We Split Up on Saturday :)

First a few miscellaneous pictures from my sister's camera from earlier this week.

 Headed to the Fourth of July parade...

He was feeding hay to her horse.

Oh, and Grammy, thanks so much for the awesome box! :)

So on Saturday we split up.  The guys (including the 10 year old) went hiking and fishing ... supposed to be just fishing, but it turned out to be quite a hike as they fished their way around the lake.  My sister and I took the three little ones out for a fun day.  We started at the library.

  

 Then we headed back to the park where we watched the fireworks the night before.  My niece had lost a toy and thankfully we did find it.

The park was so hot we just sat in the shade ... then decided to go get ice cream :)  ... oh, and lunch too.

 Balance beam lesson ... I love that she is holding her arms out like her Mom :)

 While we were eating lunch, a butterfly came by, and all the kids ran to check it out.

 This was what the five year old looked like when he told me his face was clean and he therefore didn't need to wash it :)

 See her little sleeping buddy?  He was the one that was lost at the park.  Thankfully they've been reunited :)

 The youngest two napped, then the five year old brought me a stick (or maybe I should say a log) and a big piece of paper, and told me to tape it.  He wanted it made into a flag.

 We decided it was "Monkey see, Monkey do" this weekend, because whatever he did, she had to do too.

 They both worked quite awhile decorating their flags.

 This is what the five year old ended up with.

And here is hers.  Pardon the wrinkles.  We didn't get a picture of hers until after it had been well played with.

 While they were decorating their flags, a gopher climbed up on the deck right next to the window they were at.

 See the metal can?  That's where the birdseed is stored.  Now you know why it's stored in a metal can with a lid :)

 After the flags were all decorated, it was time for a parade.

 The five year old decided it was a horse parade.

 The wind was giving him fits though.

When the guys got home, they brought the "surf" portion of our surf and turf dinner.

 And a couple of pretty bouquets of wildflowers.  We put them in a couple of Starbucks Frappucino bottles.

 All weekend we have noticed that the cows come running when the kids (especially our two year old) run down to the fence.  They literally RUN to the fence when he's down there.  I'm betting they used to be fed something when they were younger (other than just grazing).

 We've started referring to him as the cow whisperer. :)

Oh, and can you see his hands?

The plates from the new kitchen toy have become cymbals, thanks to the five year old's creativity (and current obsession with cymbals).  The two year old had to copy him.

Amazing what you can do with a little masking tape.

Anyway, Saturday ended with a beautiful sunset.  It was a very full day, and a ton of fun.