~ * (Playing Catch Up) * ~

 So we have been super busy which is good to keep you busy but not good for those who want to know whats going on because BUSY in this house = NO BLOGGING! I am going to keep working @ it for our families because GUESS WHAT.... We have 11 DAYS till we are in NEW YORK!!!! 

So I think busy will still be there!

So we had Princess Party Round #2

And I was in charge so that is why there aren't very many picture, we had a GREAT turn out and a lot of fun! Maddilyn & Kael helped decorate the YUMMY cup cakes, we had a few snacks, painted nails, and made princess crowns. We danced to some fun music and enjoy lots of fun memories!

 

 We also went SHOPPING ... I love to shop just to find a DEAL!! And we found a deal, we have heard that the shopping in Ithaca is to great but here in Cincinnati they how tons of Outlet Malls so we took Maddilyn and Kory School clothes shopping and SCORED! As excited as I was the kids were READY to go way  before I was! So we made it a point to hit every toy place available.

 I am with the kids everyday and  I can't believe how BIG they are getting.

 Liam loves the "BEEP BEEPS"!!

 And Kael on the other hand loves her some SPIDERMAN!

 Maddi liked Garfield!

 I don't know how I haven't wrote about these guys more they have been our FAVORITE FAMILY, this is Scott, Leann, Halle, and Max. We have gotten together for FHE, dinner, swimming, playing @ the park, making bows, and lots more. Their family is just what my famliy needed.

 They have Dance Resolution on the WII and we love to DANCE so we are in Heaven.

 Liam working his MAGIC!

 They have a fenced backyard and WE LOVE IT!! So we take full advantage when we can. This is Kael and Max playing in the water, its always so hot COLD WATER is a must.

 We are truly so lucky to have found such a NICE family, they have made this adventure a lot easier! So when we play at the Mchaman's we enjoy great company, the great outdoors, and fun stroll around their neighbor hood. We quickly learned to bring our bikes whenever we played together soon Liam was not content with sitting in the stroller and wanted to ride a bike but when we take a walk its about 2 miles long and WE know he can't ride that long HE REFUSES TO LISTEN TO US! So we improvise .....

 After playing in the H20 that meant we had NO dry clothes so this is how Liam rolled on the walk.... FOR ABOUT 2 SECONDS... We DIDN'T laugh @ the time.... but we are ready to laugh @ it now....this is what happened for the remainder of the walk :(

 

 There are ponds like this EVERY WHERE ... filled with geese and ducks, the kids love it, but the poop gets NASTY. Kory and I are seriously disgusted when we see people fishing in these ponds, you would think they would look at that water and know better!

So here are a few of the things we have been up to!

*< Kings Island >*

 

 So we have been SO SO SO excited to go to Kings Island ... so WARNING tons of pictures so if you don't want to see lots of pictures of my super cute family STOP NOW!! 

When we woke up it was raining ... thank goodness for Ohio weather, in some ways it reminds me of Idaho, you might wake up to rain and 20 minutes later clear blue skies. Major difference its HOT in Ohio all summer long, so we were excited when it stopped and we were off!

We had no idea HOW MANY PEOPLE were going to be there! It was insane the traffic was stopped on the Highway for 2 miles just to get off the EXIT..

we got there ONE hour after it opened ... holy crap man!

 So these first 2 pictures are what Liam & I did why Kory and the girls WAITED in line for the biggest roller coaster in Snoopy's Island... it was a horrible way to start the day... so we would wonder around in the 95 degree weather with me holding a 35 lb toddler and backpack (with all our food, diaper, everything) on and man, oh man I was sweaty after 10 min of arrival. Liam liked Snoopy as much as he liked the birds @ the aquarium.

 He liked this girl even less, to funny I showed Kory this picture and he replied "Um yeah, I would be afraid too, look at her head its HUGE!" Look at poor Liam's face... it was HOT.

 Look close you can see Kory and the girls ... and this is after 1hour 15mins in line...

 So after I walked around and scared Liam enough, we parked it and Liam ate ALL the fruit snacks we had in the backpack.

 They made it! Kory said they could have got the front seat but wasn't sure the girls were ready for that!!

Kael had no idea what to expect, you couldn't see the ride until you were super close.

 THEY ARE OFF!

 Sorry its blurry, THEY LOVED IT!!

(worth the time in line?)

Kory said it was awesome for a kids ride but after just our FIRST RIDE we were sick of waiting and more people just kept flooding in!

So we determined what ride would be next by the length of the line! We also thought we should find something QUICK for Liam to do!

 He loves beep, beeps so we thought we had made his day...

 

 Um not so much... he screamed the ENTIRE ride... people around us were saying under their breath..

"oh, poor guy"

"why don't they get him off"

*awesome*

 My turn to ride with the girls.. the line looked short, and the ride looked simple..

WRONG AGAIN!

The line took forever and the kids didn't think the WAITING IN LINE thing was very fun. Good thing there were plenty of CRAZY people to stare at and make the time go by faster. Kory said he is bringing leashes next time so he can keep control of his 3 wandering eyed girls.

