Soccer, Colts & Summer Fun!

Patrick played Lil Kickers soccer this summer with his cousin Ryan and had a ball! Here they are kicking goals!

They listened so well to their coaches, who taught them different drills and games to play.

Their siblings enjoyed some time outside as well! Here's too-cool-for-school - Nate...

And his beautiful cousins - Carolyn & Rachel! They were a big help entertaining Nathaniel during practice!

Patrick & Ryan had fun together, being silly off the field too.

But Patrick's favorite part was the end - when they all put their hands together and yelled TEAM!

This summer also brought the finished Lucas Stadium! We braved the crowds (barely surviving meltdowns - mainly mine) to see the tour. We ran into our friends Dan & Bill. Here's Brian, Dan & the boys in the hall.

Patrick was very proud to be there...

Nate had fun on the field!

And, Patrick was in awe.

Now, of course, Patrick wants to know when we get to go to a Colts game! (Me too!)

This summer was also filled with lots of time at the park with friends - here's Patrick hanging from the ropes at Holliday Park.

And Nate with his buddy Zach sitting on the "magic carpet"

And, here's the gang - Jake, Zach & Patrick (Nate refused to pose) at Holland Park!

My favorite park memory this summer, I don't have on film - but Rosie & I let our boys (Patrick, Nate & Sam) jump in mud puddles until they were covered from head to toe. Julia had better sense, as did the other parents who glared at us for being so ridiculous! But, they had so much fun - it was worth it! The socks still have a brown hue... but it was quite a time.

And, almost every Monday after soccer - the kids would play at Lawrence Park. Here's Patrick and his cousin Ryan as they walked together toward their fun! How sweet!

Patrick is 4!

We celebrated with a joint party for both Patrick & Nathaniel! We had Safari Steve come and bring some wild animals - it was definitely a wild time!

Here's Patrick with a frog on his arm... The frog ended up on Patrick's face, which was hyterical!

Here's Nate holding a fox! I couldn't believe it, and neither could Patrick!

This one made me squeal! Here's Patrick with a snake on his head - yikes!

The best was the owl... when he spread his wings & flapped them, you could feel the breeze throughout the room - it was so cool.

The boys had a great time, and thank you to all our friends who joined us!

Last Monday, Patrick finally turned 4 (it felt like we had been celebrating for weeks now!) He and I spent the afternoon together putt-putting and getting ice cream. Instead of a movie though, he opted to come home & play with his new toys - he especially loves the Star Wars (thank you Memom & Gramps & friends) and his baseball guys (thanks Mamaw & Papop)! We ended the night with spaghetti & meatballs and of course - cupcakes!

We love the State Fair!

The second few weeks in August were beautiful! So we enjoyed one Sunday evening at the Fair...

We saw the animals of course... here are the boys moo-ing.

We ate the great food!

Since we're trying out dairy again with Nate, we had to do ice cream - YUM!

They rode some rides.... Patrick was all serious, but Nate blew kisses and waved to everyone watching.

Can't wait til next year!

Nathaniel's 2!

Nathaniel turned 2 on Monday and what a time we've had celebrating! On Sunday- we began with a pancake breakfast... Here is Nate saying "Opa" with his fork!

Then we headed to the zoo! We had great luck with the sharks - Patrick touched 5 and Nate touched 2... with the help of Daddy!

The goats were especially friendly - I love this one of Patrick and the goat looking at each other eye to eye! Patrick loved petting and brushing all of the goats!

Nate was a bit more apprehensive, and needed the reassurance of daddy's hand - but he loved it too.

They got to pet a lizard and a snake! YUCK! But, they thought is was very cool!

We went to the splash park, which Patrick LOVED... But, Nate wasn't too sure - maybe that's because it was almost 2 o'clock and well past his naptime, but I loved the big hugs he gave me as he held on tight!

After nap, the boys watched some racing...

Then, we had cupcakes and a gift! Nathaniel blew out his candles on his first try! He's a pro.

He loved his piano and microphone! And Patrick LOVED dancing to the music.

Nathaniel loved the funny sounds he was able to make by yelling into the microphone!

And, Patrick thought it was very funny too!

What a great 2 year old he is! This week he started at Learning Time 2 days a week and loves calling it "my school." On Monday he finally tried the "motorcycle" at my parents house - and after 20 minutes of riding it while holding onto my hand the entire time, he finally let go and had a ball driving in circles. We're so proud of our Nate! Happy Birthday baby.

Lake Cumberland With Friends

Thank you Julia again for making this happen! Last weekend, we went to Lake Cumberland with the Watkins' and Miles' families. We enjoyed boating (the kids were fantastic!). Patrick tied Ella for best-behaved child, while Nate won for "worst" in a land-slide... Good thing he's so darn cute!

Patrick is a water-bug for sure-- after a day at the lake, he spent 4 hours in the pool on Saturday.

Here's April & Meg... Patrick called her "Meggers" and loved babysitting her... Of course, Nate turned on the charm when he saw Meg the first morning by singing her love songs.

Here's Ella - #1 behaved 4-month old ever!

Dinner was an event & always good! Just don't ask me to make S'mores (sorry Ben)!

Here are the Watkins! How cute and coordinated can one family be?!

Finally... BATH TIME! Even that is fun when you're on vacation!

Thank you Watkins & we love you Miles'!