We fear the worst but, dead or alive, feel that we should have come across the turtle by now. It is about six or seven inches long. Where could Mulan be?

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful husband, the best dad in the world!