Summer Bucket List Update – June

Here is our "June update" bucket list for the summer of 2012:

1. Talk nightly walks (in progress!)
2. Play at the local park (done: 6/2)
3. Have at least one “swim-day” a month at one of the local pools (done: 6/21)
4. Visit the zoo
5. Eat ice cream/frozen yogurt on a warm day
6. Enjoy root beer floats
7. Go fishing (done: 6/15, 6/16)
8. Ride in a boat (done: 6/15, 6/16)
9. Go camping (done: 6/14-6/17)
10. Run/walk a 5k as a family
11. Visit the aquarium
12. Party & celebrate Wyatt & Colton turning 2!
13. Play in the rain (done: 5/26)
14. Visit our local splash pad (done: 6/9)
15. Attend the local county fair
16. Have friends over for a grill-out / campfire
17. Go to a Brewers game (done: 6/16)
18. Splash around in the pool/sprinkler at home on a hot day (done: 6/9,6/10,6/28)
19. Roast marshmallows
20. Play in the sand & get dirty

Sleep

…or lack thereof, lately. Like so many times in the past, the boys had been sleeping great – going to bed on time, sleeping mostly through the night & getting up around 6 AM. So you know when things are going good that they’re going to make a change for the worse at some point, you just never know when.

Two weeks ago the boys started waking up early; I mean early-early! They would be up & awake for the day anywhere between 4:15-4:45 AM. (Nothing in our bedtime routine had changed!) They continued the 4:45 AM wake-up through that entire weekend but then got back to around 5:15-5:30 AM that following week & have been up around that time ever since. It is tiring. They don’t wake up happy either, like they used to, they wake up crying and don’t want to go back down. I’ve pushed bedtime forward & backward to see if anything will affect their wake-up time and so far I haven’t seen any change.

Additionally this week, Wyatt has decided to throw us for another loop sleep-wise. He doesn’t want to sleep in his crib – he cries; he wants to sleep in the pack ‘n play that is set up in their playroom next door. Who knows? He started Monday night where he would just cry if you put him in his crib (& not settle down) but after explaining multiple times that it was night time & he had no other choices and needed to lie down, he settled for lying down in the playroom in the pack ‘n play. He naps in there on the weekends (we nap them separately). They had both been doing so well at bedtime. They were going down without a fuss & talking/chatting with each other after lights were out, falling asleep within 5-15 minutes.

I hope this is just a phase for both things & we get back to “normal” again…...soon!!

Brewers vs. Twins Game

Cory & I were lucky enough to score some free tickets from Cory’s mom (early anniversary present that she won at a raffle) to be able to attend a Brewers vs. Twins game at Target field. We had received 4 tickets & were able to have some friends join us, on what was all of our first visit to the “new” Target field in Minneapolis.

The day started out really cloudy, but by game time it was only partly cloudy & warm. We had seats on the third base side, 4 rows up…we were literally feet away from the Brewers all-star left-outfielder, Ryan Braun. We’ve been to quite a few baseball games in the past & these were, by far, the best seats I’ve ever had! The only problem was that there was no shade & it was really hot in the sun – but it was just a small sacrifice to make for such awesome seats.

The game was a good one, with a great outcome (Brewers WON!), and we got to enjoy a fun day of baseball & friends.

Stretching before the inning.

Ryan Braun

Summer camping weekend #2 – Friday – Part 2

**(In trying so hard to get caught up on my postings, I totally forgot that we started camping in Thursday night – geesh! So the ‘Friday Night’ post should have been ‘Thursday night’ & yesterday’s ‘Saturday – Part 1’ should have been ‘Friday – Part 1’. Oh well.)**

After lunch & afternoon naps we enjoyed a little bit more of the park & lake.

Cory threw some “bumpers” for Bailey to retrieve in the water & the boys wanted to help with that of course! Their throws weren’t nearly as long as what Bailey’s used to but she’ll get a bumper out of the water with such excitement whether it’s 2 feet away or 20 yards away!

We enjoyed a little playground time and then headed down to the beach. The boys loved getting their feet wet in the water and thought it was pretty funny that Bailey was walking around in the water with them too.

First merry-go-round...they weren't too impressed.

My three boys.

Colton spalshing.

Wyatt splashing.

Enjoying the water with Bailey.

Stomp, stomp!

A failed attempted picture with mommy.
(Two little boys decided they did not want to
hold mommy's hand on the dock, which put an
end to our photo quickly!!)

We wrapped up our day with dinner outside cooked over the campfire by my wonderful husband – yummy!

Wyatt enjoying some of Papa's burger.

Dinner outdoors!

Summer camping weekend #2 – Saturday – Part 1

Saturday morning’s weather was much nicer – sunny, warm & (most importantly) calm winds.

