Bookworms with Gigi

We got to visit Gigi at work one day and attend Bookworms.  It is a summer activity at the church library that includes storytime, songs, craft and snack.  Gigi was one of the readers for the storytime and they made cute bug jars for the craft.  We also got to walk around the building and meet Gigi's co-workers, although Ford was not being very friendly.  He kept saying "I don't want to say hi, I want to keep walking."  Jake did say "hi" to everyone but with a quiet shy voice.  It is so interesting to watch how different they act in unfamiliar settings.



Working on the bug jars, they kept talking about going outside to catch some bugs.





Yummy and cute ladybug cookies.





Some of the fellow "Bookworms"



Some other recent pictures. . . 

We love our new John Deere hats!

Jake painting a wooden bus.

Ford painting a wooden car.

They found the perfect place to watch their cars do flips off the walls.

Ford eating an ice cream cone, he LOVES ice cream!

Jake making his snack talk.

They are Teddy Grahams though.

Celebrations

Grandma and Grandpa celebrated their 40th anniversary on June 12th.  They decided they wanted to celebrate with a family dinner at a local Italian restuarant.  Ford had talked about eating pizza all day long.  Jake ate more than everyone.  He ate the majority of one of the antipasta plates and some pizza.  He actually got really uncomfortable part way through dinner, I thought he was going to be sick, he was so stuffed.  He managed to digest and make some extra room because when cake came out, he was ready for a big piece! (pictures to come)


We also had a celebration for Grandma's retirement.  Her school gave her a party at the end of May, which the boys got to attend.  

Happy Retirement

They were so excited to see Grandma at her school.

Kim, Dad and I decided to celebrate again with a party after school had been out and she had a little more time to actually begin her retirement.  She even got a wonderful surprise, Uncle Charlie and Aunt Karen flew out for the celebration.  She couldn't believe all of us knew and kept it from her!  A  photographer was able to capture some great pictures of the party. All 4 boys stayed at our house with a babysitter, since it was more of a cocktail party.   This was the first time Ford and Jake had a non-family member babysit them.  It seems like they did pretty good, although I'm sure the poor babysitter was exhausted after watching all 4! 

Clay and I with our amazing parents!

We were all so happy to have Uncle Charlie & Aunt Karen in town.

Kim and I had fun planning the party.



Clay and I



Retirement and 40th Anniversary, so many great accomplishments!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a great weekend, we pulled out the "baby" pool that we orignally got 2 summers ago for some splash fun.  I thought they were way to big for it, and can't believe it is still in one piece, but they loved it.  Ford used it more for jumping into though!

We have a picture from last summer that is the same exact pose as this one and in bathing suits! 


Father's Day we had breakfast at home, when talking about cooking breakfast for Daddy, Jake said we should make bacon (he is on a huge meat kick lately) and Ford wanted strawberries, we paired both of those with some waffles.  We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's to swim.  Gigi and Granddaddy came over for a little bit.  Then later we made homemade pizza for dinner.  It was a great day for celebrating Daddy!


Happy Father's Day Daddy!  We love you!



Grandpa and the boys.



Attacking Granddaddy!





June is all about the water!

Jake's last day of school was June 6th and their first swim lesson of Session 2 started the same day.  They both did great with their new class, they also have some friends in it - Benjamin, Maddie and Izzie.

We've been practicing our swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house. 



It looks like Ford is swimming alone, but he actually has some floaties on.

 

Jake and Daddy working on kicking.



Attacking Daddy.



They loved being tossed in the air!

Our weekends almost always consist of cooking out and having fun in the backyard water park.  It is really the only way to stay cool in the 100+ temperatures.

They made a choo choo train for the last day of swim lessons!  We actually had to go one more day for a make up.  We had our teacher from our first session.  I think Ford wanted to show off for her because he did some independent swimming!  They both love the water and could possibly turn into fish by the end of the summer.

Summary of Jake's School Activites

Jake had such a wonderful time at school.  In just 4 months, he has made some great progress in his speech.  We've also noticed he has been more helpful at cleaning up at home and even better at following directions.  His teachers are all so great and plan fun activities every day.  They are also kind enough to take pictures for the parents.  These are some highlights of his school activities.

Jake's 1st Day

Playing with the house

Cars

They did wonderful crafts and projects.  We have a stack of all his work, which I took pictures of and will eventually turn into a book.

Fishing!

Driving in the Activity Room

One of his wonderful paintings

Jake acting out "Little Boy Blue"

Touching a boa constrictor - Yikes!

Checking out the hissing cockroach - Yuck!

Making Chocolate Pudding

This ended up being a flower for a Mother's Day Card

Flying a kite on a windy day!