Unicorn-ish cake and Marbles

 Nicole really wanted a unicorn cake, so I threw this together. It came out looking like a Raggedy Ann horse, and the frosting melted a bit since I had to make the cake at the last minute. Oh well, it was chocolate cake and had sprinkles, what more could you want?

A friend gave the kids some star wars sticker books with hundreds of stickers. For days now they've been plastering the house with them. Here is some of the fish tank artwork.

Marbles Kids Museum had a free day so we went right around when it opened to beat the crowds, and it was perfect! They had tons of extra activities to entertain larger numbers, even had a street closed and had a bunch of games set up. The kids LOVED these air rockets. You jump on the blue air pump and it shoots the nerf rocket into the air. Jake wasn't quite heavy enough even when jumping to get it to go more than a foot in the air so we would lift him up and help him get more speed :)

Nicole and Michael loved pretending they were the ambulance. Nicole went into full imagination mode and they were rescuing people and driving through traffic like crazy. Michael got right into imagining too, they were darling to watch.

Jake got into his own world and went from one thing to another, totally immersed in what he was doing, not even considering if we were following him. At one point, when they were doing a birthday celebration song for the museum and we were teaching the kids how to use the kazoos they handed out, Jake ran off. We're talking less than 10 seconds and he was gone. We found him in the kid veterinarian area, using a stethoscope to try to hear the heartbeat of a stuffed horse.

 

Michael was eyeing this red car and just stood there staring at the kids playing there waiting for them to leave. He hopped in as soon as he could!

Jake crawled into this space to play with the big dinos. All these dinos all to himself while his siblings were distracted was like heaven on earth for him :) We had such a great family day and enjoyed watching the kids go from one activity to another, seeing how their imagination has grown.

Orchard and Nicole's Bday party

 

 

We took a drive to Millstone Creek Orchards today to check out their apples. They also have peaches, figs, blackberries, and blueberries to pick. Jams, jellies, and even an apple salsa were for sale. The kids favorite sample was the apple cider slushie.

Nicole loved how high the tire swing could go!

The boys shared another swing and had a blast.

Jim enjoyed running up the tree.

Somehow I see two young sons of his in a similar position...

...as soon as they can crawl high enough!

 Enjoying apple slush!

Nicole picked some Golden Delicious apples. Most of the apples had been picked over, early August is the best time to get a crossover of the harvests for all their fruits. But we still had fun learning more about apples.

You had to go past these little trees to get to an orchard of Winesap apples. The kids took off running!

Jake meandered through the field enjoying the nice weather...

Exploring the ditches...

And generally looking really cute in all that tall grass.

 

Some of our apples, cider, some amazing bbq sauce, and F.R.O.G. jam (Figs, Raspberries, Oranges, and spiced with Ginger). The jam is incredible. I don't really like jam, but this really tastes incredible. We had such a great time.

 

For Nicole's birthday (coming up Wednesday), she had a father-daughter campout with some of her friends and their daddies.

The girls were squealing, running around, playing near the lake and eating lots of marshmallows. Jim said the girls had a wonderful time.

 

Jordan Lake is a short drive of 15 minutes but has some great camping spots!

Anna, Ani, Nicole, and Lizzie!

 "Skipping" rocks :)

Nicole has wanted to go camping with Jim ever since Michael got to go with him on the Fathers and Sons campout earlier in the year. The weather was great- low of 60 at night and in the 70s during the day.

They loved the smores! Nicole had never had any before and was so excited to go camping and eat some! And I felt like it was the easiest birthday party ever because Jim got to do it all :) I was so happy the girls seemed to have a wonderful time, Nicole was eager to tell me all about it after she got home.

Bugfest 2012

We visited the free Bugfest festival in Raleigh on Saturday and had a wonderful time with all the buggies. Jim and Nicole didn't ingest any bugs this time, though :) Jacob and Nicole both petted this hissing cocroach. Nicole talked with the lady about how slimy and smooth the skin was.

