Fire Engine Hose + Kids = Wet Fun!

This month as part of our local library's Summer Reading program, they have a special event each Monday. Last week, it was water fun time courtesy of the fire department. We almost didn't go (because we had already been to swim lessons that morning), but decided to check it out at the last minute. I was surprised by the number of people there -- I don't think I have ever seen so many kids at one of the library programs!

We met several friends there -- here are McKay and friends Ben and Jake while they wait for the firemen to do their introduction and show the kids a firefighter's clothing and equipment.

Then they hooked up the hose and sprayed away! After a while the kids were getting muddy as well as wet!

While we didn't put swimsuits on, at least I remembered to bring a couple of towels. Because the kids got drenched! And they seemed to have a great time in the process (even Hannah, who did NOT want to come and was absolutely NOT going to get wet!)

You gotta love cooling off in the hot summer!

Three Things

Three random shots from the last few days:

1. Brian's shirt that caught on fire from sparks while he was grinding steel for the windmill. (And to think he actually put it in the laundry like washing it is going to help it look better!)

2. McKay claims this is one of the most comfortable positions for reading. I'm not so sure I would agree...

3. Can you tell we stayed at the pool after swim lessons on Friday? And can you tell who wore her swim goggles? (And can you tell who didn't do a very good job with sunscreen on cheeks?)

Discover

I showed you the tower Hannah worked on during our visit to the Discovery Center last weekend. But there is so much more to the Discovery Center than building towers. We love to go and see what new "stuff" they have out to play with. They just opened a new exhibit called "Tinkering" and it is awesome! So much fun stuff to explore and learn out.

There are pulleys...

and sailboats (yes those are big fans blowing)...

circuits...

and sand designs...

build-your-own pinball...

and launch paper airplains...

electrolysis (you should hear the POP it makes!)...

and little mechanical "wind-up" things...

We love the stuff that's always there, too, like the blocks and the giant bubbles:

the "little kid" play area:

And we even went over to the side with the permanent Birds of Prey exhibit (plus a human body exhibit):

We ended our morning with a "Wonders of the Universe" film in the domed space theater.

So much fun to discover!

Building a Tower

Last Saturday morning it was raining (yay! we need it!) so we decided to take everyone to our local Discovery Center. My dad and nephew Ethan were here visiting at the time. I have lots of pictures because there are so many things to discover and play with, but for now I thought I'd share what Hannah spent a good part of her time doing this visit:

Off to a good start...


She had some helpers along the way:

And finally had to stop when it was time to go watch the film in the space theater.

She was very proud of her tower!

Day Camp

Last week was McKay's last year at Cub Scout Day Camp. (Our pack combines all the boys together, instead of having a separate camp for Webelos.) Brian went up as a leader one day this year, so I didn't make it with the camera to take any pictures. But I did capture this after he got home one afternoon:

A full, busy day in the hot sun is enough to tucker anybody out!

Cousins

The kids have enjoyed spending some time with several of their cousins recently -- and all without leaving home! Usually we have to travel to see cousins, so it's been a nice change.

We loved having little Emma here for a couple of nights (my sister Amy's little girl).

Hannah and Courtney pointed out all the local critters to Emma as we walked around outside, such as this turtle (down in the shadows):

Just this past weekend, Grandpa (my dad) came to visit and brought cousin Ethan (my sister Malinda's oldest boy).

The kids were excited to take him to our local Discovery Center on a rainy Saturday morning.

And of course, we have two cousins spending most of the summer here -- Maison and Olivia (Brian's sister Jana's kids). Maison and McKay are working hard on all the various projects around here:

Here's Maison at the Discovery Center:

And then there's cutie-pie Olivia, who my girls can't get enough of. We even got to celebrate her 2nd birthday with her last week!

Calling all the rest of the cousins -- come and visit Texas!

Beauty

A couple of beautiful things in my life recently to make me happy:

I didn't even realize at first that this is a faint double rainbow!

My always thoughtful brother Tyler sent us these flowers in honor of our dog Molly. They have brought some cheer into our kitchen -- thank you, Tyler!

Toothless, Again

Courtney lost her second front tooth today at dinner:

We were eating corn on the cob and she kept complaining about how hard it was to eat with her loose tooth, so she finally came over and Dad just yanked it out!

Love that toothless grin!

Canadian River Mud

Last weekend we had an Elder's Quorum church activity out in Valle de Oro where the EQ president lives. We had a potluck lunch and then drove down to let the kids play in the Canadian River that runs near there. We did this last summer and the kids had a blast -- and this year I knew enough to pack towels and extra clothes!

Things started off innocently enough with some wading and splashing in the river...




And I couldn't resist taking pictures of my friend's darling baby girl Ruby:


Then the girls decided it was time to bring on the mud!



A bunch of kids spent most of their time in this mud hole where they managed to catch several fish with their bare hands.


Some of the older boys caught some fairly big cat fish like this one (this is McKay's friend Jacob):


My girls came out with these little fishies:



You'll notice playing in the mud appears not to be McKay's thing. After wading a bit, he spent his time sitting on the shore with the adults and trying to make a hula hoop out of reeds.


What a fun way to spend a summer afternoon!