Best Big Brother

Grandma Halterman got the kids these shirts.

Jackson was over the moon about it! He always wants to wear them at the same time.

Jackson has started wanting to help Brooklyn on the computer! It is so cute, but sometimes he does what he wants to do and that makes her sad, but mostly he asks her what she wants to do, then he does it. We love Starfall at our house. Paying for More Starfall is worth it too! We use it almost everyday!

What we do...

This is Brooklyn's prefered method of eating. Rub it all over her arms...

then lick it off!



As the weather slowly cools down here, the kids have decided it's time to get on the trampolione again. It was still at least 100 outside. They were so hot and sweaty, not to mention black. This is the first time our trampoline has started turning everything black. Why is that? Needless to say, they needed another bath.

 

Why it takes our children so long to eat meals.

But honestly, how can you not love these faces?!

Jackson loves to "bird watch" with his binoculars from school!

This is a little behind, but here is Jackson's first day of preschool! He is doing his second year again with Miss Janna at Happy Meadows Preschool, and he is loving it. He had a little bit of a rough start with the changes she made since last year, but is doing better now and tells me he doesn't want to go to kindergarten, he wants to stay with Mrs. Janna! We all love Miss Janna. She is so great with him.

And of course, Brooklyn couldn't be left out, but thankfully she's not in school yet!

San Diego

This year it was decided we needed to have a Halterman family trip. We decided San Diego was the perfect place to do it, and we had so much fun! Mikelle's mom and dad did all the work. They found a great beach house to rent where everyone, but them and Kristin stayed. 17 people in one house was a lot, but it worked out great. Mostly we were out and about, but occasionally we needed a little time to relax. The kids loved watching a movie one afternoon, just all curled up on the couch together.

There was a great backyard with grass and a toy room with awesome toys. When we were home, mostly the kids played outside. Here Alec is catching Brooklyn at the bottom of the slide. Such a gentlemen!

And who wouldn't love this teeter totter? Even Aunt Suzi waited in like for a turn!

Brooklyn found the dress-up clothes, and once that happened, it was hard to keep her in her clothes! But, can you blame her, look at how cute she is!

We went just a few days after Mikelle's birthday, so we were able to celebrate it with everyone. The pinata was a huge success. All the grandkids got to hit it with two different bats, but they didn't do too much damage.

Jackson did the most amount of damage. We are so proud, and signing him up for T-ball in the Fall!

Mikelle got to come in at the end and finish it off.

Then Kristin had ordered a cake from Little Italy, which was to die for! A blood orange ricatta, yum.

Poor Papa always gets stuck with the tough job or reading bedtime stories. Too bad none of the grankids enjoy it!

Of course we didn't miss the beach. The kids had a blast, cold water and all.

Brooklyn's favorite part was destroying Mikelle's sand castle.

And Jackson couldn't be left out!

We took a day and went to Sea World. It was so much fun. Everyone but Amber (who is pregnant) enjoyed the rides.

The animals were all a hit, but we were lucky enough to come across the workers moving some flamingos, and got to stand right next to them. That was especially cool because all Jackson wanted to see was flamingos!

We caught lots of shows, Jackson especially loved Elmo in 3D.

Legoland was our last stop, and it was so fun! Brooklyn was a little too young. She wasn't able to ride many rides, but there were a lot of areas for younger kids to play, so she and Mikelle would play while Bobby and Jackson rode rides.

Jackson saw this game at Sea World, but was too short to do it, but not at Legoland. He was so bummed when he didn't win a prize, but he got so close, even the worker was surprised.

And the boys posing with Boba Fet, who's name Jackson can pronounce with no problem, but can't pronounce yellow! You can see what we spend out time teaching him! Legos have become a big thing in our house, but who likes them more, Jackson or Bobby!

Swimming Lessons

Jackson is so thankful swimming lessons are done! He is really a good little swimmer, but he is afraid of putting his face in the water and jumping off the side of the pool. He is getting better, but now that we are swimming less, it may start all over again next year.

Look how cute he is in his goggles! At least this year he is keeping them on, and seeing the value in wearing them.

He also was scared of the dive, but Miss Erin in great, and very patient.

Brooklyn took lessons too, but Mikelle was in the pool with her, so there are no pictures. She is a natural waterbaby though, and likes to wear the goggles, even out of the pool! She did love the time Jackson was in class though, because she got to play on the toys. And she is fearless!

he also loves the swings. Would probably swing all day if we let her.

We were able to go to Texas for Bobby's brother's wedding. We were complete slackers and didn't take any pictures, except this one of Jackson and Brooklyn watching TV with his cousins. They are too cute! We had a blast in Texas though. Hopefully we will get more pictures from the responsible ones! It was cool though, it was the first time our kids met their cousins on Bobby's side, but they were great together. And Ryan kept asking if he could come visit us. Maybe one day we won't live so far apart!

Prescott Fun

The end of June we all went to Prescott to celebrate Mikelle'S dad's birthday and do Father's Day with him. We went out to Goldwater Lake for breakfast and a hike. Our kids love to be with their cousins.

For Father's Day, we made these Captain America shirts. They were so fun to make, and we look good in them!

Jackson couldn't wait to wear his. Aren't they so cute!

This girl always needs action, so it's great when Bobby's home to relieve Mikelle!

And, Brooklyn is in the water. She did good for the first half of the morning, because there was food, but once she was full, she made a beeline to the water, and there was no stopping her.

She loves her Papa.

Jackson and Bobby flying kites at Taylor Hicks. He has a turtle kite, and always wants to fly it. This weekend was perfect for kite flying.

Brooklyn, found the water, again. Jackson and Trenton were having a water fight, and she felt left out! Once the hose was turned on though, she was fine!

She is such a great helper!

The fight was a little unfair, so Mikelle and Grandma helped a bit!

Her favorite new activity, naked driving! What's a girl to do when she'd all wet and has places to go?!

Swimming at Grammies house, Susie's mom. Van and Ward are in town for a little before we all head to San Diego, so of course we just had to go back up to the cool air!

Brooklyn loved the floaty toys, and wanted all of them. She is such a hoarder. One day in the toddler pool, she slipped, and was drowning because she wouldn't put her toys down to use her hands to stand up! This is bad, but it was kind of funny!

It was the weekend there was soo much rain, so we only got to swim for a little, but Jackson showed off his moves all the same. He is getting really good at swimming, just learning to listen and he can't always have his way!