Summer = Fair time

I took the kids to the St. Joseph County Fair for a morning filled with rides. They had a blast and met some friends which was fun.

While Azley just spun in circles, Bly was able to drive this year and took great pleasure in 'bumping' his sister.

"Yes, you have to ride with your sister." You can tell which one is more excited.

Another round of t-ball

Bly was really ready to play t-ball again this year. He landed on the Pirate team, which went over very well. Azley says 'Aye matey' every time we say pirate so that is just an added bonus.

I had to add a picture of what Azley does during the games. She is either eating or running in the dirt with her friend Betty. It doesn't take much to keep the two happy.

B B B Butterfly

Thanks to the teachers in the family, we had a butterfly experiment going this summer. Our little caterpillars  came by mail and soon were in their cocoons. The kids really did enjoy watching them over time and it did seem like a pretty educational thing to do over the summer so I was pretty proud of myself. Azley had to build up to spitting out the word butterfly which seemed more like a stutter after awhile. Here she is checking in with the family.

Summer in Chicago

We took Bly in to see Chicago over the 4th of July. He loves to visit the museums and we even did a boat ride with his Aunt and cousin. As usual, he had a blast.

Moments before falling asleep through 3/4 of the boat ride.

Inside the dino footprint

With Sue!!!

Hot dog

What's not to love about seeing the Wiener-mobile?

Date with Dad

Azley had a morning date with her Daddy one day. Bly was spending the night at the grandparents and Daddy's surgery was cancelled, so off we went to the zoo. She loved to show Dad all her favorite animals and have that time to herself to be the center of attention.

Daddy let her ride the pony which we never do at the zoo

It's my party

Well, my little peanut turned 2 and what a year it has been. While Azley sometimes drives me crazy, I can't imaging our lives without her. She loves to make you laugh and is quick with a kiss or hug to make things better. It is amazing to watch her and Bly grow up together and to see them because great friends. She is also learning about making friends other than her brother which is fun. Your smile and laugh can make a whole room take notice and you are turning out to be an amazing person to watch grow up.

To point out my little girl's amazing personallity, I will present evidence from her birthday party. Azley picked out a monkey themed party (which I tried in vain to steer her from) and was quite a monkey herself. She stripped down twice during the party to swim in her pool and then I was able to get this great shot of her:

My princess

A few seconds later I had this shot:

Biting the candle and refusing to spit it out.

No one will ever call you a wallflower and I think that your strong personality will lead to great things for you in the future. We love you baby girl!!!

Water baby

Azley loves being outside. All the time. No matter what the weather. Or what she has on.

Who me?

Now this is a water table (with legs) that she keeps climbing into fully dressed. I keep thinking I should write a review for the product that it is at least very sturdy and can hold some weight.

Worst. Decision. Ever.

This was taken before the movie began. Azley will not see the inside of a theater again (with me) until she is at least 15. All I can say is it was not pretty, but Bly told me that Kung Fu Panda 2 was a pretty good flick.

Fun in the Sun

Cutting loose at the playground

Worn out

I know that I have posted pictures of my kids sleeping in the past but I just love them.

I just don't know how this can happen!

Sporting her new Dora pjs

Cruising

I love this shot of the kids one evening out for a ride in the new car.

Fort Wayne Zoo

We took one day and went to the "big" zoo as Bly likes to call it in Fort Wayne. It is a great zoo and the kids love to go. Azley is definitely my animal lover and makes sure to talk to each animal and then tell them good-bye when we move on to the next. Bly is more into checking out the map that they give him and finding all the rides around the park and getting to each one as fast as possible.

Bly riding his pony which he insists on doing himself. I know that he is getting bigger but it makes me nervous.

Azzi and her horse Cookie. I thought that I might have to push this horse along but she was fully automatic which included backing out of her space, doing her two laps and parking with no assistance.

Neither one looks very excited in this picture but I promise they liked it.

She must comb each goat before we can head out so it is a process.

