Random Acts of Vogel

Our lives have been so crazy right now: we sold the house, are moving out this week and into an apartment, and are currently searching for a new house to move into. And while packing, loading, and hauling has consumed a lot of time, we have still had plenty of opportunity for fun this summer! Here's a snapshot:

This is what Andrew looks like after too much time in the car...

 ...and this is what the counter looks like after the kids were put in charge of getting a snack.

 There has been lots of drawing & coloring going on lately. 

 Kate will often take photos with my phone and it's always a surprise what (or who) will show up. 

 Two sweet little babes before bed. 

Last weekend we drove to Big Creek to play at the beach. While there, we constructed quite the masterpiece. 

 And the kids were shocked that I let them have ice cream...for dinner. The alternative was a hot dog, so I didn't think it was too much of a nutritional loss. While choosing her "dinner", Kate also convinced me to let her choose one for "dessert". What a sneaky little girl. 

 And for more sweets (I swear they eat fruits & veggies too!), we visited the Indianola Balloon Festival parade. We found a prime spot with no other kids around, so Kate & Andrew hit the candy jackpot!

  And finally, last night we went school supply shopping. Kate is SO excited to start preschool (in only 20 days according to her countdown) and she had a blast picking out supplies from her list. 

 Not wanting to be left out, Andrew also joined in. He actually managed to sneak 2 items into the cart and we didn't realize it until we got home.

 No shock here: Kate will be taking a monkey backpack to school. 

I can't believe we only have a few weeks of summer left, but what a fabulous one it has been so far!

Warrior Dash

Yesterday I ran a 5k race called the Warrior Dash with our friends Adam & Gretchen. Our wave started at 2pm, which made for a hot but unique and fun experience. Adam had his waterproof camera along, so I got some photos of the race. Here are some of the obstacles.

Definitely unlike any race I have done before, but I would definitely do another!

Part II

So this may go under the getting a little carried away with videotaping, but here is Andrew watching himself on the last video I posted. I promise not to record him watching THIS video. 

Andrew's Humor

The water fun continues at our house this week. Not sure why Andrew found this so funny, but clearly he did! (Don't mind Dorthy in the background...she's just washing her hands!)

Life at the Lake

We just returned from our week-long vacation with the Vogels in northern Minnesota. As predicted, we all had an absolute blast. The weather was perfect, the water was warm, and we couldn't have asked for a more fun & relaxing week. A week in photos...

Kate showing off her nails that daddy painted.

 One of many jumps into the lake.

 Kate was on the tube at least once a day. She rode by herself once, but was too light to keep the tube level, and ended up falling into the lake. Daddy & her 2 uncles immediately jumped off the back of the boat and swam to get her. There were a few tears, but she was right back on a minute later. 

 Andrew had mixed feelings about the boat. He loved it the first day, but for some reason changed his mind the second day, and was often scared to get on. Once persuaded, he usually had an okay time!

 His true joy of the week was jumping into the lake. His only warning was to say one... before he leaped off. Here he is on the water trampoline that was parked close to shore. 

 One evening, he spent a great deal of time climbing onto this chair, making this face, 

with his hands behind his back...

 ...and leaping into the water. 

This happened dozens of times. 

Kate was quite the little fish, and spent most of her days in the water: splashing, floating, swimming and tubing.

 Oh, and some kayaking...

We went into town on the 4th of July to watch the parade. Lucky for us, the weather cooled off and the kids loved every minute of it.

Andrew's face was priceless when he realized that candy was being thrown in the air. After his first dash to get a piece, he spent most of the rest of the parade watching from the curb & letting his sister do all the work. 

We decided not to wait the 4 hours in town for the fireworks, and instead had our own. 

The rest of the week was spent enjoying time with family and making a day of reading, relaxing, playing in the water, and eating way too many treats.

 Thanks to Uncle Kevin for these sweet photos & to Grandma and Grandpa for the amazing week!