First hair cut

I have lots of pictures to share from birthday parties for the boys' this past month.  But apparently I don't have those pictures on my computer:)  So until I do that, you can enjoy something that happened before all the birthday madness.....Parker's first hair cut! 

His hair was getting kind of long and crazy, so I decided it was time for his first little trim.  I always put this off as long as possible because my boys instantly look like big boys when they get their hair cut.  I'm not ready for this one to be a big boy yet:)  It's going to happen regardless of what I want, but I was putting this off to keep him my baby a bit longer.  My wonderful friend and hair stylist, Sage, stopped by to do a little cut.  Parker wasn't really enjoying the whole process.  Eli cried his first hair cut too....not really sure why.  Certainly doesn't hurt!  Either way, he wasn't a fan.  We gave him goldfish thinking if he had food to distract him it wouldn't be as big of deal.  Didn't really work.  Just ensured that we got to see chewed up goldfish when he opened his mouth to wail:)  But he survived.  I didn't end up getting an after picture because I eventually had to put him on my lap.  And of course, after all my worrying about him looking all grown up (he did), because it's already grown back out.  Time for another cut I guess!

Fire pit and Shaving creme

Our (meaning Brian's) "big" house project of the year was putting a patio in our backyard.  This is something I had wanted for a while, but could live without.  Mostly I just wanted it so the kids could ride bikes and play with chalk back there.  They can't play out front unsupervised because it's not safe at all on the road we live on....so I was hoping for a place that I didn't have to worry about so much.  Best. Decision. Ever.  Granted I didn't have to do any of the hard work:)  But I think B would agree too.  The kids love it back there.  Even more than they used to.  And now B and I have a nice spot to site and watch them play.  Plus, it's shady back there in the late afternoons/evenings so we can actually stand to be outside when it's 105 outside.  105 isn't nearly as bad if you've got a bit of shade (sad that this is our new reality!)  Anyways, we(meaning me) decided to fully "christen" the finished patio, we needed to make smore's in our new little fire pit.  We invited our good friends, and the kids' bff Grey, over to join the fun.  Might sound a little odd to start a fire and roast marshmallows when it's 105, but man, it was well worth it.  Best smore's I've had in a long time:)  The kids liked them too.

 Parker even got to enjoy the evening with his very first graham cracker.  His girlfriend Violet got one so her parents didn't have to worry about her eating dirt (a girl after P's own heart....two kindred spirits already), so I decided it was only fair he got one too.

 The boys all roasting some marshmallows.....On a side note....when we told Eli we were going to do this and that Grey got to come over, he said, "mommy, we get to marsh some marshmallows!!"

 Because we were already outside, and I've been wanting to do this forever, and the baby pool was empty of water/clean, we also decided to end the evening with a little shaving creme fun.  My sister in law does this with her kids every year and they have a blast.  I've been wanting to do it for a couple of years, but laziness and poor lack of memory to get shaving creme have stopped us.  A couple of weeks before smore's, I got several cans at the store and they just sat on the counter waiting for the perfect time to be used up.  The finished patio marked that time.  I wasn't sure what the kids would think.  Grey jumped right in....so consequently, so did Eli.  Really kind of shocked me.  He's not the most adventurous and is usually pretty timid.  I figured it would take a bit to get him in there.  But he hopped right in.  Kamdyn followed very soon after.  They all had a blast.  Who knew shaving creme could be so much fun!  It was hilarious watching them play and paint that stuff all over themselves and each other.  Best part is, they smelled nice at the end, and we could just hose them off right outside.  So much fun.  This is definitely something we will have to be adding to our yearly to-do list.

Chuck E' Cheese: A new adventure

Back towards the beginning/middle of July, my brother and sister in law were out of the country.  So, my mother-in-law watched our nephews and niece while they were away.  This meant our kids got to see lots of their cousins and do lots of fun things with them.  Pretty sure they were in heaven.  We don't always get to see the all that often because our schedules are so different, but they sure do love some cousin time.  One of the things we did one morning was head to Chuck E' Cheese for pizza and games.  I remember going that as a kid and thinking it was the coolest place.  I don't necessarily feel the same way as an adult and parent.  I see it as one big germ trap for one.  But the kids had a blast, and that's all that really matters.  We can cross that off our list.  I'm good to go for at least another 4 years:)  

Good times.   Maybe next time we manage to take the kids, they will be able to do more of the games themselves.  Eli did a fairly good job, but for the most part it was play the game for them while they watched and grabbed the tickets.  Kamdyn was just excited to carry tickets around:)  Give her a ticket and she's good to go!

Train Museum

We made our yearly trek to the Train Museum again.  I always tell Brian that we need to start going to this place in the fall, but somehow we still only ever make it in the heat of summer.  I've got to say, this year was way better than last year though.  Still hot....probably in the mid-90's, but that's better than 102:)  Eli still loves this place.  And Kamdyn is starting to think it's pretty awesome too.  Poor girl, she's much more used to playing with boy toys than little girl things:)  It was a fun morning.  I'm thankful this place isn't huge because it always gets so hot!  We are able to see everything and get out before we start melting on the spot.  Until next summer (unless we actually manage to go sometime this fall).....

I think one of Eli's favorite parts of the whole trip was being able to watch a big train go by.  Those things are so big and loud.   But he loved watching it from just a few feet away.  Kamdyn on the other hand wasn't so much of a fan.  She told me it was too loud and it scared her:)

 Parker was there too.  Being cute and so good.  Just playing with his beads.....he's got the life!

 This is the face I get when I tell the kids to look at me and smile.  They say "CHEESE"  But I somehow always just manage to get them in their mid-cheese statement:)