Independence Day Celebration 2017

We headed North once again to celebrate the birth of our nation with the Hatton clan.  Here we have George fishing.

And he caught one in the first 5 minutes.  It was the only one caught all day.

Mary enjoyed the dogs a little.

Grandma pulled out the toys and he fun ensued.

But nothing could be the dog bed.

We weren't the only little kids there.  Mike's cousin came with his wife and two kids.  I think this young lady could have asked me for a unicorn and I would has asked her what color she preferred.

All the sun and fun was hard on Lia.

The fire pit was a great place to hang out.

There was also some running around in the yard.

Becca made a new friend, or had a new shadow.  Whichever you like.

They had to built the perfect fire.

Mary cheered them on from the sidelines.

The finished product.

This was taken this morning before we left.  I'm not sure who will miss who more.

My girls all in a row.

All the little girls.

All in all, it was a great long weekend.  We hope you all took a moment to thank all those who risked their lives in 1776 simply by signing a paper stated that all men have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  And bless all those who have fought for that right since then.  God bless our country and may we always stand up for freedom and dignity.

The Rest of June

June was busy around here.  Swim team and lessons in the morning, softball in the evening and Mary taking naps in between  So here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

Lia informed us last week that she was ready to go on two wheels.  She did great.

We ended the month going to the doctor.  Patrick flipped his bike coming home from Cross Country practice and hurt his arm.  It still bothered him the next morning, it was in a questionable location, and we were going out of town the next day, so I took him to the doctor.  He's fine.

While we were there, waiting for the x-ray results, I noticed that the little rash on Mary's legs had spread.  I asked the doc to check it out and it turned out that she had strep throat.  Poor baby.

 This is what the rash looked like the next day as we drove to Wisconsin. It didn't seem to bother her at all but it bothered me to see it.

Patrick also got to mow part of the lawn for the first time.  He was excited but had a little trouble getting the thing moving.

This is Mike's shot.

In the midst of all this, we have been putting down new floors throughout the house.  Good bye carpet.  Mike did all the instillation but Patrick and I did a lot of the furniture moving.  Here is the first morning after Mike started in the guest bedroom.

Then it was the boys room.

Followed by the girls room.

The living room was next, and then the master bedroom.  I painted this room before we put down the floors (we had painted other parts of the house before we received the floors) and Mary woke up from her nap before I was finished.  After listening to her scream in her crib and downstairs for half and hour, I finally figured out a solution.  She was fine as long as she was with me.

So that was our June.  Will still have the upstairs hall and stairs carpet to remove and replace but its not happening tonight.  Come back soon and see what we did over the weekend.

June is Here and Hot

Summer is in full swing and heat this week.  George went to day camp for the first time and on Thursday he hit a bulls eye.  He was a little excited.

Besides day camp, we have been at swim team every morning from 8-10.  Next week we will be there from 7 to 10:30 as we add swimming lessons.  Poor Mary hasn't figured out how to nap at the pool so she is exhausted.  Here is a picture of Lia doing God knows what.

The two littles had fun in the sprinklers one evening.

 

Today we went to help at the Stars of Hope walk.  Fun was had by all and a little too much sun.

Yeah for face painting!

The heat is on here in Central Illinois and doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon.  The kids don't remember the last time we had a whole summer of hot but I've assured them it's happened before.  That's it for now.

Summer Fun has Begun.

We are ten days into June and we have already been busy doing summer things.  Patrick is trying to get his drone to fly and George is watching.

And Lia just wants her picture taken.

The day was just too much for Mary to make it to bed time.

George got a fohawk for the summer.  He's a little excited.

Last Sunday evening we went to listen to the Peoria Municipal Band play in the park.  We almost made it to intermission before Lia had a complete meltdown but it was well past her bedtime.

Mary had to try on Lia's boots.

We spend our morning at the pool as Patrick and Becca work on their strokes.  The kids like to build forts.

Ice cream to help the Scouts.

I have no idea what he's supposed to be, but George came upstairs dressed like this the other day.

Some summer reading.

Patrick and Becca have already reached their Summer Reading program goals but are fighting for most time logged.  Patrick was over 7,000 minutes on Tuesday and Becca was over 5,000.  George, Lia, and Mary are getting their fair share of minutes in but nothing like that.  George is off to day camp this next week.  He's sure to come home with some interesting tales, or at least give some to the other campers.