Checking in

	Nate’s school friend Evan invited him to a birthday party featuring the giant slide. Unfortunately it was less than 80 degrees outside and the water coming out of the hose was cold. Nate went down twice. The 2nd time only because I told him I hadn’t gotten a picture and he must go again. He was not pleased with me.
	The rest of the time he & Fritz played in the sandbox & with Evan’s toys.
	Nate loved the cake, his latest obsession has been Red Hulk.

	We headed up to the County Fair on an almost chilly Thursday night, this summer has been crazy weather.
	Annabelle *finally* was able to ride the Tower of Terror, she has been coveting a ride on this twisty slide for 2 years. She rode at least 5 times. Nate was upset he didn't meet the height restrictions so he & I had a special “date” on the Ferris Wheel. We looked out over the park from the top and picked what to eat for dinner.
	The boy loves the carousel chicken. Always has.
	The dragon was another favorite. Unfortunately this was the last picture before the battery drained on the camera. The shots missed were our fabulous fair food dinner, the animals and Nate telling the llama “you are a very nice camel”, the bouncy house, meeting up with some friends and each child winning at the Birthday Month game. A wonderful time was had by all.

	At a festival in Greensburg, painting a school bus.
	Oh these girls, only 2 days apart in age and so much alike. They are adorable together.
	While not posing as sweetly as the girls, these two are equally a hoot when they cross paths.



	Annabelle had been looking forward to acting camp all summer, 2 hours a day for 5 days, ending with a performance on stage of The Jungle Book. She was a monkey.
	There were monkeys and snakes and elephants. The singing and dancing was adorable.
	With friend Addie. The desire to perform in musicals started last year after going to see Addie in a stage production of Suessical.
	Afterward we went out for burgers with Nana, Aunt Karen, Uncle Kurt & Jeremy to celebrate her 1st stage appearance. Annabelle always loves the Statue of Liberty.

	This caterpillar is Nate’s Everest. He is so happy when he makes it to the top.
	Annabelle just shimmies on up with a theatrical “Ta-Da!”
	And even though he is *such* a little brother, it’s still pretty cool to have someone your size around. Plus, look how he adores her.

We had a bit of drama this summer over the issue of sleep-overs. Specifically "when are you old enough to sleep over a friends house" debate. Annabelle had been invited Hanna's house, I denied the request, the discussion ensued. 

In the end we compromised, I permitted the friend to come over to our house to spend the night.  They swam, they played dress up, they put on a fashion show, they jumped on the trampoline, they sang, one would *think* they would have been tired. 

In fact, they were not. My plan to sneak in and take a picture went awry when the girls were still giggling as I dozed off about midnight. All in all it was good, although for the record I still don't think Annabelle is ready to stay away from home. Or maybe I'm not.

	We had planned a day at Idlewild to celebrate Christmas in July and as it turned out the Superheros were there that week. Nate was beyond excited. Here is our customary photo at the entrance to Story Book Forest.
	With the jolly old elf himself. Nate told him he wanted an Iron Man lego set, Annabelle said she was still on the fence. He assured her she had plenty of time to decide.
	After lunch we headed over to wait in line for Spiderman & Hulk. What started out as a sprinkle quickly turned into a downpour. All we had for shelter was the towels we had brought for swimming. Thank goodness some people in front of us stepped out of line as we ended up as the *last* ones they allowed on stage before closing for a break.
	While we waiting out the storm under a pavilion we played with the camera and talked about how awesome the superheroes were. Nate got to see Hulk again as he was leaving the stage and flexed his muscles. Hulk acted impressed and Nate was glowing.
	As the rain stopped we got back in line to meet Thor & Captain America. Nate was so beyond thrilled to hold Thor’s hammer.
	Annabelle had to go up on her own to “explain” to the superheroes that she really does like them, it’s just that her brother wants to watch them “over and over and over and over” again and that it gets to be too much. Captain America told her he understood. She felt better after clearing the air.
	This was a favorite picture of mine from the day. We stopped at the tiny stage so they could put on a show. Annabelle wanted the stage to herself but Nate kept barging in. It looks planned but actually she was completely ticked off he photo bombed her show.

 

	It’s a small town. A really small town. We are proud of our fire trucks, neighboring community ties and Smokey the Bear. It’s a lovely little parade full of tradition, candy & a chance to visit with neighbors. Plus its less than 2 blocks from our house, what else do we have to do on a Friday night?
	Annabelle was trying out a new look with the headband, Nate wasn’t quite trusting the fire trucks wouldn’t blow their horns and Nana was as cool as ever.