We headed out for a boat ride on the pontoon Saturday morning after breakfast. The boys hadn’t been on a boat since last summer & they were so excited! They did pretty good leaving their life jackets on & not putting up a fight getting into them.

The boys also got to fish for the FIRST time. They took turns sitting with daddy, papa & grandma helping reel the line in (mommy was too busy taking pictures of course!). The fishing was slow but while they were both sitting with daddy, they caught their FIRST FISH! Unfortunately, that was our only fish of the morning but I think they enjoyed the casting & reeling in just as much.

Colton driving Papa's boat!

Daddy & Wyatt

Wyatt driving Papa's boat!

Daddy & Colton

Our family

Papa showing the boys the bait - waxies!

Colton free-feeding the fish.
(look at the little waxie in his right hand)

Colton fishing.

Wyatt fishing.

Wyatt & Colton's FIRST fish!

Lookin' at their catch.

Snack break & checking out daddy's fishing pole.

Colton & daddy.

Summer camping weekend #2 – Friday night

We left for a fun camping weekend last Thursday night, although it didn’t start out very fun.

Thursday’s weather had been rainy during the day but the rain gave way to cloudy, windy conditions…very windy. Travelling on the highway to the campground that afternoon was pretty rough with the high winds. We arrived at the campground & got everything set up, despite the high winds (as did my parents, who were camping along with us for the weekend). The campground we were staying at is in the middle of the woods, with tall trees all around – these trees were bending back & forth…far further than I was really comfortable with (especially when one tree near our camper fell over). We debated heading home for the night but decided to feel it out & the winds ended up dying down around 9-10 PM, where we felt comfortable enough to stay the night. Despite the weather, the boys went to sleep (after much struggle – more on this later) and Cory grilled up some delicious burgers for him & me.

The next morning, we took a walk around the campground & found out there were a number of fallen trees throughout the park – no major damage or injuries though – thank God!

Staying cool on another hot day!

The warm weather continued into Sunday, two weekends ago (yes, I’m behind on posting but I’m trying to catch up & keep everything in order!). The boys weren’t as interested in going in the beach ball sprinkler again that day, so instead, Cory decided we should go simple.

Cory grabbed a 5-gallon bucket from the garage and filled it up with water. We brought out a bunch of the boys’ sandbox toys & let them loose. They had a blast! Their favorite activity by far was to fill up their sand buckets with water & dump them everywhere. I think Cory ended up filling up the 5-gallon bucket 3-4 times. It kept them busy for almost an hour before it was time to eat dinner.

The bucket's full!

Wyatt - SPLASH!

Colton giving his fingers a dip.

Water fun.

Dump!

Cutie Colton.

Wyatt taking a break.

Yes, the sandbox is a perfect place to dump all that water.

Wyatt
(Yes, yes, he is wearing Mickey Mouse ears...
we were trying to get some pictures for their birthday invite
while they were busy having fun!)

Running through the sprinkler – beach ball style!

After naps that Saturday we threw on the boys’ swim shirts and took the boys outside for some more hot weather fun – a beach ball sprinkler!

The boys were a little cautious at first, but after one time of running through with daddy, they figured out how much fun it was. It’s really a great “starter” sprinkler for them at this age because it has many “soft” spouts the water comes out.

Wyatt, loving it!

Going in together...
 (LOVE it!)

...the next minute,
Colton decides it's not a good idea!

Colton, loving it!

Grandma “B” & cousin “H” also stopped by to visit for a little while & cousin “H” became the boys’ favorite buddy to run in the water with! Wyatt kept grabbing her hand & running towards the ball. All three of them had such a blast!

Three cousins.

Another perfect way to stay cool on a hot day!

Fixing & gas-ing up their lawn mower.

Splash pad fun!

We made our first trip to the local splash pad last Saturday. The forecast was for temps to be in the 90s, so we knew it was going to get hot fast & everything water-related was going to be busy that afternoon. We attempted to beat the crowds and head to our local splash pad before lunch. Since the boys were not yet walking last summer, we only visited the splash pad once in late August.

We invited Cory’s cousin, wife & kids to join us for some fun. We arrived right when it opened at 10 AM. There were a handful of families waiting to go in but it was not overly crowded.

Both boys had a good time, although it took Colton a bit to warm up to the idea that this spraying-water-thing could be fun! We stayed for about an hour & had a blast. We went out to lunch as a family and then headed home for nap time. Cooled off & tired!

First splashes!

Wyatt stepping on the "little" fountain.

Wyatt trying to get his belly wet - silly kid.

Wyatt stepping on the water.

Colton warming up to having some water fun.

Getting wet.

Colton & little friend "J".

Colton splashing!