More pictures from our 4th

Here are some additional pics from our day. First, the boys (and the rest of us) on the boat...

And then some fun on the beach!

On the Lake with the Montellos

This forth of July, we spent the day on Lake Quivira with the Montello family. They recently obtained a pontoon boat that was perfect for a nice leisurely day on the water. Chris and Luca were all fired up to go boating together! Then, of course, when we got on the boat, our little worrier got so nervous when his friend Luca was walking around the boat. "Luca you have to sit down or else you might fall off," he kept saying, at one point near tears that his best buddy might get hurt. Here he is calling Luca back to sit with him...

Notice that we still had not gone anywhere, but he was still so concerned about his boy. Once we got going, everyone enjoyed the cruise over to a nice swimming spot where we all got to swim in the open water-- a very exciting thing for the buds! He even got a chance to drive the boat around a little! Good thing it doesn't go very fast.

Later, we docked the boat over by the beach and did some swimming there as well as watched the 4th of July parade that they were having. Finally we all got a bit hungry so it was off to the Montello residence for some grilled cheese, pasta salad, and watermelon. What a great way to spend the holiday!

The basement

I don't know how much I've mentioned about our new basement (aside from bike riding awhile back with Luca), but we have lots of space down there to play around with. Recently, we set up the easel for painting and laid out an old rug from our first apartment in KC that would have otherwise been thrown away. We also set up some of Christopher's marble set up since we were running out of room in the playroom. Yesterday we got really crazy and painted part of the wall with chalkboard spray paint so Chris could have a really big board to draw on. It was finally dry today and Chris got right to work. Here he is...

When he was finished with his first drawing, Chris told us that it was fireworks! Happy 4th of July!!!

Twins!

Today, Chris and I went over to Sam and Noah's house where the boys were going to have some crazy, slip and slide fun while I helped Debbie set up not one but two cribs for her second set of twins to be born in October. It was the least we could do to help! Anyway, here are the boys enjoying their water fun...

Meanwhile, I was upstairs assembling the cribs. Chris was excited for this because I brought my drill and tool set, not really knowing what to expect. Turns out, all I needed was a measly little Allen wrench!

Anyway, now the cribs are ready for babies. After the assembly I joined everyone for lunch. The boys had a great time together, as they usually do!

Hot

Dear Summer,

Okay this is getting slightly ridiculous. I totally expect to be holed up inside during the frigid months of a midwest winter but it is only June 28th and the thermostat on my car's dashboard read 106 before. This is totally unacceptable! There are only so many open gyms in Johnson County that I can bring Christopher to and Kasey needs a walk badly. Oh and pool water should not feel like bath water. Are you trying to get us to move to Canada?

Sincerely,
Mommy

Upstate Part Deux

One night we took Christopher to see a minor league baseball game. The Oneonta Outlaws were playing and Chris thoroughly enjoyed the game. He was very interested in everything going on and if it wasn't past his bedtime, we would have stayed for the whole thing! Here he is standing for the pledge of allegiance...

Usually when we go upstate in June, it is pretty cold for the summer time. Not this trip! We had a couple cool days but then Kansas weather followed us. Time to swim in the lake! Christopher was more than happy to show off some of his new swim moves that he learned in his lessons. Here he is getting ready to swim in Pine Lake with his life jacket on...

Our trip was lots of fun and it was great to see our family as usual. The trip home became quite an adventure as our flight was cancelled and then un-cancelled and then our connecting flight in Cleveland was delayed 3 hours. We've been very fortunate in all our travels with Christopher and we have not encountered many delays or cancelations. Only once before did we miss our connection and end up spending the night in Chicago. This trip included an evening nap on the airport floor!

Good thing the boy is flexible! We got home around 2AM after a very long day of traveling and were ready to sleep in our own beds again.

Upstate

We spent the last week in upstate New York with Grandpa T, Nancy, and G.G. Oh and did I mention the puppies and Beckie, Lily and George were there too? It was a fun week and I am hoping the pictures and video I include here will give you an idea of what a good time we had up there in the country... First, here are some photos of all the kids...

Doesn't baby George have a great smile??? And of course all the grown-ups enjoyed having these kiddos around...

No trip to Grandpa T's would be complete without a little accordion music. This time there were plenty of dancers to join in the fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnOlFBACTwc

Christopher was very excited to help Grandpa take care of the dogs. In fact, he would say to Brian and I, "I am going to help Grandpa and you cannot come!" Okay then, little boy, Mommy and Daddy will just have to sit down and do nothing for a few minutes I suppose. Grandpa had two puppies this summer who were about 4 months old. 

Well apparently I can only upload a certain amount of pictures per blog entry so I'll have to continue my pictures in a new post!