In Summer

Bees will buzz.  Kids will blow dandelion fuzz. . . . .

Oh, no wait, not the Olaf version of summer, but our version of summer.  We have been busy.  Good busy.  This summer has been a busy Mommy working, but not feeling like I'm losing my mind with it, and the kids are a little bit better at entertaining themselves now.  Sometimes.  The other day I even got Ben and Maggie to make lunch.  Little steps.

We leave on vacation in a week, and I figure that will need a whole post (because pictures on the beach are fun, and easy, I plan to take a lot of them), so I thought I would try to catch up on some summer stuff before it was too late.

So, I last left off with a post about this one.

She had an awesome third birthday.  Daddy took the day off so we went to storytime at the library while Ben and Maggie were at Safety Town, and the Akron zoo.  We went out for dinner and we took a few photos.  Three.  No way.  I hate it.  But, she is going around since then, telling everyone she meets that she is fwee now.  But then she is either still tiny, or a big girl depending on the time of day and what she feels like at the moment.  

Ben and Maggie attended a week of Safety Town and came home with all kinds of knowledge.  They can spot exit signs, know that we are not allowed to touch guns, and know what strangers are.  We have worked on the stranger thing before, and I had to disagree a bit with safety town.  My kids are trained, and have had experience with a bit - Find a mom with kids if you need help.  We found a kid at the zoo on Mia's birthday, and it was a perfect example without us having to be scared out of our minds.  Mommy helped that kid find his parents because that's what Mommys do.  

They got to have a safety town graduation which was nice, but kinda ironic since two years of preschool didn't get them the little caps, but 4.5 days of Safety Town did.  

They also learned that if a bad guy is breaking into the house they need to dial 911.  Probably not your job kids, but we'll work on that too.  

Mia had a fabulous birthday party, and I was horrible at photos.  I missed my back up shooter, lol.  I realized I have been spoiled having Beth in town for parties, I missed a bunch of pictures I would normally have!  But, all things considered, we just enjoyed her party.  I didn't paper craft a thing, we rented a bounce house and put it in our living room, and Mia got to invite a couple of her friends from dance class, so she had non family friends for the first time.  

This was just a funny coincidence between cousins.

The day after Mia's party we had family pictures with my Grandma, parents and my family.  At time of posting, I haven't purchased them from my friend Wendy yet, but I will have to.  They were great.  I took this one of Maggie while she was off duty for photos, and I just can't believe how grown up she is looking.  After her dance recital (which I should probably post photos of that too), we got a few inches chopped off her hair.  It curls, hits her shoulders, and frames that little face.  Stop growing little girl!  

  

I'm trying to figure out when Maggie stopped showing teeth when she smiled.  She seems to prefer this coy, closed mouth smile, and you have to beg her to do a real one.  Here she is "loving" on the cat (cat has never been so loved) and doing one actual teeth and then her coy Maggie smile.  

No cats were actually harmed in this photo

We have had plenty of playground and pool days.  I love the wading pools near us, and I love that this year the kids are super independent in the pool, and I can relax a bit.  Mia no longer looks like she would fall in the water and not get up, so life is good in the shade. 

Summer has started to mean baseball around here, and I do love watching them play.  Again, Ben played the first session alone, and now they are both playing the second.  I have to say, right now, Maggie is more into it than Ben is!  She seems to have some drive to do things right, has fielded quite a few balls, and is enthusiastic about the game.  Ben pretty much likes to be with friends and snack.  He is quite a bit better than last year, but it's probably good he doesn't know that his sister is showing him up this summer, lol.  

Go Bulldogs!!

This to me, is one of the best twin scenes I have captured on film, maybe ever.  Just following them with my camera, I hadn't really even realized the ball was heading right at them.

Ben stopped it, and it rolled towards Maggie.

She picked it up.  

Threw it to first.

And then this face happened.  He immediately left the field and came to us to tattle.  Lol.

All was right when he came back though, and this is seriously one of my favorite pictures of them.

Today Baba was with us.  I am sure she was relieved that there is an athletic girl after a couple generations of trying.  Watching her watch them was a delight.  

I know I said today, but I forgot I combined a couple of games there.  So, back we go to the 4th of July.  We had a fabulous picnic with my extended family, and it was everything a fourth of July picnic should be.  Family, food, kids running around with bubbles and a puppy.  We had seen fireworks the night before from our front yard, so we didn't have to rush out to see any that night.  The next day we went to Kent Fest, briefly, and then later that night went for the shortest display of fireworks, ever.  

For the record, this particularly salty look was because he was dancing like a goofball and I stopped watching because we were watching dancers on the stage.  And I turned to them.  And then he threw a hissy fit for the rest of the time we were there about how I wasn't watching him and didn't like his dancing.  Oh little boy.  Your grudge holding has been superb lately.  It's like you have figured out already that you are the middle child and you want to assert yourself so you aren't forgotten.

Our garden has been thriving this summer, and the kids were so excited to pick their own beans tonight!  

And of course, summer means bubbles.  

 Now you see her. . .

Now you don't.  

And just so I don't forget, Maggie the poodle from her dance recital.  Just wait until next year, when I have two in the recital!  I learned how to do makeup on my 5 year old, which was weird enough, but I actually loved her eyes in eyeliner, lol.  And sorry, picture overload I think. 

  

Happy Summer!