Tressa Never Saw It Coming

...but Meghan did.

"OH NO!  Here we go!"

And the front of the tube sank, causing the girls to plummet headlong into the lake!

Swimming back to the boat... Tressa sporting the "drenched-puppy" look.

When It's 100 Degrees (and every other summer day)

This is the best summer toy EVER for the preschool crowd:

We have this water table on the deck and inside a screened canopy.  The little ones stay cool, shaded, and entertained for an hour or so.  I go about my business inside where it's a comfy 78 degrees.  Ahhhhh.  Yesterday I brought out the shampoo and showered the little monkeys on the deck with the hose.  It was THAT hot that the cool hose water felt good on their stinky little heads.

The Way Brothers Are

victory plunge

SCREECH!!

"Screech" is the Nats' mascot

Evan and Craig had 3rd row seats behind home plate.  I got to see them on TV every time the camera was on the batter.  Craig called me:  "can you see us waving?"  And about 10 seconds later I did!  (There was a delay on TV.)  I also got to see them pigging out on all the free food that was included in the ticket price.  I saw Evan eating ice cream TWICE.

All-Around Superstar

SB2W August 2009

This excerpt is of Meghan's camp counselors announcing to the parents the awards that each girl in Meg's cabin earned. (Though the competitions were camp-wide.) Meghan won the All-Around Track Medal as well as first place ribbons in the following events: softball throw, the 100-yard dash in the track meet, the backstroke at the swim meet, "ins-and-outs" in the canoe meet, and chess champion. A natural athlete like her daddy... way to go, Megs!

Back to the Sweetest Place on Earth...

...that would be Hershey, Pennsylvania, not to be confused with Mayor Nagin's Chocolate City, Louisiana

Tressa shows us "Hershey Park HAPPY!"
(I know, sooo cliche.)

Evan: "Dinos are so three years ago." frown.

Hayden: joyful giggles and shrieks. big smile.

...been there, done that. And we'll be back!

***

Camp Meeting at Craig's parents' church.

Here we are visiting with Craig's Aunt Arlene and Uncle Dick in the family cabin on the church campground.

(Have I ever mentioned what a pistol Tressa can be?)

Two weeks later...

...what have we done without Meghan?

Our first stop was Hershey Park (as seen in my last post).

Craig took Evan to see the Nats play (and win!) They had front row seats and were shown on TV during the 9th inning. I wish I could say they were wild and crazy waving a big foam finger. But they were just deadpans. The third base coach tossed Evan an official ball.

Tressa adopted two new webkinz - Sheepie and Cherry von YumYum. Evan adopted one new webkinz - Flipper.

I gave away 3 huge bags of Meghan's beloved animals. Shh! Don't tell her! At least that many remain, however!

We went to Staples to get Meghan's and Evan's school supplies. It was a madhouse.

Evan and Tressa had many, many "sleepovers" in Tressa's room. And they stayed up late with Evan reading to Tressa.

I rearranged the playroom.

Hayden regressed from sippy cup back to the bottle.
I tried to help Evan get better riding his bike, but the gnats were too annoying. And Hayden was annoying too as he kept running off in all the wrong directions. Evan perservered without me and Sean's dad helped him. (Get out the 'Good Neighbor' award.) Now Evan's much improved and loves riding.

Evan and Tressa really wanted to go to Chuck E's, but Craig and I didn't think it would be very nice to go without Megsie! They argued that Meghan was having a blast at camp and probably making s'mores every night... so why shouldn't they get one night of Chuck's? Nonetheless, we went to CiCi's, their second choice.

Psyche season premier!

I did the watering for Meghan. Evan did the rest of her chores.

And last but not least, we missed her!!!!

While the cat's away...

After we left Meghan at camp, the rest of us spent a few hours at Hershey Park. First all three kids rode some little rides together. Then Craig took the big kids on the Coal Cracker. Then just Craig and Evan did some big rides - Lightning Racer, Wild Cat, and Wild Mouse. Meanwhile I gave the little ones ice cream for dinner and took them on some little rides. I was a bit concerned about letting Hayden ride with Tressa (usually he rides with Meghan), because I thought he might try to climb out mid-ride and she's not real aggressive about saving his life. Thankfully he stayed put! (I've never had to worry with any of the other kids... but Hayden is a whole different kind of animal.)

Taking Meghan to Camp

Daddy's going to miss Meggie... And she'll miss him too!

(Actually, Meghan was just pretending to be sad... she really couldn't wait till we left! Two weeks without us? Easy-cheesy lemon-squeezy, as Megs would say. I think she'll be fine.)

A visit to our local zoo, paid for by...

...all of you! Entry is free to the National Zoo in DC. (Thank you, taxpayers.) And we brought our own lunch so as to avoid paying $17.50 (or so) for a plate of reheated chicken strips. Yet somehow I managed to spend about $100 on myself and four kids. Yikes! So much for a cheap field trip! The kids all bought souvenirs. And drinks. And ice cream for the girls. And parking was $20! (Though really I'm just glad we got a parking spot at all, since the lots fill up super-quick.) Cost aside, it was a great day at the zoo!

In case Evan starts thinking he's a big shot...

... big sister Meghan is there to put him in his place!

This kind of action...

... leads to this kind of inaction. :D

Lake Living

One sunny day last week a friend from school invited us down to her lake home. Of course I said YES! We had 3 moms and 10 kids (4 from Meg's class, 2 from Evan's, plus older and younger siblings. Except our siblings... I left Tressa and Hayden home with a babysitter. Expensive but worth it!)

The kids swam off the dock for awhile. Then we took the boat out for the kids to ride the towable. After we returned to the dock, the kids swam and fished while one of the moms made a fabulous fajita dinner. Every kid who fished caught something. One little guy caught a rather large catfish! The kids were so thrilled by each and every fish caught! At dusk, we made a campfire and toasted marshmallows for s'mores. We couldn't spend the night because I needed to get back to my little ones, so we left after the campfire, got home at 11pm. Great day!

Hannah, Evan and Meghan cruisin' through the "no wake" zone.


Fishing off the dock. That's Evan in the red jacket and goggles.


Good catch, Megs!

Another New Pool!

Check out this pool -- perfect for four kids!

Thanks Nana and Granddad!

Gasp! Who put the baby in the pool naked?

Ahhhh --- Summer Nights!

They call themselves "Team Firefly"...

(yes, they really said that!)

Evan

"the spotter"

Meghan

"the catcher"

Tressa

"the keeper"

Perfect!

New Pool

How obnoxious is this? I begged Craig to return it... but he's such a kid. He refused.

Take note of our old pool in the background, deflated, dejected, formerly loved by the children, but now pathetic. The eyes of man are never satisfied... now where did I read that? Oh yes, Proverbs 27:20.