Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fourth of July, 2011



Wow, am I behind in blogging! I have been really good about loading all of my latest pics to fb, because it is so much quicker. But I definitely want to keep my blog going, as it is a way to preserve our memories through journaling as well. So, here is a peek back at our 4th of July, 3 months later! :)


These pics were taken on July 3rd. (Uncle Eric's 28th bday! He was celebrating at Milwaukee fest. so we didn't get to see him.) We were invited to some friends' house for a cookout, and we were looking patriotic.


My busy, silly boys, ages 15 mos. and 4 years.


At the Walker family cookout. Holden loves seeing his friend, Gabrielle, and lets her do really cool things like dressing him up in a purple butterfly costume. LOL!!


Future blackmail pictures of my cute little butterfly. Daddy was so proud.

Hunter loved climbing in this little chair and watching everyone.

Thad did sparklers with the kids. They had so much fun with them! When we got home, Memaw and Aunt Allie came down and helped Holden decorate his riding police car for the neighborhood parade. They did a great job! He was really into it this year and worked diligently with them to add just the right touches.


July 4th, 2011:
Holden Jay-age 4

July 4th, 2011:

Hunter James Paul-age 15 mos.

Brothers
(Can you see why we call Hunter "the giant baby?" Holden trying to wrangle
him is hilarious. They are almost the same size.)

This has become one of my favorite family pictures!



Grammy, Papa, and the boys before the parade
Pepaw, Memaw, and the boys




Love this of my dad and Hunter





Great Grandpa Schulz, Daddy, and the boys



And they're off!

Holden was very determined to drive his car in the parade this year all by himself. We didn't send Hunter with him because we feared he'd try to climb out before it was over. He was happy to stay on the sidelines and eat all of the yummy breakfast foods that the neighbors compiled. :)
Pepaw walked with Holden, and Papa and Hunter joined him at the end.



We actually got a good one of the two of us!



Holden enjoying the festivities. He was thrilled to have his buddy, Hannah, there to hang out with. She is so good to him. This year he loved all of the games and craft activities. He didn't want to miss one single thing-other than breakfast. He would always rather be playing than "wasting time" eating. :)


My little busy-body, Hunter. He LOVED the little wading pool filled with water, and spent much of his time splashing his hands in it. Can't blame him; it was about 90 degrees in the shade. He also of course loved the basketball hoop area (he is obsessed with any type of ball) and unlike his brother, ADORES eating and frequently resembled a chipmunk throughout the morning as he shoveled whole donut holes and mini muffins in his mouth.



Great Grandpa and Daddy helped with the candy toss. Hunter caught on really quickly to this game and plowed right in with the big kids to collect his fair share. Holden is an old pro at this now, but he was a good big brother and made sure Hunter got some, too.


Holden had a blast with the water balloon fights/games. I have decided that 4 is one of my favorite ages. He is so excited about everything, can understand and do so much, and is really growing into his little personality.




I realized looking at this that I repeated some of these pics from earlier, but I am including the collage anyway. I love watching my boys' brother dynamic! I hope that they will always love each other this much. They may drive each other nuts one minute, but the next they are right back together. And Holden can say/do what he wants to his baby brother, but nobody else better mess with him! He is his biggest advocate.



We came back home and cooled off out back. Jay bought the boys this inflateable pool for the summer, and we more than got our money's worth out of it. The dollar store had the foot long squirters and the provided endless entertainment.
After naps for everyone, we got ready for a cookout with our parents, our neighbors, Emma and Charles, and family friends, Cyndee and Dave. The boys enjoyed eating outside and being the center of attention. :)


Backyard cookout pics


Hunter had us all in stitches with his saggy diaper. I ran out of swim diapers and decided to just put one of his regular Pampers Baby-Dry diapers on him. They boast that a child can go up to 12 hours with no leaks. After a few trips into the pool, his trunks wouldn't even stay up all the way because the diaper was so bulgy. Didn't bother him a bit, nor did it slow him down!




After dinner, my parents joined us in heading to the ISU golf course, our annual fireworks spot. We met up with my good friend, Kara, her hubby and parents, and little Corinne. She and Holden always have a great time together. Gary caught some lightning bugs to show them, they looked at the pond, played with their glow rings/sticks, and just had fun chasing each other around the greens.
My family



The fireworks started off at dusk, and we were loving them-for about 1 full minute. Hunter had been "oohing" and clapping, and then all of a sudden NOTHING. He kept pointing to the sky and making noises, wondering where the lights went. We found out via the radio and fb (modern technology is amazing!) that they were having technical difficulties. So we waited. And waited. And waited....over a half hour. Just about the time we were ready to leave, they did get them going. Hunter absolutely loved his first fireworks display. I knew he would, as he is obsessed with lights right now. He was truly in awe. Holden enjoyed them until, just like last year, he fell asleep and slept through the LOUD grand finale! I don't know how he sleeps as hard as he does! He was wiped from a full day of activities.



We had a great July 4th, celebrating our country's birthday!

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Texas Finale: Sea World, San Antonio

On our final day in TX, we visited Sea World in San Antonio.

Love this picture of Hunter on the way there: conquering the world, one bottle at a time! ;)



Holden and "Shamu"
Similar to Busch Gardens, there was a Sesame World, but it was much more water themed. That was where we sent the majority of our morning. Here we are on the carousel.


The boys and Rosita...I think?? I get some of the newer characters mixed up.


Holden just love the characters! So funny since he used to petrified of them not too long ago!

Good times in Sesame Land...can you imagine being in one of those costumes?! It was over 100 degrees and I was DRIPPING sweat in my shorts!
Grammy, Papa, and the boys with good ol' Grover. (Love how Hunter is looking at him.)


Hunter was in his swim trunks because I was getting him ready for the water area. :)

Family pose with Big Bird!



Four is the perfect age for theme parks. Holden just had a ball. He loved the rides, the characters, climbing the big nets with Daddy, you name it.

I loved watching him have such a good time.
Taking a toddler to theme parks is challenging, I won't deny it. Taking a toddler to a theme park in 100+ temps is an extra challenge. Hunter is truly a little trooper. I included the picture in the top right corner of the collage just so you can see how SWEATY the back of his head was!! He enjoyed sight-seeing and eating ice cubes. He played with wood chips more than he played in the water. He looked cute with his rosy little cheeks. And he will have much more fun next year!



Holden was ALL about the water! I brought his trunks, but he opted to stay in his clothes and get them "really soakin' wet, Mommy!" so that he could walk around wet and stay cooler for awhile. Made sense to me!


One of the highlights of every one's day was the dolphin cove, where you could pet and feed dolphins. So fun! I just love dolphins. They are so friendly and look like they are smiling. Of course if you have food for them, they are extra friendly! Hunter was asleep in the stroller and I am really bummed he missed this. I think he would have loved it! Holden did.


We had to find the sharks for Holden. He is just fascinated with them. There were some really scary ones, too! We also got to watch a diver feeding sting-rays, and he high-fived Holden through the glass.




Holden's hand compared to a Gentoo penguin's foot. He has a little growing to do. :)



We had a great day at Sea World despite the TX heat, and enjoyed a yummy send-off dinner at Aunt Steph and Uncle Kevin's that night, with all kinds of delicious Tex-Mex food. YUM! I wish I would have taken pics there of everyone together. I was too busy enjoying the food and cooling off in the pool. Holden talks about our trip often and asks when we will go back to TX again.