July

July was full of outside fun and the kids have loved every minute of summer.  We went back to visit my family for the fourth and we may have to do that every year.  The kids enjoyed swimming in my sisters pool and we basically had our own fireworks display from my parents deck.  Of course Ashley was terrified of it even though it was far away Ben couldn't get enough of it.  If that wasn't enough, their neighbors decided to put on their own display right over our heads bascially which even had Ben standing a little closer to us even though he said he liked it.

 

The kids with Momo - Ben was already tired at this point

 

And again we put the kids in swim lesson which took a little bit for them to get used to, but in the end was well worth it.  It showed at my sister's pool when they hung out in the water as long as they possibly good.

My company picnic was at worlds of fun and oceans of fun.  Ashley had just hit the height requirement for Snoopy land which was a good thing since she would've been really upset to see Ben go on everything if she couldn't.  It was ridiculously hot, but that made for no lines at worlds of fun.  By the time we got to worlds of fun it had cleared out enough that the kids could swim around without too much bumping into others.  overall it was way more successful than I anticipated and we may need to consider taking them there once or twice a year from now on.

Ben also finished up his t-ball season and did really well.  He is definitely better at hitting the ball when we throw it at him rather than off the tee, but hopefully we can get him to coach pitch early instead of having t-ball another year.

The kids have gone to a t-bones game (minor league baseball team) and we are always at the park. 

Little sisters pushing big brothers

Ben's 4th Birthday!

This weekend we celebrated Ben's 4th birthday at Deanna Rose per his choice.  We had a small group to join us and he had a blast.  He was very excited to wear the new shirt I made him.  He even helped sprinkler his cupcakes and hand out the party favors.

Swinging

 

The boys

Only pic I could get of both Ben and Ash

We played one game which was pin the sticker on batman and although most kids enjoyed it due to the younger ages there had to be a little parental guidance with blindfolds on for some.  Everyone enjoyed the cupcakes and ice cream.  I have to say this party was a lot better than the one two years ago, but I'm sure that's just my opinion since at the last one I was pretty sick and Ash and I had pinkeye.

Ben readjusting his sticker

Jack's turn!

Quick acting to stop Ash from hitting the posts (this time)

Happy Birthday!!!

More jersey's!!!!!!!

Look Jack - baseball guys!

a crowd for presents

Everyone got to enjoy the nice weather and see the animals.  We were able to have pony rides, play on the tractors, have a hay ride, feed goats and just have fun.  The kids enjoyed themselves which was great!

Mallory and Ashley watching everyone on pony rides

Pony ride

well my fish was this big!

Ashley, Isabella and Ben feeding goats

Ben's girlfriend, Isabella

Milo and Jack feeding goats

Mallory and Rory feeding goats

After his party we came home for a quick bite and we were off again to his last soccer game.  He proceeded to score three goals and had one assist!  I'm happy to see that he has made a huge progression from the first game to the last and actually understands how to play.  He's great at defense, but has started to do better at offense as well.  Between him and Jack they make a pretty good pair out on the field.  I'm pretty sure the reason he has done so well is because of Jack who is a stud at soccer.

Goal celebration for Ben and Jack

Overall it was a good weekend and he had a lot of fun playing with Deebo and Papa in all the spare time we had.

All the kids :)

Ice 'Scaping'

We took Ben ice skating (or ice skaping as he calls it) last weekend and he had a lot of fun.  At first he was really hesistant to stand up on the skates and I had to carry him, but once we got to the ice I was able to put him down and skate around with him.  Overall he did pretty good and he kept trying to stand on his own while skating.  He was able to stand while holding the boards which may be more than his dad, but that's a different story.

Playing at the park with Jack and Kate

Jack & Co along with First Soccer Practice

This weekend we had our friends over and Ben can't seem to get enough of Jack.  We had the small pool blown up so the kiddos could swim and they played with their cars which was followed by a turkey dinner.  Mallory couldn't get enough of the pool and Kate had too much fun walking around trying to keep up with the boys.  Of course Ashley just watched it all and was exhausted by the time she went to bed.

Ben and Jack

Ben and Jack

Ben, Jack and Mallory

Ben and Jack being silly

Ash

Mallory

Kate

Then on Sunday we had Ben's first soccer practice.  We joined Happy Feet which is just down the road at the park and let's just say it didn't go well.  All we do at home is kick the soccer ball around so I decided to sign him up for this practice thinking he would at least enjoy kicking the ball around a little bit.  On Thursday we went and picked out a ball at the store which he thought was awesome and today we got shin guards which he was also excited about.  He kept talking about playing soccer with the kids and by the time we got there he just stood and watched.  I'm hopeful this will turn out like our swim lessons did.  He didn't really enjoy the swim classes too much earlier this year, but all summer he's been a champ with the water and is comfortable enough to try kicking and such.  So I can only hope that even if all these classes don't go great, he'll end up loving it next year.

The most participation/attention he spent for the entire hour were these 2 minutes

Coming back over instead of playing with the kids/coach

Some of my favorite things about the kiddos right now are Ben's curiosity and Ashley's giggle.  Ben is constantly asking questions and talking which is great and I'm pretty sure Bri and I are the only ones who understand the majority of what he says.  A few standard sayings of his are: "Whatcha doin mommy?"  "What's that noise?"  "Ashey girl"  "See Jack"  "Outside"  "Ashey not happy" (when she cries)

Ashley has expanded on her solids and is doing great eating them.  Her new favorite is butternut squash.  Ben loved this when he was young also.  She's getting better about sitting up on her own, but still is too wobbly to do it all alone.  She's mastered rolling over, grabbing her feet and giggling.  As long as she's around her brother she is generally happy and loves when you talk or sing to her and move her arms/legs around.

Being silly and refused to wear clothes, but wanted to wear the cape and cowboy hat