June 2010 highlights

Lots of fun in June!

Of course with warm weather comes yummy treats. Asher and cousins Chase & Katelyn enjoying DQ (thanks to Aunt Holly) after playing outside:

Ezra tried a cone too:

Then there was "Ii is for ice cream" and making our own ice cream during daycare:



Warm weather also means water fun. Asher always loves going to the "alligator pool"

and Ezra has been warming to water play too.


We had to try out swimming in Shell Rock too.




More fun outside:




Of course, there was Father's Day:




A typical day involves dress up/dramatic play:




And lately, cowboys and farmers have been popular:



Here is daddy's little helper excited to get his hands on real power tools.

New Playground

Aside from the work we needed to do on the van, I think our biggest project lately has been construction of our new playground area. It doesn't seem like that big of a job, but... Because of the daycare I had to check the equipment measurements and check on fall safe materials, depth of mulch, and measurements for around various equipment. Then I drew up the perimeter, called for utilities to be marked, arranged for the shed to be moved. Al and dad leveled the ground and placed pavers where the shed was going to be placed. After getting the necessary supplies, Al leveled ground, anchored the swing set, cut wood and staked the border. Then there was arranging for the mulch, Andy helping with the skid loader to move the mulch that was dumped in the driveway, and watching gratefully as dad and Al spread two dump truck loads of mulch.

Here are a few pictures from along the way. Of course, all the kids loved seeing a dump truck:


Thanks to to Andy for coming over with the skid loader:

Thanks to Holly and Al for assembling the fort, slide, swing set. And thanks to dad and Al for leveling so much of the yard and spreading the mulch. Also, thanks to the mystery neighbor who gave us the baby swing. We still need to paint the chalk board area and hang the baby swing, but here is a picture of the final playground:


Needless to say, we love it! Ezra is big enough now to climb all the steps to the slide platforms, and I feel so much more at ease with the kids having mulch under the play sets. Everyone loves the new set with the bigger slide, fort underneath, and swings. Funny enough, the boys were happy the first day to just dig in the mulch with their shovels and later with mini loader tractors and dump trucks, but I know we will get so much use out of our play sets this summer!

Yeah for May vaca

A long holiday weekend was just the excuse we needed to take a vacation! So we piled in the van and headed to Madison, Wisconsin.

The boys were excited about getting a hotel room...



The hotel had an indoor water park that Asher loved...




...Ezra wasn't really too excited about the water though. That's okay because he loved all the outside activities.

Thanks to Mark & Emily & the kids for a play date at their house, feeding us, and accompanying us for fun times at the Farmer's Market, capitol, and Vilas Zoo...