Pioneer Park

On Saturday, we went on a family outing to Pioneer Park, which not only is just a few blocks away from our house, but hosts a farmer's market every Saturday in the summer! I loved watching Lizzie explore the playground there. She's getting good at those steps!

She wasn't sure what it was, but she knew that kid was doing it!

I love the legs up in resistance!


She laid in stunned surprise for quite a while at the bottom.

...but she survived.

and then wanted to go back up it!

I loved watching her try! It seemed easier for her when I took off her shoes so she could pad her way up. She is always more sure of herself in bare feet!

I tried to get her to go down on her tummy, but she just clung for dear life.

Frustration mounted until I pried her loose, and slid down with her on my lap.

Despite how much she enjoyed the slide, she kept grabbing my hand and leading me to the swing set. We had to wait for some time, however, since on a crowded, sunny Saturday, they were all occupied. Any wait is worth that smile, though!

Tired!! She propped her chin for a while, just enjoying the wind whip past her face.

Swings were always my favorite, too. As timid as Lizzie is about many things new and unknown, I was delighted knowing she, also, loves the weightless thrill and simple pleasure of a swing.

Lovin' Summer

Lest you think I've simply gone crazy with this quantity of pictures, (which is suppose is a possibility anyway), let me explain. Last Saturday at Grandma & Grandpa Wade's, they decided to pull out the kiddie pool! Lizzie didn't have her swimsuit with her, but David & Sadie had some extra swimmers diapers on hand. For Case, it was a perfect photo op, which resulted in over one hundred pictures! It was difficult to narrow it down to 46 on our desktop, and even harder to further narrow it down for the blog. Enjoy!

This kid is so unbelievably expressive!

When Lizzie first got in, although nervous and cold, she was happy to give it a try, experimenting with a splash here and there...

...until Carson wanted to experiment by seeing what would happen if he gave a little push...

Lizzie was not pleased.

At least Carson got that little pool to himself for just a little while. :)

Splash!

Carson seemed to enjoy his swim shirt sticking to his belly. He also liked to look for his belly button under it.

Lizzie's expression is clearly communicating to everyone else, "Mom got water in Carson's eyes!"

Busted!

It was just a love tap, Mom!

Hooray for the kiddie pool!

Congratulations, Abby!

We got to attend Abby's graduation this week, which she attended with high honors! We're all so proud of how hard she's worked! Case, of course, documented the entire event as always: :)









Maybe Abby was a little nervous...




...but she did great!


just a flip of the tassle...


...and she had that diploma in hand!














Loving siblings! Maggie had to tickle Case to smile!






P.S. for those who I don't see very often, I got a hair cut a month or so ago... :) No more Lizzie trying to use it as her personal floss!




The entertainment.






I love how Case actually captured Carson mid-run here. That kid seriously never stops running!

Remodel!

I'm sorry for the long break in posts...it's been a hectic past few weeks of wrapping up the school year. Part of the chaos included our first home improvement project: replacing the nasty worn carpet with wood laminate in the living room! Here are the before/after shots:





It has really lightened up our home, and in a small living space, that really makes an impact! Another bonus is that we don't have to keep scooting the rug around to hide horrible, continually resurfacing stains. One interesting discovery through this project was finding out how upset Lizzie gets by change. When the floor was first finished, she wouldn't walk onto it from another room, and if we set her down on it and walked away, she would shriek in terror. She warmed up to it after a couple days, but I have a feeling this will not be the end of our run-ins with her aversion to change.