St. Wendel Summer Social 2015

This weekend was our church's annual summer social, which the kiddos have been talking about nonstop for the last 2 weeks!  I had volunteered to work in the bounce house area on Saturday evening.  Before we left the house, I was doing chores when I watch storm clouds "roll" pass us.  There were maybe 10 drops of rain that fell here at the house, but in St. Wendel, it was a down pour with hail!  Luckily, the social hadn't started, mass was still going on, and the rain was over by the time mass finished.

When the kiddos and I arrived, the air had definitely cooled down.  So much so, that I loaded them back into the van to go home and get the kiddos in long pants and grab sweatshirts for everyone!  We then headed back and let the fun begin.  Julianne and Momma got something to eat, and Dallas and Reba headed straight for the bounce houses.  Once Julianne finished her hot dog, she was ready to get in the bounce house with the others.

Sugar did very well until she got plowed over by someone, then she was done and wouldn't entertain the idea of getting back in - even when Reba was the only one in that bounce house!

Dallas spent the evening floating back and forth between the bounce houses and the dunk tank.  Thankfully, they were right next to each other, and I could keep an eye on him while I was working the bounce house area.

Sunday morning, after church, we came home to change clothes and get Julianne a nap before returning to the activities.  We were all thrilled to learn Daddy had the day off and got to join us in the fun!  We first enjoyed the fabulous fried chicken dinner they serve, and then we made our way to the bounce houses (again)!

There was not too many kiddos in the area, so I thought I would let Julianne try the slide.  Guess what!?!?  She loved it!!!

She couldn't quite climb up the "steps" by herself, but Daddy gave her a helping hand.  Reba desperately wanted to go down with her (either side by side or one in front of the other), but Sugar would have no part in that!  Julianne would even "push" Reba down the slide so she would be out of the way.

Dallas was somehow able to get Julianne to go down with him (one time), but I don't think Julianne was very happy about it.

The church sells tickets which are needed in order to play the games (dunk tank, plinko, coin toss, and pick a duck).  This year, I bought Dallas and Reba each a pack of 25 tickets.  Dallas spent all of his on the dunk tank, and Reba spent all of her at the plinko and pick a duck.  She did let Julianne pick a couple of the ducks, but Reba kept the tokens that were won.

Julianne finally crashed for a nap about 5 this afternoon.  She only slept about 45 minutes, but something is better than nothing!

Then she was back in the bounce house!

Dallas also participated in the pedal pull.  This was his first year pedaling the Allis, called Hook and Book.  He did fairly well, but he didn't go far enough to place.

Until next time...

Holiday World 2015

It finally happened...We went to Holiday World!

Aunt Lisa has been asking us for the past 3 summers to join her when she takes the Jr. Leaders on their achievement trip to Holiday World.  It hasn't worked well in our schedule before, but this year it did.  Of course, it had to be one of the hottest days of the summer, but we still had a wonderful time.  Unfortunately, Daddy wasn't able to join us, but I'm sure we will be visiting again because the kiddos loved it!

Julianne wasn't so sure about this ride - it was the first one she was on.

Reba thought it was awesome to be riding on her own

Finally, Julianne relaxed when she noticed Reba was having fun behind her

We then went to the carousel.  Julianne loved riding on the horse (which is one of her newest words)

They all enjoyed this rocket ride, but the seats were very hot on the girls' legs, so they didn't want to ride again

This free fall drop was a group favorite

Dallas and Reba then made their way to this Santa Sleigh, while Julianne went back to the carousel.

Then, Dallas wanted back on the drop ride.  He rode 3 times in a row before I made him take a break!

It was really warming up at that point, so Aunt Lisa thought they needed to ride something that included water.  Julianne was too small, so we found a place to rest and get a drink while waiting on the others to pass on the raft.

They rode twice because Dallas didn't get wet the first time, but he got soaked the second time!  We then changed into swimsuits, grabbed a pizza for lunch, and made our way to the waterpark.  Julianne and I stayed in the splash pad area while Aunt Lisa and another chaperone, Jeff, took the older two on some water-coasters.  It wasn't too long before Sugar crashed from the fun and sun.

About an hour later, Dallas, Reba, Aunt Lisa, and Jeff returned to play in the splash pad area.

The Big D and Little Miss enjoyed "racing" Jeff down the slides!

It was getting close to time for the Jr. Leaders to meet up to head home, so we made our way to the front of the park.  Then, the rain cut loose!  So, it seemed like a good time to take my group home too.

Until next time...

Learning to Slide

On April 17, Reba and I got out the small slide for Julianne.  She quickly climbed the steps, but had a bit of trouble figuring out how to get her feet going the right direction to get down.

By May 4, Sugar was a pro!

She then quickly decided that the small slide wasn't enough of a challenge, so she started tackling the big slide.  After a few bumps and falls, she has finally figured it out.

Until next time...

Sliding at Kelsay Farms

I forgot to upload this video with the post from our trip to Kelsay Farms.  The kiddos thought this was a pretty weird slide!

Until next time...

Park Videos

Until next time...

Pumpkin Farm

We had so much fun last year at the Mayse Farm Market, that we decided to go back this year while Dallas was on Fall Break.  It was a little chilly, but the kiddos did not seem to mind!

Little Miss thought she needed help from Daddy on the Rat Race

Dallas, on the other hand, took off on his own

They were very excited about doing the gourd sling shot!  Reba did it all on her own this year...

Dallas knew to get a low stance

Momma even gave it a go

We then took a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch.  The kiddos thought this was a swell one to pick.

A nice family photo on the ride back from the patch.

Dallas said he could carry the pumpkin...he didn't get too far though

The kiddos have these sit-on bouncy balls at home that they have fallen in love with the last few months, so I thought they would get a kick out of the Lil' Buckaroo's station...and they did!

After the horses, the kiddos headed over to the straw bale maze.  I think it might have been their favorite part!  We lost count how many times they went through...

Reba kept asking about the big slide, so we made our way through part of the corn field maze and ended up at the slide

A quick photo with Momma before going to another turn down the slide!

I wasn't fast enough to catch Dallas coming out of the slide...

We loaded up the Cool Bus and made our way to the petting zoo goats

Until next time...