We love it!

I made it back from camp, safe and sound!  I absolutely loved it and even told my Dad that I didn't miss him since I was too busy having fun. He was OK with that. Here are my buddies from church and our counselor.

 Mom received this picture via text from the youth minister at church. It was day 2 and she was happy to see that I was having fun, wearing a new shirt, but OOPS, I was wearing the same shorts.

And what do you know?  I was picked up on day 3, wearing my same orange shorts.  I did proudly tell her that I changed my shirt and underwear everyday.  She let it go since she was so happy to see my big smile, my grown confidence, and my many exciting stories about camp!

I think I overpacked

When we returned from camp, our cousins Emmett and Whitney came for the afternoon while their parents worked.  Whitney is turning one at the end of August and Emmett will be 3 in November.  This means we were four busy kids, all wanting to do our own thing.

 Super hero dress-up

 Mom hasn't felt as excited to see Daddy in a long time... she survived 4 kids and was proud that not only did she do so, but she also convinced Emmett to use the potty about 10 times (thanks to M&M bribes).  Yay for no diapers :)

We were heading out for our friend's cabin that evening. Cooper's birthday was the following day, so they decided to let him open his bday gifts before we left.  Cooper ALSO received a Samsung Tablet and his favorite color case to go with it.  He has been using my tablet since my birthday last month and now he has his own.  Cooper also received some fun smaller toys and an indoor pitching machine.

Guess how old Cooper turned?!!?!?  We can't believe our little man turned 5.  Time has passed so quickly.  It seems like a few days ago we were bringing him home from the hospital.  We are happy to see where this year leads him.  Cooper is full of happiness and adventure.  Happy Birthday Super Coop!

The rest of the birthday weekend was spent with some favorite friends at their beautiful lake home.  We relaxed, swam, went fishing and tubing!

We caught enough panfish to have a fish fry on Sunday for lunch!  We caught bluegills, sunfish, perch and crappies. I even unhooked a fish on my own for the first time!

 Fish Stringer

I bet you were wondering... yes, David joined us too!  He must've came by canoe because we woke up to him holding a candle while sitting in a birch canoe.

Our room was filled with balloons and inside those balloons, CANDY!  We had to figure out how to get the candy out.  It was fun and noisy.

The girls grabbed a scissors, the boys just kept on using our bodies, go figure.  I problem solved with the noise...

Cooper's birthday treat request were S'more cones... you fill a waffle cone with mini-marshmallows, chocolate chips, and peanut butter.  Then you wrap it in foil and toss it near the campfire until it is melty and gooey.  Cooper had a #5 candle to blow out and we capped the night with singing Happy Birthday!

 The next day was slightly warmer and less rainy, so we went tubing.  Lauren and Abby have a speed boat and a different tube.  I was airborne a few times, which kinda freaked me out.  I did figure out that if I wore goggles and if we used our tube, I felt safer.

 Cooper only wanted to go with Daddy.

On Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day!  We just think our Daddy is the best... he plays with us, is always willing to do fun outdoor activities, he is patient, kind and loving.  We spent the day together, as we ended our weekend at the cabin.  In honor of Father's Day, Mom found these fun shirts for us on etsy!  

We kicked off summer institute which is a 2 week program put on by the University.  They offer a huge selection of summer fun/thematic courses for kids.  We both attend 2 sessions in the mornings.  Cooper and I both signed up for Cooking, Booking and Crafting.  Mommy's Kindergarten colleague teaches the class, so she is excited to receive picture texts of our happenings.  We went on a field trip to a pizza business to learn how to make our own and then we were able to eat it, yum!  We have also had theme days such as watermelon day, sunflower day, and we have made fun, summer crafts.

 This silly picture was for a "cat" activity where we wore kitty headbands and then ate cat food (aka, trailmix) off the floor.  The second classes we signed up for was Super Science Sleuths (me) and Cooper is doing a Backyard Treats/Crafts class.  We are having so much fun!

We had our annual check-ups with our doctor.  We both hear perfectly well, Cooper's eyes are great, mine are "OK" so far.  I see 20-20 in my right eye and 20-30 in my left eye. Together, I see 20-20 so I don't need glasses "yet."  My parents have told me it is inevitable, since they both wore glasses starting in 5th grade.  Cooper was in the 77% for height and weight and I was in the 40% for height and 75% for weight. This surprised us a bit--- I have gained 12 pounds since last year but am clearly going through growth spurts. I now am worried and ask about whether my food on my plate is healthy.  To end our appointment, Cooper had all of his Kdg. shots, poor kid.  He whimpered a tiny bit, but then braved it.  I guess this means he is ready for school.  

 We love summer and cuddle time in the morning....

 We also love kickball nights with our friends.  Daddy plays, Mommy organizes activities and cheers on the Incrediballs.  We look forward to the popcorn and Gatorade.  We ended last week's game with a pizza social.

 We also love pool days.  We went to Fairfax for their dollar swim day.  We made it several hours until a storm blew through.  We don't need float belts anymore and both Cooper and I went off the diving board (eek, this stressed Mom out).  We went down the slides a million times, went off their new "blob" in the pool (and felt like Ninja Warriors) and then we called it a day.  Mommy likes our bit of independence in the pool. She had time to socialize with friends.

 This weekend we celebrated the very first wedding at Grammy's resort.  Liz has been coming to the resort since she was a baby and they stay every summer for 2 weeks.  Their family (from Reedsburg) is like family to the Klay's.  It is her special place and that is where she wanted her wedding.  It was a smaller wedding with about 60 guests.  We were so happy and honored to join such a special family on their big day!  Our cousins were there too.

Liz and Jon are such a great couple.  Daddy has known Liz since she was tiny and Mom met her as she was entering middle school. It was such a beautiful and fun celebration.  

Since the entire Klay family was invited, we were able to get an updated photo.  We have grown so much and have continued to add more to the family.  We love our time when we get together!

 Our family

At the reception, there was a limo, so we wanted to have our picture next to it and even peeked inside.  I want to ride in one of these.

 The parents stayed out until 2:00 that morning... something they wish they didn't do the next day, hahaha!  They had a fun time dancing and mingling with the wedding party.  Above is Daddy's brother Ben (middle brother) on the left and to his right, the youngest brother, Matt.

Auntie Erin and Mommy posed with the mother of the groom, Sue. She is the sweetest lady.

 To end our weekend, we waterskied on Sunday before heading home.  I was able to pop up on my own on the ski boom.  I was able to do this last summer and was ready to try again. I nailed it and got up on my first try.

 I then asked my parents if they thought I was ready to go skiing on the long line behind the boat.  They said, "sure, why not."  Sure enough, I went out there, tried it and got up on my first try.  We all were smiling, cheering and acting ridiculous.  Yay for me!

 Cooper caught the jealous bug and decided he too should ski alone this year.  And what do you know, our little athlete popped up on his first try too.  He took his job very seriously and concentrated the entire loop.  He skied twice that day, both times were a success!

There is our happy skier.  Who would've guessed we would love to ski as much as our parents?!?!  They are so proud of us and we are so proud of ourselves.  Can't wait for next weekend when we can enjoy the 4th with family and friends AND....WATERSKI!