Summer Weekends!

Why don't the winter months fly by like the summer months? I cannot believe it's July already! We have been trying to take advantage of everything summer has to offer, including a weekend trip to Kansas City last month. We visited Uncle Scott, Jeanine, and Connor at their house on Friday night. I don't think Jack had ever seen so many Matchbox cars in one place! We spent Saturday at an indoor water park. It wasn't very busy since it was so nice out, and it was the perfect size for the boys. By the end of the day, Jack was brave enough to go on the bigger slides. He is taking swim lessons this summer, and we hope that it will make him more comfortable and confident in the water. After the water park, Jack and I enjoyed a long nap in the hotel room while Jeff and Lydia went to the store. Sunday was Father's Day, and Lydia and I made ourselves scarce in the morning so Jeff and Jack could sleep in until 8! We had lunch downtown with everyone before heading home. I have great memories of going to KC with my family when we lived in Des Moines for summer weekends, and it was so fun to do it with our little family. We can't wait for many more weekends like this. Here was the only picture we took. Liddy's curls were out of control in the indoor pool humidity!

We took the kids to Arts Fest and Jazz Fest in downtown Iowa City, and Jack had his face painted both times. It was quite a treat for Jack, and I don't think he knew what to think of how he looked in the mirror!

In addition to swim lessons, we took Jack to a golf lesson with a friend of mine at Brown Deer. Calling it a "lesson" is a bit of a stretch since it was really just hitting a few balls on the range, but he had a blast. This weekend he tagged along with Jeff and Grandpa Steve for all 18 holes!

I almost forgot--Grandpa Randy and Grandma Jane took Jack to Illinois in late May to see hummingbirds! Jane has a family member with a farm where they attract hundreds of hummingbirds. Every spring, a man with the Illinois Hummingbird Project comes to the farm to tag them. Jack got to hold several hummingbirds and helped the researcher carry them back and forth while he tagged them. It was such a neat experience and one that he'll never forget.

Here are a few more pics from our phones of the everyday smiles from our family: