Bicylce, Bicyle. I love to ride my bicyle, i love to ride my bike...

That song by Queen is Riley's theme song this summer. About a month ago she HATED riding her bike even though she knew how to do it. Now all of a sudden she LOVES it, and i'm so glad. We spend a lot of time outside riding up and down our cul-de-sac.

Riley's newest tricks. "No hands" and standing up while she peddals.

Our Caterpillar

We planted our very first garden this year and it's going well! We have tomatoes and corn, green beans and cucumber going, oh and cauliflour but not sure if they are growing yet...It's kind of our experimental year, we're learning a lot of the how to's but happy to say it's hasn't been too hard!

So i was out looking at our tomato plants the other day and saw a caterpillar on one, and though sweet! I'll catch it and we can watch it grow and change into a butterfly. So i catch it and google how to take care of it etc...

My mother inlaw came over a couple days later and we showed her and this how our conversation went:

Lynne: "I don't think that will turn into a butterfly"

Me: "oh you think it will turn into a moth?"

Lynne: "I don't think that will turn into anything."

Me: looking confused "what? i don't get it, what do you mean?"

Lynne: "I'm pretty sure that's a tomato bug."

Me: "A what?"

Then she procedes to tell me these tomato bugs eat your plants and she hadn't seen one this big in years and years. I take her out to show her our garden and we found two more just like it! She taught me how to pluck them off and smash them-i couldn't watch, they are so big i felt bad! (and i'm not an animal lover)

Me: "I can't kill the one in the house, i've housed it and fed it for like 3 days! I even made it a cool cage...That's not a cage anymore, it's a prison camp!"

Big Bear, Fireworks and Homemade Icecream

We started our 4th of July holiday by camping in big bear with my parents. It was braden's first time and he did great!

(so glad we brought the pack n' play, braden had a blast being outside with us)

And riley had fun playing or bathing in the dirt

We went on a bike ride to the Discovery center and go to look at some neat things

Braden took a snooze and woke up just as we were heading back to camp.

My mom taught Riley to say "Only you can prevent forest fires" in a deep, "bear voice" hehe it was pretty cute.

And we frosted sugar cookies...Riley liked to skip the whole cookie part and put the frosting right in her mouth! She was an expert sprinkler, as you can see. I think that was half the jar on one cookie!

That's the end of camping! Riley was POOPED! She fell asleep whil we were packing up.

Next stop. Josh's parents' house for fireworks and homemade icecream!

My sis in law brought bubbles and these cute toys to eat the bubbles, you press there belly and it makes the mouth open and counts each time they eat a bubble

My other sis inlaw introduced Braden to his first party blower, it was so funny to watch :) Braden kept grabbing it of course, and making us crack up.

We took about a million pictures of the grandkids. (wow, 4, and one on the way...time flys!)

Everyone was behaving except for riley. Luke was clapping like crazy!

Yep, that is icecream i'm scooping into my kids' mouth. I gave in and let him have a little something sweet. He LOVED it of course. And for all who reads this THIS DOES NOT MEAN EVERYTIME YOU SEE HIM YOU CAN SHOVE WHATEVER KIND OF FOOD YOU WANT INTO HIS MOUTH :)-just a little side note.

Waiting for it to get dark...

Watching the show.

(the pictures you wanted to have crusty)