Summer Fun: A Carnival, Two Fairs, The Zoo, and other Miscellaneous Good Times

Can I just say that we've had a fabulous summer? And as the first day of preschool for the kids is tomorrow, I reckoned that I ought to blog about all this fun before we start in on the Fall Fun. Shall we begin?

We've been super blessed to see Craig more than two days each month this summer. His work began a new schedule where he gets 11 days off every 3 months, so we've been putting his time off to good use!

We took a picnic one day, walked around the lake, and fished a little. Vash enjoyed seeing all the bugs and small animals. He decided to name a snail he found, Dr. Snail, and asked me to write a story about it.

Mr. Peanut enjoys juice now, and can hold his own bottle. Did I mention that he claps when he's happy? And signs more and enough when he's eating?

This is a sneak peek of our new back yard! That's right. We bought a house! But it wasn't officially ours yet in this picture, so more on that later.

Just about every time we go out in the middle of the day, we end up eating at Vash's favorite restaurant and the kids always get the same thing. Vash will get hot chicken, noodles, and a bread stick. Rhyla will always get chicken nuggets, fries, and a bread stick. Fun Fact: She uses a chop stick to stab the chicken nuggets.

Keeping his two favorite binkies close at hand. When this little guy first started crawling, he would get up on his knees and then throw his upper body out, before repeating the process. We called it "inch worming". After he masted that, he would try and leap over his siblings, like a baby form of leap frog!

The boys, chilling out of the way as we packed up the house. Vash was a great helper keeping Fischer distracted. He'd often bring him toys and instruct him on how to play.

Admiring the fish at Wal-Mart.

Rhyla insisted we go see them every time we went to the store. Each time, she'd announce, "I'm back, fishes!"

She was very convinced that they missed her!

For fourth of July this year, we went to the Twin Lakes Festival. They had a lot of great booths to look at and a whole area set up just for the kids. I think Rhyla makes a pretty convincing Wonder Woman. And of course Vash is the true and living Captain America.

And we can never pass up an opportunity for face painting!

Vash wanted Raphael because, and I quote, "He's angry... and sometimes, I'm angry."

For their Grandmother Smothers, Rhyla got a wand and a fairy crown.

Vash, though it's not pictured, got a wooden ax to beat his work tree. He calls it a "Chomper" instead of a "Chopper." His goatee was a gift from the reenactment area of Festival. We enjoyed looking over the old weapons and tents.

We spent a lot of windy days outside flying kites. Peanut seemed to enjoy watching them while he stayed in the shade of the big tree. Cute story: We were at church one day, and I had to take Rhyla to the potty. Craig wasn't there, which is fairly normal, so I asked Vash to watch Fischer. When I came back, the woman behind me informed me that Vash had colored and rocked Fischer in his car seat with his foot! She was rather impressed by his multitasking.

Rhyla cried when her kite would fly especially high, because she thought it was running away!

I think these next few pictures just prove that my kids and I are a bunch of "wal-martians."

"Yep. Just riding a tricycle in my Cinderella gown around the toy section."

Fisch is the only normal one of the bunch... "And he's not even toilet trained!"

(Name that movie!)

A conversation I overheard between these two at lunch the other day:

Vash: Are you done eating?

Rhyla: No...

(Pause...)

Vash: Well, hurry up!

Fischer got to ride Vash's trike while Rhyla and Vash helped me repaint their treasure chests.

There were only a few mishaps... but happy persisted.

Vash's before.

Rhyla's before.

Vash made a few important phone calls before heading down to the garage to paint with me. He's gotten into a funny habit lately; narrating his life as if he were writing a story.

Ex: "Can I do this?, asks Vash."

Rhyla wanted a before and after shot of herself too!

This little dear, has some strange dreams. The other night, she informed me, she had a nightmare that "a wolf got into my nightgown."

And the afters! I know, we are so Disney Crazy, but I think they turned out super cute. Vash looks unhappy because I included Rhyla in the picture, lol.

Making a salad out of leaves and bushes from outside, while blowing bubbles none the less.

Vash prepared the campfire. 

Trying so hard not to be sleepy...

Ever the helper; feeding the Fisch some mush. When Vash tries to play the tickle "Corn on the Cob" game with Fischer, he gets the words a little confused. "Butter it, salt it, candy it, eat it!"

We attended the fireman's carnival again. They had a few new things, but the kids really preferred the old standbys. Fishing for prizes!

