Holy School Supplies Batman!

There are just no words!

Between the new uniforms the girls have to have for school and the supply lists, school supplies are slowly taking over the house!

A Day with Daddy

After Mike returned from his overnight trip to West Virginia, we were all a little desperate to spend some time with him. So we talked him into taking a half day off and going out for some family fun!
First stop was Monkey Joe's - the kids are so excited because it is literally 5 mins away from our house.

Although we used to go to Monkey Joe's pretty frequently, this is really Owen's first time being able to play

Savannah

Kate

Even Daddy got some play time in

Owen had a blast!

While at Monkey Joe's Mike suggested going to the $2 movie theater. We saw Epic and the girls loved it! Then it was home for dinner and while I took the kids on a walk, Mike mowed the yard.

Owen helped a little :)

Poor Mike! At this point he's about halfway done! This yard is crazy big!

Lexington Children's Garden

I have been trying to take the kids to the Lexington Children's Garden for just about as long we we've been here. Mike found it on some Lexington website pretty early on and it seemed like things just kept coming up or it was raining. We actually make it to the parking lot when my Mom and John were here but before entering it started pouring! So it was really nice to finally get them there. And it was pretty great!

Another horse!

They had butterfly nets so the kids could attempt to catch butterflies

In the vegetable garden, they had watering cans

Hey look, we're twins!

Kate loved the sunflowers

They had a tool shed for the kids

a digging station

 

Savannah decided that the summer camp group was having more fun, so she tried to join them :)

We found a compost bin

and it had WORMS!!

Getting some shade in the hut

They even had a stream that the kids could play in which was good because it was hot!

They built a dam with some other kids

The goof ball on the way home!

Cincinnati Zoo

Last week the Cincinnati Zoo was offering $1 admission to the zoo so the kids and I decided to make the trip. I was a little nervous because of Owen being newly in undies full time and the hour and a half car trip plus limited bathrooms at the zoo but we decided to gamble.

My three monkeys

Savannah was right at home in the Insect House

Savannah's favorite

Sweet friends

Owen's favorite - the choo choo

She was one with the goats...I had to drag her out of there :)

Too cool

First time we had ever seen a pig on a leash!

Hey, those look familiar! Gators!!!

Pretty girl

As it turns out, Owen did great on the car ride and through the zoo. No accidents!

Manatees

It was a long, hot day at the zoo but definitely worth it considering admission would have normally cost over $40 and we paid only $4. And now my kids have officially been to Ohio :)

Potty Training Boot Camp!

So I started potty training in February when Owen was 2 and a half because that is about when Savannah started training. He did pretty good but with all the chaos of school wrapping up, moving, and getting settled here, it sort of stalled out. My original goal was to be totally trained by his third birthday so I decided to follow my sister's lead and have a 3 day potty training boot camp!

At first he was really excited and very willing!

Day 2 he was a little more hesitant

He slept through his first nap dry!

The first days undies.....

Yay! A surprise for waking up dry!!



Victory!!!!



Day 3 was by far the turning point. Owen actually asked to wear pants (for the first two he only wore undies and a shirt) and he stayed dry for longer periods of time. We even ventured out to run a couple errands in the evening without incident :)



Fully dressed! He earned another toy (glow sticks) for staying dry through his nap!



To celebrate our boot camp success, we had a popcorn and fruit picnic and movie night!

 

Great job Owey!!! You are becoming such a big boy! Can't believe he is going to be 3 in two weeks! 

My Wish

One of the things that I really wished when I found out that we were moving away from all of our family is that my kids would learn to love on and enjoy each other more. They definitely love each other, but they argue and bicker and are sometimes just down right ugly to each other. I knew that this summer in particular would either be really good or really hard.



I am happy to report that I seem to have gotten my wish!

We have had lots of snuggling, cuddling, and "sister time" around here!

And Owen is no longer mine! He loves his girls and his Daddy just as much now! It makes me sad that he doesn't need me for everything anymore, but I am so happy to see my little babies bond.