Things We've Been Up to Lately...

We've been busy having fun these past few weeks, and I seriously cannot believe that it is already August!! I swear, as I get older, the summer goes by faster and faster and faster! I love this time of year and am hoping for a warm fall (warm - not hot!) because I just don't want all this outdoor fun to end! Considering how the past few years have gone, I'm guessing we still have a good 3 months left - lots of time to continue livin' it up in shorts, flip flops, and playing outdoors well into the evening :-)

The 4-H fair in Saline was a couple weeks ago so, of course, I had  to take Brett. As most of you know, I had horses as a teenager and showed there - so every year I go back to relive the memories of riding, winning my first blue ribbon, gossiping about boys, sleeping in the barn with the horses, and just having fun. I would get so nervous before a show, so my favorite times were when I was all done and could just hang out with my fellow 4-Her's and just act like a crazy teenager. Oh, those were good times!!

The goats are always one of my favorites. I'm going to have one as a pet one day, I really am!

Why hello there

Of course, on one of the brightest days of the year, I left Brett's sunglasses at home. So, here he is trying mine out for size :-) 

We got some lunch and then sat on this hill to watch the riders. Brett wasn't too impressed..."I want to see them jump, mommy!" 

Brett loved the ducks!

Legos have become a constant in our house lately! Brett spends a lot of time each day building, imagining, and playing with legos. He still plays with the Duplos, but is becoming more and more interested in the regular small ones. And, surprise surprise, he is always building boats, trains, trucks, and cars :-)

Last week Brett and I ventured to the Waterloo Nature Center just a few minutes away. We had fun feeding ants to the Ant Lions (no pics of that), touching a Salamander, watching the bees, learning about birds, and looking through the telescope. 

They had lots bird feeders outside, so we got to see many different kinds of birds. There was a poster board with all sorts of information about each kind, and Brett eagerly asked questions and wanted to know about them all.. I think he's definitely ready for preschool :-)

One morning Brett and I went for a nature walk around the neighborhood. He collected rocks, sticks, leaves, nuts, etc. Then that evening he poured all of his treasures out on a tray, added some water, and went into this elaborate story about what was happening. So cute!!

We also keep busy doing art projects. Like I've mentioned before, mixing is Brett's favorite part :-)

And here's a picture of me and my favorite little boy :-) LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!!!

Life is good :-)

"Hand Ball" and Baseball

One of Brett's most favorite times of the day is when we go outside after dinner to play as a family. We have so much fun running around, playing sports, and just having fun all together. Recently Brett came up with his own sport that he loves to play, "Hand Ball" :-) We get out the big red beach ball and throw it to him and he hit's it with his hands back to us, pretty much just like Volleyball. I love that he thinks he came up with his own game though, so "Hand Ball" is what we all call it :-) 

Look at that concentration! He takes this game seriously :-)

Another fun activity that Brett loves to do is play Baseball! Most of the time he hits it off the Tee Ball stand...and he can hit it far! The other night though, Kyle decided to try standing a few feet back and actually pitching the ball to him, and he actually hit it a few times!! We were so impressed!