Speaking of, a guy gave the kids each a fish, which we took home and kept for pets. Vash named his fish Colton, and Rhyla named hers Sister. Unfortunately, as fish are known to do, they didn't last long...

Vash is forlorn that not only is he riding in a pink rocket, but he's not even driving the thing! Rhyla was fairly thrilled about the circumstances. 

Peanut may not have been big enough to ride anything, but he surely enjoyed looking at the lights and eating treats.

These two can hardly wait for their snow cones! One of the prizes they came home with was a rocket type toy that shot into the air if you pumped it. Despite whatever it was actually called, the kids named it the "Kentastic Boomer!" (I'm fairly sure they meant to call it the "fantastic boomer', and just couldn't remember the word.)

Mr. Cool. One day, he says to me, "But super heroes are so cool: they save the day!"

Rhyla loves her some bouncy house.

Reading her fish a bedtime story.

I like to call this one, Purple Beard. 

How do you like Fischer's Sunday best?

This is how Rhyla dresses for bed; she is not, in fact, readying herself for a beauty pageant.

Besties:) I love that Rhyla shared her pretties with Xochitl.

Mr. Curious. This boy is into everything now. Baby proofing the house is not enough! He will find a way. And he fusses when you interrupt his play now, which is sad and adorable.

Showing off her big girl front braid. One night it was raining very hard, and Rhyla comes running in crying and says, "It's trying to ruin our house! All our ceilings, our feelings, our hearts... Heavenly Father will be so sad!"

Craig accused me of making a duck face here. I can't believe I had to inform him it was "Blue Steel."

We drove out to meet him for lunch one day and Vash was more excited to see the Big Kindle and check out his "Monsters Singing."

This is a selfie Vash took: I call it, "The Incredible Hulk."

Vampire Vash! Made the paper teeth all by himself.

We finally got out to the zoo one day. Enjoyed ourselves immensely.

We had pretty good luck and got to see most of the animals without searching much.

Peanut was fairly confused but pleasant.

The glare is hiding a red panda. The kids thought he was a teddy bear!

Admiring the Koi.

No worries, there is in fact a glass between Rhyla and the killer cheetah.

Dominating the ant hill.

Flamingos. The kids didn't believe me that the more shrimp they eat, the pinker the flamingos get.

I think our favorite part of the zoo was the aquarium.

Rhyla spotted a Dory fish.

Fischer seemed to like this area the best too. I think it was because the fish were easier for him to see than the animals.

My babies:)

Rhyla was very excited about the star fish.

The kangaroos were so kind to oblige us for a photo.

The slides in the kid's section were a big hit. Dumbo even braved a ride!

Took a while but Rhyla finally went down without me.

Vash's photo bombs are the best. 

Brotherly Love.

Vash was helping to point out fish to Fischer.

These scooters were so fun that it took several minutes to convince the kids it was time to move on to other fun things.

How often does one get to ride a golden tortoise?

Vash insisted I have a stare down with him. You can guess who won.

They even had a log ride. However, Rhyla got spooked and wouldn't get on, so Vash rode twice.

And of course a zoo isn't complete without a petting section. (The sheep is alive, I swear...)

Fischer just wasn't sure about these climbing goats...

Another new habit? Vash likes me to take pictures of the things he wants, so we can show them to Santa. No mix ups when he can see the goods, I guess, lol. 

Someone was super excited to ride the carousel with Mommy.

High ho, Silver!

Rhyla announced that she was officially a cow girl, having ridden a horse and all.

A chill station, which Vash loved and Rhyla despised.

This is a pretty good "despise" face, wouldn't you say?

We went blueberry picking one day. The kids of course thought they were called "Boo berries." Since he's too little to pick berries, Fischer settled on eating dirt.

Rhyla did a pretty good job, until she got distracted and started roaming the fields. 

Vash excitedly talked about all the things we would make with the blueberries.

"Boo berry pancakes, and cake, and jam, and cake, and boo berry cobbler, and cake!"

The kids were excited to see this tractor on the farm as well.

And Vash was in hog heaven when he was told he could "drive" it.

Lunch with Daddy. Fischer, before he was mobile, saw Craig leaving for work one day and started rocking on all fours very quickly. He cried when the door shut and I realized, he'd been trying to chase Craig!

