Things have been busy, and emotional around here! Unfortunately, we've had a very sad few days around here, as we lost our fur baby Bo last Friday. I will write more about him and his last days with us soon, but I'm just not ready to do that yet.

In the mean time, I thought I'd post about something fun! :) 

I love the Olympics! I have been staying up way too late watching them but I can't help it. I've been avoiding the internet as much as possible during the day because of all of the spoilers out there. I want to pretend I'm watching the events live! :)

Anyway, the kids and I did a fun little project last week in preparation for the opening ceremonies. We made our own gold medals! Jim and Dianne came over Thursday night for dinner, and they were lucky enough to receive medals of their own!

First, we had to make the mixture that would turn into dough. We mixed baking powder, corn starch and water.

Then we had to bring it to a boil and stir until it turned into dough.

Next, we had to let the dough cool.

We could then roll it out, cut out our circles, punch out the ribbon holes and make the Olympic rings.

Then, more waiting while the medals dried.

Finally, it was time to paint, which was Addison and Fischer's favorite part.

The last step was putting them on ribbons, and then awarding them, of course. :)

*Addison and Fischer are wearing coordinating Hawaiian outfits. Scott and I bought them last year when we went to Key West. I remember thinking they looked so huge, and that it would be a long time before the kids could wear them. They have grown so much this past year! 

This past Friday (July 20), the zoo had a member appreciation night. The gates opened at 6:00, and they had $1 hot dogs, icees, popcorn and free drinks! They also had an alligator feeding and a diving demonstration. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to either of those, but it was pretty crowded so I don't think we would've been able to see anything anyway.

We had plenty to do and see though. We met up with our friends Irish and Rylan too. Rylan is just 2 months younger than Addison and Fischer and they always have a good time together. Here they are right when we got to the zoo... at least Rylan will look at me! :)

Our main concern was finding some dinner... we set out to get some cheap hot dogs and french fries. I love this picture so much... it wasn't prompted at all, and I just think it's so cute. Just incase you can't see it, Rylan and Fischer are holding hands.. Love it!!

After dinner, we headed to the train. While we were waiting in line, the kids thought they'd play conductor and undo the chain. Actually, Addison and Fischer were doing this and Rylan was just watching them get into trouble. :)

Scott rode the train with all 3 kids (Rylan calls him Mr. Spot, which is so funny!).

Then it was Icee time. All Fischer talked about the entire night was getting an "ice shake up." Finally, he got a red and blue mixed one. All 3 kids were excited that their mixed Icees turned purple as they melted!

Also, we went in to see if the gorilla was out... instead we saw this in the enclosure...

We all had a great time! I think the biggest thing that happened that night was Fischer finally getting to hear his echo. He'd been trying for weeks, in many different locations. He'd yell "Echo!!" and listen.. but never heard his actual echo. So, at the zoo, I took him into the bathroom and he yelled "Echo!!" and  it finally happened! He was so excited, and of course kept yelling "Echo!" while we were in the bathroom. I'm sure the next time we go to the zoo, he will want to go to the bathroom as soon as we get there. :)

Last week, Addison and Fischer attended a camp at their preschool. They went Monday-Friday, 9 am - 1 pm. The week we chose for them was "safari" week since they both like animals so much. They even got to eat lunch there everyday!

A few weeks ago, Addison and I went to Target to pick out lunch boxes for them. She picked Princesses for herself, and we picked out a fire truck for Fischer. Luckily he was happy with our choice.  Here they are before going to their first day of camp!

I was a little nervous about dropping them off on Monday - I just never know how they are going to react when I/we leave them. And, it's been awhile since they last went to school, so they are out of that routine. Scott went with me on Monday, which made things easier (on me, anyway).

They were really excited to go, even on Monday morning. Up until it was time for us to leave them there, that is. I think Addison thought I was going to be attending camp with her. :) They were all out on the playground already, so that's where we left them. Fischer walked right in and started playing. Addison clung to my shirt so tightly that I was shocked I didn't have a huge tear in it... so I had to hand her over to one of the teachers and walk away, while she screamed and cried. I think having to do that is one of the hardest things ever, and it never gets any easier.

Luckily when we picked them up, the director told us she calmed down quickly and had a great day. The rest of the week went pretty smoothly. The kids had a lot of fun, but were exhausted by Friday! They brought home their art projects on Friday, which included zebras, and elephant bag, a stamped cup and a tiger mask. They also got to bring home little treats each day, which was fun for them. I think their favorite part, though, was that they got to eat popsicles every single day. What a treat for them!

Don't they look so grown up carrying their lunches?!

Now, it's time to start talking about school and getting them excited for that! Good thing we have a few weeks before that starts!

I can't believe I almost forgot to do a post about Addison and Fischer's second visit to the dentist! While Grandmommy K was here (it was actually the day she had to go home), the kids had their second appointment.

