Zoo Fountains

We made our first trip to the Zoo fountains this past Wednesday. Samantha has a good time and loves to watch the older kids play. She just kept running in circles and trying to touch everybody. She fell once and all of the other mom's gasped. She bounced right up and kept on going, which shocked the onlookers that she did not cry. She is no delicate flower!
Here is Woody, gnawing on his hand. He is a little too young for the Zoo playtime. Ernie was said that he was not able to go for Woody's first trip to the Zoo, but I told him it didn't really matter since we did not look at any animals. All we did was play in the water, and that was enough.

They all like to sit there and wait for the water to pop up. Samantha hasn't figured out what they are doing yet. She will lay down beside them and just watch.

Woody has become a toy!

I tried to fold some clothes, and this is what Samantha did to Woody: She then proceeded to grab his bottle and try to feed him. Notice the look in his eyes! I think he is starting to figure out that Samantha is going to be doing a lot to her little brother.
She is very proud of her work.
You would think she would at least try to put the glasses on straight. He could have cared less and she could of done anything she wanted to him. I know you have all seen the email picture of the baby that has been colored all over by his older sister. I have a feeling that Samantha will reenact that one for us all at some point in the near future.
We took a break from going to the pool and headed to one of our parks. The equipment gets really hot in the Alabama sun, so we went on a little walk. She loves bridges!

Swimming at the Pool

Woody is a happy baby, most of the time. He loves to flirt with the women. He is getting more hair, but it is hard to see since it is so blonde. He acts like he is about to start teething. He really likes to chew on his hand. Here is Samantha giving me one of her looks. She is eating lunch at the pool, and would rather be in the pool. We are in so much trouble when she is a teenager!
Samantha loves to take other people's floaties. Even if she has the exact same one, she still has to use someone else's. She also likes to try and cheer up any child that is having a melt down in the pool, which is usually not what that child wants. It is like she is attracted to trouble and doesn't care.
She found a friend to join her in the "borrowed" tube. No, it is not his either. The two of them kept pretending to sneeze and bless eachother. This lasted for a long time!
Woody just needed to add one more picture of him smiling.

June in a nutshell

We have actually been in one place for a little while, but still as crazy as ever! Ernie has been busy with UAB soccer camps, which means he is basically gone day and night. That has left me with some rather long days with the little ones--including Baxter. Baxter has had a little skin blemish for about a year, but the vet said not to worry about it. Somehow he irritated it, and all I will say is that it got rather nasty looking. I decided to have the vet take a look last week, which then turned into a long couple of days. We go to a country vet, which means he does not take appointments and is super cheap. He is 71 years old and curses like a sailor, but he knows what he is doing. He lays down on the floor to look at Baxter and then jumps back on his feet. He decided it was time to cut it off and scheduled surgery for the following day. Baxter got knocked out and ended up with 8-10 stitches under his front left arm. We go back next week to get the stitches out, which I am sure will be another "experience." I will try to remember to take pictures, because it is a very "special" place. Samantha, Woody, and I with all of these crazy old people and their pets sitting in one little room waiting our turn. Some lady wanted to pass Woody around like a hot potato last time. Baxter is doing fine and I will be glad when this is all over.
We have also been spending our time at the pool every day. Samantha and Woody go to the baby sitting room while I work out for an hour, and then I pick Samantha up to go swimming. We swim for an hour and then go back to pick up Woody because there is a two hour limit. We pack our lunch and eat by the pool. I then let Samantha play in the kiddie pool for about another hour while I sit by Woody. Woody goes swimming only when Ernie is with us, it is too much for me to deal with alone. We then take our showers and go home for naptime. All of that takes about five hours! It is a lot of work, but she loves to swim. She calls the baby sitting room her friends and is always excited to see them.
That is all we have been doing, and will hopefully become our summer schedule when we do not have other plans. I caught up with our pictures on Winkflash, if you want to take a look. We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the summer.

Samantha, Woody, and I spent Father's Day at the pool. We thought about Ernie and walked his card down to the field at night. Soccer coaches do not get to enjoy holidays because there is always something scheduled. Woody is asleep in this picture. I laid him down on the guest bed and then everyone decided to snuggle up with him. They were all sleeping until I took the picture. They like babies that do not move or ride them.

Woody passed out after his first swim in the pool. He spent time in the kiddie pool and the big pool. I lay Woody down on his blanket when we walk to the park so he can stretch. Samantha has a good time trying to play with him.

Samantha thinks it is fun to wear her fish float out of the water. I do not take any toys when I go by myself. I already have my hands full without adding a floatie to the equation. She also likes to play in the lockers. I actually like it when she does it because I know where she is. Most of the time I am chasing her around the locker room wishing for the day she listens better. There are too many distractions and other girls around for her to stay still.
Woody just hanging out while we try to get ready. Can you tell he is still a sloppy eater?

Andrew's Graduation

We went back to Indiana for Andrew's graduation and Open House. The kids traveled well in the car, which made me happy since Ernie could not go. They were able to see all of their family within one week down in Florida and now in Muncie. That does not happen very often with our crazt schedule. We got one picture of the whole Rollen side of our family at Andrew's Open House: All she needs is a mirror, a dog, and Uncle Brad's flip flops to find some trouble.
The happy family: Aunt Kim, Andrew, Katie, and Uncle Brad

Samantha got a quick hug from Andrew before he walked into the gymnasium. We stayed in the hall for everyone's enjoyment.
Gramma Donna, Grandma Susie, and Andrew a little too happy! I guess everyone was happy that it was over.
Katie and Darcy helped keep Samantha somewhat occupied while the festivities were taking place.
Andrew thanked everyone for coming. The Ohio crew had to leave after graduation because of their schedule. It was nice to see everybody.
We went to the Reservoir to feed the ducks. Kim and I were scared by all the crazy ducks, but Samantha wanted to get up close and personal. They were hissing and coming at us for more bread crumbs. Kim and I were laughing so hard that I couldn't get any good pictures with the ducks surrounding Samantha.

The play equipment out at the Reservoir is probably older than me, and just about as safe!


This is the newest park Muncie has to offer, and it was built when Katie and Andrew were little. It is a wooden castle, with many different places to hide.

Barney is 14 years old and Samantha thought that he needed some beads. Poor Barney is getting more fragile in his old age.
We went to West Side Park, where I used to play when I was little. Everything is still the same, and seems like a law suit waiting to happen. Samantha had no fear of the giagantic metal slides and the merry go round!