Just hanging out with family

Mario Kart was a big hit....look at the concentration on those faces...you think I could have gotten them to look at the camera to smile??? doubt it..... Josh and Rick were able to get out and go for a bike ride, they had to wait until it cooled down a bit, but they enjoyed the ride.

Sprinkler under the trampoline was a big hit.....

Julean enjoys the small plastic pool.

We went out to Dos Charros for some fine mexican food (okay, so it was tex mex, but it was as close to authentic as we could find)

Some random pictures of the kids.....

"hee hee, there are so many kids here, mom didn't even notice me getting into the pantry and getting this very large box of raisins....yummy!!!"
The kids had a blast playing with their cousins. Caleb and Isaiah played sooo well together, I don't think they fought once. Chloe and Adriana also played well together. Julean and Keira played some together, so we really didn't have it too bad. It was pretty chaotic going places, 7 kids 4 adults...we were definitely outnumbered, but we had so much fun. I wish that all the kids' cousins lived close because nothing beats family. Have you hugged someone in your family today?

Happy Fourth of July

Happy 4th of July!!! We ventured into downtown McKinney to see the parade, go to the popcorn shop (0ur favorite place), have a picnic, check out old cars, and taste lots of yummy ice cream........

Before the parade (I was sure we needed to get there early so that we could find a decent parking spot), we decided to attempt some pictures. As you can see, we got some pretty good ones of our families and the kids.....

The kids were pretty cooperative at this point in the day.....

Waiting for the parade to start.....we were about an hour early, it was super crowded, but the kids did great.

Watching the parade, waving at the people in the parade.
After the parade, we had a picnic lunch on the grass. Then we went to the popcorn shop and got some cornfetti popcorn to eat during the fireworks that we were going to see later that night. We then ventured over to the antique car show and were going to check out the ice cream crank off (which I think sounded like lots of fun, we love ice cream, so this is the perfect thing for us, right?). Well, by the time we walked to the car show, the kids were hot and ready to go, especially Keira. So, I headed back to the car to cool her off and wait for the rest of the gang to come. I was a little turned around and ended up walking WAY out of the way, carrying a crying, hot, very unhappy baby. I got plenty of stares and evil looks. Once I got to the car, the rest of the family was there somewhat worried about me because I wasn't already there....We stopped and got ice cream and cones and had our own ice cream in the comfort of our house. It certainly wasn't the best of mornings, but the kids did have fun in the parade. I think Isaiah and Adriana were a bit disappointed in the parade and let me tell you why. Growing up in a very small town in Deckerville, Michigan we had parades during August - our town's homecoming. EVERY business, church, organization, had a float and almost every float had a bunch of candy that they would throw out to the kids. We would leave the parade with a BUNCH of candy. Not so much in McKinney- I think each of our kids received maybe 2 pieces of candy. My kids didn't know the difference, but I am sure the others did. They had fun though.
While the kids napped, Kristi and I were able to go to the movies and see The Proposal, very cute and funny (the boys went the day before and watched Transformers). After nap, we went to Grandma Lunn's house to play on the water slide one more time. Here is a picture at Grandma's house that we had to take. Keira didn't really warm up to Rick and Kristi (not a shocker, she doesn't warm up to many people) so, her sitting on Kristi's lap was a big accomplishment for her.
We went to Craig Ranch and watched fireworks. Again, I was sure we needed to get there early so that we could get a spot. Most of the time, whenever we get somewhere right on time, we can never find a spot to park, so we got there an hour early and the kids entertained themselves by racing, playing duck duck goose, red light green light, etc. The big boys played bubble break on their phones. We had a great parking spot and were able to get out quickly after the fireworks were over.
We hope you had a great fourth of July with your family. It was so nice to have my brother here with his family.

Day three with the cousins

On Friday, we went to Jack Carter Pool in Plano. The kids had so much fun. There is a play area in the water the kids loved. They played on the water slides and loved it. The big deep pool opened at 12, so the kids went and practiced swimming. We had a picnic lunch, and were home with the kids resting by 2. It was lots of fun. Here are the pics....
Isaiah was hard to get a good picture of - he wouldn't stand still, he was too excited...

Matthias enjoyed the cool water and the shade.

After nap time, we took the kids to the park. They all rode their bikes and had a bunch of fun. The only bad thing that happened was that Caleb fell off the monkey bars and scratched his face up pretty good. It knocked the wind out of him and I am not sure he will be attempting the monkey bars anytime soon.

