WORN OUT MCKENZIE

 McKenzie is growing out of needing a nap.  On the days she naps, she has a hard time falling asleep at night.  Now, she only has a nap a couple times a week.  A couple times I would be busy doing things around the house and then notice that it was extra quiet.  With a toddler this can be very unnerving.  However, when I searched for McKenzie, I found her asleep.  Once she was asleep in the library on the chair reading books.  The other time she was at the top of the stairs with her backpack.  It was almost as if she had just climbed a large mountain and was resting.

LEGO LAND

 The Salts came to visit for the weekend.  It was a short visit but we tried to use the most of the time we had together.  It was Lincoln and Hunter's birthday.  We decided to do a fun activity and they chose to go to Lego Land.  We had never been and were wanting to try it out.  There were several activities for all the kids.  We enjoyed building out of legos, climbing on jungle gyms, riding the wizard ride, and seeing the 4D movie.  Sunday was their birthday and we celebrated and played at home.  It was funny at church because several people went up to Debbie and started talking to her in Spanish.  She told them she didn't understand and they were confused and then realized they had mistaken her for me.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

 Another school year is starting: Alex - 5th, Shane - 3rd, Maggie - Kindergarten.  The kids are excited for the new year and new teachers.  I can't believe that Maggie is old enough to start kindergarten!  I took the kids to school and showed Maggie to her class.  It was a very quiet day with just McKenzie and Bridget at home.  I made cookies and after school we had cookies and milk and talked about their day.

CEDAR POINT

 For the third year in a row we went to Cedar Point right before school started.  It was busier than in past years but still wasn't very long lines.  We brought our friend Cielo.  It was such a fun time.  We are all enjoying the annual tradition we are creating and look forward to it.  It's a great way to end the summer.

ALEX AND SHANE GET NEW BEDS

 For a year or more I've been wanting to make the Alex and Shane new beds.  Alex wanted a day bed and Shane wanted a loft bed with a hammock and slide.  I found building plans for both.  Mike helped me cut the bigger pieces for Alex's bed.  I cut the rest and painted all the pieces.  Then Mike helped me put it all together.  Alex requested a canopy to cover the bed.  We added a small string of lights on the back.  She loves it!

Mike started working on Shane's bed while on paternity leave.  After he finished putting together the main parts, I painted everything.  Then we spent a couple hours putting it all together.  Shane loves it.  We weren't able to do the slide since his room is too small but he was okay just having the hammock.  He loves reading in the hammock.  We put a string of lights around the bottom of the bed so that he had a light when he reads.

MCKENZIE'S AFRO

 McKenzie was being silly and playing with the boppy pillow.  She put it on her head like an afro and I had to get a picture.

SWINGSET UPGRADE

 The jungle gym kit that we bought and put together had a small swing set portion.  It only fit 2 swings so we ended up with a couple of swings hanging from a beam at the edge of the patio.  The swing set was also short so the kids couldn't swing very high.  I bought some new brackets and Mike and I used some larger beams to make a higher swing set that fit 3 swings.  Now they can really get some air and we don't have any swings on the patio (except for the baby swing).

Bridget enjoying her swing.  She'll join the bigger kids soon enough.

CUTE BRIDGET

 I can't get enough of Bridget.  She is such a good baby and so cute.  All I want to do is cuddle and kiss her all day long.

TUTANKHAMUN

 For several months COSI had an exhibit of Tutankhamun.  Since it was an extra cost, we waited until Mike could come so that we could all see it together.  It included a self guided tour with a handheld audio device.  It was very interesting to see how they found the tomb.  There were replicas of all that was in the tomb.  I was amazed by all that was in the tomb and the exquisite workmanship of everything that was included.

After seeing the Tutankhamun exhibit we explored other parts of COSI.  The kids wanted to try the tornado booth.  At the end, we went outside to see their farm exhibit, pet some farm animals, and climb on the tractors.