I'm beautiful

Aubrey was throwing up and running a fever yesterday. Today she's not quite back to normal, but is feeling much better. She was chatty again this morning and was singing when I ran to get my phone to video her. She didn't realize I was recording at the beginning - and as you can see she's pretending to talk on the phone about her golden broom. Then, when I ask, she sings her song, which we will call I'm Beautiful, again for me.

She cracks me up.

Silly

Mmmm, summer dinner.

Yesterday, we soaked up the summer sun and played in the pool. Then, last night, we had burgers with BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, onion strings and bacon. Oh, and local corn on the cob.

Tyler loves corn on the cob, and I think he may have eaten 3 ears. Here's my goofballs after dinner. Tyler had no idea what I was laughing at. And, clearly, Wayne is impressed with the mess. ;)

Cupcake

Lately, Aubrey has become quite vocal of her love of girly things. From when she was able to talk until recently, her favorite color was blue. Now, she'll usually say pink or purple. Quite often, she talks about buying things at her "pink store." (Her make-believe store). She wants to be a mermaid. And she mostly wants things decorated with rainbows and hearts.

This week, she announced to me that she wanted a birthday party the next day. She wanted a rainbow-heart cake. I thought it was cute and I thought it'd be fun to make her a little cake for her 1/2 birthday. But, a friend was raving about j.raes cupcakes. So, I ordered her a cupcake instead.

This picture was taken right after we picked it up. We had to sit down to look at it again.

It was a chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting, sprinkles, hearts and glitter. A dream cupcake for my little girl. ;)

She could not have been more thrilled and happily polished the whole thing off.

4th of July weekend

Last Saturday evening, a dear friend of my parents passed away. The silver lining is that we were unexpectedly able to spend some time with them this weekend. They flew in Wednesday evening and though they were exhausted from an exceptionally long day, they were good sports and we had dinner and a few fireworks before calling it a night.

Not sure why, but they're wearing biking helmets. I guess Aubrey's usually looking for a way to accessorize.

Cuties!

Tired Dad. :)

Thursday, we enjoyed the day together. We went on a long walk by the river, starting at the Keeper of the Plains.

Then we walked along the river, along Veteran's Memorial Park...

With a stop at the playground and by Exploration Place.

In the evening we played mini golf. Mom - why did I not get more pictures of you!?!

We ended the evening with ice cream and fireworks, of course!

We enjoyed a little time together again yesterday afternoon before they had to fly home. We're all happy that we'll be heading their way soon. It made the goodbye a little easier.

Monsters University

Monday, we all went to see Monsters University. This was Aubrey's first movie in a theater, Before the movie, she was so excited, she was shaking.

We shared popcorn and drinks. Aubrey was a big fan of the buttery popcorn, and preferred not to have to share. So, she was thrilled when she could the bucket.

Other than a couple of bathroom trips, she did a great job of staying seated. And, the movie kept us all entertained.  It was a fun way to spend a cool summer evening. :)

Backyard

We haven't gone camping since Aubrey was born...that I remember, anyway. We have been saying that it's time, and we intended to go during the spring but ended up with home projects when the weather was ideal.  Our Thursday storm brought milder temperatures. So, since it was a bit last minute to go on a camping trip, I set up the tent in the backyard.

The kids enjoyed playing inside for quite awhile while it was still light out.  Aubrey was most interested in the flashlight. (The extension cord allowed us to run a fan. I figured we might as well enjoy this since we're so close to the house).

Closer to dark, Wayne made a fire in the fire pit. We made S'Mores and relaxed for awhile in front of the fire.

Wayne, Aubrey and I slept in the tent until the middle of the night when Aubrey woke up and asked to come inside. We all came in and finished the night inside.

But, we had a good time and we'll have to go camping for real now!

Freeze!

I'm having one of those days, maybe weeks, when I just want to freeze time. Aubrey and Tyler are at the age that they (generally) enjoy doing things with us. I hope they don't outgrow that, but we will see...Summer days (apart from going to work) might see us going to the library, the pool, the grocery store. We watch movies, play hide and seek, cook together (or don't cook at all), and play with friends. Nothing that big or different than anyone else is up to in the summer. And I love it. I get kind of sentimental as I imagine the future as an empty-nester, with a quiet house and no little ones giving hugs and kisses and running around making messes. We are certainly not perfect. We have our fair share of lost tempers and days we're short on patience. But that's just part of it. We also have our fair share of talks, snuggles (or wrestling matches depending which child we're talking about), and learning to navigate each day together. And I love it. So, we'll try to make the most of each day...and keep making memories. And that makes my heart happy and content.

Knock Knock

We just got home from running errands, including a trip to the library. On the way, home, this is what I heard. (This is after what seemed like 20+ knock knock jokes in a row...).  Aubrey had her (encouraging) response down! Sorry to Tyler that he mostly wasn't on the screen...I guess that's what happens when you record while driving.

Happy Father's Day!