Kisses galore! Goobers loves to give kisses, especially when he has a very wet, messy face!

Grandpa Harris?

Pittsburgh

We spent the evening going to the usual Pittsburgh hangout for the alarm system crew--Roadhouse, of course. We ate and then went for a tour of the downtown and found a quite lovely and friendly city. It was alive with people and very clean. We took a ride in a tram? up a "mountain" to overlook the whole city. Despite waiting forever to get on the tram instead of just driving the five minutes and then getting to sit on the most uncomfortable chairs I have ever sat on, it was worth it and lots of fun. It was really beautiful. We stopped for icecream on the way back home but just at the grocery store as the little ones where out for the evening. The next morning we went swimming (freezing) and headed home to get stuff ready before everyone came over for the 4th of July party.

Way too cute!!!!

We spent the day at Pittsburg going to the zoo and discovered a place we will never go back to. Wow! I can only think of a few places that I would say were a worse experience than the zoo. We took the boys to the acquarium and although we spend hours there, probably only saw a few animals. Talk about a good reason we don't want to live in an overcrowded city. We were forced to move with the giant mass of sweaty, stinky people through the maze. AAAhhhhh!!!!

We met Rilee's boyfriend, Tommy, this weekend and learned why she loves him so much! He was so much fun and for the first time ever, all of her brothers agreed they would hang out with him and enjoy it. That's a big deal! Great catch!

Dinosaurs!

The dinos came back to the zoo and we actually made it all the way through them without a little one running, screaming back to the entrance. The boys loved it, although some tears were definitely shed.

Trent was obviously having more fun than Ryan. This giant t-rex growled very loudly and moved toward you while gnashing his teeth. I'm surprised it scared Goobers! Just kidding! Trent was nice enough though to make sure and torture Raef too so he didn't feel left out.

First try with rock candy was a success!

Summer Days!

I came around the corner to find Raef in his own little imaginary world. He had taken sidewalk chalk and drew on his body "like people in Africa do" he told me, his rescue pack loaded with walkie talkies and a cell phone, and of course his net to rescue animals. He was busy rescuing all day and exploring Africa and the jungle.

Ryan escaped after I stripped his suit and swimmers off. I couldn't help but take a picture of this. I still don't know if he was peeing or just in exploration mode.

Birthday Cake!!!!!

I'm not sure who had more fun with this cake: Trent, Raef, and I making it, or Goobers eating it! He didn't know where to start and just stared at it for awhile saying, "wow" over and over. Our baby is 2 years old! He got more trains and cars to add to the pile.

Boys and frogs

Rilee, Auz, and Cam came exploring with us to see our favorite place to go hiking and we came across about 10 billion tadpoles. This was, of course, a major find when surrounded by boys, big and little. Trent found a water bottle in the trees and we let the boys collect some to take home. Raef got very good at sitting in the water very still and then quickly scooping the tadpoles up. Ryan wanted to touch them but everytime he did, he giggled and said, "that tickles." It was so cute! We finally collected some and headed home to put them in a special container but goobers got ahold of them the next day and gave them a great buriel. Oh well!

Waterpark!

We ventured over the indoor water park again for Trent's break for two days. This time Uncle Auzzie and Aunt Riley came with us and we had so much fun! As soon as we pulled into the parking lot and Ryan spotted the huge water fountain, we heard him shout, "waterpark!" I guess he remembered! Raef got brave and went down some big slides and we even snuck Ryan down a few on my lap. We never saw any tears until we said we had to go home. they love that place. Trent chased them all over the waterpark until I thought he might cry and then we all fell asleep watching a movie after pizza. The perfect mini vacation!

Trent got a little action on the rear of the elephant. Nice!