Busy Weekends

We've had a busy few weekends. Memorial Day weekend Aunt Karen came to visit and we had a really nice time. It rained a lot, but we enjoyed hanging around and playing with the kids. On Saturday night, Nat, Owen, and Henry went to Rainbow Kids and we were able to have an adult dinner out. On Memorial Day, the weather was really nice and we went to our friends' house to swim and cookout. Natalie worked on her diving technique while we were there. That week Natalie started her new gymnastics class and she really likes it. She's already learning a lot of new stuff. We need to work on cartwheels. Last weekend, we went to the zoo on Saturday morning before it got too hot. It was fun - Henry was really into checking out all of the animals this time. He was pretty excited about the monkeys and made monkey noises the rest of the day. Ike took Natalie to the ballet on Saturday night and she was excited to wear one of her "fancy" dresses. The boys and I had some good bonding time. Owen played in his room while Henry and I had some quality time, then after Henry went to bed, Owen and I played cards then snuggled and watched a movie. On Sunday morning we went to the playground before the heat set in and we saw a bunch of the kids' friends. We also bought Owen his first "big-boy" bike on Sunday, and we took it out for a test ride on the new bike path Sunday evening. He took off and Ike and I took turns running to keep up with him. This past week, the kids started their summer programs at school. Natalie is in full-fledged camp and she does all kinds of stuff. They swim three times a week, have field trips on alternating weeks, have movie day, and activities like cooking, wood crafts, textiles, and sports. Owen and Henry have also started water play and Owen's class even has a slip & slide! This weekend seemed extra busy. Yesterday morning, our neighborhood had an annual race event. Ike ran the 5K and Natalie and Owen ran the 1K. Natalie ran the whole thing with a smile, but Owen took off too fast and had a little trouble finishing. He turned it on at the end though when everybody was cheering at the finish line. We went to Karien & Kevin's house mid-day for Allison's 3rd birthday party and enjoyed the pool, pizza, and a pinata. Then in the afternoon while the boys (including Ike) napped, Natalie and I went to the Children's Museum for her school friend's birthday party. She had a lot of fun there and I was worn out! This morning we headed to the park downtown and the kids enjoyed the water park there. We also played soccer and ran around a bit. We stayed around the house this afternoon - it was nice to be in the A/C - it's so hot!