Barnes and Noble recently did pop culture days. They were themed and you got to do fun crafts and get free giveaways. This was Batman day. Rhyla is modeling her bat signal mustache. Along with a story, they got to color a Batman picture and run a race through a "laser" maze. It's a good thing so many kids went ahead of Vash and Rhyla because they literally tore the maze apart! The workers laughed that they were just making it easier for the kids following behind them.

One day, we went to the Science Museum in Pittsburgh. Wouldn't you guess my phone died and this was the only picture I got? But we had a great time. The kids were thrilled with the building level, the space/ robot level, and especially the water level. As we were leaving Vash told me he needed a robot, and when I asked why, he said, "To help me clean!"

And in between all the fun, there was more packing and playing.

And even some great amusement while grocery shopping.

Our church had a picnic for Pioneer Day. The kids got to run a sack race and play a few other games. Although, Rhyla had some trouble with the race and my good friend had to pick her up and help her finish; it was kind of a sweet /inspiring moment for me.

Another day we took a day trip out to West Virginia. Spent a good deal of time looking at the wears of Cabella's and had lunch at a fantastic wing place. Vash is begging for a tackle box.

Fischer, again, liked the fishes the best. We even spotted a few turtles in the tanks!

 

Here, Rhyla is performing her tackle box cheer.

Daddy kicked butt at the shooting arcade. Vash gave it a go but Rhyla wouldn't go near the rifles.

Fischer just couldn't wait for the wings to come! They were pretty spectacular I have to say... Craving some at this moment.

Rhyla tells me, "I'm being so sweet to hold baby Fischer's hand!"

Not to be outdone, Vash forced some hand holding of his own.

Princess Rhyla enjoying a movie on Netflix as her books got packed away.

Peanut likes to rummage through the toys and find his favorites. Can you guess what he likes best? (I'll give you a hint... it has four wheels and fits neatly into his chubby little hands!)

Another walk around the lake. What can I say? It's been great weather for picnics.

We attempted to feed the ducks but they avoided us. I tried to make it up to the kids and took them to the play ground. Vash asked if he could play on the "Climb Monkeys." (Monkey Bars.)

Couldn't you just kiss those cheeks all day?

Another pop culture night. Frozen. It was by far the most packed of the days we attended. There were about 30 Elsas, 3 Anna's and Rhyla, in a hot pink flapper dress.

The cafe was selling special Frozen drinks with blue sprinkles on top. Vash was happy to go to a "princess night" as he called it because we met up with his friend from preschool, Cora. And I bribed him with cookies! They got to hear a story, cut out snowflakes, and sing along with Olaf. Funny story; It was story time and every was being very silent as it was a suspenseful moment. Out of nowhere I hear, "Sluuuuuuurrrp." Rhyla was sucking down her drink and staring intently at the story teller. The sound was so loud, the moms around me were stifling giggles. 

Everyone, I'd like you to meet Mr. Squishy Face.

Dance Party!

Just thought this was an adorable picture of Rhyla showing off her necklace.

Vash offering me a flower. (He's not grimacing; the sun was in his eyes!)

A random picture of one of my blueberry creations; a tart. Along with this, I made cobbler, jam, and we ate a bunch of them with cereal!

The last pop culture night we did was Marvel. It was the best organized of the nights. The kids got to smash a building like Hulk, hit targets with "lasers" like Iron Man, and throw things at webs like Spidey! Rhyla was actually one of only five kids to get her paper stuck in the web! Vash came pretty close though.

We also got to attend a wedding this summer. It promptly began to rain as the ceremony ended so we ended up not staying for the reception. Kids + rain+ wedding reception= havoc, I am pretty sure...

But I was very proud of the kids for sitting so patiently and good for the ceremony.

Can you believe that this kid went from crawling to walking around the furniture in a month? He's very motivated, once he sets his mind on something. 

And we celebrated my dad's birthday that weekend too. He wanted a pinata because he knew it would be fun watching my kids beat the tar out of it. After getting the prizes, Vash told Grandpa he was ready to work on projects in the garage. I told him it was Grandpa's special day and Vash, without skipping a beat says, "Come on, Grandpa. Let's spend your special day in the garage!"

Rhyla did her best, but wanted Vash to finish it off because she was more interested in grabbing prizes.

Too big for naps you say? Lies, says I.

Chef Cutie.

And as the summer progressed, the town house got more and more bare.

Apparently, the kids did too.

Vash demonstrating how his paper can works.Along with that, he and Grandpa cut out and colored a bunch of paper fruit, which Vash calls "Sport Candy."

