Strawberry Picking, Lovell Family Fun and Parade ~ June 11th - 23rd

There is a lot of fun to be had at a strawberry patch near Charlotte.  We went for the first time with our friends the Blauer's and had a great time. AJ and Audrey loved finding red strawberries among the green ones like they were playing a game.  Some of the strawberries were too ripe and they would get grossed out at the mooshy rotten ones.  They had fun for about 15 minutes and then my friend Karen and I picked until our baskets were full.  It is kind of addicting. You say your going to stop and then as your leaving you see a few more and then start picking again, and then after doing this 5 times and your back is sore you finally leave.  The kids enjoyed other activities after picking and it turned out to be a great strawberry picking adventure.   

In the picture above the kids are holding up green apples that we picked from the tree across the street.  They were just like the apples I used to eat as a kid off the tree across the street from the home I grew up in.  The kids were amazed to see how many fell off the tree and the deer loved to come and eat them. 

Just some more water table fun to kick off the summer.  Watch out, Audrey has learned how to squirt her brother!

AJ is always asking Audrey to "cuddle" with him to help him wake up in the morning.  She rarely does it, but this time she did and AJ told me to quickly get the phone and take a picture.

Happy Father's Day!!  AJ dressed up in his NASCAR costume to celebrate the occasion. He also made signs and hung them all over the house. They said "Hard Worker" "Best Dad" "Love You" and many more. He even wrote the letters in his own fancy writing. One sign was 10 feet long and had lots of cars drawn on it. He is very creative and thoughtful. We had some yummy grilled steaks and corn on the cob.  Audrey especially loved the corn as you can see in the picture.  AJ hid daddy's presents all over the house and sent him on a scavenger hunt to find them.  

  

Just being silly, as usual.

We are on our way to Wyoming for 3 weeks!! We had one stop in Denver and the kids love going on the walk ways and riding on the air tram. After doing both of those for an hour, no kidding, we finally flew into Casper excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen, aunts, uncles and lots of cousins!

After one day in Casper we headed off to Lovell, WY where my parents grew up and my Grandpa Brown lives.  On the way there we stopped by Thermopolis, the largest hot springs in the country. It is a tradition to stop here and it is always neat to see, but stinky to smell. The swinging bridge is scary and fun, and we always look out for buffalo.  We finally found some as we were driving away and AJ begged grandpa to pull over so we could take a picture. They are hard to see, but they are there.

  

Visiting Great Grandpa Brown and getting a treat too!

 This is the 3rd year we have come to "Lovell Days" with grandma and grandpa. We really enjoy Family Fun Day in the park.  The kids play lots of games and win prizes and candy. It makes for a fun afternoon.

By far the kids favorite event is the parade. Almost every float/car/truck throws candy to the kids.  They have their gallon size zip lock bags and they were filled to the top by the end of the parade.  My favorite part is one group who always hand out ice cream sandwiches! Yummy! Many cousins are here too which make it a very fun parade. Afterwards we gathered together at my cousin Amber's house and enjoyed a BBQ with all the family in town. I love to be reunited with family!