End of Summer Organizing

So, since coming home I have been on a mission to get the kids into a routine and home improvement. The kids are not happy about any of the above. Yesterday, I took Maddie out for lunch and then shopping for school clothes. What an experience that was. I have a diva on my hands, long gone are the days of cute pink or purple plaids and kitten t-shirts. She is into all things with bling, sparkles, rhinestones, fur, anyway you get the picture. So if you see her out and about you may think you are looking at J Lo.
Today I cleaned out everyones closets, scrubbed floors, and made the kids go through the toy box, now we can at least close it. We also all have clean sheets, and neatly folded drawers. I was in the hope that this would smooth the transition into the school year, so far, not so much so. I cannot believe that I have a kindergartener. What a blur the last 5 years have been.
Next week I can take Dylan shopping and try to convince him that his entire school wardrobe cannot consist of sleeveless shirts, flip flops, and mess shorts. It could be a long trip. We also get back into the swing of things with swimming and gymnastics starting Monday. Summer is definetly over.

Kings Island

We went to Kings Island the day after the State Fair. It was so neat to see the excitement on their faces. Dylan and Maddie even went on their first roller coaster ride. They were too scared to cry but they sucked it up. They went on water rides and then we went to the water park. Dylan was scared when we went on an interactive 3-D Sponge Bob Theater Experience. He screamed the entire time. We had icecream and cotton candy, a picnic, played in the water, and saw shows. It was such a fun day, thanks grandpa and grandma. As soon as we walked into Kings Island the kids were so excited. There was so much happening and they were so much excitement. They could not wait to get to the rides and start all of the action.
They kids were the first in line to meet to Scooby Doo. Macy was really excited and wasn't even scared of this character. This was a brief moment when all three kids were getting along.
The kids could not wait to ride the Blues Clues ride. The girls had to be in a pink one.
This ride was themed around Little Bill. This is one of Dylan's new favorite shows.
Maddie wanted a picture with every character.

Macy poses as a little farm girl. She was so cute.
I thought that this would be a great photo op. since the kids really will be hopefully be showing here. Dylan really was being a pouty Paul here so I did not get a picture of him.
They had a miniture golf game at the fair that the kids loved, Macy would try about three times and then she would pick up the ball and throw it in.
Grandpa and Maddie are BFF's. Grandpa thinks this is pretty neat.
They had a litter of baby pigs at the fair that the kids loved, even Macy was not scared of these.

We went to the Indiana State Fair with Grandma and Grandpa Gurtner on Wednesday. It was pretty fun, the kids had to walk and everyone got a little tired. Mike had to work and that sort of ruined my trip a little. The kids had a great time. We played there all day and then stayed all night at a hotel. The kids all got to sleep with me, so they loved that. I was hot, they all were up against me as close as they could possibly get. My parents enjoyed watching the kids have fun. Everything for the day was their treat. We had a good time. They have so many hands on activities for the kids to do that it kept them busy all day. Macy did talk me into carrying her some though.

Papa and Nana's Campout

Papa and Nana Oberlin kept all 5 grandkids overnight last night. She always makes everyday seem like a special occassion, so she decided to have a camp-out for the kids. The boys slept by themselves in their own tent. Dylan was so proud. They had yummy camp food and played outside all night. The morning we all had breakfast that papa made and the kids road the 4-wheelers. The don't realize how lucky they are to get to do so many fun things.

Pleasant Lake Days.

So, it may not have been a huge celebration, but the kids sure enjoyed it. We did the pet parade, poor grandpa Jeff had to haul the goat there for Maddie. He is such a trooper. We also used the dogs at my moms, notice I did not say my moms dogs because technically two of the dogs are ours we just keep them there because they are naughty. The kids had fun, I am not so sure the goat did though. The next day there was a parade and cook-out. Then there was a volleyball tournament, we won, YEAH. It was really fun, it was super laid back and it felt like we were just playing at a party in someone's yard. It was a nice weekend, unfortunately all Mike ever gets to do is work so he did not get to join us. Saturday night we went to Thane and Kylie's party. It is always fun to get to be an adult too. I do not have any pictures of that but if I can get a friend to share I will post them. It was a great night, I was a little tired today but it was worth it. I also finally got my house cleaned from our long camping trip so it was a well rounded and semi-productive weekend.
Maddison and Max the goat.
Macy and Mitsy, they were sporting the patriotic theme. It tied in nicely with the olympics too.
Dylan and Grace, Grace was really naughty, she broke her lease as soon as we got out of the van and I could not control her until Grandma Linda got there. She was going crazy and almost broke my fingers. Her and Dylan are too much alike.
Logan and Dylan are sharing their lunch, they kept wrestling and could not focus on lunch.
Our friends Olivia and Blake rode in the parade with their church, they were really cute and they threw us lots of candy.

Our family loves Pokagan State Park. As the road begins to wrap around when you near the main gate I start to smile. There is something so calming about going there. Of course, that is before the bike wrecks, whining for ice-cream and sand thrown in the kids eyes, but that is for another day. Last Thursday the kids were at their worst, fighting, hitting, taking each others stuff and I snapped. I yelled at them to get their bikes and swim suits and we went to the park to burn some energy. Sometimes all the yelling and time outs in the world is not as effective as a change in routine. It was really nice and the temperature was cool, we had a great time as you can see from the pictures. Macy did have a nasty bike wreck but she is healing nicely.
A trip to the camp store is always something the kids look forward to whenever we are at the park. It seems a little weird that they get so excited about a 50 cent treat but it works for us.
Dylan is really interested in his choco-taco. He got it everywhere, he can't seem to eat ice-cream fast enough, he has such a strong sweet tooth that he wants to savor every second.
I was not looking to fantastic here but I never get to be in any pictures so Maddie and I took one of ourselves.

It was really windy and the sand kept blowing back at us. We did play at the beach for a while but it was really chilly, the kids did not even get into the water. The mainly chased the sea gulls, Dylan almost touched one, they are so dumb.

Swimming at Grandma Call's

MACY LEARNED HOW TO SWIM!!! Not bad for a three years and one week old little girl. She taught herself, she jumped in the pool and swam to the steps. I was pretty surprised but really proud. The kids actually liked playing in the fountain in the landscaping more than they did the pool. It was really nice to see grandpa and grandma, we haven't all summer. The kids were thrilled and they also liked seeing Chico the dog too.

Maddie was having Macy jump off the edge of the pool and she was catching her. Since they could both touch at the shallow end I thought it would be okay. They were pretty cute.
Here is a picture of Macy on her first day of swimming by herself. She is doing such a terrific job, all of the kids learned to swim really early, but Macy won.
Dylan is hanging out in the pool, he is such a handsome guy.
The kids loved playing in the water fountain, when he wears these swim trunks he always pulls them way up. What a goof.