We even managed to squeeze in a Pirate's game one Friday. It was the day we closed on the house actually!

It was much more fun with Daddy this year. And I think Fischer liked it better out of the womb, lol.

Vash and the sister missionaries.

Could he be any sillier?

Me and my Mini Me.

"Knock me out at the ball game!" Do you like how Craig put him in his free t-shirt despite it being several times too big?

I call this, "Wicked Excited."

You know, I realized lately that Vash is getting pretty good at Selfies. This is one of my favorites.

And I think this one he took of Rhyla is priceless.

Almost as priceless as Spider-man dancing with Princess Aurora!

Enjoying our new back yard.

I adore all the mature trees and the amount of space! Seriously, this is but a fraction of the yard.

And the kids now have their own play room! Makes keeping the rest of the house picked up much easier.

Laughing the binky right out of his mouth.

In case you were curious; the front of the house. Consider this a before shot, because I worked on the yard for two weeks and there's a shot of the final product later. And yes, I do think it slightly resembles a certain Disney attraction... In a charming, less spooky way.

Three children on one lap? Impressive!

Sibling snuggles. These three are too cute. I hope Peanut does ok when Vash and Rhyla start preschool tomorrow. I think he'll miss them, don't you? (Good thing Vash starts homeschooling next year!)

Twins; 4 1/2 years apart.

Rhyla is impressed by nothing... This is her "Go away" face. It terrifies me, lol.

And now for the final fair we attended. This is the very same fair we went to last year and I was unable to post pictures because a certain little boy deleted them. He knows better now and so this year, you get to see pictures. 

We saw the same fluffy chickens.

Rhyla pet another goat.

Vash taunted the piggies. (Just kidding, he was only admiring them.)

And we smelled the same, stinky cows.

Fischer looks stoic here, but he was cracking up when I told him what sounds the animals made.

To boot, we even got ice cream from the same place!

Amberly and Xochitl met us there, which made things extra fun!

Vash is owning this motorcycle. See the intensity in his face?

Fischer and baby McKoy had the best seats in the house.

Vash was more afraid of this carousel because it had no safety restraints.

I rarely take things at the right moment, but this was perfectly timed. 

This is Fischer learning that chalk looks better than it tastes.

Vash has drawn a robot that he hopes to earn in the Monsters Singing game.

Rhyla demonstrates that you must be fully covered in chalk to get the picture to look just right.

Fischer was just a bit excited for bath time. He loves splashing in the water and startling himself.

Fischer has now realized that banging things together makes cool noises.Thankfully the pots and pans are stored far out of reach.

We went to a concert in the park recently. Amberly and Leidy invited us and it was pretty fun.

Vash and Rhyla loved spending time together, but we got rained out on the way to our car and the kids were just sobbing! Vash kept saying things like, "I think I'm having a bad dream," and "Why is Heavenly Father doing this?" Rhyla handled it the best because Leidy held a blanket over her head and ran with her to the car, but poor Fischer just got drenched because he wouldn't let me cover him. And he cried all the way home just to make sure I knew he was really upset!

The after shot of the front yard. I think it looks much cleaner now. We even trimmed those side bushes down a bit more. Took a lot of work, but I like the results. 

The kids swore to me they were not horsing around... (Never mind Vash has his legs in the air, Fischer is upside down, and Rhyla looks like a drunk pirate.)

She's rather photogenic, wouldn't you say?

Modeling her newest outfit; The doc is in!

And she insisted I take a picture to show her just how good her Princess hairstyle looked.

The Three Amigos.

The kids enjoying some Popsicles while Amberly, some other friends, and I have a nail night. 

One day it stormed pretty badly her and I couldn't figure out why the kids weren't freaking out because they hate storms. Came in to find them asleep on the couch. I love that Rhyla is snuggling Vash's foot!

Even Peanut zonked on the floor! It turned out to be a quiet evening for me, so I baked rolls. They turned out alright... for a first try.

Love me some Craigly-Bear! So, to sum up; we have been blessed to do and see so much this summer. I think we were out and about pretty much every day. We ran and we sweat and ate and we played. We bought a house and we're starting to make it our home. And now, I'll leave you with my favorite segment. 

Stuff my kids have said or done that made me laugh, or I simply wanted to remember:

Our GQ model tugs on his ear when he's sleepy.

I tried to take a baby car from him once and he had a second one in his hand, so he tried to sneak it into his mouth!

