Cutie Patootie

Two of my favorite daper dudes. . .

And more of the one who agreed to a little one-on-one time with me and my camera later that afternoon. . .

Oh, he just makes me smile!

Sweet Pea

Finally! Photos from the Sweet Pea Festival at the beginning of August. I'm sure you remember the Children's Race post, well the parade follows the race course up Main Street immediately after the last kid crosses the finish line.

So, we finished the run and found a good curb to sit on to watch the fun!

Once the parade concludes, everyone heads to Lindley Park for the festival, which is set up with 4 stages for various performances, booths for arts & crafts vendors, a kids craft area, and of course, festival food!

We decided to keep the kids happy and headed to the craft area first. The boys (with help from the dads!) blew some bubbles. . .

Did some sponge- (which turned into finger-) painting. . .

And banged away with hammers and nails. . .

Ben just watched all the fun. . .

Next we got some snacks (Rich enjoyed the apple pie with ice cream). . .

Then, we headed over to a stage to jam to some music. We had a pair of two-year-old groupies on our hands!

Hayden and Hank have some pretty good moves, I tell you!

We went back the next day and started out with the food. The Bozeman-famous "tater pig" and a chocolate brownie sundae!

Hayden wanted to do more crafts and this day there was a papier mache table. With my help, we managed to get a balloon covered with one layer of colorful paper. Hayden was pretty proud of his efforts!

We listened and danced to some more tunes. . .

And we all had a great time!

Jackpot!

Ben hit the jackpot this afternoon--we found the exersaucer in the garage! Actually, it's kind of like we all hit the jackpot. He's reached the age where he's alert and interested in playing with things, but he can't really hold onto toys yet. I'll see him spot a toy that he wants (that is within reach) and watch him look at it, longingly. . . the wheels turning as to how he's going to open up his little fingers, move his hand, and actually grasp the object of his desire. Unfortunately, he's not yet mastered that complex series of events, so we all get frustrated!

The exersaucer was joyous for him, though. He could just bat at those colored caterpillar balls and they wouldn't fall away from him. It made him (and us) quite happy!

I can't get over how big he looks!

And of course, big brother was right there to show Ben how everything works.

Truly, all four of us Shertzer's hit the jackpot!

Introductions

Maggie, Benjamin.
Benjamin, Maggie dog.

Thanks for finally introducing us, Mom!

Vacation Part 5: Back to Grammy's

FINALLY! This is the last batch of photos from our vacation. Told you it was a long trip! After leaving the Poconos and stopping at my Grandma's, we headed back to Rich's parents house for 2 days before our flight home to Montana. It was nice to have a couple of days to wind down before jumping back on an airplane. It was also nice to have the opportunity to visit just a few more people.

Rich's parents hosted a barbecue one evening, giving us a chance to visit with lots of their friends--adults that watched Rich grow up. It was a hot, sticky evening, but we still managed to enjoy being outside amid all that green!

We also had a chance to see one of Rich's high school friends and his family. Matt and Heather have twin girls that are just 2 months older than Hayden and a little boy that is just 2 months older than Ben! We haven't ever met the kids in person, but I feel like I know them because we keep up with each other's blogs. Of course, I didn't manage to get a photo of all 5 of them together (or any of Matt, for that matter)--darn!--but I did get Mama with Rowan and several of the girls.

Rich's parents had pulled out the old wagon and Maura, Brenna, and Hayden had quite a grand time playing!

Brenna

Maura

After a while, the leaves turned out to be as much fun as the wagon.

The laughter continued as the 2-year-olds piled onto the neighbor's trampoline!

After a great night's sleep, we had one last day of excitement for Hayden. It started with a trip to a family friend's farm to feed the cows.

Ben's standard vacation pose:

Hayden even got to sit in the big tractor!

That would have been enough to keep Hayden happy for weeks, but we had even more fun in store for that day. . . a stop at the Antique Auto Museum!

Whew! A few, final parting shots from our last day. . . Benjamin helping Grandpa decide which tiles to play in Rummy-O:

And a photo op of Aunt Emily with her newest nephew!

And that, folks, is all!