And a few more pictures...

At the lake

This is the problem with not posting pictures right away - it's hard to remember the details!  But I noticed that Walter has a cheese wonton in his hand and Henry is opening a fortune cookie so I think this was after we picked up some dinner at Cathay Chow Mein.  We spent the afternoon with Mimi Erin (including a delicious stop at Sebastian Joe's) and then grabbed some dinner to eat at home.  So much fun.

Kenda and Gus stayed with us with while my parents and Mimi Megan were in England.  Can you see the fur on Kenda's back standing up?  She's growling at the "fox chair" - she was certain it was a real and dangerous animal...until Henry sat on it (the she seemed a little embarrassed).

Dentist

The boys had a dental appointment in August - it was Walter's first appointment, so Henry hopped in the chair to show him how it's done.

Walter caught on pretty quickly.

Dove Hunting with Daddy

On dove opener, Nate asked the boys if they wanted to go hunting with him.  Henry wanted to stay home that morning, but Walter was more that excited to join Nate - he grabbed his wooden gun as they walked out the door.  It ended up being a slow morning so they didn't bring home any doves for lunch, but apparently Walter had fun shooting at the one dove they did see in the distance.

Our happy hunter

A Few Days at the Lake...in July

I'm going waaay back here - all the way back to the end of July!  (I will catch up!)  One of the last weekends that month we were able to spend some much needed time catching up with friends. 

 Nate has been hunting with a great group of guys for many years.  Since most of the wives hadn't ever met, we thought it would be nice to get everybody together at the lake for a weekend away.  On Sunday, we were happy to see some of our favorite people pull up in the driveway - Patrick, Mary, Addie and Charlie joined us all for lunch...and then the hunting buddies headed for home.  Henry and Walter had spent the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa A at their lake place, but were eager to spend some time with Addie and Charlie.  Good friends really are a blessing and we're thankful we had some time to enjoy their company.  Of course, I forgot my camera at home - so here are the 3 (yep, that's right) pictures I took on our pontoon ride that first night.  Click here if you want to see Mary's account of our time together...way better than my measly 3 pictures - she captured the park, some swimming and the kids having fun together.  My favorite part was all of parents trying to stay awake for a few hours after the kids went to bed!

Puppy Chow Mix and a pontoon ride - a great combo

 Patrick and Charlie

 Social Hour in pajamas...sounds like a great idea to me!

First Day of School

It was a little risky, but after a busy weekend that included birthday parties and ripping down a deck, we drove home on Monday after visiting the State Fair and dropped Henry off the next morning for his first day of school.  He is going to preschool for 2 full days each week and was excited to use his Star Wars lunch box and thermos and Darth Vader water bottle.  We're thankful that he loves going to school and is learning all sorts of new things!

Henry was pretty excited, but let me take one, quick picture before we hopped in the car.

After-school-pictures:

State Fair 2012

The day before school started, we met our friends at the State Fair for our annual food and ride tour.  The weather was beautiful and, as usual, the kids loved the rides and yummy treats.  They were exhausted by the time we decided to head home.

 Addie and Walter...so cute.  I think they did some hand-holding in the sheep barn last year, too.

These three couldn't wait to get in a car and start driving.  There were lots of smiles!

Walter and Henry decided to go through a mini-obstacle course that ended with a big tube slide.  They liked it so much they had to go again.  And here is your classic, "Hey, kids - stand in front of the ride's exit sign" picture.

Can you see Henry having fun?

Walter with his hair flying.

Visiting the Farm Hand exhibit.  The kids "helped" out on the farm, rode tractor trikes, and picked a snack. 

"Enough of this picture stuff!" - time to be silly.

Henry loves these things!

On to the sweet corn.  Yum!

Watching the merry-go-round before they hopped on it.

After stopping at Sweet Martha's cookies the kids were ready for some frozen custard.

(Blurry pic but she's still cute!)

I know - shocking!  It's hard to believe that I actually let my kids sit on the ground at the Fair while eating food.  It was difficult for me but I survived.

Check out that perfect posture!

Until next year, State Fair!

Both boys were sleeping before we made it out of the gates - Walter fell asleep on Nate's shoulders (which we figured out when he started drooping over Nate's head) and Henry fell asleep in the stroller with his head bobbing all over the place!



Horse Ride

One of the last weekends in August, Henry and Nate spent a few days at the lake with Uncle Jon and Uncle Jeff and the older cousins.  While they were gone, Walter and I had some time together.  A woman from church invited us to come pick apples and go for a quick ride on her horse.  Walter didn't seem too worried about going for a ride and couldn't wait to give an apple to each of the three horses he met.