Visiting Poppy & Nana

Since we were already so close, and since we had the rare opportunity to be with Poppy on Father's Day, we ended the work-cation with a trip to Poppy & Nana's! The first thing we did there was hop into their pool (because the lake just wasn't enough water for us!)

Allie played peek-a-boo behind the tree.

So Ry-guy did too.

Allie like the elephants sprinkler trunk.

Ry-guy preferred swimming.

Aunt Darleen (who somehow managed to not be photographed) and Lil Grandma came for a visit, and the twins crowded into Lil G's li'l lap to watch their favorite youtube movie.

We spent a decent amount of time visiting the local parks.

Ry-guy loved the slides.

What time is it?

At the slides with Poppy.

Swinging with Nana.

At another park, the twins loved playing by the stream.

Allie played peek-a-boo on the bridge.

Ry-guy preferred the stream.

Being silly with Daddy.

Allie tries balancing.

Nana & Poppy join in the fun on the teeter-totter.

The twins tried out the merry-go-round (a different type than they've been alone on before).

And it wasn't long before everyone joined them!

Allie wrapped up the trip with a climb up the biggest climbing wall she's ever tackled.

while Ry-guy showed off his driving skills.

We had a blast with Nana & Poppy, especially celebrating Father's Day WITH Poppy! Lucas was pretty sure it was only the 2nd or 3rd time in his life he had been with his dad on Father's Day. We were sad to leave, but also ready to get home after a long time of being gone! This trip marked the first time the twins ever said, "I wanna go home!"

At the Lake House: Feeling Nostalgic

For this post, you might have to go back HERE, and read THIS POST from last year. Whether you read THIS POST before or after, or go back and forth from this to THAT POST, you have to read it, compare, and maybe be as sad as I when you see the change. And if I haven't pushed it enough, click HERE to read it!

Remember these? They were just as big of a hit this year as last.

Building towers.

Where are my hands?

We went back to the same park we loved last year. It lived up to the memory and we had a blast. We replicated some old favorites. Remember this?

And this?

Then the twins showed off their improved motor skills by effortlessly trying new things on the playground

I was trying to capture Allie effortlessly scaling this giant (taller than me or Lucas) climbing wall...

When Lucas yells and I turn just in time to catch Ryan hopping up these:

Allie found a friend and they played on the balance beam.

And just when I was about to completely break down and cry because my babies are SO big, Ryan cheered me up with this:

If they changed so much in 10 months, what will next year's pictures look like?

At the Lake House: In the Water

Are the lake house posts getting tedious? Sorry. But I told you I had a LOT of pictures to share :) Only 1 more. I promise. And then we go to Nana & Poppy's!

Since we were AT the lake, we clearly spent a lot of our time in the water. My children LOVE the water. One of their favorite things to do is throw rocks in the water. Especially Big rocks.

First you have to find the perfect big rock.

Then you hold it up high.

Then you throw!

Then have mommy and/or daddy go get it out of the water to you can do it again!

They had canoe paddles there & the first day I told them that you call whales by slapping paddles on the water (I think this is actually a big lie...but I feel confident there is SOMETHING in the ocean that is attracted by that sound...or maybe whales slap their fins on the water...). They called whales pretty much every time we were at the water after that. Ryan was especially passionate about this endeavor. I felt truly terrible that there weren't actually any whales there to come.

We went on 2 rides down the lake shore and back in the row boat. The twins loved this because Rocket (from Little Einsteins) frequently turns into a boat. We discovered on this trip that almost anything can be traced back to something they have seen on Little Einsteins. And that they remember absolutely everything they have seen on that show down to the most random detail.

They weren't big fans of wearing life jackets...

On our boat rides we would watch in the water for fish (of which we saw very few) and logs or trees (of which we saw a ton). The most exciting thing we saw was a bald eagle! It swooped down right in front of us and the soared up and circled in the sky. I was so excited because this was the first time I ever saw one in the wild. The twins were so excited because we were so excited (and they saw one on Little Einsteins one time...). They've been spotting "bald eagles" in the sky ever since!

Hi, Daddy!

The one picture that I wanted, but never seemed to have my camera ready when it occurred, was of them swimming. They started crawling on their stomachs in the water (the shallow part of course) and yelling "Mommy, I swimming!" Allie always stayed very shallow (shocking because she is usually very adventurous), but Ryan liked to go where his hands could barely touch and kick his feet in the water. Only once did he go so deep he went under, but I was right there. He learned his lesson and stayed a little more shallow after that. The closest I came to catching them "swimming" is this:

Terrible, right? He's on his way out of the water after swimming to shore. Mommy is so slow. We also like building sand castles, trying to catch the many minnows, swimming out deep with mommy and daddy (as in waist deep for us, but way deep for them), and pushing our floaty frog & dragon into the water and watching mommy and daddy run after them!

At the Lake House: Firsts

Once again, we ate most (as in all but one) of our meals on the porch. Being much earlier in the summer than last year, it was also colder. We tried to keep them in a few mornings, but the twins insisted on bundling up and eating outside. To help keep them warm, every morning I made them a cup of hot chocolate (warm milk with a spoonful of nesquik). They had never tried hot chocolate before (since they had been allergic), and LOVED it!

One of the days there was rainy. Without our usual outside diversions, we went to the nearest town and picked up play dough at the dollar store. I have always intended to try play dough with the kids, but wanted to make it instead of buy it...and then always forgot that it needed to be made ahead of time! So I gave in and bought some. They had a blast!

Allie thought the rolling pin made a better trumpet.

Ry-guy preferred to stack the cutters on top of piles of dough.

The play dough kit came with number cut-outs - making it a bonus educational activity! Score :)

Two!

One!

They had trouble with the concept of making things, so I started making things and having them guess what they were. Apparently, my artistic ability (with clay) is near that of a 2 year old because they easily guessed every blob! Then they started taking my creations to play. Including Ry-guy's favorite (Nana DON'T LOOK!!) the "snake."

And Allie's favorite (someone tell Nana she can look again!) the turtle :)

At the Lake House: Running

I think this one made me the happiest. You may or may not know that Lucas and I were both runners in high school (and Lucas was a GOOD one!). I love that my children already show a love for running. There was a circular drive, and - in a desperate attempt to work out some energy before nap time - I suggested they run around it like a track. They loved it. It became the most requested activity. We discovered that Allie loves distances. No matter how out of breath she got, she wouldn't stop. We guesstimated that the loop was 40 yards, and it wasn't unusual for her to do 10 laps before stopping for a rest. We also discovered that Ryan totally gets the concept of racing. And (to our great delight) he is VERY competitive when he is racing. He goes all out!

And then daddy decided to try a race. Buddy was too busy throwing rocks into trees, but Sis took him on and beat him soundly! He way underestimated her speed :)

Can you guess who dressed the twins this morning? If you guessed the one who is wearing the same shorts as they, you would be correct!

Every run ended with a stop at the rocks. They would climb on them and try to balance. I would tell them they needed to get off. And then I would take pictures of them not listening. Bad mommy.

Oops! I fell (note: he didn't actually fall. He staged a very slow, dramatic fall because he thought it was funny!)

Let's help each other!