Camping trip number 2

I am a little behind, but I wanted to post about our camping trip 2 weekends ago. We went camping with one of Rod's work friends and his family. We went to Delaware State park. Although the weather wasn't perfect, we did have a good time and the kids made some new friends.

The park was set up very nice with the majority or sites located on cull de sacs. This made for great bike riding for our entire family. The other good news is that Alissa actually likes the bike trailer this year instead of screaming the entire time like last year.

On Saturday, early afternoon I took the kids over to the beach area to check it out. We didn't put suits on because it was a little too cold for that. Alissa wasn't with us because she was supposed to be napping.

There was also a small park on the beach.

Alissa wanted to be a part of the bike riding around the cull de sac so Leah was nice enough to help her out a few times around.

Since Alissa didn't nap while we were at the beach, her and I stayed back at the camper and Rod and his friend Bob took the older ones fishing.

After dinner we went to a really nice park down the road from the campground. They had an awesome three story play ground. The kids had a blast!

After we played on the playground we went for a small hike that include a creek walk and a visit of the dam.

On the way home on Sunday late morning the kids were worn out and I couldn't resist this picture. They are all so sweet when they are sleeping.

Summer Fun

This past Sunday, Rod spent a bit of the day putting up a tire swing for the kids. I had a tire swing as a kid and loved it and I wanted one for the kids. We got a tire from my Dad's house when we visited last and Rod had to buy some hardware to finish it. When I was a kid I had rope tied around a tire and put on a tree, but Rod wanted something a little more fancy that the kids could all ride at the same time.


The tire swing turned out great and the kids love it. I am just hoping that our tree holds out. Rod tried it out and since he weighs more than all three kids, it should be fine.

Rod working in the tree.
The kids can't wait!

Rod making some more adjustments.

The test run.

Caleb joins in the fun!

Everyone gets to swing.

Dance, Dance, Dance

This past year Leah has been involved in several different activities including, gymnastics, karate, and ballet. I am not sure which was her favorite, but we are probably going to try and narrow it down a bit this next year and maybe try some new things. With dance, it worked out good because she started in January and it replaced gymnastics that she had been doing all fall. I tried a different dance studio and I found a place that I liked much better than the studio she went to last year. I liked the atmosphere much better, everyone is important not just the kids who are doing competition.

This past weekend Leah had her dance recital. She looked so cute in her ballet outfit. She loves to dance on the stage and she also loves to watch the other dancers. I think that her favorite part of dance is the end. I am not sure if she'll do it next year or not, but I am sure that I will have Alissa in dance at some point. Alissa was doing all the dances in her seat during the recital. She was trying to do the same moves as those on the stage. It was very cute.

Here are some cute pictures from the recital.

The family waiting for the dance recital to start.

Leah posing for a picture before she went on.

Her class waiting on the stage for their turn.

Leah's performance.

Beautiful!

May in a Nutshell

I feel like I didn't blog as much as I wanted to last month and now it's already June. I can't believe it. Leah is completing her last week of kindergarten and I can't believe how quickly the month of May flew by. When I was posting the camping blog and saw all the pictures that I had and didn't share I wanted to take a few minutes to put some pictures out from the last month. Enjoy!

At the begining of May, Noah had a birthday party at a skating rink. Leah loves skating and by the end was doing really well and picking up some speed.

Alissa tried skating out for the first time, but wasn't a big fan.

Caleb and Leah took each other down.

Caleb did better with Fisher Price Skates, but he wanted to try the regular ones first.

Alissa preferred the eating part.

Leah hasn't given up on playing beauty shop with Harvey. This time she colored his nose blue.

Alissa can't choose a binky, so she uses two.

We went to the circus as a family.

Before the circus started we went out to visit the animals.

The kids enjoyed the circus, but got tired out toward the end. Luckily the tigers were at the end and got their attention back.

We celebrated Leah's actually birthday by opening presents in the morning.

I picked Leah up from school and we went to dinner at Chucky Cheese.

We had cake and icecream after Chucky Cheese.

In May, we also made a trip to my Dad's farm. Caleb apparently loves all aspects of farming as you can see here.

A cat had kittens at the farm. As you can imagine Leah spent hours out in the barn. Alissa was excited about them too.

The kids were also excited to ride the tractor and cut hay with Papa before we left. Yes, all three are in there with him.

The weather has been so warm that we were able to get out the pool and slip and slide. The kids were funny with the slide since they only wanted to walk down it at first, but then Daddy started pushing them down and they loved it! Alissa ended up being the most daring.

Caleb was playing in his barn and I couldn't resist this picture.