Little Fish!

Ugh! I'm not sure where to begin... the last 2 1/2 weeks have been packed with fun! We spent last weekend in NC with Grandma and Papa for Eric to play with Papa in his Member/Guest tournament. Their three year run of victory ended this year, but they still had fun! Golf is definitely a humbling game:-) The kids had a blast playing in the pool and going to Music in the Streets and Riley and Lexa stayed for the rest of the week!

This was Riley's first adventure away from home (5 days!) and she had a BLAST! They played at the pool for hours each day, went on the boat daily and ate lots of icecream! They played at Deadwood (dinner/park for kids) and even dug for fossils in Aurora. Each night we spoke to our little adult on the phone and she'd happily tell us the daily adventures. It was all very surreal for Eric and Tracy... it seems like yesterday that she was just learning to talk! And according to Ri, "Grandma and Papa even let me (her) have soda... twice!" It was a VERY exciting week!

During this time, E & T relaxed with only one child back home... however, as always, Kyle came down with croup! He is better now, just fighting a secondary cold from the croup:-(

During all this time, both kids have become water bugs!! They have spent countless hours at the pool and are both swimming! Riley really has it down and Kyle, just keeps on trying - which impresses us to no end considering he just turned 2 and has had not lessons.

We have also had a couple of great dinners with great friends, visited Bebe (our fabulous patient!), gone to Kings Dominion several times, and had playgroup several times!
The kids LOVE school and are enjoying all the summer fun, including splash day. Kyle's teaches continue to crack us up... they claim that they want an entire class room of "Kyles"! They say his vocab is fabulous and that he is adorable and funny... we want to know which child they are sending home with us then - since once home he is a tiny terror! Just kidding, he is a sweetheart (with a little devil in him) and we are so happy his teachers love him as much as we do! OK, enough kid love... on to the pix!

Lexa and Ri waiting for adult swim to end... look at those little bottoms!

Cerys, Riley, and Kyle enjoying Diamond Castle (for the hundredth time)
Kings Dominion!

Kyle at the golf Tournament (in grandmas glasses)

Ri & Lexa in matching suits from Bebe

swim bugs

Ri feeding the turtles during her NC adventure

Chillin with lunch during the NC adventure

On the ferry with Papa ("even CARS go on this boat", per Riley)

Digging with Grandma - Ri found a little sharks tooth in her shoe!

Riley and her favorite past-time

Lexa, Ri, and Papa at Deadwood

Eric and Tracy at the Member/Guest dinner

Grandma and Papa's view

Grandma & Kyle sharing icecream that ended in LOTs of giggles!

Crazy Kid!

The trio!

Riley has learned to swim!!!

Kyle and Papa playing during their last visit to Richmond

Kyle swimming:

Pool time!!

We have had a busy and fun couple weeks – a great kick off to the summer! Riley and Kyle have gotten reacquainted with the pool and are enjoying being outside and barefoot as much as possible. They are also no longer fearful of thunder storms (we thank DelFest for that) and we have had a couple doozies lately producing hail and flooding!
We spent a fun day at Kings Dominion with the Lamberts last week. It was perfect weather and not crowded at all - we rode nearly every ride in the kids section and still had time for the water park. The lazy river was a huge hit and we are looking forward to going back soon. We also spent a day at CMoR with the Lamberts and got to visit briefly with the Grinnells from Atlanta! It is so much fun seeing Drew and Kyle together since they are nearly the same age and we wish they lived closer!
We have also gone down to see Bebe twice in the last couple weeks. Bebe’s arm is getting better and better every day and she is an excellent patient, doing everythink asked of her by her PT! For some strange reason, I think she actually misses diaper duty;-) We also attended the Strawberry Festival AND the Greek Festival in the past couple weeks. And had a great dinner with the O’Sullivans this past weekend! Riley and Kyle had tons of fun playing with Cerys and taking over her house!!
The kids began a new school last week as well. Since Bebe is out of commission, they are going to school three days a week for awhile. They both appear to really love their new classes and Riley has found two new best buddies right away. Riley has officially finished soccer and is ready for gymnastics again. Although she definitely has the skill for soccer, she doesn’t have the competitiveness just yet, so we are going to take a soccer break. Riley is entering a new stage where she has lots of opinions and they are normally opposite of what Tracy & Eric want! Although she is still a very sweet, compassionate, and smart little girl, she enjoying telling us “no” way too much… we are working on that however it has given us a glimpse into our teen age years with Riley:-)
Kyle was given a clean bill of health this past week – his ears look great! They are no longer “puking goo” anymore, as Riley would put it. He is a crazy boy as always and has begun eating us out of house and home! Dinner earlier this week consisted of THREE entire tacos! He may have eaten more than Tracy or Eric. He seems to love his new school and reportedly sang in his sleep so clearly the first day that the little girl next to him, who was not sleeping, joined in!
On to the pix!

Riley snacking at the pool

Kyle (aka White Boy!) at the pool

Lexa lounging at the pool
The trio!

Last soccer practice! Goals are being scored and participation is occuring!

Riley, Ivy, and Drew at CMoR

Kyle, Ivy, & Riley at CMoR

Kyle, Riley, and Aiden on the dino at CMoR

Riley and Kyle destroying Cerys' toys!

(yes, Kyle has on a princess dress! He didn't want Cerys to be the only one dressing up!)