Lofton's Fourth Birthday

Happy Birthday, Lofton!

Well, after counting down from fifteen days out, Lofton finally turned four yesterday, June 19th. When he woke up, he was so excited and couldn't wait for the day's festivities to begin, so we started early with gifts from Landon and Mimi and a birthday muffin. Lofton also enjoyed his gifts from Landon- Spiderman swimming trunks and Spiderman water shooters when he drug me up to the pool. After a long swim, Lofton took a much needed nap to get ready for his Superhero party.

When he woke up from his nap, we only had an hour to kill, so he put on his Ironman costume and let me take a few pictures. When we got to the party, his friend Justin arrived first and went ahead and gave Lofton his present, which he opened- what a way to start a party. After playing with friends on the playground, I kicked off the party with a game that consisted of everyone tying a balloon to his or her ankle and then trying to pop others' balloons while keeping his or hers from being popped. Well, I should have consulted a preschool teacher before trying this because this game just led to tears! However, I redeemed myself with a game of hot potato, in which the kids passed around a glow stick (kryptonite); I am happy to say that there were no tears during this game. This game was followed by dinner, which is always a hit. Phillip again fixed a fabulous meal, and of course, we had too many leftovers. After cupcakes, the kids enjoyed a game of pin the logo on the superheroes, and then Lofton enjoyed opening his gifts. He received so many nice things most of which had to do with superheroes, so he couldn't have been happier. Thanks to everyone who came and helped celebrate Lofton's special day.

Monkey See, Monkey Do!

Julie and I took the kids to Monkey's Tree House in Bellvue on Tuesday. If you haven't been, it is worth the drive to Bellvue at least once. The place is extremely clean and well organized, and it is centered around creative play. There are different stations such as a dress up station, a dinosaur and train table, a fishing hole, a sandbox, and a grocery store. The kids had so much fun; Lofton enjoyed the castle, and Landon just like to do what everyone else was doing. Reagan took all of the money out of the grocery store and put it in her purse! Quinn had a great time too; he loved the ball pit. We had a great day with our friends.

After the rain Monday night, Lofton used his famous expression, "Hey! I got an idea." Well, his idea was to play in the puddles with his friends Ella and Jude. They all had a great time splashing around and getting dirty. Landon got filfthy and luckily he had already been through two outfits for the day, so he only went in his diaper, so he was easy to clean off. Thanks to Amy for taking these fabulous pictures; she takes such great pictures, and since I forgot to take my camera, I just downloaded hers to photobucket! Maybe I will just leave the camera at home from now on if she is with me!

Enjoying the Puddles

A Zooper Hot Day at the Zoo

Wake Up!

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away!

We have had several weeks of 90 degree plus weather and not a bit of rain, but we finally received some much needed rain the other day. The boys and I were up at the park when it started to sprinkle, so we left, but we did not beat it home. We got drenched on the way home, and when we made it home, we ran in the garage to dry off. While I grabbed some towels, I thought the boys would just stand in the garage not wanting to get any wetter, but I was wrong. Lofton grabbed his umbrella, and Landon just went for the puddles. Landon loved splashing in the puddles and the gutter drain. In the end, (no pun intended) his bottom ended up dirty; I am not sure how it happened.

Phillip's Early Birthday Present

Phillip and Lofton are two peas in a pod when it comes to gifts. One, Phillip always tries to guess what he is getting just like Lofton has been doing lately, and two, they both snoop around. Well, Phillip did not have to do any snooping because Lofton and I decided to give Phillip his gift early so that we could enjoy it too. We got him an old fashioned ice cream maker, and we really wanted some the other day when it was about 95 outside. Both Phillip and Lofton love the gift; well, Landon and I do too, but we don't care much about how it works or icecream recipes; we just like the final product!

Slippin and Slidin

Lofton really wants the new Spiderman slip and slide, but seeing as it is so close to his birthday, we bought a cheap one to tide him over. He loves the slip and slide much better this year because Lofton finally doesn't hate to get water in his eyes. He even puts his head under the water for a second or two at the pool. The other day we invited the Boyds over to beat the heat with us. The boys and Mallory had a great time.

Summer Lovin- Havin a Blast

Fishing. Camping. Swimming. Playing. Grilling. Sleeping (does 7:00 am count as sleeping in?) There are so many things to love about summer! We are thoroughly enjoying our summer right now. Lofton and Phillip have gone fishing several times and are planning a camping trip. I have taken the boys swimming about every day for the past couple of weeks because it is an oven outside lately reaching temps in the high 90s. Lofton loves the pool this year, and Landon is warming up to it since the water is warming up too. The boys also love spending time with their friends; we even got to see the Nesbitts this past week when they came to visit. Lofton was thrilled to see Reesi. Yesterday, Amy and I had to take the kids to jump because we couldn't stand another day of the heat. So many fun things come with summer including sleeping in for us teachers. I have enjoyed sleeping in until 7:00 if this counts, but it is better than ten till 6:00. One more great thing about warm weather is picnics, eating on our porch, and enjoying Phillip's dinners from the grill. Phillip has gotten a lot of use from his grill, and we are all enjoying the benefits of it. We just love summer!

Summer Fun

To Mimi and Pop Pop's We Go!

My parents came to visit us Memorial day weekend, and Lofton decided that he wanted to go home with them. Lofton had a great week with Mimi and Pop Pop. He had never been away from home for more than a couple of days without us. Mimi kept Lofton very busy; Lofton and Mimi went to the park several times and had several picnics, and Lofton ate a hamburger! The highlight of the week was a trip to Kings Island where as you can see Lofton got his face painted like Spiderman! It was an enjoyable week for everyone. Landon enjoyed being an only child, and I enjoyed the many long naps that Landon took, and Landon goes to bed much earlier than Lofton so I got quite a bit done. When Phillip and I went to pick Lofton up, Phillip and my dad got to go to the Memorial golf tournament at Murifield Village golf course. Lofton is looking forward to the next week we spend with Mimi and Pop Pop because it will be at the beach!