Independence Day Celebrations

We trekked to Sioux Falls this weekend and had a great time with some of the family. We woke up Friday morning and headed to the parade...actually Kailey and I posed as part of the "Sioux Falls Moms" group that Rebecca is part of, so we walked in the parade. All three kids did great once we got going.

On our trip back to the cars we stopped at the falls.

The girls relaxing with Troy

After naps, it was time to head to the wading pool. We were so impressed - these are free in Sioux Falls and it was just a short walk away. What a great time!! The girls both loved the water, and especially the slide - I think they both went down more than a dozen times.

Time for fireworks....this was Kailey's first fireworks show, since we made sure she was asleep for that last year! We really enjoyed the show and all the kids did amazing considering the late night and the loud noises. I think they had fun!

We slept in on Saturday morning, then headed to the lake. We went boating, but for some reason I have no pictures of that. It was lots of fun! The rest of the time was spent on the beach.

(Yes...she's eating it)

Catching Up

We had some visitors just over a week ago - Andrea and Darrell, our friends from Colorado! They were passing through and stopped for a couple of hours. Their visit was extended by a horrific wind storm, so I'm glad they weren't on the road during that time! Kailey and I were sad to see them go. :(

Then over the weekend we went to a wedding in Des Moines. We stayed with Uncle Cody and Aunt Jodi. Every time we are there, Kailey uses their fireplace hearth as her own personal stage.

Jodi and Cody watched Kailey while we went to the wedding. They went to the park. Kailey has to wave "bye bye" to everything, including the park!

Kailey always loves to ride the horsey! And you can finally see Cody in one of the pictures if you look close. :)

The Zoo

Today we made a last minute decision to go to the zoo. It was a nice day for it! Our first stop was the new Butterfly House - very cool.




We also enjoyed some time in the garden area where the parrotts and other birds roam free.

We went around to an area of the zoo we don't get to very much. Kailey liked the elephants a lot and she said "bye bye" to them when they walked away.

Kailey loved seeing the train and hearing it's loud whistle....so we decided to take a ride. She was saying "choo choo" until we got on the train, then we couldn't get her to say anything!

Sooooo tired!

Kitties

We visited Gandma and Grandpa and Aunt Amy on Saturday. Kailey loved the kittens and Aunt Amy spent a lot of time chasing kittens for Kailey to play with.

Kailey even wanted the kittens to ride the scooter.

Now stay!

Grandma had a great idea to get popsicles for a treat. Kailey's first popsicle only resulted in two headaches! She ate the whole thing!

At the city park with Grandpa!

Going down the slide with Grandma!

Swinging with the gang.

Father's Day

We finished our landscaping project with a trip to the nursery to get the bushes and mulch. Not bad for our first do-it-yourself landscaping project.

Saturday evening we headed to see family for Father's Day. We had a few minutes to kill and played at the park for a bit. Look out world, Kailey's a crazy driver!

The water fountain was a big hit.

Happy Father's Day Daddy and Grandpa! While the guys read their cards, Kailey wanted to read something, too.

Weekend with Family

It's been almost two weeks since our trip and I'm just getting caught up now. We spent time with Lindsay's family and had a great time. Here are some of the pics...

We had two of the nicest days this spring, so we spent a lot of time outside on the porch.

Grandpa, Grandma, Adallia, Matthias, and Kailey

Mmmm, Teddy Grahams. One for Kailey, Two for Mommy...

Ring Around the Rosie

Some additional family members met up with us at Pizza Ranch!

Sunday we went to church, then Kailey went for a ride in the wagon

We spent more time enjoying the porch while Kailey entertained us.

Aunt Jodi and Kailey

Silly smiles for Grandma

We got home Sunday evening and had most of Craig's family in town, so we hung out with them for awhile. I only got a picture of Aunt Holly reading to Kailey - it's Kailey's favorite thing to do!

Miscellaneous

The United Way summer picnic was at the zoo last Friday. We got a good look at the giraffes!

Hanging around home...

Last night, our shelter from the storms - the couch tipped on it's side with "Veggie Tales" playing.