Barker Family Fun Day!

Barker Family Fun Day started out with a bike ride to the Bastille Day Festival in Downtown Montgomery. This was our first time going so we were not sure what to expect. 

The kids got to play in a big bouncy house and ride ponies! Ethan is showing his ride-em cowboy pose. There were plenty of games there for kids and they got to show us their strength by blowing up some balloons for a prize. The prize was a whistle, that was not annoying one bit.  Then the kids found the clowns that were making balloon animals. Elaine got a bear riding a unicycle and Ethan got a hat, but he did not want his picture taken for some reason with the hat on.

After lunch at the European Cafe and a nice bike ride home, we moved on to the St. Cecelia Festival. The kids babysitters work at this festival so we thought it would be fun to stop in for a couple hours. Well, we forgot to see what time it opened and we were a hour early. So, we decided to hit the stores in Oakley. First, we went to King Authur's Court Toy Store. The kids had a blast and wanted EVERYTHING in the store. We did walk out empty handed.

Then we moved next door to Aglamesis Brothers Ice Cream Parlor where Ethan and I shared a chocolate milkshake and Jenny and Elaine shared a Ice Cream Sundae. Elaine came up with this idea all by herself to get the last bit of the ice cream out of the bowl!

With another stop at a book store, we finally made it to the St. Cecelia Festival. The kids loved all the rides and the games. I think they rode each ride 2 or 3 times and played every childrens game there! Too bad it was really hot or we would have stayed longer. We came home with plenty of festival toys; balloons, Chinese yo-yo's, whoopee cushions, bouncy balls, sticky hands, inflatable butterflies and much much more. If you haven't noticed, Ethan found his old baby sunglasses and wanted to wear them all day long on top of his head and refused to take them off. Even when he went to bed...

We're SWIMMERS & JUMPERS!

The kids have taken on swimming this summer with a passion. They do not want to get out of the water. They have learned how to jump in from the side of the pool. They got a little daring last night a Lizzy's house and jumped in from the diving board! They could do this for hours! The never ending loop of jumping in the pool, swimming to the side and starting all over again.  They slept great last night!

Another Camping Trip!!

More S'mores and Glow in the dark Toys!

Amelia's Baptisim

George and Elaine holding hands walking to the church

Amelia getting Baptized.

Uncle Timmy coaxing Ethan to make funny faces.

Parents and God Parents of Amelia

Ethan and Henry playing at the water table

FIREWORKS!!!!!

Uncle Timmy and Donny set off some small fireworks in the backyard so that we could see some up close. The best part was later that night, we found out that we would see the Red, White and Blue Ash fireworks display from the end of the street. The kids were ready to go to bed but we let them stay up to see them. They loved it!

4th of July Weekend Part 1

George takes turns driving Ethan and Elane around the backyard..

Ethan not so patiantly waiting his turn!

Phillip comes over to play!

While Melissa and Amelia ran some errands, Phillip came over to play.

The kids got to eat lunch on the patio, they loved it!

Pleanty of activities to keep them happy!

There are plenty of activities for the kids to do at the campgrounds. They got to:

Paint Piggy Banks:

Play Put-Putt

Play Catch

Find tadpoles in the creek

And of course, play Cornhole!

First trip in new camper, well new to us....

The kids love to go camping, it is especially nice now that we have a little more room since we upgraded campers. Aunt Jamies loves to spoil the kids with glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces.

We tried to teach the kids how to make S'mores, but they were more interested in the chocolate then the "sandwich" Ethan called it.

Overall, it was a great camping trip, looking forward to many more!

The Witches of Baywind

Today the twins decided to be witches and fly around the house. They quickly told me that they were good witches though and they weren't going to hurt me.

Checking Out the Playground

Today we took the kids a local playground. All of the kids had a blast but it was HOT,HOT,HOT! We did last long before all the kids were soaked with sweat and had drank all of their juice.

We packed up and hit the Walmart across the street to grab some stuff and cool off before heading back to Aunt Chris & Uncle Roger's house.

Cousins Forever

Today we got up and headed over to Fort Wilderness to have breakfast at the Trails End. It is a family favorite that definitely brought back some great family vacations we shared with my Aunt Chris, Uncle Roger and cousins Sammy and Jon. Ethan rocked it out with a mickey mouse waffle and two GIANT helpings of bacon!

After breakfast the boys hit the playground. Matt and Ethan had a blast together and even started learning each other's names.

By nightfall, back at my Aunt Chris and Uncle Roger's, Elaine and Katelyn were besties and loving having another girl to hang with!

A Day at Disney with Family

This morning we left Aunt Chris' and headed down to Disney for a one night stay. My cousin Sammy's wife, Erin and their two kids Matt and Katelyn met up with us. It was a great time. We got to the hotel and crazy enough Erin and the kids were there just a few minutes after us. They had our rooms ready which was great.

At first the kids were a little shy with each other but it wasn't long until they were best friends and running around with each other! Elaine and Katelyn couldn't get enough of each other. Ethan adored Matt and Matt adored Jacob. We hit the pool for a bit, had lunch and then headed to Downtown Disney. The kids got to ride the carousel and then they all got a toy from the toy store. After that we all walked around the shops and then headed to T-Rex for dinner.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel to swim but right when we were walking to our rooms a lighting storm started and the pools closed down. It was fine though because the kids had a blast running around and playing with their new toys. By bedtime they were exhausted and so were the adults! So excited they got to meet each other and quickly became friends.

Swimming Daredevils

Today was our first day visiting my Aunt Chris and Uncle Roger. We got in last night and the twins were ready to hit the pool asap. It took Ethan a few minutes to let go but Elaine was ready to go on her own right away.

Within an hour they were daredevils and loving every minute of it!

Texting While Riding

Flash forward 13 years. Ethan driving and Elaine texting.....doubtful the phones will be circa 1990 ginormous though!

The Twins' New Cousin

Today the twins' new cousin, Amelia came. The twins were not able to come and see her yet but they will meet her soon.

A Bit of the Outdoors

Today Patrick left to go to a work conference. The twins, Charlie and I headed up to Dayton to meet my family camping.

The twins got to ride the train with their cousins Morgan and Jake!

They also had a blast eating fruit snacks and playing with rocks!

Barker Fun Day

Today was "Barker Fun Day"! We started off going to the zoo. The twins had a blast seeing all the animals and playing. After the zoo we continued downtown to the Taste of Cincinnati. We sampled a ton of food and found the time to hit a few rides. Ethan loved the roller coaster but Elaine was much more fond of the motorcycles.

The twins also enjoyed the music and a lot of dancing!