Over the last few days, we've visited some fun places in Fort Wayne. It's been wonderful to spend time with friends and family along with enjoying the beautiful weather. Last week Thursday, we went back to the splash park at Kreager Park. It is such a fun place! Ben and I met my friends Bekah (Isaiah & Amarah) and Erin (Will & Lauren). The kids had a great morning running around. Ben used up so much energy that he was really ready for a nap when we got home.  Ben and Isaiah  Having fun in the water.  Ben and Isaiah love this musical game that lights up.  The teeter-totter was a favorite again.  The kids had to gather around to see Lauren get her toes wet. This past weekend, Curt's sister Betsy and husband Mark came to visit. Ben was so excited to play with his cousins Jacob, Jenna, and Peyton for the whole weekend! I was really bad about taking pictures. I brought the camera to Buckner Park on Saturday morning, but didn't really get the bes...

The Bairds (Derek, Rachel, Jackson, & Luke) came to visit us this past weekend. It was a great weekend. They boys had lots of fun playing together and going to Science Central. Derek and Curt were able to golf on Saturday morning while the rest of us were at Science Central. Best of all...Rachel and I were able to go shopping and out to dinner (alone) on Saturday afternoon/evening. It was fun to have some much needed girl time. It really isn't that fun trying to look at clothes with a three year old. :) If only we lived closer and could do this more often.  Jackson, Ben, and Luke outside of Science Central.  Raising the hot air balloon.  Squirting water at each other.  Jackson working with the robot arm.  Me and Ben  An awesome skateboarder!  They all had to try on helmets and get on the skateboards. Success! (Sorry blurry picture) We worked together to build the arch.

 We've enjoyed eating fresh veggies from our garden. It's been a learning experience and we'll make some changes for next year. Last week we were getting over loaded with tomatoes. I'm the only one that like to eat them plain & I've had a ton every day...all summer. So, I decided that this bunch of larger ones needed to end up in the freezer.  I've never taken the skins off of tomatoes before, but it ended up being super easy. After a quick boil and a few minutes in ice water it peeled right off. Ben had to sit up on a stool and watch me.  On Monday, after dinner, a hawk came and sat right by our bird feeders. It was a little freaky because it was really close the the house. It could see us through the window and was screeching at us. After about 10 minutes, it saw a bird flying and chased it down. I hope it doesn't come back often.  Ben and I met some friends at the little playground by the YMCA this morning. It was REALLY hot out. There is no shade ...

Ben and I met my friend Bekah and two of her kids (Isaiah & Amarah) at a new splash park this morning. It is called "Taylor's Dream" and is located at Kreager Park. It just opened up earlier this summer and we were excited to finally get to spend a few hours there. It is a really nice park with lots of equipment for kids of all ages. The kids were having so much fun that we stayed over three hours!  Ben and Isaiah going down the slides.  I was surprised that Ben got into the water today. Sometimes he doesn't like it when water is spraying in his face. He got really soaked today and it was nice to see him conquer that fear.  Giggling boys :)  The kids LOVED this piece of equipment!  Ben and Isaiah on the swings. Isaiah, Amarah, and Ben on a toy that was kinda like a big boat. There were seats on each side and you could get it to rock back and forth. Overall, it was a perfect morning. The park wasn't too busy and the weather was wonderfu...

Sunday, we spent most of the afternoon/evening at a TinCaps game. Vera Bradley planned it's annual employee outing there this year. We arrived a little before the game started to enjoy the catered food. As we arrived at Parkview Field it started raining a little bit and when we got our food it was pouring. Thankfully they had an indoor area available to eat in. Around this time, I started not feeling really well. I thought we might have to head home. I felt better about an hour later, so we were able to stay and see the game. Ben had been looking forward to watching the game, so I didn't want to disappoint him by going home. Not my best day, but I made it through. :) Each family also received TinCaps $ to use at the concessions. It was nice to be able to pick out whatever choices we wanted. Curt and Ben had cotton candy and ice cream cones. I stuck with water because it was pretty hot out and because my stomach wasn't feeling too happy. We stayed until sometime during the...

After a long process of looking for a swing set, getting it approved, and waiting for the order to arrive at the store, it finally got delivered to our house on Saturday! Curt wanted to put it together himself instead of paying to have it done. I was afraid that it would take him a couple weeks, but he got it done by Sunday night.  Ben and Curt with most of the swing set pieces. This is how Ben and I helped on Saturday evening. At least we kept Curt company while we ate popsicles. :) Curt found this bug on the swing set on Sunday. It as so big and gross that he had to take a picture. Ben and I stayed away until it was gone! This is pretty much where Curt started on Sunday. It had been upside down on Saturday night (without the extra top wooden piece). I was concerned that Curt would not be able to flip it over to work on the rest, but a neighbor saw him trying to move it and came over to help. I was so happy for that! Later another neighbor brought Curt his drill...

We met our friends Patty and Olivia at the zoo this morning. It was hot out there, but we didn't let a little sweat stop our fun! :)  Ben finally got to feed a giraffe today! Every other time we've gone this summer they have not been interested in eating.  Olivia's turn.  Ben took Callie for a ride today. Ben said she was "SUPER slow" and he should find a faster horse next time. She really was the slowest one that he's ever ridden.  Checking out the sea lions.  The rides are cheaper every Monday in August, so we went on lots of rides today. The kids rode the carousel (which we found out that they have grown over the "free" line...why couldn't we have short kids? :) ) and we also went on the train. The train is always nice on a hot day because you get a nice breeze.  I'm not sure what Ben is doing here...brushing the goat's mouth? :) Ben and Olivia brushing more goats.