A whole row inside the museum (the festival is outside but the museum has a lot of exhibits set up for it too) was dedicated to huge spiders!

Nicole is studying the bird-eating spider up close. Nice.

This baby owl just sat on this man's finger the whole time- no leash or anything! It was amazing to see the darling little guy.

The kids loved petting this turtle (and yes, they had hand sanitizer they used after!)

Bug sand sculpturists hard at work! We coud have used some lessons from these guys for our next trip to the beach.

These bug fishing poles were cute. The volunteer asked Jacob what he thought his bug was going to catch. He said "FISH!"

No fish, but he did catch a tadpole :)

The giant caterpillar inflatable was a big hit with the kids the last time we went two years ago. It's a long tunnel obstacle course.

Nicole and Michael raced through, but Jake only made it a little ways before turning back to escape back out the front :)

The Anthropod Olympics were one of the kids favorite parts. There were three races they had to compete in, getting a stamp at each one. This was the dung beetle race. The kids had to roll these beach balls painted the color of... well, dung... to the end and back. Michael really got into it and even got caught on the ball and went over the top of it once. He and Nicole were really fast. Jake got a little detoured into the race next to us...but he eventually made it!

This bee race involved wearing wings and sticky sleeves and then going to pick up water, pollen (little wiffle balls), and sugar (popice) and bringing it back to the hive.

 And they're off!

The ant race was tough for the kids because the boys didn't really get the concept of staying in
between the pink string lines...but it was fun to watch.

For completing all three races, the kids were awarded these medals.

The kids absolutely felt on top of the world when they got medals!

We celebrated their victory with some shaved ice to cool off our sweaty athletes.

This bee cage had tons of bees on a comb and flying all around. A lady would go in there every thirty minutes and give a demonstration, and she didn't have anything to protect her from the bees. Crazy!

Michael's lips turned a bright blue.

And his tongue too! We stayed at the festival until Diana was ready to go. The kids had a great time and we barely got to see a third of the action. This is one of our favorite free festivals in the area!

A little footage from the Antropod Olympics. I thought I had some of the dung beetle race, but unfortunately not. I have the others though, enjoy! http://delbifamily.blogspot.com



Swimming, Little Indian Lance, and "Cars smash youuuuu"

Dog Olympics, Grandpa's Visit and Diana's Blessing

 

Michael started preschool! The only incident so far was when play time in the gym was over and he didn't want to leave... But he's been happy as a clam and loves going! This has also prompted his language to mature and become more clearly understood.

Final trip to the pool! What a long way they've come this summer! Michael has total confidence as long as he has a noodle to cling to. He also showed me how he can "swim" without a noodle, and that consists of him going underwater and kicking in a direction for as long as he can hold his breath. We'll get there next summer!

Nicole became a real fish this summer. Earned her swimmer necklace (has to pass tests with the lifeguard to qualify) and loves the diving board. I enjoy seeing her confidence in the water and she has gone with Jim many evenings after the boys are in bed to have a swim. She is also getting taller, growing a few inches in just the last few months.

Grandpa Ostler came to visit! We went to the Dog Olympics at NC State and had fun seeing the many different types of dogs. My favorite idea they had was their "Look Alike" contest. Yes, you guessed it: which owner looks most like their dog. There weren't a lot of entries because I'm guessing nobody wants to be told they look like a dog. They had "Musical Sit" where the dogs have to sit when the music stops. Very cute!

 

These tiny puppies were a kid magnet!

 

Diana had her baby blessing on Sunday. Hard to believe sometimes that we have 4 kids. And they're all 5 and under! What a season of life this has been!

Grandpa and granddaughter Diana

I was so blessed to have Dad visit for a few days and spend time talking together and playing with the kiddos.

Diana, our little miss D, on her way home from her special day! She grows up more each week. She has discovered her hands and it's so cute to see her concentrating on her little fist as she moves it around without realizing she's the one moving it :)