Johanknecht Family

On Father's Day weekend we went up to Big Lake to spend some time in the incredibly hot sunshine. My phone told me it was in the 90's, which is insane!

It was so sunny all weekend that all the pictures I have are crazy looking, but it was so fun I am going to post them anyway!



We spent a lot of time trying to get Buddy and Bauer to swim, including a few unwilling trips off the end of the dock. The good news is that they can swim, the bad news (for them) is that they are not big fans of getting pushed off the doc.


The girls spent a ton of time in the lake this trip. Thanks to some new water shoes, Avery isn't so afraid of mud and leeches.



Ella decided to be brave and attempt a few jumps off the dock to her Daddy.



She loved it so much she was bugging him non-stop to go back in the water so she could jump more! Avery was unwilling to jump in the lake but she did concede that Daddy "probably" wouldn't let her drown. She still wasn't willing to take her chances.


Both girls went out in the paddle boats with Ama and Papa though!


And Cory and Matt came up on Father's Day for lunch and more lake fun!



Matt and Avery the hair twins spent some quality time splashing each other.



It was a great time and nobody wanted to leave! Unfortunately some people had to work, and others had to babysit the next morning so we couldn't stay forever.

I love this picture of Bauer and Ella, sometimes I think he forgets that he is a big dog and acts like he is still a tiny puppy who wants to snuggle. In reality he weighs more than she does!

I decided I should stop being lazy and start running more. So to motivate myself I signed up for a 5k race. Then I promptly forgot all about running and races. So when I was reminded of my upcoming race I was a little nervous. But it was for nothing, because the race was awesome. We were forced, due to the crazy number of racers - 15,000!!! - to do a combination of running and walking so I didn't even die from running too much without enough training. And I got to spend some glorious child free time in the sunshine with my friend Kara. All in all a great way to spend a Saturday morning!!!

Before the race


Enjoying a little pre-race zumba


Waiting and waiting and waiting at the start. I took this picture just as some of the first racers were finishing the race. I think we waited about an hour to actually start.


Approaching the first color station - you could see the cloud of color from a long ways back!


After the race!


At the post race party


It was so much fun! I am going to bring the girls next year, they would love it!!!

Honestly, 6 days of having 4 kids wore me out. Looking back over all the pictures and how much fun we had I realized that I have no idea what day these exciting fun times happened. So I am combining them all into one massive - Cousin Week of Awesomeness 2013 post!

So, in no particular order...

We went to the zoo!




We had a pool/sprinkler party with the neighbor kids! So moving from 4 to 7 kids was an experience, let me tell you!!!






We made cloud dough (another Pinterest activity) out of baby oil and flour. It was very cool!




Played trains (Bryson's favorite!)


When we got tired of being outside in the hot hot sun, we came in and watched Harry Potter movies and made Harry Potter wands!





And when we got tired of being inside on a beautiful sunny day we went back outside and set up the slip and slide!





We went to Valley of the Moon park and played.

Ella woke up in the morning looking like this:



All four kids found books to read and settled into the people shaped chairs for a little reading. And by a little reading I mean 40 minutes of reading.


They would have kept reading - maybe forever - but I persuaded them to take a break so we could go outside and listen to the concert that was going on outside on the library lawn.


Every Tuesday afternoon the library has some kind of kids activity. This week was a concert of Alaska themed kids music from a group called Good Dog. It was a lot of fun and the kids really liked it!



It was a super hot day - 75 or so which in Alaska is equivalent to 100 I think - so the kids decided some sprinkler time was in order.



I managed to get sunburned (again) but the kids are still as pale as ever. I think sun screen just doesn't work on me. But the good/bad news is I actually have a tan. Perhaps the first tan I have had since the olden days when I used to lay out and put some effort into getting one. This is the best summer so far, I hope the weather lasts!!!

After awhile even the sprinkler wasn't enough to keep us cool so we all went inside to read. Ella and Riley both finished the books they started at the library - girls after my own heart :)