summer!

Carter has been out of school about 2 weeks and we are taking full advantage of a more relaxed schedule. Add in some amazing weather and this has been the perfect start to summer vacation!

For Father's Day I tried to give Matt a day spent doing things he loved. He got to sleep in (well, sort of...I mean until the kids woke up), family breakfast and then off to the movies with Carter and Lucy. Since Simon isn't quite ready for a 2 hour kid movie I went to a nearby trail for a 5 mile run while he napped. Win win for both of us!

 After the movie we all met back up to get some lunch. Matt loves sushi and we've been wanting to let the kids try conveyor belt sushi, mostly for the fun experience of watching the plates go around. They did pretty great and tried a few new things too!

 After lunch we headed home to relax the rest of the day. Matt's parents came over for a short visit, we played in the backyard and ended the afternoon with a special homemade ice cream cookie sandwich, one of Matt's favorites! He does so much for our family that a simple day isn't enough to show our love and appreciation. The kids are so lucky to have such an amazing dad.

 Other fun summertime stuff? Lucy turned 4 1/2! These half birthdays are a big deal when you are a kid so I try to do a mini-celebration for them. And a little poster left on their chair when they wake up is so exciting! Ha!

 Mornings spent in our pjs just playing at home. Both kids (and me too!) got bullseyes on Carter's new dart board the other day.

 A trip to the bookstore. This is pretty much a weekly occurrence. They love reading all the time! And Simon loves to explore, pull down books, run around and be your typical toddler.

 I took the kids to the Children's Museum the other morning too. Usually they want to run off in different directions to see all the exhibits but we stuck together and spent a long time in the art studio painting. It's so fun to watch their creative side come out.

 This lasted about 5 seconds before he gave me a look of desperation to get that darn helmet off and then fell off the side of the car. But, we tried! (also, I'm loving the hand me down helmet from Carter and pink cupcake car from Lucy).

 Silly Simon.

 And another fun morning! We met some good friends at the beach the other day. This is only 20 minutes from our house and has a great beach to explore, play and even a playground right by the water. So fun! It was freezing when we got there but the sun finally came out so we stayed 2 hours longer to enjoy the day.

 On the way home we stopped for frozen yogurt, yum!

 And then later in the day I pulled out the pools. Simon has his very own little splash pad which is perfect for when the big kids are in their pool.

 And swim lessons have officially begun. We are going to a new place this year which I'm loving because it's only 5 minutes away from our house. And, it's an outdoor pool which is so fun! Lucy has really become our little fish and loves the water. She is starting to pass Carter up with her swimming skills and it's so fun to watch her try new things. Carter has a friend in his class from school so he's pretty happy too. These days are busy but so much fun!