A few weeks ago we had a backyard camp out... Ainsley had her BFF stay too. So the parents had a tent, the girls had a tent and little Bug had a tent... it was quite the compound... it was also one of the hottest nights of the year!

Walker was all about setting up his own tent himself...

The girls were all about lounging and giggling...

We had yummy burgers and cheddar brats... on the charcoal camping grill.. mmm..

and of course roasted marshmallows... these were ginormous... about 5 times the size of normal marshmallows.

They both had a great day!

Ainsley came home talking a mile a minute that it was the best first day ever!

When I asked Walker how it was he said, "School was Awesome!" and then became more excited to show me his left over sandwich... he was very proud that he had eaten it into the shape of Idaho!...

Yay first day of school!!

Luckily both kiddos were easy to wake up and get going for the day! Ainsley was all about getting her hair "just right" today. She was blinged up with her tinsel strands, her clip in feathers (which you can't see in the picture) and finally decided on just a flower hair clip on the side which she proclaimed while looking in the mirror, "Ohh... this is it... it looks so cute on me!"

Walker in his current favorite Lego collection... Ninjago and of course the much sought after Sketchers..(was really excited to FINALLY be able to wear them.)

We dropped Ainsley off first in her classroom... and reluctantly she posed for a picture... giving me the "MOM!!...you're embarrassing me look." I did make sure other parents were taking pictures too... which they were.

Walker has the same teacher Ainsley did in 2nd grade which was a good pick for him... was good to ease the sadness having a teacher he already knew and loved. He dropped off his school supplies, got his picture taken and had 5 minutes until the bell rang. We headed outside and saw classmates from last year that didn't really know where to go or what to do. So it was perfect... instead of a teary-eyed goodbye... I gave him the job of showing his friends where their classrooms/desks were! So he and us parents left all happy!!

It was a great first start of the day... can't wait to hear all about the rest of the day this afternoon!!

All 72 pencils are sharpened and labeled...

This was the most we've ever needed. I thought for sure either my hand was going to go numb and/or the pencil sharpener was going to start smokin'.

Snickerdoodle Blondies are made and lunches are packed...

And kiddos are now tucked in bed. One pumpkin is very excited... can hardly wait... and constantly rattles off what she's excited about the most. Which is seeing all her friends, learning/wondering all about the new things this year and getting to know her teacher... who is rumored to hand out chocolate during school time.

One little Bug is sort of excited one minute and sad the next. Just talking about it today made him all teary-eyed. He can't wait to see his best pal Wade and have recess but doesn't want to talk about all the new stuff he will learn.

Will post the first day pics tomorrow!

The other night the kiddos were out playing late in the sandbox... I had just finished doing the apricot duty and Stewart started the water. We didn't tell the kiddos that the sprinklers were set and would soon be in the back yard.

When they heard the sprinkler heads pop up they jumped out of the sandbox... headed for the house... stopped and decided to enjoy the water and warm summer night...

Pretty soon they were SOAKED... but still having way too much fun to come in and dry off. This picture cracks me up... Love the laugh and giggling face on little bug... Ainsley is completely wet... so much so that she's got to hold onto her pants since they are sliding off!

Just another day in climbing gear... on the verge of climbing the tallest of tall peaks...

We watched a show on climbing El Capitan in Yosemite... and few moments later this was rigged up. I do so love his creative imaginative self.

This week I decided to introduce another "help out around the house/life lesson" on little Bug. His job was to sort socks...

He was all excited (imagine that?!?) to take on this job. While he was folding he says, "It's kind of like playing UNO you keep pulling out socks until you get a match!"

This is the yucky side of having apricots...

picking up all the yucky, rotten apricots as well as dealing with the squirrels that make a huge mess getting to the seed inside the pit of the apricots. This is today's project... so we can have a campout in the backyard later in the week.

Yesterday though we did the last of our "back to school shopping". The kiddos both needed new shoes... Walker is big into name brand shoes this year... wanting Sketchers... actually the light up/annoying ones but $55 for a 2nd grader's pair of shoes was so not happening.  So we compromised... Sketchers Gripperz (his other fav)..they don't light up but are ultra cool in their ruggedness... still $45 bucks!

While I was busy with Walker trying on shoes sizes Ainsley did her own shopping. She went past the pink girlie shoes and right to these...(not sure why these look so big in the picture??) She was beyond excited to get the approval to buy them!

I love how she's coming into her own self with her own style choices. We got a pair of ballet flats to wear with her school clothes choice of wanting to wear just skirts this year.

Only 9 days and counting until school starts!

This is what kept us busy through the week and weekend...

A garage sale... a long over due one. Was so nice to clear out the clutter and make a few bucks!

Last week we went to the annual "ZooFari"... aka ice cream at the zoo...

Walker was into the snakes this year...

For Ainsley face painting was a priority...

We ate cones and cups... too many to count... and I can't even imagine the calories that were consumed!

For Ainsley her favorite was mint chocolate chip...

When I asked Walker he said his favorite kind was the hotdog...

I'm thinking vanilla was a favorite since it was the only station we had to visit twice...

But the last stop of the day got my award... raspberry sorbet... it was quite the pallet cleanser after having all the "heaviness" of the others.

As usual it was a fun time... we just love our zoo and the events we do!