The Science Center

Rob was off yesterday, so our whole family went to the Arizona Science Center courtesy of the culture pass. Of course there is a lot to do there:

Watch a lady dissect a cow's eye, and then touch it afterward...
(with gloves on)

Throw balls into the nose until it sneezed again...

(Not as terrifying to Robbie as it was last time)

Toyed with peoples' emotions...

Looked at stuff made of Legos...

Rolled balls through PVC pipes stuck to a wall with magnets...

It was a little busy there; I'm glad we didn't try to go on a Saturday, like we were originally planning.

Afterward, we went to the Krispy Kreme downtown so Erin could get the free donuts for the A's on her report card! Then we just went home to cool down, because it was H-O-T out.

Only a couple more weeks til school starts! Summer has gone fast.

Happy Birthday, Erin!

Yesterday was Erin's 7th birthday. She is growing up!

We celebrated her birthday at Rob's parents' house in Mesa on Sunday. Erin was born on Rob's sister Brigette's birthday, so they share a birthday. And her cousin Briana (Brigette's daughter) was celebrating too, because her birthday is tomorrow! July is a busy month.

We had pizza, watched the girls open presents, and had a huge cake with lots of candles!

Yesterday, my parents came over to celebrate. Erin opened her presents, and then we had dinner at Red Robin. (Mmmmm, Jamaican Jerk Chicken Burger!) We finished eating just in time to walk through a dust storm on the way to the car. Then we came back home to have cake. Although we were all stuffed!

Erin is a smart girl, and she's a very good kid. She's always been pretty well-behaved, so I am pretty impatient with her when she does act up or does something wrong. Rob and I both need to work on that & cut her some slack.

She has always been a talker, and it's pretty fun to have a conversation with her. She's down-to-earth and logical, and she's always been easy to reason with. She just gets it. She has kind of a sarcastic sense of humor (wonder where she gets that?) and she's so observant; she always has something interesting to point out.

She's a really good big sister to Robbie, and she looks out for him. She shares with him, and she is always willing to help him out or show him how something works. He really looks up to her.

In less than a month, she'll start second grade! I can't believe how fast the last seven years have gone by.

We love you, Erin!

Fourth of July and the Splash Park

We didn't do much for the Fourth of July, but we did spend a few hours at the new Goodyear ballpark, where the Indians and the Reds have spring training.

Look how nice the grass is!

It's a nice park, and they had a lot of stuff set up. The fireworks show was really good, and it was the first time Robbie could really enjoy watching them without being terrified! (Although he was still a little skeptical, and he claims he didn't like the big ones)

Erin thoroughlly enjoyed the fireworks, and she had a lot of fun peoplewatching from our seats. She was happy that there were plenty of hippies to look at. I'm pretty sure she thinks that anyone in a tie-dyed shirt is a hippie. But there were definitely some characters out there!

They had 3D glasses to watch the fireworks with, which was a little stupid, but whatever. The kids got a kick out of them. And who doesn't want to look like this when they're out in public?

It was a little HOT out, but we were sitting in the shade, and then once the sun went down, it cooled off to less hot.

Just a few days ago, the kids and I enjoyed a nice, overcast day at the splash park! It never did rain that day, but the clouds were a welcome change.

Splash parks are great!