 The ride looked simple, it takes you to the top and drops you A LITTLE then up then back down nothing super dramatic..

 so glad you can't see my face.. the girls loved it.. but it had my tummy doing tricks

 I couldn't control my own head and was having a riot, and by the expressions on the girls faces they thought it was LAME!

 They rode a superman ride.. and loved it!

 But after this we were done waiting in line...

time for  SWIMMING!

Crazy though, we didn't see a fraction of the park not sure we will spend the money on something like that for awhile.

 Liam and I @ the Pirate Ship.. Swimming was nice cause there wasn't lines to be in the water... But to ride the water rides was a joke.

 Here we are cooling off!

JJ, going down a sweet slide!

 eating a few chips

 So cute!! they were just so happy to PLAY!!

 NO nap for him and he did great!!

and not sure his hair can get much LIGHTER!

 "The Fish" liked the water... But she would have loved to explore all the CRAZY rides with Daddy!

 Daddy and Liam

 One slide that didn't have a HUGE line!

 ~ US ~

 Liam loving it.

 Yeah a picture of the whole family!

 So the blue and orange ride behind Kory and the kids was a super wild ride that you slide down in cool tube, the line was so long we didn't even think about it :(

This poor guy was asleep with his eyes open and still trying to eat his crackers... he is REALLY asleep!!

YEAH FOR Kings Island..... but we wont be back for awhile.

Playing @ the ~*POOL*~

 Here we are! YEP, this is how we spend alot of our afternoons! We have no yard and this requires the least amount of planning and spending money, PLUS WE LOVE TO SWIM! These pictures crack me up we look like a mini circus! The temperature has reached 103 degrees in my car and 80 percent humidity... so combined its about 115 degrees here, so the pool is a great way to exercise and cool off at the same time.

 Maddilyn aka (the fish) has taught herself how to swim and so now she needs a new challenge.. she is now deep sea diving! hence the SWEET GOGGLES! Yep the best goggles a $1 can buy! 

*Plus a little cherry juice on the chin*

This girl is AMAZING she is growing up so much and I am so glad she is here to talk and have big girl conversation!

 This guy is another story ... YEP maybe you noticed the new look! We have misplaced (by we I mean me) his awesome blue headband that protects his fragile ears from further ear infections. So we can't stop our fun afternoon activity so what to do?????? oh yeah I know a lady that has headbands! And there you have it, it holds the earplugs in that protect his ears and he now get MORE looks than he did with the blue headband =

SUCCESS !

Kael will not be left behind!! she has seen the progress of Maddilyns swimming and wants to be just like her! She has some awesome tricks too, she can grab the attention of EVERYONE @ the pool... she counts (out loud) and NAMES each one of her jumps before she "canyonballs" or "super pokadoka" and some of the others I am not even sure how to pronounce let alone spell. She always has us smiling about something, so there you have it our little CIRCUS!

*F.I.R.E.W.O.R.K.S*

 SO WE REALLY WANTED to see some awesome fireworks after the parade! So we decided to go somewhere we were a little more familiar with Newport KY, next to the aquarium.

 After swimming and good naps we took off with plenty of sunshine ahead of us! So why our good daddy parked the van in the PERFECT SPOT to watch the fireworks and have a quick exit we climbed these stairs in the 97 degree weather! HOT HOT!!

 At the top of stairs is our 2 beautiful little girls!

 so Daddy gets the Van parked and we are so excited to see the vendors and entertainment and it's a 

HARLEY CONVENTION 

*not really our families idea of a good time*

 So we entertained ourselves with POPPERS, we threw them at eachother and it was a blast! Maddi got alittle crazy... but so stinking fun!

 A picture of the vendors.. if it was closer you could read the signs of all the awesome beverages they were offering!

 Some of the people scared us...  I took some pictures of the bikers and only a few cause I thought they were going to kill me... Liam NEVER let go of our hands!! After getting home and looking at the pictures of the bikers and other different people I felt like a mean person... so I erased them and will not gauk at others again!! But it made the kids stay close!

 So back to our PERFECT SPOT ... if you see the bridge in front of us that is where the BIG fireworks were let off! So we could not get any closer!!! The grass was a perfect place to wind down grab some water and play with our sweet umbrellas we purchased before we got caught in the rain on the 4th again! Kael and her Ladybug umbrella are so close, almost as close as Kael and Halle the penguin, this girl forms bonds with weird things:)

 Its getting DARKER!!

(there is Liams skateboard again)

 Here is Kael, the umbrella and her booster seat!!

...enough said...

 Getting crazy waiting for the big show.

 WE HAVE AN AMAZING DADDY!

~AND LOVE HIM SO MUCH~

 Over all the FIREWORKS were a blast!!

and the only thing missing was our Family, this blog is an amazing way to show everyone what we are doing and all the fun new adventures we get to embark on. But what this blog doesn't show is the big watery eyes I get to see in my little girls faces when they have a memory or thought  about Grandmas, Grandpas, or other family members we truly miss, all we can do is assure them this isn't forever and we will get to visit them soon. We are so grateful for all of our family and all the good memories we have to reflect on.

Happy Forth of July!