Cars Mania!

We've got some serious Cars love going on around here! Over the 4th of July weekend Charlie and I took Sophia to see the new Cars movie. She loved it! It was her first real movie in the theatre and Charlie a I both wanted to share it with her, well, plus, we both kinda wanted to see the movie! She did great! We opted for the IMAX 3D experience. She only wore the glasses for about 20 minutes but seemed to be perfectly fine without them for the remainder of the movie. There was a time or two she decided it was fine to leave and asked if we could go but she managed to stay through the whole thing. She really enjoyed her popcorn and fruit snacks too. We saw some previews for Happy Feet 2 and for a new Muppets movie (that one really got me excited!) and she has put those on her must see movie list for the remainder of this year!

Since she can't stop talking about the movie or pointing out the characters each time we see one of them, my mom got both her and Leo some plush Cars of Lightening and Finn. Plus, Sophia got a Matchbox car of Francesco, her favorite car. The pictures above are of them playing Cars together.

The pictures below are from March when our friend Sheehan was visiting (with his parents and brothers of course) and we all went to see the Cars live and in person. Her love was truly born on that day and she was really excited when the movie came out. I think it was a good first movie for her and I know if Leo sees it he'll be beside himself with the sheer number of "vroom vrooms" for his viewing pleasure!

with Lightening

With the new car and secret agent, Finn McMissile

KidScape

are you ready for the performance?

Sophia, Luca, and Leo all perform solo yet together! ;)

my little farm hand

Dr.? Yes, Dr.? I need a consult, Doctor. Okay, Doctor!

Here Sophia was being the dentist, she's very thorough.

We moved on to the Pioneer home where Leo was very good at making toast and collecting firewood.

We visited the Johnson County Museum with Massimo, Luca and Francesca on Friday. Their Kidscape exhibit is now permanent and it had been just about forever since we'd been there. It was fun! The kids also like the pioneer house with a wood burning oven and butter to churn!

Pool Pics!

Sophia had to get in some time with her bubble gun (that we got at the balloon festival) before heading off to the pool.
Stacy and Leo splash and play

I tried to get an action shot of Leo jumping in...it really is a sight and since my video option is no longer working, I had to try to get some stills!

The guys!

The gals!

Since we didn't have enough water fun at the party, we just had to visit the pool Sunday evening! It was so hot that the water felt amazing and both the kids got to show off their new tricks to Stacy and Shelby. We sure do love the pool!

Splashing Good Time!

all the party-goers posing for a pic!
Luca blowing out his candles

I mean, how could I resist this picture. Leo found a stool in Julie's kitchen, pushed it all the way over, maneuvering around people, climbed up and tried to get his own cake. Notice the two adults busily cutting and handing out cake just above him! He apparently couldn't wait!

Francesca "eating" her first cake!

Does beating a dead horse mean anything to you??

Thank you, Candy Gods for this amazingly delicious sucker...I will savor it all day...until I drop it in the wet grass and mommy takes it away

one slippy slide!

Luca and Francesca celebrated their birthdays this past weekend as well. It was a busy birthday weekend for sure! Luca turned 4 and Francesca hit the big 1!! Julie set up a baby pool and put the hose down the slide and the kids had so much fun we had to tear them away! Their 'goody bag' was a foam water shooter and they had a blast with them (pun intended) in the back yard!

Balloon Festival

self portraits!

the first balloon to take off

Sophia was really excited about the pig balloon!

We made our second annual trip to the Great Midwest Balloon Festival this weekend and it was a slight disappointment. All in all the kids had fun and we did see some balloons take off, but the weather was not cooperating. They had to delay the launch for over an hour and then they basically cancelled it because of the wind, but a few rogue pilots did a quick take off and landing, probably for the kids, and for that I'm thankful! Both Sophia and Leo were absolutely mesmerized watching them inflate and launch. The set up this year was much more organized and the kids also enjoyed going on the inflatables and playing. Sophia even managed to talk me into buying them battery powered bubble guns that light up in neon! I can be such a sucker sometimes! I'm glad we went and no one can really predict the weather for these things but hopefully next year we'll get to see more action!

Makeover Party

the very fancy birthday girl herself

Sophia after having her hair done, she did her own make-up, not sure if you can tell! ;)


all the party-goers

Sophia and Isabelle in their best runway pose!

Our good friend, Emma, turned 7 last week and had a very fabulous make-over party! It was so cute and Sophia had a blast!! The girls were able to dress up, have their hair and nails done, they put on their own make-up and made bracelets. Finally the girls did a fashion show for us...It was a good time!

Soccer Camp Round 2

Sophia working on her mad dribbling skills

getting high 5s and her "evaluation" from Coach Mark

Team picture!

Sophia finished up her second week of soccer camp and had just as much fun the second time around. She seemed to be very interested in doing a third week, but I think we're going to try and hold out for fall. I have to say though that I continue to be extremely impressed with this Challenger program. The staff is amazing! I learned that the boys travel to a different city and state each week putting on the camps. Coach Mark proved to be just as fun and just as great with 3 year olds as Coach Joey did and I applaud him for his patience and skill because I guarantee I wouldn't have it doing that job! ;) The team picture at the end was in fact his idea and he even asked me to use his camera to take a picture too. Cute, cute and cute!