Happy Birthday Hunter!

We helped cousin Hunter celebrate his 9th birthday yesterday at a party at his house. It's so hard to believe that he's nine years old! Bryce and I went to the party alone and Landon stayed home with John. Landon got sick earlier in the day and we didn't want to pass it along to everyone else. Bryce really enjoyed spending time alone with Hunter and Wyatt!

This is what happens when you have 5acres of land to roam on and a vivid imagination! Hunter Wyatt and Bryce played army outside and Wyatt was by far the funniest! He crawled around the ground in his camouflage trying to hide from the others.

Ice Cream Truck

Every Tuesday evening the ice cream truck visits our neighborhood. Bryce and Landon both get very excited when they are outside and hear the ice cream truck music! Both boys decided to order Italian ice for their treat. Yummy!

Family Time

Meemaw and Papaw spent a few days with us this week since they were in the area to attend Granda Harper's funeral. Despite the sad reason they were here, the boys really enjoyed playing with them. Bryce was proud to show Meemaw that he can ride his bike without training wheels.

The boys spent some time with their Aunt Beth and Uncle Greg after Grandpa Harper's funeral

Goodbye Grandpa Harper

Bryce and Landon's great grandfather, John Harper, passed away on Sunday. He was buried today with military honors at Indiantown Gap. The funeral ceremony was beautiful and touching. This is a picture of the military personnel shooting the guns and playing Taps.

Playground Field Trip

Landon's class took a field trip to Long's Park in Lancaster yesterday. He had a great time playing with all of his friends. Molly and Wally accompanied Landon on his first field trip. He was so happy they were there with him (and I was even happier that they could be with him!). It will be a few years until I will feel comfortable with Landon going on a field trip alone!

Molly was busy following Landon everywhere!

Landon and Molly looking at the animals. Landon was scared!

Landon was holding on to Wally with a death grip when they were around the animals. He wouldn't let go!

I Can Ride My Bike!

We have been encouraging Bryce to ride a bike without training wheels, but he hansn't been interested. Today, he decided he was ready! We brought a smaller bike out for him and off he went!

Landon's ABC's

This is a video of Landon singing his ABCs.

Play Date

Mary Ellen, Meghan and Charlie came over this morning for a play date! The kids had a great time playing and I enjoyed talking to Mary Ellen.

Landon and Meghan together.

Landon and Meghan had a lot of fun playing in the sand box together. Meghan especially loved playing with the shovel.

The boys enjoyed saying goodbye to Meghan before she left and telling her, "I love you!"

Professional Pictures

We took the kids to have their pictures taken today. We got a couple of good shots!

Morning Entertainment

Landon was my entertainment this morning. He was fascinated by looking in the mirror and making funny faces. In this picture, he put on a headband and admired the toothpasted he sampled on his tounge! Here is Landon applying my makeup. He is too funny!

Weekend Project

This weekend I tackled a project that I have been putting off for over a year - cleaning out my closet. Of course, I had my special helpers eager to assist me! They both wanted to help me paint the closet so I let them each have a turn. Bryce is actually turning into a great painter! In a few years, I think Bryce will be ready to paint a room by himself!

Landon told me he was painting a circus on the wall! What an imagination!

York Revolution Baseball Game

John and Bryce had a father and son night yesterday and enjoyed a York Revolution baseball game together. The highlight of the night for Bryce was when he received one of the practice balls from an usher. He was so excited!

Library Day

The elementary school that Bryce will attend in the Fall is sponsoring a library day every Tuesday in July. I took a vacation day so I could take Bryce today. Bryce had the opportunity to visit the school library to pick out a book. The school also hosted a magic show for the kids. Bryce loved it! After the show, we ate lunch at the kindergarten playground with the Arnolds. It was great to be able to have Bryce play on all of the equipment before he starts school.

Later in the afternoon, Bryce and I continued to enjoy our special day together by getting ice cream. Bryce ate cotton candy ice cream in a cone!

Family Movie Night

We took the kids to see a movie on a rainy night last week. We were the only ones in the theatre! It was great to not have to worry about Landon's non-stop talking bothering anyone!

Happy Independence Day

Happy July 4th! We had a quiet and relaxing holiday together at home this year. We had a family picnic, played outside, went for a bike ride and watched fireworks. There is a fireworks show about a mile away from our house every year. The boys were so excited to see a few of our neighbors there too!

Bryce and Landon sat with John, Matt and Jess to watch the fireworks. They had a lot of fun watching and surprisingly weren't scared.

The grand finale!

Puppet Show

While Landon took his nap this afternoon, Bryce made puppets for a show. We took a few socks out of John's drawer and started decorating.

Bryce had a great time decorating his puppet all by himself.

The boys put on a show on the patio after dinner. The stage was Bryce's "NC Hotel" that he created a few months ago.

Landon being silly during the puppet show.

Evening with Neighbors

A few neighbors came over to hang out this evening.

Bryce and Landon love having company at our house!

Jodi helped Bryce light sparklers and she made sure he didn't burn himself.

Thankfully, Landon didn't have much interest in sparklers and just wanted to sit on his Dad's lap and watch.

More Family Fun

We went to my parent's house on Sunday to spend time with Vince, Kathleen, Chris and Megan. Bryce really enjoyed spending time with Uncle Vince - they were buddies all day! Bryce with Uncle Vince, Megan and Chris.

Chris makes Landon laugh!

Bocce ball in the back yard was a lot of fun.

Molly made a delicious dinner for everyone!

Cake Baking and Decorating

Megan and the kids made a cake together today at Aunt Lynne's house. Everyone took part in at least one part of the process. This is a picture of Landon mixing the icing.

Still working on the icing.

The cake is starting to come together. The three layers are assembled and now it's time to put on the icing.

Emily wanted a Mickey Mouse cake and Landon chose the colors - pink and teal.

What a cake! I would say it looks more like a clown than Mickey Mouse! Most of the kids had a turn decorating it and this is the final result. Despite its appearance, it was a delicious cake!