Celebrating the 4th on the 5th

Since we flew home from Ohio on the 4th of July, we decided to celebrate Independence Day on the 5th. We started off with a trip to a spray park.

Abby sporting her best 4th of July look.

Spraying and splashing!
Once we came home, Abby went straight to bed and Jonah stayed up a little longer to light off a few fireworks. Not before we heard the ding ding man drive by though. Jonah had no clue about the wonders of the ding ding truck, so what better day to be introduced to it than while celebrating 4th of July?

We gave him his pick and he chose Tweety Bird. No idea why. He loved it though!

God Bless America!

Ohio!

Last week was an extra special trip to Ohio. Aunt Ali was in town from Taiwan. We were disappointed that we missed Uncle Nick, but we caught up with stories from Aunt Ali as much as possible. :) We were also very excited, as always, to see the rest of the family too.

Jonah and Toby didn't arrange their maching pjs, but they sure looked cute!

Aunt Ali cuddling with baby Ish.
Playing in Papa and Mimis basement is always a highlight of the trip.

And the game of choice? Car bowling.

What studs.

Toby lounging in the red chair.

Abby thought she'd join in.

Aunt Steph takes great care of her house full of boys!

We love you Aunt Ali!!

You too Papa and Mimi! Thanks for another great trip!

Happy Father's Day!

Obviously I'm attempting to catch up on blogs, so bare with me. Brian was gone for the majority of Father's Day at a camp, but the kids got dressed up and looked snazzy to make their daddy proud. Happy Father's Day, daddy. We love you!!

Poor Nemo

A few months ago Abby caught the front end of a movie night with Jonah and fell in love with Finding Nemo. Since then, she only ever wants to watch Nemo when the tv is on, thinks every tortilla chip is shaped like Nemo, and is all around obsessed with orange fish. As expected, the previous post regarding fishing and our catfish dinner ended up being a little difficult for her to take. While we tried to block her view from the fish cleaning, her little eyes managed to catch a bit too much for her to handle. After seeing the fish getting a rather significant blow to the head, Abby cried "Neeeeemoooooooo" and then had this reaction:

Don't worry, she's recovered. :) Don't you just want to give her a hug though?

June Days

Even though we had an immensely busy June, we managed to sneak away for a weekend at the lake. We invited out our friends the Jarecke's and Brandon and his kids were out there with us for a chilly, but still very fun few days. Despite the clouds, the kids were still anxious to play in the water.

Jonah with cousins Kaitlyn and Ryan and friend Maren hanging out in the back.Abby and I getting ready to head out for a ride.
Jonah's friend Hudson is like a new man this year. He was loving the water (and Spiderman life jacket)!

Abby and Daddy

Abby just sat and played in the sand for a while.

And Jonah had his first time tubing.

Needless to say, he loved it.

Not yet, Abs.

Chilly, cloudy lake weather=perfect fishing opportunity. And we scored. Mommy, daddy, uncle Brandon, Nick, Hudson and Jonah all managed to catch some lunkers.

Hudson wasn't so sure what to think about this guy.

Nick wasn't so bashful.

And Brittany loves a man who can catch her a catfish dinner. (We did actually eat the guy Nick is kissing above, and Brittany did actually take a bite.)

Jonah's First Bike Ride

Fruits of Our Labor

It has been an immensely busy time for the Conklin home, but we are beginning to see the fruit of our labor. Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we had a garage sale and Jonah had a table selling rice krispy treats and bottles of pop for $1 each. He was disappointed that we were selling the guitar hero guitars (so long PS2... we enjoyed you while it lasted) and told him that he could use the money he made to buy a new guitar. After selling like the best of them (sorry, no pictures of the stand... I was busy selling myself!) he earned $40 towards a new guitar. When we got the the store, he changed his mind and decided on a bike.

Here he is putting together his new purchase with daddy.

Way to go buddy! Video of him riding the bike to come...
We also are seeing the reward of the hard work in our garden. This thing has exploded!

A little cucumber in the early stages.

Jonah's carrots, which we're hoping look as beautiful underground.

Our exploding zucchini, close to harvest. Mmmmm. Bread anyone?

Cherry tomatoes just waiting to turn red.

Yellow squash about ready to eat too!

And our strawberries, which we are already enjoying.

We pick about 3-5 a day and Brian claims they're the best he's ever had. The kids gobble them up too.

One of our spinach harvests, which are almost over until fall.

And our favorite use of the spinach, Tortellini Soup. So delicious!