Neighborhood Bike Parade!

Chelsea had their annual Fair a couple weeks ago, and to kick it off, there is usually a bike parade for all the kids to participate in. They can dress up and/or decorate their bikes and then they all ride to the fair, throwing candy out to all the spectators :-) This was the first year we asked Brett if he wanted to participate, and he couldn't have been more excited! This was a special thing with Kyle and they both had fun decorating their bikes prier to the big day. Unfortunately, we woke up on the day of the parade to grey skies and rain...and the big storms came later in the evening, just when the bike parade was to start. So, it was canceled. Brett handled it like a trooper, especially when we suggested doing our own little parade around the block with our neighbors :-) We scheduled it for this past Friday and the kids had a blast! It was such a hit, I think we may have found ourselves a new tradition around here :-)

Hanging out, waiting for all of his friends to arrive :-)

Jack came up with this set-up himself (with just a little help from Garry), and was proud to show off his kite!

Leo, the alien :-)

Carolyn and Norah decorated their bikes as unicorns! Their dad is the creative one in the bunch :-)

Instead of choosing a theme, Brett was happy to just decorate his bike the old fashioned way...with flags, streamers, and stickers! 

The group all ready to go!

Kyle is such a great dad! He decorated his bike as well and led the kids around the block :-)

Such a cute unicorn :-)

After the parade, we hosted a potluck dinner at our house. Yum!

Emma and Anna were content in their stroller while we all ate :-) Such cuties!

Brett's grasshopper, "Greeny" joined the kids for dinner.

Brett was such a happy boy all night....he LOVES these summertime activities with his friends :-)

Lots of goofing around between these two! Silliness at its finest.

Later on in the evening, another neighbor, Kaleigh came over to play with all the kiddos. Since she's a little older, the kids idolize her and she does such a great job entertaining them! Here she is teaching them some yoga and stretching moves :-) So cute!!! 

After I took these pictures, us ladies headed out to the Ale House for Book Club, and the guys cleaned up and put the kids to bed. Such a great night!!

Oh, and another funny story before I forget....Kyle came home from work that evening with a trophy he had picked out for the best decorated bike. Us moms kept saying we didn't think it was a good idea at such young ages to only hand out one trophy...that they all should be winners. Kyle, along with the other dad's, thought we were overreacting, and decided to do the vote anyway. Each child voted on who's bike they liked best....and Carolyn was the winner! I kept imagining the worst, that the kids who lost would be in tears. But nope, they were all so excited to vote and hand the trophy to Carolyn! Everyone was smiling and seemed truly happy to see her win. Such a cool moment (that I forgot to get on film!). Another lesson to us parent's to just let go sometimes and your children might just surprise you :-)

Fun at the Chelsea Fair!

Every year in August we look forward to the Chelsea Fair. Brett loves seeing all the animals, playing games, and eating special sugary treats. He's not big on the rides (which I never was either), and after hearing about the 2 kids that fell out of the Ferris Wheel this week, I have to admit I'm a little relieved! So, unless his opinion changes in the future, we'll stick to loving on the animals and exploring every thing else a summertime fair has to offer :-)

Our first stop, checking out some of the farm animals....goats, pigs, sheep, and cows!

This baby goat jumped up on the bucket but couldn't figure out how to get down....so cute to watch!

He wouldn't brave the jump even for food!

My smiley boy in his element :-)

Big Bertha snoozing away the afternoon and trying to stay cool!

The Miracle of Life barn is always one of our favorites. This mother cow had just delivered her baby calf that morning! We even got to watch the vet examine her to make sure she was doing well after all that hard work.

Brett was very interested in watching the baby chicks hatch out of their eggs. He asked lots of questions and liked talking about what he was seeing :-)

Cutest baby cow ever!

I used to have a pet Dove when I was a child and they are one of the sweetest breeds of birds. I hope to bring that joy to Brett and have one again some day:-)

After checking out all the animals, it was time for the real excitement to begin.....games! My mom was able to join us this year which made our fair trip even more fun!

And of course, no trip to the fair is complete without some ice cream! Yum!

The Toledo Zoo!

Brett has a special Star Chart where he can earn stars for good choices and behavior, and when the chart is full he gets to pick a favorite place to go as a family. This time he picked the zoo! We love going to the zoo so we were extra excited to fulfill Brett's wishes :-) There are about 4 or 5 zoos within an hour of driving, so each year we pick a different one to go. This summer we chose the Toledo Zoo, a favorite from when I was a child. 

As soon as we got there Brett asked for a map. He loves figuring out where we are and where we should go :-)

Watching the seals flip and turn in the water. These guys were huge!

The Polar Bears were one of my favorites!

Look at that face! So cute!

We also saw giraffes, zebras, elephants, flamingos, tons of birds in the Bird Avery, gorillas, monkey's, penguins, reptiles, and more!

These two were in love :-)

We got a kick out of watching this ape haul his blanket everywhere :-)

Brett nuzzling up to my big belly.....26 weeks along!

How tall are YOU? Brett was a little taller than the Bald Eagle and Kyle was the size of an ostrich.

Another favorite of mine was the 'Keet Retreat' where you could feed the parakeets. Very cool!

Brett loved the penguins! One of his favorites every time :-)

We had fun watching the zoo keeper feed these hungry little fellows.

After walking around for over 4 hours, Kyle and I were BEAT. Brett, on the other hand, was begging to stay longer! We promised him a new stuffed penguin before we left because he lost his favorite one when we visited WI earlier this summer. He affectionately named him "Penguin" (just like his first one)  and he has been sleeping with him every night :-)