Skid Steer Rodeo

That was actually a real thing at the fair this year!  I think it was created especially for Kade.  Unfortunately I was unable to join Erik and Kade for this Main Event because it was on the same night as my volleyball league (by "unfortunately", I mean "thankfully" :-) Just kidding, I would've loved watching Kade while he watched it but Grandpa Bill was more than happy to take my place!

It must've left quite an impression because Kade's been talking about it and we've been watching You Tube clips ever since.  What didn't leave an impression on Kade was the fair rides.  Erik said he ended up throwing ride tickets away because Kade was so bored with them.  I can't blame him though, why would any kid want to ride a 4-wheeler and tractor (that he can't even steer) around in circles when he can do the real thing at home?  Erik said that Kade yelled to him from the ride, as it was still going around, "Dad!  I want to get off and go eat mini doughnuts!"  He's a kid after my own heart :-)

Skid Steer Heaven

I wonder which one had a bigger smile on their face?

Erik fits PERFECTLY in this ride!  This picture makes me laugh every time.

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Our hometown festival was a couple weeks ago.  Here are a few pictures from that day.

Kade and the-female-version-of-Kade (aka Violet) doing what they do best!

Maybe one of Kade's best quotes ever: "Hey Uncle Mike, you wanna see something cool?  Look at this fancy hitch!"  He's obsessed with hitches.  So weird.

Going for a ride in Grandpa Ranger's hot rod.

And his lawn mower.

Checking out a caboose that is parked in town.

We've been going, going, going this summer and loving every minute of it!  Playing all day with friends, staying up late and going to bed completely wiped out but that is what summer is all about.  Although I think we may have created too high of expectations for Kade because every day he wakes up and asks where we're going that day.  Or, before he goes down for his nap, he asks who is coming over when he wakes up.  Today we are spending a lazy day at home, catching up on laundry, sleep, etc. and when I told Kade that plan he started crying. 

Last week we went camping at Jellystone with Tim, Megan, Owen, Ellie and Rylee.  It was HOT but the campground has a great water park so we were set.  Tim and Owen had originally planned on sleeping in a tent but instead decided to join us in the air conditioned camper.  Tim even set up the tent on its own site on Tuesday and didn't go back to it until Thursday when it was time to pack up and go.  So we had 4 adults and 4 kids (1 in a pack n' play) in our 22 ft camper.  It actually worked out pretty well!  Bedtime for the kids was "interesting" but they did manage to fall asleep after several warnings from the parents.  

Of course nobody took any pictures.  Well, I did take a few of the one moment in time when all 4 kids were sitting still.  It was when we put a movie on the iPad, which was on for 10 minutes at the most during our 3 day adventure!  Not a great representation of our trip but they sure looked cute laying there! :-)

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Someone got some fancy new shoes!  He's in a size 11 already.

If the white-blonde hair wasn't enough to locate him a mile away, now these shoes should do the trick!

Kade Quote

The universe must've shifted slightly last week because:
1.  Kade told us he was tired.
2.  Kade asked to lay down on the couch.
3.  Kade asked to watch a movie.

None of those things has ever happened before.  Ever.  I even asked him if he was feeling okay.  And not in the joking sense.  I actually felt his forehead.

I turned on Netflix and let him pick out what he wanted to watch.

Kade:  "Guys!  Look at me!  I'm watching a movie!"

Me and Erik:  "We see that!  What movie are you watching?"

Kade:  "I'm watching "Scooby Doo With Hair On It"!!!!!

He was watching "The Lorax".  And 5 minutes later he was outside playing.

My Boys

Softball

Erik has been playing softball in the summers for 16 years.  I think he's about ready to hang up his cleats but he just can't seem to do it because Kade LOVES going to the games.  He brings his bat, balls and glove and I pitch to him while the guys play and then he runs the bases after the games.  Every time we drive by a field he screams, "SOFTBALL FIELDS!!"

This year we got him an actual aluminum bat and he hits the balls just like the "real" players do.  He even refers to himself in the 3rd person at the games.  The other week he pooped and he said to me, "This softball player needs his pants changed!"  Yeah, STILL working on potty training :-) 

Last night we got home from the game and he said, "This softball player needs to hit the shower."

These pictures and video are from a random Sunday afternoon.  We went to my parents for dinner and they live just down the road from the fields.  Kade started asking (then begging) to go to the softball field about 32 seconds after we pulled into their driveway.

Just rounded 3rd and heading for home.  That mean old Grandpa is going to try and throw him out!

Dad looks tough to get around but Kade's quick!

It's 4th of July already and I feel like its only been summer for about 2 weeks!  When Kade was first born everyone with kids would tell us to enjoy it because they grow up fast.  I remember thinking, in my sleep deprived brain, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever."  It couldn't be more true though and I'd love to freeze time because my little man is too quickly becoming a big boy!  It doesn't help that he looks like a 4 year old.  Seriously, everyone who meets him never believes us when we tell them he's only 2.

We've been taking advantage of our limited warm days by heading outside around 7:30 am and heading inside around 8:30 pm.  I think we're on our 5th bottle of sunscream (as Kade calls it)!

Kade and Michael deciding who was going to run through the sprinkler next...

Kade!!!

Now whose turn is it?

Kade's again!  That's an interesting way to go through a sprinkler.

Uh oh, looks like the 4 wheeler might've gotten a little water logged!  Good thing Kade likes to fix things!

Kade's hair gets some curls in the summer so I wanted to keep it a little longer.  However, he was in desperate need of a haircut.  For some reason we thought we could do just a little trim ourselves.

It ended up looking like a hack job so we had to bust out the razor.

The end product.  No more curls :-(  but with a smile like that, who cares?!