jelly belly!

There is a Jelly Belly warehouse near us that offers free tours so that's one of our go-to things to do when we have visitors.

There are tons of pictures throughout the place that are made from Jelly Belly's.

Here are Cassidy, Lincoln, Brendan, and Juliana posing with the most popular, Cherry, jelly belly.

The engine of the little train that takes visitors around the warehouse.

 The best part of the visit is the store at the end of the tour. There are lots of goodies to purchase (of course) and there is a sampling station where you can try any flavor you like.

Lincoln and Brendan stood politely raising their hands to try several gross flavors...and some yummy flavors as well.

Here are some of the more interesting flavors.
Linc tried Booger and Baby Wipes, while Brendan tried Pencil Shavings.
And Katie tried one that made her breath smell like dog food as she ate it. I dunno how Mark felt about that one. 

boys day. girls day.

Mark, Katie, Brendan, and Juliana came for a visit in mid-June. The boys continued Linc's birthday celebration by taking him to Wrigley Field for the Tigers v. Cubs game.

Linc's first visit to Wrigley.

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack. 

Thanks to Matt for taking this picture of the grounds crew.
Watching them clean up the field is one of my favorite parts of live baseball! 

Lincoln, Matt, Brendan, Mark.
The older generation sharing their love of the game with their boys.
Seriously, looking at the little guys is like seeing mini-Matt and mini-Mark. 

While the boys were at the game, the girls drove up to Wisconsin. We began our day at the Racine Zoo. 

We couldn't pass up the little train ride around the zoo grounds. 

Me and my baby. 

I fed a giraffe! So cool. 

After visiting with the animals, we drove along the Lake Michigan shoreline and stopped off at the beach to dip our toes in the water.

The view from a little lakeside restaurant. Gotta love the palm trees. 

Katie doing what she does best. 

I look like a real photographer in this picture! If only my pics looked as cool as this one. 

Mommy and daughter getting ready to dip our toes into the freezing cold water. 

Sandy hands.

Juliana and Cassidy.
I just love the freedom and joy that kids have.

linc's 6th birthday party!

While we were in Michigan for Memorial Weekend, we had a small birthday gathering for Linc's birthday. In keeping with his love of Detroit sports, YiaYia got this cake for him...

And one of Linc's birthday gifts was a mini-Paws pillow pet. He now has all of the Detroit sports pillow pets - Roary (Lions), Paws (Tigers), and Al (Wings).  We haven't seen a Pistons pillow pet. I mean, really...where is Hooper?

Linc also had his first "friend" birthday party this year. He invited a few kids from the neighborhood and a few from school. In all, there were 8 kids.

They did what I called a "Scaventure" -- not quite a scavenger hunt and not quite an adventure, but a combination of the two. They broke into two teams and went to stations to complete various activities.

They also did Pin the Mustache on Mario. There's nothing like blindfolding kids and watching them stumble all around the room!  

Pin the Mustache on Mario.

Mustaches.

Lookin good!

Mustaches everywhere.

Finally, the kids had a whack at a pinata in the front yard.

Falling candy!

Everyone loaded with bags of candy.

We had a chocolate chip cookie cake decorated with Angry Birds (couldn't find a Mario cookie cake). It was yummy! 

Mario gift boxes. 

Happy birthday, Lincoln!

birthday q's: 6-year-old Lincoln

Happy 6th Birthday, Lincoln! We celebrated this special day and first day of summer vacation by heading to the splash park with our neighbor. We played at the park and splash pad, had a nice picnic, and ran around the soccer field. This evening, we'll go to t-ball and will continue the celebration by having a family ice cream outing!

Big kid hanging on the monkey bars.

At the splash park.

We began the day by completing the annual birthday questionnaire. Here it is:

Name:  Lincoln 

Age: 6

1. What is your favorite color? Why?

Red because it looks like fire.

2. What do you like to eat?

I like mac & cheese, lasagna, and treats.  

3. What foods do you dislike?

Tomatoes, pickles, jalapenos.  

4. What is your favorite toy? 

Wii because I can play Super Mario on it.

5. What is your favorite book? 

Lego Ninjago, Superhero books, books about the weather. I also like books about sports. 

6. What is your favorite tv show/movie?

I like the Tom & Jerry movie. I also watch Lego Ninjago, Pokemon, Beyblade Metal Masters, and Power Rangers Samurai.

7. Who is your best friend?

Ben.  

8. What are your favorite things to do?

Play Wii and XBox (when dad lets me play with him). I also like to play outside with my friends, play on our tree swing, and ride my scooter and bike (two wheeler!). Oh, and I like to play basketball, too.

9. What are your least favorite things to do?

Go to time out and I do not like to have quiet time.   

10. What is your favorite thing to wear? Why?

Detroit sports shirts and comfy shorts or warm-up pants. 

11. Who is the most important person in your life? Why?

My family and friends because they take care of me.

12. What would be the best thing someone could give to you?

A birthday every single day. Like Santa could give that to me ‘cause he’s magical.

13. What is your day like? (When do you get up? What do you do all day? When do you go to sleep?)

On school days I wake up at 6:30, have breakfast (usually cereal and yogurt) and then I get on the bus at 7:30. I get home from school at 10:45. After school, I play or run errands with mom and Cass and then we have lunch. Mom makes us do an hour of quiet time in the afternoon (ick). Sometimes I fall asleep but other times I read or play in my room. I like to play Wii or play outside after quiet time until dinner. Then I play more, take a shower and go to bed. I go to bed around 8:30.  

On the weekend, I wake up early but mom & dad tell me not to come out of my room until 6:30 or 7:00. I take my pillow downstairs and watch tv until mom comes down and makes some breakfast. 

14. What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be Mario because he has cool powers. If I had to choose something real, I would be a baseball player.   

school's out!

Linc celebrated his last day of Kindergarten on June 5, 2012...just a day before his sixth birthday.

I'm completely amazed by his growth and by the things that he's learned throughout the last year.
My favorite = Linc starting to read books to ME before bed.

First Day of Kindergarten.

Last day of Kindergarten. Can you see the increased maturity? 

Getting off the bus for the last time as a Kindergartener! He's wearing his birthday hat.
They celebrate all of the summer birthdays on the last day of school. 

Big brother and little sister...trying real hard to look nice together. 

T-ball.

Linc had his first t-ball game on Saturday. He's on the Brewers (bummer that he didn't get on the Tigers).

His first at bat which resulted in a single!

Ready to run from first to second. 

Go Lincoln!

Linc and his buddy, Ben.  Both boys are excited about the Super Mario water bottles that they got at Ben's recent birthday party. 

Here he is at bat again taking a nice swing. Got a hit with this one, too.
Good boost of confidence to have a couple of hits at his first game. 

Dusting off the pitchers mound.

Excitement at the end of the game.
Granted, they're not keeping score at this age level, but they had a great first game!

hoops.

The kids love shooting hoops in the driveway, especially when it's kids against dad. 

Here, Cassie is showing off her blocking skills. 

Go Cassie!

Lincoln trying to stop dad from making a shot.