Nature Camp

This year was Bly's first day camp experience for the summer. He went up to Fernwood Gardens for a week with his buddy Sean. They went on walks and made a few crafts and I am sure many more things that Bly failed to mention. He was mostly just excited to see Sean and work toward the last day in which we told the boys they could finally visit the train. Some things never change!

Graduation day

Bly's buddy Sean

Summer School

Bly's school let out a week earlier than my Mom and sister's school so we were able to make a trip up to see the 'big kids'. A teacher that works with my Mom has a lizard that has become the school mascot. It is always out of it's tank and visiting classrooms. My kids are now fascinated with this thing and I just get grossed out at them even touching it. To make matters worse, they now feed this thing worms which both kids think is great and Azley could do it all day long if you let her. The sixth graders think both kids are hilarious which only adds to the craziness when we visit.

Dundee

Granny and the class watching Bly feed Dundee

We then headed to my sister's first grade room where they are normally at lunch. Bly and Azley were a little slow eating and the kids came back before we left. My two then proceeded to help with the carpet time and teach the weather and days of the week. Azley actually took a little girls pencil to use a  pointer because Bly had the only one.

Summer Vacation

Summer has come to the Johnson home in a flash and we have been taking full advantage of the warmer weather. With always being on the go or outside, the blog has suffered some so I hope to do a montage of days to catch back up.

To start off our days of summer theme, I want to share a picture that also captures my past.

I am sure that most of you that are around my age could have owned a Snoopy Snow machine yourself so you can understand my excitement when I saw one of these at the store. I bought it for a Christmas present for Bly and have had to wait many months to break open the box. He was a quick learner and was soon making snow cones for everyone that walked through the door. It was a lot of fun to share that excitement with him and remembering being a kid myself.

A stroll in the woods

Azzi and I recently went for a stroller walk at Bendix Woods with our friends Laura, Claire and Lucy. The girls had a blast checking out nature although during the walk, Azzi wanted to be a little more hands on than just sitting in her stroller. Here is a picture of the little girls in action.

Pirate Dance

Bly and I went to a Mother/Son Dance which just happened to be pirate themed. Bly loved to be able to wear his pirate costume out in public and I looked forward to having a date night with my little man. The dance was very cute but Bly was not too interested getting out on the dance floor. His main concern was the cookie and juice table. I was able to drag him out for a few songs but he just wasn't into the whole group dance thing. Hopefully this will improve with age or there is not much hope for his future prom dates.

Posing with his buddy Jacob

When we got home, it was late so I took his costume off downstairs so he could go right to bed. The next morning while Bly was at school, Azley is playing away in the toy room. I go in to check on her and find her wearing part of Bly's costume. She is always ready for dress-up.

Happy Easter

Some of my favorite pictures from Easter:

The 2nd Annual Egg-straviganza

Easter Morning

Boy in the Big City

Bly loves to go into Chicago, so for his birthday Daddy and I took just him in for the weekend. As an extra treat we rode the South Shore in and then went to the Museum of Science and Industry. He had a great time checking out the train exhibits along with the other sites. The next day it was so nice that we had breakfast outside and then went for a stroll around Lincoln Park Zoo. We packed a lot in and had a blast with the birthday boy.

Riding the train.

Bly's favorite souvenir is making smashed pennies and we made more to add to the collection this weekend.

The little man turns 4

The last month has really flown by and a lot has happened this spring. The biggest event for us was Bly turning four. I still can't believe that he has been in our lives for four whole years already. I can still remember driving home from the hospital with him thinking that I couldn't believe they just let us take him home because we had no idea what we were doing. In four years we have all learned a lot about being a family and the day to day life that it entails. My biggest wish for both kids is that they learn to appreciate each day and enjoy life. I see Bly as a truly happy child so I hope that I am getting something right. Bly, you are a gift to all of us every day and we love you so much. No matter how old you get though, you will always be my little man.

The bowling party 

Being four means that you can now ride the go-carts by yourself!