4th of July!

Our fourth day in Wisconsin was 4th of July - America's (and Aunt Laura's) birthday!

We had to start the morning by saying good-bye to cousin Josh! 😢

Then we got to do a fun craft that Aunt Laura brought - we painted our own fireworks! 

During the day, we went to a festival at the park (and won suckers) and then to the parade through the town! 

There were all sorts of trucks and vehicles in the parade!  And so much candy - it felt like Halloween!

When we got back to the house, it was time for a watermelon snack!  Our favorite! 

We showed Wylie how to eat watermelon, too!  He didn't quite understand not to eat the green part though...maybe next year!

Dad cooked everyone an all-American dinner of burgers and hot dogs!

We even had a couple of celebrations during the day!  First for Aunt Laura's birthday with a cake that Grandma Pam made.  And then for Grandma and Grandpa's 50th wedding anniversary.  They've been married a long time!

We shared our suckers with Grandpa!

When it got dark (before fireworks), the grown ups lit lanterns on the dock and let them float away to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa!

It was pretty, but we didn't last long because there were too many bugs!  And the fireworks were starting so we had to watch those!

Another Day in Wisconsin!

On our third day in Wisconsin we had more fun!  And more fruit snacks for Clara doing a great job with going to the potty!

We spent a lot of the day outside - who wouldn't want to with this backyard!?

With the sun out to heat up the water a tiny bit, I went back in for a swim!

Wylie joined in on the swimming fun too!

When the pool got too cold, the party moved to the hot tub - no kids in the hot tub though!

I played with the big kids on the basketball court!

That day the grown ups rented paddle boards so we all went down to the dock to watch.

Dad did a good job on the paddle board and didn't fall in at all!

Clara needed to relax for a minute on the dock with Grandpa!

I found my own fun with a kayak!  I don't think I'm quite ready for the open water yet!

We had corn on the cob for dinner that night so we got to help Grandpa shuck the corn!

After dinner, we got a special treat - ice cream!  And I rode my bike to the ice cream place with no training wheels!  I wasn't sure I could do it because this bike is a bigger than my blue one at home.  But I did great!

We also took some family pictures that day so we were practicing our best smiles!

Clara needed to keep practicing!

Wisconsin Trip!

We took a trip up to Green Lake, Wisconsin for July 4th and stayed up there for a whole week!  Grandma Pam and Grandpa Mike were there as well as our aunts, uncles and cousins on Dad's side of the family.  We had a good time!

We had to ride on an airplane to get to Wisconsin!

This was Clara's first airplane trip where she had her own seat!

Looks like she settled into her seat like a pro!

On our first full day there, we rented a boat to cruise around the lake.  I got to help Grandpa drive the boat!

And then took a snooze - boats are relaxing!

Later in the day, we took a dip in the pool at the house!  Don't let the nice looking water fool you - it was freezing cold!  But riding around on a big parrot helped!

Clara found all sorts of things to float on in the pool! 

I stuck with the giant parrot!

The other big thing that happened on the first day was that Clara started wearing underwear!  She had a couple of accidents at first but then started getting the hang of using the potty.  I think the fruit snack rewards probably helped (and I helped encourage Clara since it meant I got fruit snacks every time she used the potty, too).  Lots more pictures of the fun we had on the rest of the days to come!

Playtime!

Owen is still my favorite brother and playmate!  He can be pretty annoying sometimes and even not nice, but so can I!  

Playing in the pool (without clothes of course) is one our favorite activities!

For most birthday parties, we both get invited so we always know someone at the party!  I am not always a fan of cake, but at this party I was - and I wasn't going to get up until I was all the way done with it!   

Playing generally starts out with one of us playing on a toy (like this bike) and then the other one playing, too (even when there is zero room)!

This is what happens when you play as hard as we do!   

And then sometimes those naps in the car continue on the couch!

Here we are playing a fun game Owen discovered!  It looked like fun so I had to do it too.  We couldn't quite get the timing down right to jump off together!

But with more practice we were able to figure it out!

Two's 1 Class!

I've been wrapping up my time in the Two's 1 Class at school!  Soon I'll go to the Two's 2 Class (right next door).  I've learned lots of things in my class - the letters of the alphabet my friends' names start with, my numbers (up to 20 but not always in the right order), gymnastics, trucks, and dinosaurs!

Our two teachers - Ms Netshet and Ms Jaquanton - went to different jobs so we had a going away party for them!  It was sad to say bye to them - they gave the best hugs!  As soon as I got to school and before I left each day, I got (and gave) a big hug!

Here I am with my teachers on their last day!

When Ms Netshet (the one with braids in her hair) found out how much I like braids, she fixed my hair during the day with new hairstyles!  Mom hasn't been able to do this one herself yet!

Here's most of my class - they didn't catch us at the best time...and I was showing a little leg with my short skirt that day!

Here's a better one of the class!  (And only missing one person...)  We took this picture on my friend Ansley's last day.  She's moving to a school closer to her house.  I've been in class with her since she was 12 weeks old (I'm a month older)!

Another thing we did before Ansley left was get our annual picture of the college football girls!  We'll miss having Ansley represent Georgia Tech!

Here we are when we were just tiny babies in Spring 2015!

Then in the Fall 2015!  Maggie, Laura, Ansley and me!

And last year in Fall 2016!  I was stuck wearing Owen's old t-shirt!

And this year before Ansley left! Santa had made sure I would have my very own Clemson clothes this year!  And it's so big it should fit next year, too!

I also got to try out a gymnastics/dance class for the first time at school.  I had lots of fun with the gymnastics - I can do a somersault!