The Heiple Happenins'

Sparks in the Park

On Sunday, Jason and I brought Livi and Joey out to the Sparks in the Park. Every 4th of July weekend, Rochester hosts a fair in the park. It has a lot of fun rides and games for the kids, along with good food and entertainment. Livi and Joey had a lot of fun riding rides with their friends and really enjoyed their funnel cake dessert (it was quite a treat for them)!

To end the night, we sat out on the grass and watched a great fireworks display. Olivia loved it, and Joey was a little scared of the loud booms. As long as Jason and I kept him distracted or covered his ears he was ok.

It was a great family night out!

Fourth of July Picnic

On Saturday, mom and Jim hosted a 4th of July picnic at their house. They invited all of mom's extended family along with Jim's family. We had a great time visiting with everyone, eating delicious food, swimming, and playing games. Family cookouts is what makes summer great!

Thank you to mom and Jim for opening your home to everyone and hosting a great cookout!

Having fun with Sherman...he is so full of energy and orneriness!

Livi and Joey have Jim wrapped around their little fingers. He is so good to them!

Staying cool in the pool!

And then there were 4!

On Friday, Denise (my Uncle Dave's girlfriend) dropped off her dog Ryley to stay with us while they go to Minnesota. Ryley is a good boy and gets along really well with Ollie, Bella, and Zoie. He is having a great time playing with Livi and Joey, Ollie, Bella, and Zoie! He definitely sleeps well at the end of each day!

Snuggle Bugs

One morning I walked out of my office to find Livi and Joey snuggling on the couch watching cartoons. I absolutely love that they are at the age where they are best friends and love spending time together. I know that this will soon change and all of the snuggles will turn into arguments and torturing; so I will soak this time up now.

Our Little Picasso

The other day Olivia came into the office to show me the picture she just drew on her Magna-Doodle. I was really impressed! I think we have a little Picasso on our hands!

Lovin' School

Last week, Joseph began summer school! We we met with the school this spring they offered us the opportunity to enroll Joey into Early Childhood summer school so that we could keep him moving with his fine motor, speech, and social skills. I was a little hesitant to have him go to school five days a week for four weeks during the summer, but Joey absolutely LOVES it. The night before school started he said he could not "go ni-night because he wanted to go so school now." I finally got him to go to sleep, but the next morning he woke up at 6 am, walked out of his room with his backpack on and said it was time to got to school.

I hope that Joey always keeps his love for school and learning, I can not wait to see what God has in store for this little boy...he is amazing!

Off to the Museum

Last week, Livi, Joey, and I went with some friends to the Illinois State Museum. I have been wanting to bring Livi and Joey for quite awhile, so one cold/rainy summer day we decided to go. They had a lot of fun exploring all of the animal habitats, looking at fossils, and Olivia was very intrigued by the Native American Exhibit. She couldn't believe the difference between how the Earth looked and how the Native Americans dressed, and how things are today. Livi and Joey also loved looking at the house exhibit that showed how households changed throughout time.

After looking at all of the exhibits, we went down the the museum's new discovery activity room. Livi and Joey liked dressing up like archeologists and digging for fossils. They also liked looking through the microscopes at different bugs.