First field trip

Today Ms. Shelley's pre-k class packed up and went on a field trip to the local fire station. The class had been talking about community helpers for the last few weeks, and I think the trip was the end of the unit. Owen was thrilled, Olivia was pretty happy to go, but not over the top like Owen. It was also the twins' first bus ride, so that was pretty exciting too.

Vacation 2014

We are back to summer life. After spending a week in Breckenridge, it's hard to come back to flat Kansas, but here we are. At least the kids are actually sleeping again, they didn't do much of that in Breck.

Riding on a boat, dodging the rain.

It's raining.

Climbing Mt. Quandary

At 14,265 feet, 1st 14er.

The view from the top, lots of clouds.

A wildflower above treeline.

A storm interrupted lunch, so we hid under a canopy.

Trying to rent a boat, didn't happen, Owen and Olivia both left screaming.

Checking out the creek behind the house, which may or may  not run both ways.

A quick nap at 9:30 am, she'd been up for 4 hours.

The slopes in summer.

Riding around the neighborhood.

I rode my bike all the way up.

It stormed almost every afternoon, good for photos, bad for golf.

Little climbers.

 A little bench.

Trying to skip rocks on the lake.

Checking out the train park.

Climbing the big rocks at the train park.

Nothing like snow in July.

We were pretty busy most of the trip, and Owen and Olivia said they wanted to stay for 100 days. Maybe next summer.

Owen, I will dunk you in the water!!!

We started swimming lessons this week. Olivia has loved it. She listens and swims and has a smile on her face the whole time. 

Owen does the opposite. 

Monday he clamped onto my leg and wouldn't let go. He screamed for half an hour and I screamed right back. 

Tuesday he pretended to listen for the first 5 minutes, then screamed as soon as it was time to get in the water. 

Wednesday, he finally got in. He had a pouty face most of the time, but he listened and swam. 

This has been one of the most frustrating weeks of their lives. He went full demon mode the first two days, if there weren't so many lifeguards around I would have dunked him in the water to shake him out of his screaming fits. So today was a win. A much needed win. 

A big moment

Owen finally got it. The bike we got him for his birthday was way too big, so we'll give it to him for his 5th birthday. I went out and bought some really cheap bikes for Owen and Olivia the other day. The first day or two they really wanted the training wheels on, but I said no. Then they wanted the pedals off. I reluctantly agreed, and Owen finally worked up the courage to try the pedals, and he got it after about 10 seconds. Olivia, not so much, but hopefully soon. (She only pedals about 3/4 of the way around and then starts pedaling backwards, which stops her immediately.) But she still likes the strider.