More Summer Fun (August back post)

I don't even remember what this was called, but it was with Derek's work.....I don't think directly, but anyway......it was a fun activity for the kids! :)

Water balloon toss competition

The girls made it to the final two teams!

I think their balloon may have been pop proof though!

Obstacle course

I can't even tell you how many laps Blake did. He was loving it!

Then there was this toss game. They couldn't quite get the hang of it....they were great at throwing them high, but not very far.

What summer isn't complete without a weekend to the London Theatres!?! This years shows were: The Railway Children, Impossible (a magic and illusion show), Stomp (again), Wicked (again)

With some of our favorites from the cast of Impossible

While in London we, of course, went to M&M world

Finally made it to Neal's Yard

Figured we see what the fuss was all about with these FREAK shakes. (don't get what the fuss is about!)

I thought guns were illegal in the UK?!?

And a weekend in London is just not complete without some amazing street food!

One more summer pic to share:

We usually do lots of bike rides. This particular day I had something that needed to be put in the Royal Mail, so the kids rode their bikes. Blake still didn't have the hang of his bike yet so he rode the tricycle. His little legs had to be soooo tired after the long trek to the post office and back!

 

Lemonade Stand and Green Smoothies

One thing the kids had been begging to do all summer was have a lemonade stand. We warned them that it might not go over well because lemonade stands aren't a thing here and we don't have a lot of people pass by our house. They were still set on doing it, so we created the cutest stand, made lemonade and even cookies! They were out there almost the entire day! One person walked by and spoke to them (told them they might come back by but never did). Finally some old joker with curly red hair, I think her name was Mrs. Wigglesbottom, stopped by and bought some lemonade. ;) It was me in case you didn't get that. Later her kids stopped by too! ;) Allie, Avery and Blake stole my wig and took turns visiting the stand.....in case you didn't catch that.

Later, after everything was packed away, our landlords and neighbor did buy some when they heard about their flop of a sale.

This is just a random pic I thought I'd share. Derek had given me an early bday present, a new Ninja blender. We were trying it out and made green smoothies! Super yummy! One of the other things the kids had been begging to do all summer was to have a picnic. So.....we took our smoothies, packed a lunch and rode bikes down to the nearby dyke and had a picnic! Checking off their summer to-do list!!

Avery's Baptism {August/September back post}

To be honest, I didn't know if this day would ever happen. Avery had always said she would not be baptized (probably due to fear, all eyes being on her, etc..) Once Allie was baptized though, she slowly started to change her mind. Allie has always been such a good example/role model for her younger siblings. Grateful for that!

For Allie's baptism, I took special photos of her in her baptism dress to use on her baptism program and to have a special photo to display. I wanted to do the same for Avery. Allie's was easy as that particular year we had a beautiful poppy field in full bloom right outside our back yard. That was the only year we've had it though! I really loved the flowers and it happened to be when lavender was in bloom! So, the kids and I set out to Hitchin' Lavender and, although it was super crowded, managed to get some great photos!

It was tough to get a genuine smile because this place was full of bees!! (as you can see the bee flying by in this next pic)

And one of all three kids.

And then we went to a nearby park, Wrest Park, to take some more photos, and wander around.

Baptism day was on Saturday, September 17th in Thetford, Norfolk, England. It was quite the memorable experience! She had to be dunked THREE times! First time, her foot popped up out of the water. Second time, Dad messed up. Getting her to do it a third time proved to be difficult! She did not want to do it AGAIN! She was crying and making a bit of a scene in the font. All that were there to watch were starting to giggle. I'm sure she scared some as well. In the end, everyone walked out of the room and it was just our family there and then she finally did it. I can't believe we didn't get a picture of her with Grandpa Huber -- he was there for her special day!