Random Assortment of Summer Pics.

So these random pics pretty much sum up our summer. If you follow me on facebook then you've probably seen a few of these. But I wanted to make sure I post them here since I am sooooo awesome at posting pics on my blog . Maybe I'll get their 3rd birthday pics up here soon. Maybe.

Cooking with mommy. I've tried to do this at least once a week. This was a homemade granola bar recipe. They were super yummy Day 1. Day 2 they were not as yummy. And Day 3 they are rocks. If you have any good and healthy granola bar recipes, please let me know! I'm trying to break my kids of the nutrigrain bar habit.

It was the perfect recipe though in terms of number of ingredients. Plenty of opportunity for both kids to pour, stir, and pick out all the chocolate chips and raisins.

Ryan watched Wimbledon for one day and now he is convinced he is a tennis player. So my wonderful hubby went to Academy and got the kids oufitted with real tennis rackets and headbands. OH MY.

Also handy dandy to use as a guitar.

We pretty much spend every early evening in the backyard or front yard. And by "we", I mean Matt and the kids. I scoot out there every now and again but come 5:30pm I am hot, tired, and done. And it's my turn to get the cooking done while Matt has time with the kids. 

Their sweet soccer goal. Q would like to play soccer. This thrills me to no end. I am definitely signing both of them up at the Y for fall soccer this year --- can't wait!

3 year olds are camera shy. They thought they were hiding from me in this picture. It's a NET, guys. I can see you. And you are adorable.

Actually, for a petite little thing, Q is getting some strong legs. And if you notice the little brown leg in the right-hand side of the picture, that's MY son. He is getting quite the tan this year, even with multiple 50 SPF applications. Clearly, he got that gene from his grandmas, both of whom tan rather well. Matt and I are white, white --- then we burn and peel. 

During the summer, you can wear whatever you want. Q picks out her clothes almost every day now unless it's church or a birthday party. She comes up with quite the get ups. That's 2 skirts, yes. And multiple accessories, including fairy wings. Hey, you are only young once. Go for it, sister. 

This is at our local Papa Murphy's. Pretty much every week we pick up a pizza from here. It's the best. The kids get to see their pizza being made and help me bake it when we get home. Plus, on Tuesdays, you can get a family size with 5 choose your own toppings for $10. I can't beat that price for dinner. AND the best part? Our favorite is canadian bacon with spinach, bell peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms. AND THEY EAT THEIR VEGGIES. That's huge, people. 

This is Q after a birthday party. Ry was having a meltdown at the moment. He gets way stimulated at parties and wayyyy tired. Q just gets more amped. But birthday parties have been a staple this summer. Their preschool class was grouped by "young 2's" and "old 2's", so all the young 2's from their class are now having their birthdays. It's been a lot of fun to get to know the parents this summer. And we actually like them :) This is a good thing because a lot of them will likely be in their 3 day class next year. 

And of course, swimming. We swim and snack usually 3 times a week. Sometimes I take them by myself but most of the time we meet friends. It's also our Saturday morning staple to hit the pool with Daddy for a couple of hours and then everyone crashes for afternoon naps. THE BEST. 

Although he doesn't look thrilled in this pic, Ry is starting to love the water. He is very cautious when it comes to new thing but he is growing increasingly comfortable at "our" pool. If we go to a new pool, then all bets are off and I end up carrying him around for a good portion of the time. So we tend to mostly hit the pool that is about 5 minutes from our house. It's wonderful with lots of shallow areas for the kids. 

And even the grown ups love the splash portion. And I love this man :)

Q just chilling. She always wears her sunglasses like a little diva.

The kids also got their picture in Katy Magazine along with a quote from me. I guess it helps that I write for them and know the editor but whatever. It's always fun to see your kiddos "published". (Picture by Kendra Martin Photography)

This is also a new summer thing. I am baking. WHAATT??? I.am.not.a.baker. But I came across these bundt cakes and I have been kinda obsessed with making them. It makes no sense at all because with 4 eggs, I really can't even taste the darn thing. But Matt seems to like it and every week recently he's brought the leftovers up to the office. This was a rainbow sprinkle one I made for the kids' official birthday. They liked it too. I've probably made 7 or 8 and I've only screwed up one. Not bad.

So that's a portion of our summer in pictures. I have to admit, I was pretty negative at the beginning of the summer. I mean, I detest the heat. And I was worried about what I was going to do with the kids all day long when clearly you can't play outside for hours on end. But now that we've discovered I can take them to the pool and not have anyone drown, the arrangement of multiples playdates, baking/cooking time, book reading, coloring, and lots of forts --- it's actually been pretty darn fun. Not going to lie about it though --- we have spent a couple of days just watching "Up", "Nemo" and "Monsters, Inc" multiple times. Everyone needs some downtime every now and again. And if I could stop crying at the beginning of "Up" every.swinging.time, that would be great.

Hope y'all are having a great summer!