Boo-Boo Factory

Osten has been such a trooper throughout the whole broken arm ordeal. He no longer has to wear the splint (a/k/a "Darth Vader arm") at night, which is a nice break for him. Every morning, he puts it right back on without any complaints. (Check out the bandaids on his legs!! Grammi brought Scooby-Doo bandaids with her as a special surprise!)

Marci is also a fan of Osten's splint. She got a hold of it last night while Osten was in the tub. (Grammi brought her Hello Kitty bandaids, two of which are proudly displayed on her forearm under her PJs.) I tell you, we have turned into a regular boo-boo factory!

She must be paying more attention than we realize when Osten puts on his splint because she knew exactly what to do!

Spoonful of Sugar

A spoonful of sugar helps everything go down!! Grammi slipped a spoonful of sugar in the water that we boiled the corn in last night, and Osten gobbled it up. It really brought out the flavor of the corn.

And a few more spoonfuls of sugar for dessert . . . Mrs. Ann brought over mini icecream sandwiches. Osten ate two!!

Tour de Family

At Osten's request, we went for a family bike ride this afternoon. It was our first ride since he broke his arm nearly two months ago.

Daddy usually wears the yellow jersey . . .

and Marci, once she gets her helmet situated,

usually helps Mommy bring up the rear (while singing "Happy Birthday" and "Ring Around the Rosie")!

An Independent Celebration

After a big morning at the pool, the kids went down for a late nap. When they woke up, we decorated the golf cart and went to a friend's house for a cookout. Instead of going to the neighborhood fireworks, we decided to do a little show of our own.

I'm not sure who was more excited!

Daddy put on quite a show . . .

and there wasn't a bad seat in the house!

Bathingsuit Beauty

Guess who LOVES to wear her bathing suit?

Water is optional, as she has apparently determined that a bathing suit is perfectly appropriate attire for all kinds of household activities, like sweeping (which can get a little frustrating at times).

Jello to the rescue, and all of her former frustrations are quickly forgotten . . .

Deee-lish!! (And now it's Mommy's turn to sweep!)

Brusha ... Brusha ... Brusha!

Marci is quite the fan of brushing her teeth. She'll wander into her bathroom throughout the day and insist that she "brushteeth, brushteeth."

Of course, Osten has been a big influence, and he has really helped show her the ropes with rinsing . . .

. . . and his personal favorite, spitting!

Sweet (and hopefully cavity-free)!!

Red, White & You!

We made a quick trip to the beach this morning. Marci probably would have stayed all day,

but Osten had his first bout of sand-in-the-eye, and he was ready to pack it up after just two hours. (As the family next to us on the beach pointed out, sometimes it's hard to be a kid!)

Speaking of kids, both of ours are now big fans of digging in the sand. Thanks to a new heavy-duty shovel, we can dig a giant hole in no time and then relax and watch the kids entertain themselves!

Even though we were back in the car by noon, it was a hot day!