Day two with the gang

Here is the story of our day at the zoo.....brace yourselves.....Back in April, I bought a season pass for the zoo so that we could go ANYTIME we wanted to. So, when my neice and nephews had never been to the zoo, I had to take them. We had to drop our SUV off at the shop on our way, so we went with the mustang and mini van...quite a sight....by the time we got to the zoo, we realized that neither one of us had our camera, so we had to use Rick's camera phone, which took some pretty good pictures, for a phone....strike one. As we are pulling up to the zoo, there are cops directing traffic.....hmmmm, why would cops be directing traffic on a Thursday for the zoo????? well, it was dollar day.....strike two - everyone was there, we parked as far away from the entrance as possible - not by choice. We get out of the car and start putting sunscreen on the kids. Caleb decides that sunscreen hurts if you put it on outside and I should have put in on in the house so it wouldn't hurt....this starts about an hours worth of crying and whining which spreads to Chloe who doesn't even know why she is whining.....strike three. The temperature was over 100 by the time we got there and it was completely crowded....now you may be asking why on earth did we stay? Well, how can you tell the kids that they get to go to the zoo (where they have never been and are completely thrilled to be at) that it is too crowded and too hot???? So, we decided to fight the crowd and the heat. I had bought some water bottles so they could squirt themselves and keep themselves cool. The zoo is very well shaded, so if you stayed in the shade, it wasn't too hot. We went to the kids area hoping to get Caleb and Chloe to perk up and not be grumpy, but there were so many kids there, all we could do was get our feet wet. Keira seemed to like it (she, by the way, was absolutely fabulous). Oh yeah, forgot, I wiped the sunscreen off of Caleb's face and bought him a hat, which seemed to help out some. So, Rick's kids wanted to go see the animals, so we split up for a little while and I sat in the shade with my kids trying to cheer them up. I can't say that I blame them for being in a bad mood, I wasn't too thrilled to be at the zoo on dollar day either, but I wanted Rick and his family to have a good time so we decided that we would have a good time too. By the time it was lunch time, the kids were all very hot, and Matthias was getting hungry. Kristi found a table in the air conditioned restaurant and we ate our lunch in there. I think the cooler air made everyone much happier, Caleb included. Kristi also found that she had actually had her camera after all. After lunch, we went to see the giraffes and elephants....they weren't very interested in coming out in the heat, so they were inside, we didn't get a great look at them except through the glass window. Everyone was getting happier, until Caleb said to me, "mom, where is my hat?" well, somehow it got lost and that upset Caleb cuz his head was no longer covered. On our way out, he got another hat (thank goodness they were only $5). The kids stopped at the butterfly house and checked them out on our way out. It was a crazy day at the zoo, but I think most everyone had fun. I did learn a lesson though....be sure to check the zoo calendar before you go to the zoo.

Keira enjoyed the water, she was pretty happy most of the day, the kids took turns spraying her with water.

This smile is completely fake.....hot, tired, and I was cranky.....to say the least.

The kids were worn out from the heat and all the walking we did. Julean and Matthias relaxed in the stroller most of the time - oh yeah, we didn't have shoes for Julean either, so he couldn't get out much because the ground was so hot.

Caleb all cheered up and Chloe too, enjoying a little mist from each other.

Adriana taking a break in the sit and stand

Checking out the butterflies

Day One with Rick and Kristi's gang

My brother Rick and his family (Kristi -wife- and four kids) came for a visit. Grandma Lunn had just purchased a inflatable water slide and so we had to go check it out (and make sure there were no holes in it or anything wrong with it). The kids had a blast playing and sliding. Here are some pics of the kids enjoying Grandma's water slide, I am sure there will be plenty

more pics like this as the summer goes on....smart move Grandma.

Caleb

Adriana
Isaiah

There is a climbing wall in the middle and the boys were pros at it very quickly

Chloe wasn't a big fan of the slide, but I am sure she will warm up as the summer goes on.By the way, Julean and Keira loved it too, I just didn't get any good pictures. Day two coming soon.....

Backyard fun

The summer has started out VERY HOT. So I went to Walmart and got a plastic pool. The girls love the pool and enjoy cooling off in the hot afternoon. We have been out in the pool almost every day. I put it right by the trampoline and the kids go back and forth and have lots of fun. Here are just a few pics of the girls....

Happy Father's Day.....

My husband is the best father in the world. I am a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to posting, but I am doing it nonetheless. Every morning before Josh leaves for work, he gives me a kiss (mind you I am asleep and only half remember it....). He comes home every day almost always before 5 and the kids are always excited for him to be home. He jumps on the trampoline with them and they have so much fun. He puts them to bed every night telling them stories, praying with them, and reading them books. The kids love their dad. He is very interactive with the kids and always willing to take at least one of them with him when he runs errands. I couldn't have asked for a better father to my children.

Happy Father's Day Sweetie, even though it is a month late, I love you and am so thankful for all you do with the kids!