Knee Pads and Skates and Skateboards....Oh My!

 John's birthday money went to buy a new skateboard.  

He was so excited!

 Anna used her birthday money to buy new skates and pads.  

She, too, was excited!  Not quite as sure on her feet as John, but ready to learn.

 A good big brother helps...

 Going...

 Going...

 Gone.

First Day of School

 The first day of school at Milford Christian Academy for the 2012 school year!  My 5th grader, 3rd grader, and Kindergartener were quite excited....

 Sniff, sniff...  Dropping my youngest child off for her 1st day of school.  

 (Above) John and his best friends Gabe and Aryan.  

(below) Christopher and his buddies Blaze, Isaiah and Johnny.

Coney Island

Every year, our family makes a trek to Coney Island, which is on the Ohio River in Cincinnati.  It's an old-time amusement park full of little rides that my kids love and that my stomach can handle...

 A good daddy:

 Hands down, our favorite Coney ride is the Giant Slide, which is nothing more than a large slicky-slide that you can race down in 3's.

 Below, the view from the ferris wheel:

 Christopher's favorite part of Coney's pool is the  water slides.  He is willing to stand in line as long as it takes to go down those slides.

 The deep end at Coney Island's pool is so large that they actually have a rowboat in the middle of the deep end!  What you see in this photo is only the deep end of the pool...or at least what I could get of the deep end in one picture.  Not only can I not photograph the entire pool in one shot, I can't even photograph the deep end in one shot...  

The Coney Island pool is the largest circulating pool in the world.  

Cincinnati Zoo, August 2012

Last trip to the zoo for the summer...  

Splurged on a little face painting.

Always the kids' favorite at the zoo:  the zoo train!

Whenever I come downtown, I always have that song in my head...

"Baby, if you've ever wondered

Wondered whatever became of me

I'm living on the air in Cincinnati

Cincinnati WKRP."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kgeiB3Gpog

Ha!

Anna's 5th Birthday

 Anna celebrated her 5th birthday in style, with a butterfly-themed birthday party.  Guest list included her friends Laney, Emerson, Caraline, and Ava.  Fun was had by all...

 My favorite quote of the day:  "Mommy, I'm a whole hand now!"

 You've never seen sheer, unadulterated power until you've seen a group of 5-year-old girls try to beat the snot out of a pink butterfly pinata trying to get prizes out of it...

 One of Anna's gifts for her birthday was that she got to get her nails polished for the very first time.  Hands and feet.  Mani-pedi.  

 Happy birthday Anna Jean!  We love you!!!