Last Saturday we decided we wanted to do something fun as a family. It was still VERY hot outside, so we opted for an indoor activity. I had heard of Boonshoft Museum before, but had never been there. We had a coupon for a free adult admission and Grant was already free, so we just had to pay for 1 adult and 1 child - score! The place is a mini-children's museum with lots of different themed areas for the kid's to play and explore and even a little zoo. Needless to say, we had a GREAT time and will definitely be back!

Jenna and Grant holding hands on the way there

One of her favorites - the water table

Another one of her favorites (and Mommy's favorite!) - a climbing spiral rope ladder that took you to the 2nd floor. There was then a slide that you could slide back down to the 1st floor. Lots of fun!

Grant enjoying the water table

Drew and the kids were inside this tent type thing that would inflate when you pushed a button to start the air flow. Then after a bit, the air would stop and it would slowly deflate. You could crawl in and out of it and there were little windows to peek inside. Jenna loved sitting in front of the air flow so that it would blow her hair.

There was a section where you could touch some sea life - like different starfish and crustaceans.

There was a tunnel under this display that you could crawl through and then there were a few of these bubble peep holes to stand up and look out through. It was cute to see Jenna's head poke up in the middle of the displays.

Another of Jenna's favorites was watching the otters. There were 3 of them in the tank and they just played and swam the whole time. They really were a lot of fun to watch!

Jenna and Grant checking out the meerkats.

Happy Birthday Grant!

Happy Birthday Grant!!

We started out the morning with his birthday pancakes.

They were blueberry pancakes and I don't know that he was a huge fan of them. Ha! So he also got his favorite breakfast food...a banana.

I love Jenna's cheesy grin. :)

Look at my big birthday boy! He's wearing his birthday shirt from "B".

Poor guy looks like Rudolph with his red, scraped up nose. He somehow scraped it this morning when we weren't looking, so we're not exactly sure what happened. It was just red for most of the day.

Hugs from sister. As she was hugging him she said, "I love you Gant." So sweet!!

Then for dinner we had Grant's all-time favorite meal...hot dogs!

And for dessert...half an M&M cookie.
We're saving his official birthday cake for his party on Saturday.

Then present-time! This was his first time opening a present and really didn't know what to do. He was much more interested in eating the paper. :)

So big sister gladly jumped in to help.

Yay...his own musical instruments.

Saturday is Grant's birthday party with family. B's flying in Friday night so we're all looking forward to seeing her. Jenna keeps reminding us that B's coming and that they're going swimming - her favorite thing to do with B. I'll be sure to post pictures of the party next week - we're going with the Very Hungry Caterpillar theme (and by "we", I mean "I"). :) I'm looking forward to it - party planning is something I enjoy and is a creative outlet for me.

Oh, and...Grant's started walking! He took his first steps a week or so ago, but has really started walking a few days ago. He just loves it and gets so excited. :) Such a sweet boy! We're so blessed!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a great 4th of July with our family and friends. We spent most of the day working out in the yard - planting new plants/flowers and mulching. It was hot and a lot of work, but so worth it! I love having a nice looking yard, and although there's more work that can be done, it's fine for now. :)

Then in the evening our Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) group from church met up at a shelter in the city park where we had a cookout. Then we fellowshipped and the kids played for a few hours before fireworks started.

Getting ready for our ABF get together. Of course we all had to wear some sort of red, white, and blue. Jenna even had red fingernails and toenails thanks to Aunt Kelley. And I followed suit and painted mine red as well.

This is about how it goes with Grant...getting into things (like the plastic bags that were under the sink), knocking over the stool, and somehow getting Jenna's visor around his neck. And now he's probably headed for the toilet...unfortunately one of his favorite things right now. Thankfully he still hasn't figured out how to open it, but if it's already open when he gets there....watch out!

At the park...notice Jenna in the background.

Grant loved riding around in his little car (thankfully it has a seat belt with it!). And quite a few of the other kids enjoyed it too.

Our friend, Jerrod, blowing bubbles with the kids.

Jenna and her friend, Emma (who is 3 months older than her....and much smaller). She's a petite little thing!

Dinner time!

I attempted to make the flag cake (with pound cake, whipped cream, and berries) for dessert. Of course they make it sound so easy in the recipe, which it is...it's just the topping that is challenging. I had some pretty big strawberries that made the "stripes" a little uneven. But as long as it tasted good, I figured it didn't matter.

We tried to get a picture of the kids in their festive outfits. Once again, it's a challenge getting 1 good picture of them, but I always think the progression of pictures is pretty funny.

And....Jenna's done....

Jenna and Emma

The fireworks. This was Jenna's first time watching fireworks, and I kept hearing stories of how kids her age are scared of them, so I was hoping she'd enjoy them. And she did! When they were over, she kept asking for, "More fireworks". So glad she liked them!