The end of summer

It was so great to be home so much this summer and I'm already looking forward to the time off next summer.  We packed in a lot in August and I tried to capture some shots from most of it here.  Alice started walking independently, and once she started, she didn't stop.  The girl literally doesn't stop moving all day.  Exhausting, but very fun.  And since she's faster, Evan is sometimes more frustrated by how quick she can destroy something of his, but he's learning to deal.  Here's what we were up to in August 2014.

 

We checked out the new playground at Wabun picnic area the day after it opened.  By far the best park in town.  Both kids loved it.  Alice was almost walking here.

Alice really wanted to climb on these ropes, and Evan was totally encouraging her to. 

One of the toys both kids could ride on together.  Evan's only wish was that it would spin faster.

A weekend trip to the beach at Nokomis.  Sandy goldfish, yum!

Alice started doing things like this.  I also found her standing on the chairs, and on the kids table on more than 1 occasion.  No one will be surprised if she ends up at the ER before her 2nd birthday.

We hosted a national night out event for our neighborhood - Evan and Alice were warming up before the other kids arrived.

We took a trip to the Wisconsin Dells for a few days with the kids and they loved it!  We visited a train park of sorts and got to ride a little train. Of course Evan was in heaven.

This was the only picture I took at the water parks.  Difficult to have your camera out and be chasing 2 kids around the pools.  Both kids loved it.  Evan even went down some water slides with us.  The "Gentle Giant" was his favorite.  He also came home with at least 3 bumps on his head and several others on other parts of his body.  Nice.

After the Dells, I took the kids to the zoo with a few friends.  It was the last day that  Alice needed any help walking.

This is Evan's happy face.  What it doesn't show, is that he was very sad when the wagon ride to the farm was pulled by horses.  We waited for the next wagon which of course was pulled by a John Deere tractor.  Hence, the face.

Evan got to "ride" a John Deere at the farm too.  Pretty sure he held up the line of kids waiting to sit on it.

This was one of those days, when I was trying to cook, and the kids wanted to be near me, so they cleared out the entire cabinet, playing with all of the baking supplies.  Since I never clean them out, I took this opportunity to get out the vacuum and really clean out that cabinet.



Alice fit into Evan's Packer's PJs for pre-season.

Evan came up with this on his own.  He staged a station where he would pick up Alice and then drive her around the drive way.  It was awesome.

My helpers. 

We made it to the State Fair - the day they broke attendance records.  But we were early enough to get free street parking and we left by 1, so we beat the crowds.  We also forgot to bring shoes for our little walker.  Smooth move.  Thank goodness Grandma and Grandpa were visiting and could bring us some:)

This guy took a leap and rode the sky ride.  Loved it. Just wanted the ride to be longer.

Evan checking out some live music on one of the new stages while Alice napped in the stroller. 

The service station near our house is remodeling and Evan was obsessed with the John Deere excavator they had.  We had to take regular outings with his digger to visit and see the progress.