Here It Is....FINALLY!

The first week of school is done, our first Mom's Night Out for co-op is over and went very well, and tagging is DONE (three cheers and a happy dance for that!). I tagged 160 items....woohoo! So, after a long wait, here finally is the last week of Cousins Camp!

We spent a little bit more time "on the go" the second week. First on the to-do list was a day at the movie theater. They boys saw Wall-E, and the girls saw Kit: An American Girl Movie. My girls and I saw it when it first came out, but this was the first viewing for everyone else. Two thumbs up from everyone....it was darling!! The men didn't seem quite as impressed with their movie, but I think the little boys had a great time!

Mayfield is always a "must-do", so we headed over there one afternoon. This is an especially attractive picture of Tanner! :)

Tuesday, we headed back to the movie theater for the free summer movie, Robots. I had somehow missed that when it came out....maybe my kids were too little....I don't really remember, but I had never seen it. That movie is great on a big screen! After the movie, we had lunch in the food court. Here is the obligatory table picture, because again this is the only time it is possible to get a picture with ALL 8 of them at once.

While we were eating, some men came by and handed Kristin, my sister-in-law, several free passes to the new Monkey Joe's. It was so, so hot that day, so we decided Monkey Joe's would be a great afternoon activity. Here they are, all looking so pretty after jumping for two hours. :)

The next day we split up boys and girls. My mom and brother took the boys to a Magic Show at the library and to lunch. Kristin, Ali, and I took the girls to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro. It was a craft/activity day, so they made hair scrunchies and did a scavenger hunt. It was very fun!

After lunch, we did some shopping and then headed to Nathanael and Kristin's for an afternoon at the pool.

The three big girls and Ali had been working on a project since day one. Towards the end of the week they performed, Actions Speak Louder than Words, an American Girl play. They spent HOURS getting ready for it. They made a set, complete with props, costumes, a curtain, and back stage areas. We all received tickets with assigned seats and printed programs. They even served refreshments during intermission! They all did a great job, and had so much fun working on it. We even managed to get all the boys to sit through it!! Here is a short clip from the play.

When the two weeks were over, and everyone was starting to get sad, Grandpa came to the rescue with a trip to Sonic for ice cream. This particular Sonic is a favorite for the kids because it has a waterfall. I'm pretty sure they were all wet by the time we left.

We were sad to have everyone go home, but we were very thankful for the time spent together and the new memories made!!

Week 1

Well, after one week, 2 birthdays, 2 bottles of bug spray, 1 bottle of sunscreen, approximately 100 bottles of water, a case of Coke (mostly for the moms and grandma), 3 trips to the poola diving competition,

2 parks, 3 sleepovers, 4 manicures/pedicures by Grandma, an entire box of sidewalk chalk, quite a bit of ice cream, and a LOT of paint/markers and paper......I think the first week was a success. Here are more pictures (especially for the ever patient mommy in Seattle that has not said one word to me about the fact that I have not blogged all week long....thank you Carlee!!).

They're HERE!!!

And the fun has begun! First thing's first.....a visit to the rope swing. It cracks me up that this is the first thing they always want to do.

They quickly made their way inside to the toys and dress up clothes:

Then it was dinner time. Enjoy the meal pictures....they're the only ones where all six kids are in one place. In the middle is a very brave Aunt Ali. She made it until the first drink of the meal was spilled.

After dinner they played a VERY creative game of hopscotch

And Spiderman paid us a visit:

We finished the evening with late night milk and cookies

And everyone spending the night together in one room (with more dolls, blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals in one room then I have ever seen before)!!

It's going to be a fun two weeks. Thank you to Chris and Carlee for sending them!! :)

Summer Fun

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

Caleb with his friend, Layna:

Fun in the Pool:

Time at the Movies:

Caleb saw Kung Fu Panda with Michael on their "date".

We saw Kit: An American Girl Movie, with friends.

VBS:

Free Ice Cream from Chik-fil-a......Kelsey said we should call Caleb "Chik-fil-MESS".

Playing outside and Catching Bugs (that is Michael's finger....it was a BIG bug).

So far, it's been a fun summer!

Pool Time

Here are a few pictures of swimming this week. The first is some kind of weird continuation of the male bonding that took place two weekends ago. They are 'racing' (SOOO slowly) across the pool on their hands...are there any words for 4 legs as white as these?

My two mermaids and the blueberry (Caleb's nickname when he wears his swimming vest!)

Staying cool during these HOT, HOT days.....