July 25th was the start of BIX weekend. We continued the tradition of the kids participating in the Junior Bix. I ran with Kennon, and Eric with Maddox. Both kids did well during their very short race. Maddox, for the first time, ran the entire race and didn't get scared by all the excited parents yelling. She is growing up!! Kennon almost took a header at the finish ( he was running so hard!!) but I quick grabbed his hand and saved him from tasting the pavement. Such a fun event. Aunt Diane, Hannah and Uncle Brian met us at home after the run for pizza, salad, and brownies!! Uncle Brian ran his fastest BIX ever Saturday morning and Eric joined him with a good run as well despite his achilles injury that he's been nursing for several weeks. Kennon and Maddox were showered with lots of attention from Aunt Diane, Brian and Hannah! A fun weekend.
Cousin Hannah Kennon and Maddox waiting for Uncle Brian and Daddy to run by!!
After Bix morning and naps we headed to another Kies tradition, the Galesburg Hot Air Balloon festival. I accidentally deleted a few of the cool balloon pics from my iPhone earlier this week..grrrrr…but here's what I have. We had a great time and this year invited my good running buddy John and his wife Sue. They provided 2 great sets of extra hands ( although that's not why we invited them along :) They have grand kids themselves so know just how to have fun with a 3 and 4 year old. This year we got to get RIGHT UP close to the balloons. They are just so majestic and beautiful. We took a picnic dinner and enjoyed the company and sights. So FUN.
Waiting…waiting…waiting for the balloons to start. We have come to learn that balloon festivals historically do NOT start on time. I have yet to put this tidbit in our permanent balloon planning itinerary. But the kids found a rock…yes….a rock to play catch with ( note to self…bring a few outdoor toys to play with next year). It was all fun and games until Maddox got socked in the head by Kennon..although I'm quite certain he didn't hit her on purpose… !! And Eric and I are guilty for letting them play with the rock but it seemed like a great source of entertainment at the time. Oooops!! She was fine…. Sue and John gave her a huge back of ice from their cooler and she was fine in just a few minutes!
 |
John and Maddox near the balloon….so loud and so so so so hot!! Amazingly hot! Crazy. |
Maddox and I often watch Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network weekdays after her nap while Kennon is still sleeping. She has come to love Ina so we thought we'd try one of her coffee cake recipes. We made Sour Cream Coffee Cake with a real maple syrup glaze. It was kind of dry the first night ( yes…. Brooke Eric and I tried it the night before the morning it was to be eaten!! :) but yummy as it sat longer. The kids had a grand time helping me dump the ingredients in. They love to help me cook especially with the big mixer. Although I must say with 2 extra sets of hands…little hands at that…. it makes for slightly less efficient cooking and a disastrous kitchen at the end of the event!! But, just look at those smiles…using their own spatulas from Aunt Kelly. So fun. I LOVE to cook and it seems my little kiddos are following in my footsteps.
Since Tyler was busy catching fish in Alaska this week :)Brooke brought the boys down for a visit and a trip to our favorite local water park…Splash Landing. We had a great visit with lots of bike riding, park playing and…..dress up!!! Presenting….Princess Carterlita and Princess Maddox!! They were adorable…and I so love Reid looking on in the background… !! I"m sure he's thinking… 'what are YOU doing Carter??' They were so cute and danced and sang to what else but FROZEN's Let It Go! Maddox knows most of the words and Carter would sort of chime in on the chorus. Be sure to check out the videos below!! They, I believe multiple times, said they were going to marry each other. Well…I guess I have to say that Maddox says she is going to marry Carter.. I'm not so sure Carter is willing to go along with the deal. So fun!! Splash Landing was fun, but of course I didn't get any pictures because both Brooke and I were all hands on deck, literally, watching the kids. They all loved the waterslide…even Reid and Maddox continues to surprise me at how much more comfortable she is in the water. She even started trying to swim underwater JUST LIKE CARTER!! Thank you Carter for showing Maddox the ropes. She'll set up the wedding..you keep teaching her how to swim :) Thanks for visiting Brooke!!
Those pink ballet shoes are Maddox's new dance shoes. She'll be taking her first official dance class at the Family Museum starting in just a couple of weeks. I"m so excited…and so is she!! In fact I've had to hide the shoes at times so she doesn't wear the out before the class.
The long 'snake' outside Splash Landing….IE bike rack. It was kind of overcast on Tuesday so Splash Landing wasn't busy at all..which was nice for the water..and also no bikes to dodge!!
The kids and I kept busy after Brooke and the boys left Tuesday afternoon. We power washed and scraped the back deck and I"m still in the process of sanding it. It is in desperate need of a paint job. What a process!!!! I"m sure wishing we had that composite stuff!! We decided to do a CARTOON free week ( as I felt I was relying too much on cartoons to entertain the kids while I got meals ready/got stuff done etc). We have all done surprisingly well and have played lots of games of memory, worked on school stuff, the calendar, and the kids have come up with a lot of their own little games. Amazing what happens when the TV isn't on!! I think we'll be utilizing cartoons a little less in the future but I will admit they sure come in handy sometimes. Yesterday we had breakfast at McD's while the cleaning lady was at our house ( a special treat for the kids every other week!!) and then we tried a new park. We had so much fun. This particular park is in Riverdale and has all sorts of levels of playground equipment. Including a merry-go-round! The kids spent most of their time on the merry go round and the cool old but newly refurbished tire swing. So fun. Maddox worked SO HARD achieving her positing in the above picture. She climbed up from the underside of the jungle gym bar by bar to make her way to the middle. It took her several tries to figure it out but she was so proud of herself. She is getting so strong and confident with her physical skills.
Go Maddox Go!! You Can Do It!!
Maddox has started calling Kennon 'bubba' I have no idea why… but in the above picture. She is saying 'Bubba…do you want to go ride the merry go round?' in this sort of sweet sugary voice. Kennon, at this point, had already gotten somewhat injured on the merry go round in previous rides so he was sort of leery to get back on. But, in true big sis fashion she lured him over and they rode several more times before we went home. They had so much fun…definitely our new favorite park!!
And not a sole there…which is kind of good and bad…..all you moms know why!
Carter….we need you…!! It has a triple racing slide!! SUPER FUN!
I'm excited to tell you that Kennon is no longer wearing pull ups at nap time and is staying totally dry!! He knows when he wakes up that he has to go potty and does a great job. He is starting to get his undies and shorts down/up all by himself! He can basically do number 1 all by himself! YIPPY. On a down note he has become somewhat afraid of the dark this week and most specifically in the last 48 hours…. (Carter did you rub off on Kennon…?? ) Maddox is excited to start school and we'll actually have a home visit from her teacher for the year on Monday. Her name is Mrs Roseman and Maddox is excited to meet her. The kids both start school on Wednesday Aug 27th! Can't wait…..all of us :)
No comments:
Post a Comment