So, we all went to the office, and I kept my fingers crossed that the kids would do just as well as they did with their first visit. Fischer volunteered to go first, and wanted Daddy to go back with him. While Addison, Grandmommy and I were in the waiting room, I heard Fischer crying. It was all I could do to not run back there and see what was going on! I later found out that he didn't like the "straw" thing. Nothing major. :)

Then it was Addison's turn. The hygienist went ahead and started on her while they were waiting on the dentist to come in for Fischer.

Overall, they both did great! They got their teeth brushed with the spinning brush, flossed, and even got to use the "straw" that sucks stuff out of their mouths. I don't know the technical terms at all. :) Then it was time for the dentist to come take a look. They were in the chair together, ready for a cute picture, when they heard her coming... so this is the picture I got...

She gave them a great report and said she'd see us in 6 months!

Lastly, the hygienist put some fluoride type paste on their teeth. They didn't have to rinse or anything but I think it was a little thick. That went fine, but then I looked at Addison and her eyes were watering. I asked her what was wrong, and then she got sick all over my lap! The hygienist said that was definitely a first. :) Our little over-achiever. The hygienist did say to remind her when it come time for their x-rays that Addison gets sick semi-easily. That should be fun!

We finally started "big kid" tooth paste tonight, where they actually have to spit. We are a little behind on this, but Addison is taking her time catching on to the whole spitting thing. We'll get there eventually. :)

My parents came to stay at their Lake Condo during the week of July 4th. It was fun having them close like that (about an hour away), and we were able to go visit several times throughout the week.

The first day we went was Sunday, July 1. We took Lucy with us and just hung out for a little while. The following day, the kids and I went back so we could go for a ride on the rental pontoon! This was Addison and Fischer's first time on a pontoon boat. I think they weren't quite sure what to think at first....

But once they settled in, they loved it.

We even got to stop at a little "beach" and play. I didn't have the kids in their bathing suits because I thought we were just going to be cruising around the lake. Sometimes spontaneous things like this are the best!

They had a great time, then we had to head back to the condo so the kids and I could drive home.

Then, on July 4, we took Lucy to the condo again and we got to spend the night! It was like a little vacation and we all had a great time! We got to ride on the boat again for a little while both Wednesday and Thursday. We went prepared with bathing suits this time!

Scott and Grandpa even took the kids into the lake!

While we were there on the 4th, the kids got to do sparklers for the first time. Grandpa even helped out. :)

We also went on a little walk... you can see Lucy fits right in - all 3 took off because they don't really "walk" anywhere.. they are almost always running!

Finally, on Saturday, we went back one last time to see my brother and his family. They drove in from Ohio for a visit, so it was fun having everyone together. We, of course, got more boat time in this time too!

Addison loved borrowing Carly's colored pencils. They sat here for quite awhile and drew/colored together. So cute!

Fischer and Carter stuck together playing with any sort of technology they could get their hands on. They especially had fun playing on the iPad Uncle Chris brought.

By the end of the week, Addison and Fischer were boating professionals. :)

Thanks to Gma and Gpa Suttle for letting us crash their vacation so many times! :)

Lucy will be 12 weeks old tomorrow! She is growing SO fast! The first picture was taken June 9, and the second was taken July 15. She will be a very large puppy! :)

While Grandmommy K was here visiting, Scott and I took the kids to a birthday party of some twin friends! Grandmommy was nice enough to stay home and "puppy sit" Lucy for us, since she was still brand new and having to go outside quite frequently!

The party was fun, but it was a HOT day. The kids had a great time playing, and they both climbed a tree for the first time! They didn't get very high, but to them, it was really high and really exciting. Also notice, that Addison's "pose" has appeared again. I have no idea where she got that pose, but it's popping up in more and more pictures. :)

We also took a day while Grandmommy K was visiting to go to Lincolnton, NC to visit my Grandma. It was another hot day, but we had a good time, and Lucy got to meet a lot of the family.  Lucy was worn out on the way home, and decided to fall asleep here...

It doesn't look so comfortable to me!

Other than that, we spent a lot of time hanging out at home during Grandmommy's visit... she got to play in the pool, color, paint nails, read lots of books, bake a cake, and much, much more! :) Hopefully she is able to come back soon for another visit!

Grandmommy Komarnicki came to visit in June, and stayed for several days. It's always nice having extra hands and the kids loved the extra attention!

She came with gifts, which Addison and Fischer always enjoy. They got some new books, some new water guns, Addison got a bracelet and they each got some shorts and a Philadelphia Eagles football jersey. They are so cute in them - I will post pictures of those soon.

Here they are opening some of their presents.

One of the things we did while she was visiting was play with "water beads." I'd been reading about these everywhere and wanted to try them out. I added them to Scott's Wal-Mart list when they went and he came home with yellow, orange and red.

First we soaked them for 6 hours, and they came out looking like this:

Then we took them out onto the porch and let the kids play with them. They had a great time scooping, pouring and stirring them. The beads tended to bounce around some, so we had to make sure to keep them cleaned up so that Bo and Lucy didn't come along and eat them.

Overall they were a very fun and cheap activity that kept the kids occupied for quite some time!

I will post more of what we did during Grandmommy's visit soon!