Craig was playing with him and a Boba Fett toy, but when Craig put the toy down, Fischer picked it up and crawled to him and pushed it into his hand, essentially asking him to keep playing with him!

If Fischer doesn't like what I put on his tray, he throws it on the floor or otherwise hide it from me.

I pulled up Netflix on my Kindle one night and Fischer kept trying to push the loading circle.

If you're eating something and Fischer wants it, he will take it right out of your hand.

The other night, he was playing with tissues; holding them up and waving them around, before tossing them to the floor and repeating the process.

Rhyla doesn't say water the plants. She says plant the plants.

"Callowpitter" is her word for Caterpillar.

When having a tea party, she likes to be the "Pour Girl."

When talking about Grandma's dog; "Most of the time Zim pees in the kitchen and poops in the garage."

When Rhyla has to use the potty she repeat the lines from her potty book, "I'm sitting this way and I'm sitting that way!"

What she wondered as I changed Fischer's diaper; "Why did Fischer make a poop icicle?"

When I asked what she would like to eat: "How about a delicious banana candle?"

What she accidentally called Snow White one day; "Sewn White."

I once found she had put her stuffed sheep Baa baa in one of her own nightgowns and was snuggling it.

She often tells me I am her very best friend and she loves my shoes.

I also caught her singing into a hanger one day, "Your head is upside down, down, down. Turn it around, round, round!"

What she wondered as she watched the fans go around one day: "Where does the energy come from?"

I also heard her "writing a letter" to Princess Celestia once, just like the show My Little Pony, telling her about her day with her best friend.

How she responded when I called her Rhyla Bear: "I am not Rhyla Bear, I am Rhyla Hippo!"

What she sang when she forgot the words to the Haunted Mansion song: "They begin to diiiiiiiiiiiiiiie!"

She says "Wake Ups" instead of "Make Ups".

When she got upset that Baa Baa used to belong to me; "Baa baa doos belong to me! He doos!" (That's right, not 'does' but 'doos', like scooby, if you will.)

When she and Vash fought: "He called me an ugly giraffe!"

She thinks the aquarium was called "Fish Land."

She says "Yelcome" instead of "You're Welcome."

When you ask her what time it is: "America Time!"

She calls stinky diapers, "Stinky Dipes."

Sunscreen is "Sun Scream."

Randomly, she once said, "When you're a bird, you get to tap lots."

What she said as I warned her against eating things that fall on the floor; "The crackers have dirt on them... but they will still be delicious."

Recipe is "Mecipe."

When she wins a game, she'll shout, "I winned!"

And when she is confused, she's say, "Hold on. Let me get this straight..."

Miscellaneous is "misselanies."

He likes to pretend to speak sign language.

When I told him not to do something, instead of asking why he said, "Because you worry?"

When it rained hard one night, "Stop it, awkward rain!"

I caught him singing the "Chicken Pox" song from Dance Academy one day.

He calls the turnpike the "Tornado."

When I give in to a request, he'll say, "Our hearts are filled with happiness!"

He thinks the words to Sweet Chariot, are "sing low, sweet cheerio!"

 He once told me, "Don't mix the orange and the yellow together, it will make it hot like the sun."

He once told me Fischer was Wolverine because he scratches people, Mommy was Thor because I can wield a hammer, Daddy was Spider Man because he was awesome and Rhyla was Hulk because she's so angry!

When he heard me call the house a fixer upper, he said, "I'm a fixer upper!"

As we were playing a game, "I save the day, but you saved the baby cars."

When he sneezed on his craft project: "I accidentally bless you'd on the scissors!"

Instead of 'copy it', he says, "Coffee it."

He thinks baseball is called "Slap Rack."

He decided he really likes to eat because he "can be stronger."

When I heard him listening to the Ninjago game theme song; "Now that's what I call music!"

When I told him he woke up too early, (6:25am): "Way to go me!

What he says of Rhyla: Rhyla's a pusher; push, push, push!

And he tells me he just wants to make me happy.

He once explained, "I have a mind to remember things. Rhyla has a mind to be silly. That's her only mind."

When I found him working out really hard one day; "Heavenly Father told me in my sleep, I need to exercise all day!"

When he helped us work in the yard; "My hulk strength helps."

When he realized he could see things higher than Rhyla could; "I have a long neck, like a giraffe."

He calls freckles, "Frankles."

And he says "For Heaven Sakes..."

And when I told him Heavenly Father was stronger than Hulk Smash: "Say what?!?!?!"