Oops. Sunburns.

I took the kids to Oceans of Fun Friday. We have passes and often meet friends there, but this was the first time I'd taken them this year. First, Sam had his first Mock Swim Meet, so we sunscreened up at about 6 am and headed out. First mistake.

So, we had a great time at OOF. Sam survived the baby pool and then we ventured out to the Bucket and the wave pool. Kate didn't want to get too far from me in the waves, but otherwise was fearless. We stopped for lunch and re-application, though I did a quick spray of the sunscreen and Sam headed back in. Mistake two. We really protected his eyes, and that worked out fine. We just played and played and had so much fun. It's so great having two "big kids."

While we were in Coconut Cove, I noticed Sam was getting pink. Time to go home. He said, "It's my fault mom. I should have told you when I was getting burned." Yes, that would have been good, but I reassured him that Mommy was the one to blame.

They were pretty sore on Saturday, so we stayed in and nursed the wounds. I assured Sam that he would not scar, or blister, just be sore for a couple of days. By Sunday night, they were playing in the pool like a couple of crazies, never a complaint, at least until we got home.

I'll have to do better. I really thought they were faring well this year, because Sam hadn't come home from his day camp burned yet. Dad's in charge of this week's trip, so we'll see if he fares better. (They'll probably stop hourly for reapplication. Fun.

ISF Summer Classic: Crown Center

When I started planning this year's Summer of Fun calendar, I nearly eliminated the tour of Chip's Chocolate Factory. For one thing, we've done it every year since we started. Plus, it's downtown, and not everyone likes to drive down there. Alas, I mentioned to Sam that it was going to be left off, and he staged a major protest. Thus, back to the Chocolate Factory we go.

Thank goodness they've added to the size of Fritz's train restaurant, because it's a lot easier for us to get in, and we had a LOT of friends this time around. We had 20 reservations for the chocolate tour, and that's kids only. We were a big group-- nearly 30. The kids had a great time, and Sam even showed signs of remembering the jokes (many not so funny) from last year. When we got there, he declared that he "had his lick-er license," which has been referenced during the presentation every year. Some things never change...

Afterwards, we went to the free Clifford exhibit and the kids had a great time playing there too. I think mostly the mommies were tired at the end of the day!

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A!

Took a little trip with the kids to visit some friends of ours that live overseas most of the time. They are back in the States for a few months, so we went down for a quick, one-day visit to Stillwater, Oklahoma. (Wow, a lot of orange down there.)

Our friends, Jeremy and Kathy, have 3 boys and a girl (we hope) on the way next month. They were gracious enough to let us crash with them overnight, and the kids had a great time playing. Both of the big boys bonded over their love for Jump Start World, an online learning game. Kate held her own as the only girl. They played in a sprinkler outside, and we all went to Eskimo Joe's (where else?) for dinner. Sam declared it his best burger ever. We left early the next morning for our trip back to KC, but it was well worth the 10 or so hours on the road for the kids to get to meet for the first time. Sam and J are already planning to email about game strategy in the future. Watch for their JSW for Kindergarteners blog (excuse me, first graders) to come out any day now.

I only took two pictures (bad mom!). Yes, they are still and in the same place, but no, they aren't paying any attention to me at all. Here they are watching Veggie Tales (and hopefully winding down for bed).

The Summer of Fun has begun!

Wow, are we busy this summer. I don't start out with those intentions, but we sure are experiencing some great and fun things this summer! Sam's doing swim team for the first time, plus baseball (please end soon, June!), plus the church musical (if we can ever get to practice), plus the INCREDIBLE SUMMER of FUN!!!

So far, we've done two official ISF events-- last week we went to the zoo and this week we went to Coco Key. We had a perfect day at the zoo. It rained in the morning, but cleared off before we went, so it was at least cool before noon. We saw lots of busy animals, some doing things I really shouldn't mention here, but let's just say that we learned a lot from the monkeys this year. Coco Key was also fun. It's hard to stay together too much there, but it wasn't too crowded and the kids (even the scared ones) had a great time. Picture time!

ZOO 2010

Kate rides the carousel

The girls

The Whole Crew Waiting for the Tram

Note the mac-daddy move Sam's putting on his friend...

Have you ever seen more adoration?

Our first camel ride. Bumpy, they report.

Coco Key Water Resort

Water slides!

Sam and friends experiment with water (you can imagine what they think this looks like...)

Kate showing off her back float: Look, dad! I've got it!