A Sunny Day at the Lake

It's that time of year again! Instead of riding MX bikes on Sundays, we have moved on to riding jet-skis on Sundays, lol. Last summer, Jeff, Dylan & I spent almost every Sunday at Raystown Lake. And why not...it is absolutely beautiful up there and you have an enormous lake to cool off in, ha ha. There is also a little "beach" area too for the kids (and adults). Last Sunday, the weather was perfect so we headed to the lake.

It was a great day in the sun! Dylan was trying on Daddy's new gloves, lol. To me, going to Raystown on Sundays is like a mini-vacation every week. I think we all are looking forward to more fun Sundays at the lake!!!

A Day with Miss Autumn

A good friend of mine from high school asked me if I could watch her daughter for the day as she finished moving the rest of her things to Carlisle. I'm still super-excited to have one of my best friends be that much closer to me! Anyway, I told her that I could watch her for the day and I'm sure Dylan would be excited to have a friend over too! Lauren & Miss Autumn arrived early in the morning and we had a full & fun day ahead of all of us.

 

Dylan & Autumn spent the morning coloring, playing with cars, and watching cartoons here and there. Dylan was pretty happy about having a buddy stay with us all day to play. I decided to pack the kids up and head to the park before the sun & heat became too much. So later in the morning, we all headed to the park/playground to play for a couple of hours.

Dylan climbing the jungle gyms at the playground. He loves to come here & play. It's a really great way to wear him completely out too, lol. He is usually all over the placing, climbing, running, jumping, and sliding. He gets quite the workout, lol.

Autumn loved the playground too. But of course, all kids love playgrounds. She climbed every piece of equipment there and tried out everything, lol. 

Dylan was extra brave this day, lol. Anything that he saw Autumn do, he decided he wanted to try. He got on the big kid swings, went down the biggest slides, and climbed to the very top of all the gyms.

Silly girl, Autumn, 

posing for a picture!

After we left the park, we went home and made lunch. Autumn asked if they could each lunch on the patio and I thought it was a pretty good idea. So that's what they did. They sat outside in the beautiful summer weather (under the big umbrella, lol) and ate their lunch. It was quite adorable! Dylan was about wiped out shortly after that and the sun also decided to go in for a bit. As the thunderstorms hit, Dylan slept peacefully. Autumn and I did some crafty things while Dylan & the sun took their naps. Dylan woke up from his nap quite rejuvenated and we continued to play outside (the sun was back) with bubbles, chalk, and the cars. Overall, the kids had a blast that day. I had a lot of fun too. However, whew!!! Two kiddos are a lot of work especially when the Mom is used to at least one hour of down time a.k.a. nap time every day, lol. I was definitely ready for bed last night, lol. I still had fun having Miss Autumn over to play and looking forward to more days of play for these two.

Sunglasses

I wish I knew what he was thinking when I took this picture, lol. He's such a goof! It was about time that Dylan had his own sunglasses. He's always trying to steal mine. Not to mention, it sucks playing outside with squinted eyes all day. I was curious to see if he would actually leave them on to be functional or if they were going to be a toy.


Dylan was more than excited to have his own sunglasses. He had to fully investigate them first of course. After he checked out every little detail and how it works, he finally put them on. Once he had them on, I think that he realized how much nicer it was because he left them on. Dylan kept looking at me and saying "Wow". I guess the sunglasses are a hit.

Little man posing for a picture. What a goof ball!

Summer Time Fun

It is officially Summer! It has been quite hot outside lately so Dylan & I find fun ways to keep cool while enjoying the sunshine. We break out water guns, water balloons, and even the hose a couple of times. We need to get a sprinkler for him to run around him. I think he would love it. He loved Grandma & Grandpa Gray's pool a few weekends ago. He has a blast playing in the pool. He was laughing, splashing, and kicking his legs trying to swim. It was pretty cute. It's a BIG pool so Dylan spent most of his time floating or "swimming" with somebody else, lol. It will be a few years before he'll be able to touch the bottom, ha ha. Here are a few pictures of Dylan & I playing outside this week.

We started out the day outside playing with sidewalk chalk. Dylan's cheek instantly turn bright red even if he's the slightest bit hot. Before too long, he was stripped down to just his shorts. I coated him in more sunblock, took off the shoes, and let him run free in the grass. His arms and chest were red under his shirt, lol. I am always scared he is sunburnt until I realize that that part of his skin wasn't even in the sun yet. I'm telling you, I've got another polar bear on my hands. Now I'm outnumbered. I must prepare for a lifetime of sweatshirts and blankets, lol.

