Photo Bomb

Since I am clearly awful about keeping up with the updating picture posts here instead of doing this one by one I'm just going to photo bomb you with the rest of our summer.  I got all the way up to the last day of our vacation to New Hampshire and then just stopped sharing again.  Shame on me.  So maybe it will be better to just finish the summer off in one post.  So here you have the rest of the Barnes Bunch summer 2012...

Shortly after returning from New Hampshire we attended a fishing event put on by the local fish and game and our towns park and rec department.  It was free and they provided everything.  Turned out people from fish and game actually remembered Joe's father from years ago when he used to be a fishing instructor.

A few weeks before school started I made plans with a friend of mine for a play date at her house and in her pool.  She has a son in Kindergarten in the same school as CJ so we were hoping to help our boys have a few extra friends to start the school year.  Turns out they did not end up in the same class though, but that's okay.  They still see each other on the playground and give a little wave.

The boys had enough swimming so they had fun on the play scape instead

And as summer draws to a close we of course needed haircuts for the children.  Clearly Alyssa was in need of a cut bad.

Alyssa Before

Natalie Before

Both girls After

And that's all the pictures I got this summer.  It was an enjoyable time and I think we got some really great memories.  Now we're back to the routine and hustle and bustle of another school year.  The break is nice, but it's good to be back to a routine.

Swimming And Fishing

Continuing on with the picture updates of our summer.  The end of June we went to a local pond where the kids did a little swimming and a little fishing.

3 little swimmers

CJ loves his big sister

Teaching him to swim

Kick your feet

Sleepy baby

CJ trying out Alyssa's swim trainer

He had so much fun in it swimming after everyone

Then he went fishing

Caught this trout that was as big as his arm

It doesn't get much better than this.  What a fun day with the kids.

Fishing Derby 2012

Last year we missed the fishing derby because it was cold and raining.  This year everyone was itching to go.  Especially Natalie since it's the last year she actually gets to participate.  However, Alyssa had gotten sick Thursday night last week.  Friday she kept bouncing back and forth with a fever and wasn't eating.  By the evening I thought she was doing better though until after we had put her to bed.  She spiked a fever again.  So Joe took the three big kids to the fishing derby and Alyssa and I stayed in bed. 

And all three kids caught their limit at the fishing derby.  They hung around for them to announce winners, but none of their names were called.  So they came home so we could prepare for Natalie's party.  Joe got a few pictures for me though...

CJ and Kaitlyn with their catch

CJ looks mad at the fish

Natalie's catch

So that was the fishing derby this year.  Oh and guess what?  Natalie did end up being a winner!  Tuesday she called from school to ask for a ride home because she won something.  Turned out it was a fishing pole!  We were all shocked because they hung around to listen for names to be called and her name was never called.  But the tag said 2nd girl so I'm guessing she was the 2nd girl to catch a fish for the day.  It's a nice fishing pole too.  Joe's looking forward to showing her how to cast with an open cast.

CJ's weekend

This past weekend while the big girls were off with their grandparents we did fun things with CJ. On Friday it was bowling, thanks to the free summer bowling program in town...

Choosing his ball

Will it knock down the pins?

Moving the ramp

Handsome boy

1...2...3...Go!

Big boy carrying his own ball

Okay, I did it!

Bowling freestyle

We bowled two games and CJ did really well. He always ends up losing interest about a few frames into the 2nd game, but this time without the girls there too he stayed interested longer. There wasn't much time for him to get into anything else between turns.

On Saturday we had such a nice day so we decided a picnic in the park and some fishing was in order...
CJ's 1st catch of the day!

CJ's 2nd catch of the day!

And CJ's last catch of the day!

Then we came home to wash up and relax for a few before going to Chuck E. Cheese. CJ got my camera and took this picture of his sister...

Not too bad of a picture for a 3 year old. I wish he would have moved his chair out of the way first, but he did good. And with that we were off to Chuck E. Cheese. He had a blast running around. I didn't get any pictures because it's hard keeping up with a 3 year old and pushing the baby around in the stroller. He was so cute when we left though. He said, "Thank you for taking me to Chucky! We come again morrow?" Sorry baby, but mommy and daddy can only take so much Chuck E. Cheese.

And that was CJ's weekend.

Mini golf and fishing, does it get any more summer?

This weekend Natalie was with my parents for the weekend. So I was back to being a parent of 3. On Saturday we took the kids mini golfing. It was packed. We had fun though. I couldn't get any pictures of us actually golfing because, well it's not easy juggling a baby, a toddler, a putter, and the scorecard let alone add picture taking on top of that. We had a good time though and we'll definitely be going back because I won a free game. The last hole where you sink your ball to never be seen again if you get a hole in one you win a free game. I've never done that before. Actually, the whole game I had no holes in one. I did it when it counted though. I doubt I'll ever do it again. It was a lucky shot. I thought it was going to bounce out the way it was bouncing around. So when it went in and the bells went off I stood there in shock. After we headed over to the ice cream shop there though for some dinner and ice cream.

CJ watching the people golf

Kaitlyn at 9 years old still really knows how to wear her ice cream. I get such a kick out of how into her food she gets.

Alyssa was just happy to be out of the Ergo at this point!

Then on Sunday we found a new fishing spot. We didn't have any luck, but it's very pretty and we took a little hike. We're heading back this week I'm sure.
CJ ready to fish.

They call this a pond! Looks like a lake to me!

Alyssa napping

Kaitlyn was sitting by the water looking hot and bored...


Do you want to go in the water? Yeah, okay take your shoes off...


Going wading...


In she goes...


Eventually she did get to a point where she was more wet than dry so we told her to just dunk herself and then get out to dry off because we had no towel or anything for her and we were going to get going soon.

CJ was getting his fishing on!

We brought the fishing stuff back to the car and did a little exploring on some of the trails and then came home. It was a nice summer day. Kaitlyn went and took a shower as soon as we got home and we started getting dinner ready and then before we knew it Natalie was back with us.