Hats of Many Colors...or...Sizes...

We recently celebrated not one but TWO wedding receptions of our long lost but very dear friends Kit and Holger...

And since I'm not usually one to tell the kids what they can and can't wear -

And upon hearing 'wedding' D insisted on 'dressing up' for the occasion and wearing his tie.

Stripes. With Stripes.

okay...

I mobile uploaded the pic of our hipster kid...and shortly there after our friend Nancy asked if she could snap a few pics of him in his new favorite outfit...

Sure!

Our kids are ALWAYS up for pictures!

So...we met at a fun park that we love to visit...and I may or may not have gotten completely and utterly lost on the way there. Nancy may or may not have too.

But thankfully, after we finally arrived...He was ready for a photo session...

ok, maybe not...

perhaps he was more interested in filling his pockets with leprechaun hats...

yes, I said leprechaun hats...

and he brought them home and set them out in the yard, instructing us to not touch them - because the leprechauns come after dark to get them...

mmmmhmmmmmm

Anyway - We enjoyed the park and it's inhabitants...

We mostly stayed off the beaten path...

but...at the end of the beaten path...is the road MORE traveled...

And who can resist THIS PARK

After a teeny tiny bit of playing...just enough to get drenched from head to toe...

The kids enjoyed sharing a nice cool treat...

There just aren't enough days like this left...where did our summer go!?!

Chutes and Ladders!

So there's this hidden gem not terribly far from our house that we've been meaning to check out since my peeps over at Cribsheet mentioned it...
The hubs took a Friday off of work and instead of torturing him with the state fair - we decided to test this place out instead...



The kids were excited...

Is that a look of 'not-quite-sure'? Don't let that fool you -




He was more than comfortable tackling the big climb ~










But she (of course) preferred to lie low and practice her monkey skills - I think it would have been more fun for all of us had there not been a million school/ymca groups there. The place was overrun with unruly loud 'big' kids ~

After playing on the grounds known as Chutes & Ladders, we went to the area of the park that offers less heart attacks to parents...

And just hung out on the rocks near the water - they offer canoe and paddle boat rentals in addition to the miles and miles of biking and hiking trails...What a treasure!

Definately a great find in our obnoxiously busy metro area - I can't wait to return - maybe with brand new bikes for the entire family so we can test out those trails!