Ahhh...much better! We definitely need to invest in a sprinkler. Dylan loves to run and play in the water!

Dylan was chasing me all over the yard & squealing like crazy.  He can really bring out the little kid in you.  When was the last time you ran around a yard chasing someone and spraying each other with a hose, lol?

  

Dylan & I have a blast playing outside on the hot summer days!

Silly Boy

Hershey Park Happy

I woke up to very loud thunderstorms Saturday morning around 6 a.m. I immediately couldn't help but think..."there goes our day at Hershey Park." I know that this is pretty early to start jumping to conclusions but I had been keeping an eye on forecasts and weather info for Saturday all week in hopes that it just might be a clear day. It was actually calling for the opposite. It was calling for showers and thunderstorms throughout the whole day. I just kept my fingers crossed that these showers and thunderstorms had some breaks so that we would be able to enjoy our day at the park.

My Dad's work gave tickets out to their employees and their familys for this Saturday including catered picnic lunch in the park as well. Therefore, we were at least going to give it a try. Dylan woke up around 7 and I looked out the window to only see hard, drenching rain. I kept getting more bummed as the morning went while hoping the whole time that it would clear up soon. I called my Dad to make sure they were going to attempt the trip and they were already on the road driving. So it was official...we were going to at least drive over there, hope for the best and give the day a try. By the time Dust & Alisha got to our house, the rain started to lighten a bit. So we all packed up the car, jumped in, and drove to Hershey with our fingers crossed the whole time, lol.

Oh we all got wet that day but it turned out to be a fantastic day. The rain gave us quite a break. There were showers throughout the day but nothing too crazy...no thunderstorms at least. The sun even peaked out for a few minutes or so. It actually turned out to be almost ideal. The weather was not too hot or humid. We only waited in line for one ride (the newest coaster, Fahrenheit) for 10-15 mins. That was probably the best part. We were able to hit the whole park in half a day since the usual hour or more wait in line was reduced to none. Dylan had a blast watching the rollercoasters, going to the zoo, and splashing in the puddles. Overall...a really great day! So Thank You Mother Nature giving us a break for the day! It turned out to be a Hershey Park Happy Day, lol! We all have to do that again soon! I promise not to trick you on any more coasters Alisha. Although I honestly don't remember that coaster being THAT big or bad, lol.

 

Dylan excitedly watching the rollercoasters. The area where the catered lunch was set up was literally right beside the big, bad, scary Fahrenheit rollercoaster.  Therefore,  as we ate our lunch, we got to watch train after train of very scared people flying around the twisty tracks. Dylan LOVED it!

Dust, Bran, Jeff,

Blake, Kenna, and Cam
The 6 of us trying to figure out what rollercoaster to hit up next.

Aunt Alisha posing with Dylan who apparently moved his head at the last second. Grandpa won the little Hershey Park bear for Dylan. We got off of our first rollercoaster to see him already with a stuffed animal. Apparently Grandpa has some theme park game skills. I never win any of those games!

Happy Father's Day!

Dad,

I may not need you to hold my hand anymore...

but I'll always need you to hold me in your heart!

I love you! 

Happy Father's Day!

Love,

Your biggest little girl.

The Cutest Little Squeaker Around

Kiersten Jean Marie Lake

6 Days Old

Dylan & I had to drive back to Mercersburg yesterday to drop off Miss Dicey's completed dance recital books. While we were in the area, we decided to go visit Nicole, Barry and the new baby Kiersten at home. I absolutely adore this little girl! I call her a little squeaker because when she cries, it doesn't really sound like a cry. She makes loud squeaks, or at least for now. I'm sure that voice will find some more power the older that she gets, lol. But for now, she makes adorable little squeaks!

I cuddled with Kiersten for hours, soaking in as much precious, baby girl time that I could. Dylan liked the baby too. He called her "Baby" and gently played with her hands and hair, lol. He even helped Barry out with some laundry while we were there, lol. What a goof!

Even though Nicole is my cousin, we are more like sisters. She has always been like another little sister to me ever since we were kids. So I'm claiming "Aunt" status, ha ha ha. Everyone is home, happy, healthy and trying to get as much sleep as they can, lol. I can't wait to see precious Kiersten again!