Bix and Balloons!!

Maddox and Eric before her 'big' race!! 

So we had an absolutely fantastic weekend...JAM packed with events!!  I've got all the pictures posted and labeled so I won't have to write too much.  Friday night we took Maddox to her 2nd Jr. Bix.  She was a year older of course so we were hoping for slightly less fear and she started off well but then got scared again ( much like last year) and ran back to Eric's arms.  That's ok Maddox!!  She finished strong after gathering herself. There are SOOO many people hooting' and hollering' and it seems that her ears are a bit sensitive so I'm not surprised that she is still a bit scared of the whole deal. But, she did have fun and got a medal, a hot dog, chocolate milk, and a Whitey's popsicle.  YUM!! We grabbed Noodles on the way home to arrive to a house full of family.  Aunt Diane, Uncle Brian and cousin Hannah had arrived while Maddox was doing her race.  We enjoyed dinner and the opening ceremony of the Olympics and then hit the hay so the boys could get up early to head down to the race.  Both Kennon and Maddox slept in till the last minute for us to get them dressed, fed, and watered before we loaded up the van and headed down to our usual spot to watch all the runners and see Eric and Uncle Brian. Both the guys did great AND even better we got to see them several times.  There are soooo many runners at the BIX it becomes impossible to see your people but not this year. We spyed 'em right away. After the BIX we headed home for some brunch and then naps.  Aunt Diane and Uncle Brian headed back to St. Louis after brunch but luckily cousin Hannah stayed over Saturday night and we are SURE THANKFUL.  We kept her busy and the kids loved playing with her.  We loaded up the van again Saturday afternoon after the kids ( including Hannah:) both took good naps and headed down south to Galesburg, IL to a Hot Air Balloon festival. There were storms on the horizon to the west so unfortunately the balloons didn't fly but about 12 of them blew up which was PLENTY of action for our little ones. Our neighbors Jody, Charlie, and Hannah came down too to enjoy the fun too.  Cousin Hannah was a hit with the kids. She chaperoned the girls most of the evening. Kennon wasn't much for just sitting and watching the balloons.  Eric chased him around the field most of the night. I think he probably ran/walked a mile at least!!  He slept in till 9am Sunday morning!! The balloons were so pretty. We are surely going to hit the QC balloon festival in the fall.  Sunday morning we decided to throw one more event into the weekend while we still had a talented extra set of hands ( cousin Hannah).  We loaded swimsuits and towels up into the van and headed to the Y to swim again. Maddox showed her skills to cousin Hannah and jumped off the side of the pool and took many turns down the froggy slide.  Kennon was again pretty adventurous in the pool.  I'm not sure those ear plugs are really doing their job. He is so active they are seeming to fall out. We might have to rig up something else for extended water activities. Grammy came to pick up Hannah Sunday afternoon. We sadly waved good-bye to our extra set of hands and fabulous entertainment.  THANK YOU Hannah!! We loved having you around. And thanks to Aunt Diane and Uncle Brian for making the trip up. I love family traditions!!  

Wow,  her cheesy smile! I think she looks so old here 

Walking to the starting line

Kennon didn't seem to mind that Maddox was getting to participate and he wasn't.....chillaxin'

Way to go Maddox!! 

Eating a post race hotdog and some chocolate milk.....which Maddox politely asked to have WHITE instead and REFUSED to take a sip of the chocolate. I just found the carton of chocolate milk in one of the compartments of the BOB this morning curdled and dribbled out all over the stroller and the garage floor...had to laugh at my child not wanting chocolate milk and then it coming back to haunt me!! 

Kennon's first Whitey's popsicle....mmmmmm

Kennon snacking while waiting to see Dad and Uncle Brian run by at the BIX 

wooops....pictures somehow got out of order after I worked really hard to get them in chronological order. This is Hannah, Maddox and neighbor Hannah watching the balloons blow up at the Galesburg Balloon Festival Saturday night. Look in the background you can see Eric chasing after Kennon.....

Eric and Kennon  in the way back again...... :)

Charlie, Hannah, Maddox and Hannah  ( Maddox looks a little disgusted???)

Not sure what Eric is thinking here....you can insert your own caption :)  I think this is one of the few times that Kennon actually stopped moving enough to enjoy the balloons.  

Jody ( Hannah and Charlie's mom) Kennon and Eric.  Charlie and Kennon were more about snacking than they were the balloons!! 

'Is this rope supposed to keep me from going in there??'  

You can't tell but Kennon is standing up on a cooler.  He is a climber and gets his little legs up on anything he can.  He eyed the cooler as soon as we set it down and it wasn't too long before he was up on top eyeing us from above. He looks so proud of himself doesn't he??

Another proud picture from above.....balloon.....and fellow festival goer in the background.....! 

An attempted family shot.  2 out of 3 looking at the camera isn't bad. Good job snapping this one quick Eric!! 

Now we're down to just 2 in the shot and only 1 person looking, cute anyhow....Kennon is waving to the people sitting next to us!! 

One more try....c'mon Maddox will you come back into the photo??

Much easier just shooting the balloons!! Aren't they so awesome. We had a great time. 

Hannah reading books to Maddox and Kennon. She did SUCH a GREAT job hanging with the kids and was a fabulous help at the BIX saturday AM and the balloons saturday PM. The kids loved her and we sure wish she lived closer. 

This is Kennon's favorite book .....Blue Hat Green Hat....from Aunt Kelly 

Kennon and Hannah waiting for the runners. 

