Dad's Day

Don't you want to be just like Dad. Well, washable markers can help out. Sweet little Chicago fans gave each other "tattoos" just like Dad's.


Our father's day was pretty lazy. We had celebrated Friday night with a surprise poker party for Brant. Really it was just snacks and board games, but the gift was poker chips. Since it would have take way too long to teach all the littles (and me) poker, we ended up playing Disney trivial pursuit. A hot night at the Hamby house!


Much of the actual Father's day was spent lounging around with Grammy and Grandad. Brant and I were pooped from the concert, so we just hung out and watched the kids paint some stepping stones for the garden.

DMB

For two nights, they blessed Indianapolis. We only saw night 2. The band was great, but the crowd made it even greater. There was no rain on Saturday, but nothing BUT rain the week before. The entire lawn was a mud pit. All the campers were covered in mud and sunburnt. No one complained about the heat, the mud, the mosquitoes. We were all there to revel in DMB.

Big fat thanks to my hubby, who participated in full spirit, though he only knew about 1/4 of the songs. You really do love me.

Boardwalk

We started this Memorial Day weekend. After a series of rain delays and softball games, we put the finishing touches on it this weekend. This is the first phase in a three phase deck redo. Year one of three in the deck saga (or trilogy rather).

It wraps from the front of the house to the back. No grass would grow in this area, so we needed something to block the muddy footprints.
And it's an kick-pants runway for bikes and scooters. The boards make a pleasant "du-du-du" sound similar to a motorcycle, or so I'm told.

Living in the Wild

Now that we "live in the wild", not so much suburbia, we see a slew of critters. Sunday, we woke to find this fellow had made a home while we slept. A perfect web from the light to the countertop. It didn't photo very well, but trust me, it was fantastic. Then we tore it down before Brant woke up and screamed like a girl.

Wolf Park

This summer we've decided to do a "stay-cation" here in the Lafayette area. There are so many cool things to do right here that are completely new to us. The kids picked out some of their top picks. Wolf Park "Howl Night" was at the top. Wolf Park in a preservation area that protects and studies wolf packs. You show up at around 7 at night and the guides give a presentation about wolves and their history. Then, the best part, they teach you to howl. Half way through the howling, the wolves join in. I'm sure this is a parlor trick of a very socialized pack, but still the kids felt that they really made those wolves howl.

T-ball Action

You know how there are those girls that can climb trees, wrestle, and spit better than the boys. That's Ava. BUT she only wants to do these things wearing a tu-tu and pigtails.

Isaak loves his team and shows up for t-ball more for the party than the sport. Three of his best little buddies are on the team, plus Ava. Sometimes she counts as a buddy. Sometimes she's a bossy, twin sister. And also, in kindergarten, it's still totally awesome to have Daddy coach.

Batter Up!

I've enjoyed this softball season. The girls are learning so much from being bumped up into an older league. They are the smallest girls on their team. Funny to ever imagine any of the Hamby children being the smallest, but here they are playing with 4th and 5th graders whole heads taller than them.

I love how each of my girls has their own batting stance. Paige is so lackadaisical at bat. But when she finally cracks it, she's off like a bullet to first. She runs full steam to the bag, and grins widely when she gets there. I think it's relief. Getting to first is the hardest part.

Claire has such a pretty swing. It's graceful. She is poised for action and uses her whole body, head to toe, to hit the ball. She can crack it, but her run is sort of a fairy float. To me, when Claire runs, it's like she is trying not to mess up her cute visor or her pretty, pink cleats. Hmmmm, I wonder where she got that from?

Big Help

We spent our long weekend working on a project. surprise, surprise. We are putting in a boardwalk. First some old bricks and railroad ties had to be torn out. While I was cleaning up lunch, Ike and Claire started pulling out bricks and stacking them to the side. Such a help. A pleasant surprise to have them hop to without even being asked. The two together had the bricks pulled out in no time. Very proud of their work ethic.