Fourth of July!

In the morning Bentley went downtown with his dad and his Grandma Vicki to check out the local parade. I wasn't there, so I don't know how it went, but I bet he was carried around by dad and grandma. I hope he enjoyed it because his days of being carried around are numbered--but then again, maybe not. If Jake and Viva go to the parade next year BOB will go along, too, so that leaves a free set of hands to carry Bentley. Things work out well for him. Having twin siblings has insured that a stroller is de rigueur...for them, not him!

We met up with the crew after the parade at my parents' home. My sister-in-law had organized a BBQ there. The kidlets had two second cousins in attendance, Felicity and Tiernen. Next week they will have another in-town cousin! It'll be a year or so before the new cousin is fun to play with, but then it'll be a free-for-all with little cousins everywhere. Tiernen was six months old today, so he's rapidly approaching the fun cousin age. The kidlets have two more second cousins who live Outside which is a shame because they are just the right age to be great playmates.

Here are some photos of the twingle and twinks in their red, white & blue outfits:




After the picnic Bentley came home with us. He likes to visit the kitty and play with the train set. Today I had a new toy for him--the Little People Medieval Castle. I picked it up at a garage sale this morning.


Kara sent me to the garage sale (it was closer to my home than hers) to check out the toddler clothing, but it was overpriced and well-used. I felt like I should buy something to prove I'd been there, so I purchased the castle for $7. Not exactly a garage sale steal, but not a bad deal. The queen was missing, but we got a few nonstandard pieces such as a knight, a second horse, and a dragon. Bentley thought the dragon was a frog. !?! He's usually very good at recognizing animals. Perhaps he's never seen a dragon? Dragons are not found in zoo, farm, jungle, desert, rainforest, or prehistoric books. I thought his book collection was extensive. I'll have to visit amazon.com and rectify this problem.

After playing with his new castle and doing puzzles with his opa for an hour while I exercised, we headed over to his home. We detoured by the neighborhood park on the way.



In the photo above Bentley is wearing a zipped up fleece jacket...on the Fourth of July!? No, it was not cold outside. He likes routines and the routine is that when you go outside you put your shoes and coat on. He insists on that even when it's hot out.

When we got over to his house, we enjoyed an hour or so with Jake and Viva. They had been out on a long walk with their dad and Grandma Vicki, and, I'm sure, BOB. It was their bedtime so bottles were the first order of business, then pjs, then a short play time. I sorted through their collection of Little People to find a knight and a horse. I confiscated the pair for the castle at my home. Unfortunately they did not have a queen. There was a hula dancer, but I just couldn't picture her being happy in a medieval castle. (Castles were very cold.) Kara donated one of Viva's many pretty ponies. The castle now has more horses than people. My new goal--find a Little People queen at a thrift store or garage sale, of course.

Here's Jack and Viva during their play time.




In the first photo Jake is standing. He's doing a little more of that lately, but he only walks when encouraged to do so.

Shortly after Viva discovered the joy of standing in the seat area of the little car, Jake discovered the joy of pushing the car with Viva standing in it. She quickly climbed down. Life with three little ones is always full of action.