Camping

We went camping for 2 nights last weekend at Pinewood Lake, near Carter Lake just northwest of us. We went with my aunt and uncle, Judi and Bob, who are experienced campers, which helped a lot. We were a little bit apprehensive about camping with a 2 and 4 year old, but they were absolutely awesome! It was an adventure for sure and Zane and Emmy got to experience a bunch of "firsts."

Within the first 15 minutes, Emmy fell about four times and cried her poor little eyes out. It made us a little worried, but I think she just realized she needed to toughen up and she did.
Here's her fat lip.
Bruise on her temple
Holding ice on her face while we finished setting up our camp
It was fun watching the kids find ways to entertain themselves. Filling these buckets with rocks, sand, dirt, etc. was a big hit.
They were pumped to roast marshmallows and make S'mores so they brought their own "special" sticks from home. Yes, Emmy is on the ipad. We had to have at least one backup entertainment plan. ;)
Lounging around
Judi is a master roaster so she helped show us the technique. The fire was too hot, so pretty much all their marshmallows caught on fire.


Yum!
They couldn't have been more excited to sleep in their sleeping bags in the tent. Zack brought glow-sticks for them, we had a night light, and they both had a flash light. Yeah, we were a little bit prepared for the dark. They stayed up talking and telling each other jokes for a while each night, but eventually zonked out. The funny part was that our tent was on a hill, so they kept sliding down all night and we had to keep pulling them back up. They slept amazingly well. It was so much fun. After the second night, I decided that being 30 weeks pregnant and sleeping on the ground isn't a good match but oh well - it was worth it!
Glow sticks!
Hanging out with dad...
The second day, we got all ready for our big fishing venture. I'm pretty sure that their favorite part of it all (almost) were the worms. They played with our worms forever while we got ready to go.


We hiked down to the lake and went for it.



It was tricky making sure that the kids stayed safe from the hooks and helping them cast was hard too. Luckily, Bob did all the dirty work for us, like putting the worms on.
Here's Emmy, fishing with her Disney princess pole.

Zane couldn't wait to wear this hat. He wears it at home every time we pretend we're camping so he was so happy to get to wear it for real.
I caught the first fish with the princess pole. We were all yelling and screaming and so excited. They loved holding it.




Zane caught the second fish with his Spiderman pole. He was holding it and waiting patiently all by himself and all of a sudden he started telling me he felt a tug. He said he was sure he had a fish and I didn't really believe him, but told him to start reeling it in. Well, he was exactly right and caught it all by himself!! He couldn't have been more proud of himself and happy. It was a really memorable moment.

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Brave little Emmy with no inhibitions, holding the fish and loving it.

My big fisherman!
Afterwards, he told us the big story...

Untitled from Josie Weingartner on Vimeo.

Zack and Bob gutted and cleaned it and we cooked it later that night.
Zane even tasted a bite and we all thought it was great!
That afternoon, we also got to swim in the lake. They kids had their life jackets and floaties and loved getting out in the water. Emmy spent most of the time playing in the sand.
Our last morning, we made a big pancake breakfast.

Sweet, happy monkeys...
We did get a chance to have a little down time. Zane was really good about sitting and working on his sticker books or coloring. Emmy actually napped perfectly in Judi and Bob's camper. It was so nice to be disconnected from life and just enjoy each other's company. I want to go again!!

Swimming

Swimming with friends in the summer is the absolute best. We LOVE it!!!

This day, Zane just wanted to float all day long.
Emmy and Zane with their buddies Abhi and Charlie. Abhi's sister Ella and Charlie's brothers Nathan and Isaac were also there.
They tried out their new life jacket shirts.

Sunbathing after a full morning of swimming.

The Last Month or So...

Here are some random pictures from the past 5 weeks...

Have I mentioned that our kids love having a backyard? I am so thankful for it everyday.

My buddy and me

I love how when Zane builds something with blocks now, he has an intricate story to go along with it. He told me all about this creation for about 20 minutes.
Zack did a wedding about a month ago for some friends of ours in Estes Park. It was beautiful and we got to spend a night and day together without kids. I was super proud of Zack - he's so great at that kind of thing!

Can you find Zack among the gorgeous scenery?
For Father's Day, I met my dad for lunch while Zack was working. Here he is with Zane boy.
My sister Janelle was there too.
We've had some fun playdates this summer with some good friends. This day, Zane and his friends Luke and Charlie were unusually quiet so I went to check on them and they were reading together in Zane's bed. So cute.
Lunch party at our house!

At our church, three characters (Bob, Bob, and Ann) create videos for the kids. Zane LOVES these videos and this day when we visited Zack at work, he got to meet Ann (on the way to her video shoot), which is exactly like one of us meeting a huge celebrity that we adore. We had to get a picture of the big moment.
He still really wants to meet one of the Bobs when he has been shrunk and becomes "Tiny Bob." Good luck on that one!
We went to my Grandma's house for a family dinner. We turned on a show for the kids and they kept trying to get comfortable. Poor Emmy, while trying to mimic Zane, couldn't quite get the pillow under her head.

Zane's been loving his sports camp. This day, he was practicing t-ball skills. Love the helmet.

Then, he was supposed to be using the milk carton to catch the ball, but he started putting it on his head instead. Then, the other kids started copying him.
Emmy and I were cheering Zane on.
We tried for two days to potty train Emerson. We thought she was completely ready and that it would go smoothly. Well, the first try was perfect. She liked her big girl underwear for about 5 minutes, went in the potty and I thought it was a go from there. She never went again, had a bunch of accidents, and then finally just asked me to put her diaper back on.
Zane asks me to give him "homework." I don't know where in the world he got that, but he enjoys doing "homework" almost every day. He has been loving working on writing, drawing, artistic projects, etc. lately. Here is is practicing his letters.
Once a week for the past several weeks, we've met friends at a fun park after a Bible Study that we're all involved in. It has sand and water - that the kids can play in for hours with no break. After basically ruining a few outfits, I finally got smart enough to bring their swimsuits to change into. Here they are sitting in the muddy water. They were literally covered from head to toe in sand and grossness. That's what baths are for, right?


Sweet pea

Zane got to help Grandpa Dave fix our broken car window recently. Dave it really good about actually letting him do some of the work. He knows "righty tighty and lefty loosy."

Zane was watering with the hose, and giving Emmy refills in her watering pot so she could keep watering with that. They were both busy working together but soaked by the end.

Dad reading before bed. Our kids love their books. We read several books every single night and they love it. Then, they both read themselves to sleep after we say goodnight. Right now, Zane's favorite book is "How I Became a Pirate." Emmy likes Dora books, Berenstain Bears, and counting or picture find books.