Where has summer gone?!?

Since the 4th of July, things have just flown by.  We've continued to try to have fun in the heat, with lots of pool time at the community center, with the neighbors and neighborhood pools, and with our water table. 

We try to get out and do something as much as possible in the morning, and play in the basement in the afternoon/evening when it is just too hot.  Gardening, going for walks, and library time are always fun!  We don't have much grass to play on in the backyard, so running around the back yard hurts the feet!

Grandma and grandpa McMahan came to visit a few weekends ago, and Lauryn loved picnic and new park we checked out.  It was great to have them up, as she always loves spending time with grandparents!

We were able to spend some time with Megan's college roommate, Tara, and her kids and "grandma Trudy" this past weekend.  We slept in the camper in the driveway and had a blast with Marshall, Weston, and cousin Emmy!  Lauryn loves her new helmet, and walk around with it on backwards saying "helmet eyes"!  It was a great little get-away with pool time, a parade, cheering on the 5K runners, the bike rally, and good family fun.  Eric came down to Medelia, picked us up, and we headed to the Nagel family reunion on Sunday.  Lauryn did a great job of entertaining everyone :-)

We were fortunate enough to see friends again at MOA yesterday.  Lauryn LOVES the rides, and her love of the rides is what made us leave, as her crying wouldn't stop!!  She isn't big enough to go on the swings, and watching all the bigger kids go on them was just too much!!  Lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, checking out the American Girl store, Lego land, and all the rides were certianly fun, though.  Thanks Tara, Kelly, & all the kiddos!!

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!!!

--Side note-- started writing this blog 2 weeks ago...and I guess it is still HOT HOT HOT...more pics and updates after this!

It has been quite interesting these past few weeks with it being so hot and having a busy 2 year old.  We've been able to make it to the pool quite a few times in the morning before it gets too hot.  We've also had lots of play dates with neighbor kids in our basement, along with pretend picnics!  We have made it work, but it would be nice to get out to the park and go for a walk without instantly sweating!

Fourth of July was pretty low-key due to the heat.  We caught a kiddie parade in Chaska and spent about 20min at the petting zoo, activities, and watching the magician they had.  After that was a quick dash to Target to cool down, get some goods, and head home for playtime in the basement and a movie.

We decided to rearrange the basement to make it a sensory play/learning area.  It was a lot of fun.  We still have work to do, but Lauryn really enjoys it.  It is a change of pace from all the battery operated toys!  And the neighbor kids really enjoy coming over to play as well!  It's amazing how much fun kids can have with dress up clothes, paint, water beads, rice, rocks, beans, and sand!!!

When it has been a bit cooler, we've been enjoying picnics (Lauryn's new favorite thing - probably because she gets to play after!!), more concerts in the park (sometimese with ice cream!), visits to the nature center, zoo, exciting adventures at the library, visiting grandpa Stan and unlce Sam, and just having fun!

Overall, the potty training is going great.  We have some bad days when mom & dad want to throw in the towel, but a majority of the days are accident free. Yippie!!  And to top it off, she does better when we are out and about and gets to use the powerful flushers!!