summer fundays

We have been having lots of fun this summer!  It has been pretty hot lately, so we've done lots of swimming and playing inside.  But a few weeks ago, we had a few cooler days, so one morning I took the kids to the arboretum to walk around.  Don't get me wrong...when I say "cooler," I mean like in the 90s.  So by the time we left after I pushed two kids in the double stroller while having a baby strapped on me for 2 hours, I was a sweaty mess!  But we had fun.  We walked around and looked at the flowers and fountains, we played in the grass {except the girls, who hate grass}, and we sat on our blanket in the shade.  In general, I failed at getting any cute pictures.  Mostly because this is the response I got from my children:

Or this....apparently picking dirt off Will's knee was WAY more interesting than my attention-getting antics.

Did get one fake smile though!

And one real one.  :)

And the girlies got to practice standing up!

{This was several weeks ago, and they are finally officially walkers now, although they still prefer to crawl most of the time.}

{two pics above are Emily, one below is Caroline}

Whew.  Time for a drink break!

And even though I cut off half of his face, I love this pic of my sweet Will.

Aaaaannnnddd....this is how I found the car when we got back to it AFTER spending 2 hours in the arboretum.  At least I remembered all the kids?

We've been playing in the playroom a lot when all kids are awake, because the girls are still too little for me to handle all three in the pool by myself.  {Although I have tried...it involved one mad baby in a wet baby bjorn, a second mad baby being held awkwardly, and a somewhat bored Will wondering why I couldn't really swim with him.}  So we entertain ourselves inside, and I love seeing what the kids come up with.

Caroline puts little balls in a stroller walker and walks them all over the house.  She loves her ball babies.

And Emily stands on chairs.  She loves to sit on them too, and that is typically the "mama approved" version of this, but I couldn't help myself and had to take her picture standing.

so. proud.

Oh.  And this is what happens if I leave the room to go to the bathroom.

 

OH so dramatic!

We also put up the bounce house in our bedroom.  Weird, yes...but it's the only big open space that isn't in the way.  I've found that the key to good afternoon naps is a combination of bounce house AND swimming if possible.  :)

And Will has been really into the show American Ninja Warrior lately, so we often set up a course in the living room for him.  He LOVES it. 

And when the girls are napping....we swim almost every day!  Will can swim like a pro now, but he still has to pull out the vest for his signature move off the diving board...the "back yard."  The vest pads his back enough that he can do these over and over...hilarious!

And finally, we beat the heat with popsicles!  Will loves any kind, but lately we've been making them ourselves with this cool little popsicle maker from Aunt Ryan.  It even has a straw so you can drink the juice as it melts.  Genius.