Ham & Cheesy Abigail

 In her patio chair...

cheese!

Sitting on the stoop...

cheese! 

At the pool...

cheese!

   Dinner time...

cheese!

This little ham is ALWAYS ready for a photo!

Bikes & Trikes

Always remember to check your tire pressure before pulling a Burley. Two kids are enough of a drag, you don't need low tire pressure too!

I nudged Lydia along on the trike most of the way to the park, but on the way back I hardly touched her at all! Now it's her favorite mode of transportation.

Bender Park Beach

There's a nice little beach practically over and down the road from our house. So when the temps were stuck in the 90s all week we knew where to go. 

Cooler by the lake and feeling great!

Sand Play..can we stay all day?

Daddy stops to join us after work.

Second visit:

Us, a sun bather, and a guy who paddled in on an ocean kayak who showed Lydia 1 of the 6 big salmon that he caught just 2 miles out. The cold west wind was great for fishing but it blew the warm surface swimming water away.  Fire on the sand...ice in the water!

A Swing...

 A swing...

and a miss.

 A swing...

 and a hit!

Now run before the other 3- and 4- yr olds figure out what to do with that ball!

John's Cottage

We got to John's Lake and Lydia wasted no time. Before the tent was set up and nightlights were in place, she's in her swimsuit and having fun with the kids.

The kids ran around together, broke into tents together, played Hide & Seek, etc.

 Bathing beauty Abigail didn't warm up to the water, but she liked wearing her swimsuit!

 We didn't know if our pizza pudgie pies would cook in the little Weber, but they did and they were delicious!

 ***

 The Girls: Ava, Aaliyah, Abigail, Natalie, Lydia

 Abigail was so funny and cute. When all the rest got bored getting photographed (except Ava) Abigail 'cheesed' and smiled the whole time through. She must have thought, "Hey, I'm aware of what's going on now, I know how to work it."

 Toss in the new girls: Nora & Carly

Add the two boys, Trevor and Egan, and the swing's about to bust.

***

Tubing with Zach, Angela, & Tracie, being pulled by Uncle John was fun, though rough. Canoeing with Ben and Lydia was smooth. We also took both the girls in the paddle boat. We saw lots of dragonflies and Abigail fell asleep.

Sarah and Matt took out the kayaks!

Stacy and Greg paddling off into the sunset...

4th of July Parade

Happy Independence Day, Americans!

Daddy and girls in the wagon.

 It was a perfectly warm and sunny day for a parade in Oak Creek, WI.

Lydia waves to the clown 

We plopped down in the middle of Peutz Rd next to our neighbors from across the street, and slapped on the sunscreen.

(Hopefully they won't find out I'm posting a picture of their behinds on my blog. They are great neighbors.) Ashlynn (girl in pink shorts) was kind to Lydia when all the big kids scrambled to pick up candy that was thrown into the street.

"Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of picking candy up off the street, eh?" said Lady Liberty on stilts.

But it was more than candy. Lydia enjoyed watching the cheerleaders, gymnasts, karate kids, and dancers.

We had American flags, but Lydia wanted to wave her ladybug wand. Betsy Ross just didn't design the flag with enough tinsel and glitter for Miss Lydia.