Fandana

Last weekend Huntington University hosted what was called 'Fandana Festival.' It. Was. Great. Not advertised as well as it should have been, but we loved it none the less. The event welcomed bands such as Barlow Girl, Superchick, Switchfoot, Todd Agnew, Sidewalk Prophets and SEVERAL others. Two stages - one outdoor and the other in the main auditorium building. We ended up going Friday night with those bands mentioned above (except Barlow Girl, which I"m really bummed I missed) with the kids and made a whole evening of it. Brought our picnic blanket, ate dinner there and played. It was great because they even had some blow up toys for the kids to play on. That was Keira's favorite part. The adults enjoyed the music and the kids played. :)

Sidewalk Prophets

Jungle Gym/Obstacle course that Keira loved! Took her a little bit to warm up to all the bouncing around. But once she was used to it, it's ALL she wanted to do!

Kanaan didn't do any of the obstacles but enjoyed being bounced

Another bounce house

I finally talked Keira into trying something different in the afternoon. We had gone up right before lunch time to kind of check everything out. And after lunch, a nap and of course, an outfit change we went back. Here she's sliding down the slide that was connected to the bounce house.

"That was fun Mommy. Let's do that AGAIN!"

The festival is committed for the next two years so we are looking forward to going again. For $20 and tons of bands...who can resist!

Let's go Ride a Bike!

Not only is Keira swimming like a little fish but she has decided that she would also like to ride her bike like a big girl! So we walk and ride bikes just to the end of the cul-de-sac and back.

Princesses and Frogs

Keira has these 'dive' sticks that are princesses. She has Ariel, Belle & Cinderella. She absolutely loves to throw them in the pool and swim after them. Most of you have probably seen Facebook by now. Keira has come so far swimming and I'm sure that by next summer she will be even more confident. By then she'll be jumping off the diving board with no fear and swimming all the way to the shallow end....She may even do that this summer! We've got a couple more weeks of swimming weather left!

She absolutely loves the pool. I've been so thankful that it gives us something to do every afternoon. You can't see it in these pictures but Keira also has an Ariel bathing suit on. She also absolutely loves princesses. We knew that in getting this house we would be repainting some rooms, but especially Keira's room. Below you'll see she even got to help out! Final pix to come. The top half of her room is pink. The bottom half is purple and there is a white stripe in the middle. The rest will be decorated in true princess attire :)

As for the frogs....almost every night we are 'sung' to by the melodious chirp of frogs. How many I'm not sure. I've seen at least three out by the pool before. They sit out there and chirp to their hearts content. And they go on in to the late hours of the night. Jason says it makes him really feel like we're out in the country. Well, one afternoon the kids and I noticed a rock sitting towards the edge of the pool. So I was just going to brush it out of the way so no one stepped on it. The 'rock' however had some give and some squish to it. That's when I realized that it was NOT a rock but a FROG! Probably technically a toad. Well Kanaan became enamored at that point with it and would not leave it alone. Poking it, raking it with his little toy rake; following it, chasing it.... Here the frog made it under our little water play table and hid for a little bit till Kanaan found him again...
Since he couldn't find the frog for a little bit, Kanaan decided to wander around in the dirt. A true boy on our hands here.

After a bit more prodding the frog finally tucked himself nicely in the leg of the table where the grunting, toddling predator couldn't find him. Although I should also mention that Kanaan did flip the table over in his search, but by then, the frog was all the way up under the table safe and sound. That is, until the next morning when I found him in the skimmer of the pool. Dead. A short adventurous life Mr. Frog did have :)

Fun at the zoo

Despite the exhausting heat we still decided to make a trip to the zoo. This was our second trip so far this summer and hope to still make it up there a couple more times before the season is over. Keira always enjoys seeing all the animals and usually remembers which ones we have missed if we've missed them :) If you ask her what her favorite part of the zoo is, she'll say the African Safari with the lions! Kanaan was a lot of fun this round at the zoo. Walking around the different exhibits and often running the opposite direction!

Mamma Lion resting in the shade

"Ring! Ring"

I think the tree house was by far Kanaan's favorite spot! Kids

are the only ones allowed in this fun spot.

And Mommy's favorite spot. The Sea Lions. A favorite picture too :)

Choo choo!

What does summer look like?

Summer Reading at the library

Road Trips!

And ice cream!