My 1st Washington County Parade (participating that is)

I'm not much on participating in parades. 
I would rather watch them.
Todd insisted that I ride on a golf cart for our friend, Robb's, business, Camp Creek.

The kids and I had a LOT of fun.

Our official golf cart line-up.

By the end of the parade, I learned that no Washington County parade is complete without a good soaking. 

Before Mallory's Surgery (Part 2)

The morning of Mallory's surgery we had to spend a couple hours keeping her busy and her mind off of food.  She could not eat after 6 a.m. and we did not have to report to the hospital till 11:30.

We met my parents at Union Station which is just a few blocks away from the hospital.

Being the train buffs that we are, we enjoyed the morning.

It is amazing the renovations that have been done to this depot.

You can even go outside and stand on the walk way and watch the trains go by.

We had to stop at the coin drop and watch the coins spin in circles.  The kids always love trying to guess which coin makes it to the bottom first.

There is also a model train exhibit that is spectacular.

Before Mallory's Surgery.

The day before Mallory's surgery, we had the chance to stay the night in K.C.  We had reservations for a room on the 29th floor at the Hyatt Regency at Crown Center and a meal at Skies (the rooftop rotating restaurant).  It was a nice way to relax before heading to the hospital.

Our view.

There was also a rooftop pool so we took in some swimming.

A must read.

My sister's post regarding her brain surgery is a must read.  Click Here

More Home Repair.

Todd has started work on the soffits of our house.
They were in terrible shape.
However, when you are working 2 stories up, you have to gather some gumption to do the work.

We rented scaffolding to make the job a little easier.

The end result is what we wanted.
Better curb appeal?  Definately.

Swim Lessons- Session 2

Another session of swim lessons is complete.

I know that I made the right choice putting Matthew and Hannah in back-to-back sessions. 

It has built their confidance and made summer busy and fun.

Matthew was in Level 3 this round.  They worked a lot on treading water and fine tuning their strokes.

Matthew can now swim across the pool without difficulty.

He now has a love for the diving board.

He loves to experiment with his jumps.

This session he also went off the high dive twice. 

It was not his favorite thing, but he did it.

Matthew passed Level 3.  That's two levels in one summer!

Hannah was in Level 2 this session.

She was one of the smallest in her class.  Shew worked so hard at learning all the new skills.

She loves the slide.

And, she went off the diving board with her swim instructor there to help.

She loved it.  But promptly told me "I do not like the high dive, though."  My reply was "How can you say that you don't like it if you have never tried it?"

She immediately walked over to the high dive and tried it.

As soon as she made it back over to the side of the pool she told me "Now, I don't like the high dive. "

Hannah did a great job with learning all the skills that come with Level 2.  Next summer she will repeat Level 2 to fine tune those skills and progress on to Level 3.

It's a busy 4 weeks running back and forth to swimming lessons but when it's all said and done, I do miss it.  Until next summer.....

Midsummer Nights Festival

Our town celebrates summer with a dowtown festival in mid-July.  They call it the Midsummer Nights Festival and the theme is centered around fairies and ogres.  It's fun to see all the costumes.  The downtown businesses participate with sales, there are food vendors, and games.  The highlight for the kids is the face painting and fairy makeup.  I had the chance to take Hannah this year and she loved it.