Monday, May 30, 2011

Memorial Day Weekend

Today we started our day with a parade. As we waited for the parade, Rudy ran through the field.






Solemnly watching the parade go by.




And excitedly watching the parade.



After the parade there is a Memorial Day ceremony at the park. Every year we attempt to stay for it, and every year we end up leaving before it starts. This year we waited to leave until it had started. The problem is, we get there before the parade is over, so we have to wait for the parade to come back to the park. It's also hot and Rudy gets tired. So after waiting for it to start this year, as soon as it did he was cranky and tired and we still had to walk home, so we left.

Here we are still happy while we wait.









After the parade, we worked on things around the house. Right before dinner, I took Rudy to the end of the street to ride his scooter. I don't think he's ever really ridden it - someone gave it to us a few years ago. He was all gung ho, but quickly gave up.







He decided it was much more fun to chase the butterflies around







and wander through the flowers.






Sunday, May 29, 2011

Memorial Day Barbeque

Saturday we went to Chris and Patti's for a barbeque and family time. The weather was gorgeous - sunny but not too hot if you were in the shade.

After his initial fear of Paul (we think it was because of his hat), Charlie was all smiles and happy.











Max and Rudy enjoyed listening to a Spiderman book read by Paul.





Charlie and Paige had some fun together...






... and Lucy joined in the picture taking fun.






The big kids kept cool in the pool.












We had a nice lunch ...



... with some silly faces.




(I only included this picture because it is the only proof that I was there!)


This was the aftermath of a bay wrestling match which started with Charlie pulling Paige's hair and ended a few minutes later with Paige crawling over Charlie.



Paige - obviously waiting for a few more teeth to come in!




And her favorite pose of the day - "so big"!



The babies got some pool time, too. Charlie - our little Buddha - with a mohawk.












No children were harmed during this stunt!


Paige taking a break with her dad.


And having a lunch break with Renee, Bill & Dad.



Patti with her crew.



Rudy taking a snack break with Paul.



Paige's adorable gummy smile.




A little break for some s'mores bars.


And another of Paige's smiles!





We all had a great day. The kids got along well - no one fought or was put in time out, or even threatened with it, I believe!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Camping, Take 2

After last weekend's camping adventure, I was a little wary knowing we had plans to go camping again this weekend with other families from our church. The good thing was, we were only camping about 15 minutes from home, so I could escape to my dry house if it rained again! Luckily, Saturday was warm and sunny. We arrived at the camp site and set up. Some people had camped the night before also, so most of the kids were already running around and playing. Rudy got right in it.

This is our neighboring tent (and one we aspire to have), where three brothers that are a few years older than Rudy were staying with their mom. Rudy and one of the boys, Will, spent a lot of time together. Will seemed to really enjoy playing with, and helping Rudy.


Our priest organized some relay races. Here the kids and their partners are getting ready for the three-legged race.



Rudy and his partner- he didn't seem to really understand how to do this, so she was practically holding him up and pulling him along.








Another part of the competition was a water balloon toss. Of course, after that was over with, all the extra balloons were used to attack our priest. She should have known better than to make water balloons!



The competitors! Everyone won a ribbon!




And then there were still more water balloons! I think we encouraged Rudy to throw his at a nearby tree to practice his aim.





In the evening, we celebrated mass around the campfire, then had a potluck dinner.




Once darkness set in, Rudy and Will headed to the little pond to try to catch some frogs. We found a few, heard a lot, but didn't catch any. And yes, a nerf gun is a very important tool in frog hunting!






Some other highlights:

light sabers yet again (I think Rudy is forever going to associate camping with light sabers)!




and lots of dogs. Many of the other families brought their dogs, which Rudy loved.

He and Will took Drexel for a walk.




Max was an old dog who was happy to have a visitor and get a belly rub.






And then Rudy got to take Ricky for a walk all by himself. Because of Lou's size, we never let Rudy hold his leash by himself, so he was excited to walk Ricky around, but he didn't have any idea how to get the dog to go where he wanted. He kept needing help to turn back the way he came because as soon as the dog pulled a little on the leash, Rudy would follow the dog instead of pulling the dog to come his way!




So it was a much more successful camping trip this time, and we all had a great time talking with people that we never get to spend time with at church.