Aunt Diane and Kennon.....waiting for the runners!!

Life is good when you are getting loves from Aunt Diane and you've got a SNACK CUP!! 

Too Hot to 'Park'

My big sister took this picture of me Kennon- 13  1/2 months

......this one too!! 

'Cheerin' for Charly' 

Fell asleep in my high chair after a good dinner of tortellini....so tired today 

I'm looking so old here!! 

This is the new way to help Mom dust her floors!! 

'C'mom Dad, Mom says we have to move a little faster to actually clean the dust'!! 

Moving too fast for Mom's iPhone. 

So I have sort of fallen off of the band wagon with the 'Park a Week' goal.  The last time we actually visited a NEW park it was a cool 78 degrees with no humidity....now doesn't that sound nice. But, just because it has been hot out doesn't mean we haven't been having fun. We've been doing 'cool' activities of late. Sunday morning, after we met my running buddies for coffee, we went to the Y indoor swimming pool as a family. We invited Hannah, Charlie and Jody to come along too. The girls had fun together and wore themselves out enough to both take afternoon naps ( Hannah doesn't generally take a nap!! ).  Kennon was a MANIAC in the pool.  The last time we were at the Y he couldn't walk so he basically just sat and played in the water. This time he wanted to walk/run in the water and his balance just wasn't quite ready for that. So as a result he ended up taking a couple of face plants into the water but came up without tears just with a look of 'what the heck just happened'.  Maddox was a bit daring herself too, wandering out to the deeper end of the kids section.  Not sure if she was showing off for Hannah or just getting more acclimated to the water.  Either way we really had to keep an eye on her. I think she drank about half the pool too! I kept saying to her 'you gotta keep your mouth closed Maddox!! ' I'm not sure how many times she went down the froggy slide. Too fun. Today is the last hot day but I"m hoping to get the kids back to the Y this Sunday as well. Monday morning we went to the Children's Museum  ( another cool indoor play activity). We invited Kim, Breckon, Parker and Maddie along as well.  ( We are so thankful we live in a  fabulous neighborhood filled with kids Maddox and Kennon's age and great parents to hang with) The kids painted a picture in the Art Room, played in the pretend house, and then wore themselves out at the playground and water table.  Kennon was literally soaked at the water table in about 1 minute and stood in one place splashing in the water for about 15 minutes, a long time for a 1 year old.   We had a good time!! Last Friday night we attended our first Flamingo Friday party.  It is completely relaxed neighborhood party for both kids and parents that is on Friday evenings in someones' backyard. We each bring our own yard chairs and drinks and it is basically a come and go socialization time for the parents and kids! A perfect time to get to know your neighbors. A couple of plastic flamingos are traveling around the neighborhood and get put out in the yard Friday morning to delineate which house is hosting the Flamingo party.  The kids had a BALL!!  There must have been like 12 kids for Maddox and Kennon to play with with Kennon being the youngest and probably the oldest about 10.  The kids played on the swing set, did chalk, and played with flashlights as it got dark.  What a fun time. We can't wait till the next Flamingo party and hope to host sometime in the coming months ( thank goodness we put in the swing set last year!!) Let's see what else.  Kennon has been sleeping like a champ, sometimes sleeping in until 8:30 or 9am still hanging onto this routine that he developed when Grandma Jean was here a couple of weeks ago. THANK YOU KENNON ( and Grandma Jean)!! We are so happy to have a full nights sleep. Maddox is doing great with no paci although in the recent week it has been taking her longer and longer to get herself to sleep.  It seems purple bear does not soothe her as much as the paci did so she desires to be cuddled to sleep having first Eric and then requesting me to come in with her eventually falling asleep sometimes about an hour after the bedtime routine has started.  We are trying to teach her to put herself to sleep but it is a work in progress. I"m sure 10 years from now we'll be dying to snuggle her to sleep and she won't have anything to do with it then!!  Kennon's little personality continues to develop. He is already pretty good at throwing temper tantrums if Maddox takes something from him or he isn't getting something he wants, especially at the dinner table.  He loves blueberries and will very quickly BRUSH his tray clear of whatever it is that I WANT him to eat to make room for BLUES all the while screaming at the top of his lungs in protest until the BLUES magically appear on his tray. Boy, are we going to have our hands full when he is Maddox's age. Eric and I try not to laugh right now but it is not going to be that funny in the coming months. It seems his teeth are at standstill right now so we aren't having to tolerate too much fussiness.  He has been pretty happy lately and is getting quicker and quicker on his feet. Maddox is getting in her 2 year molars right now ( at least from what I can tell).  We go to the dentist in August and he'll give her teeth a look. Not too many pictures this week.  All of our activities required both of my hands to manage the kids. I tried uploading the video of Maddox dancing at the 4th of July parade AGAIN and AGAIN it is not working. Sorry!!  More pics this weekend  when cousin Hannah, Aunt Diane and Uncle Brian come to visit for the BIX. Uncle Brian and Eric are going to run Saturday morning. Go BOYS! ******I'm reminded recently how blessed we are to have 2 healthy children.  I've become aware of 2 kids in our community ( one from Orion) that are both very sick, one with cancer and the other with significant heart abnormalities requiring multiple unplanned open heart surgeries in the last few weeks.  I know I take out kids' health for granted and it is good to be reminded how lucky we are to have healthy kids. Prayers for Rylan and Charly and their families.