Happy Summer!

Summer is finally here-- woohoo!  Well, I guess technically it isn't because I still have a work day at school tomorrow (but because my 1st graders were such good slave laborers, um, I mean HELPERS on Friday, I have very little work left to do!).  We did our best this weekend to kick off summer right! :)  Grandpa and Grandma Wissink came for a visit, and Jeremiah was very excited to see them when he woke up on Saturday morning!

We decided to hit the Farmer's Market in the morning.  We have been to the FM a few times already this year, and have found that it's much nicer to get there before 8:00-- after that it just gets busier and hotter!  Well, and since we have been blessed with a boy who sticks to his scheduled wake-up time of 6:15ish, it's pretty easy to get up and out the door by then!

An apple cider doughnut!  The breakfast of champions at the Farmer's Market (J and I do not appreciate the breakfast burritos that everyone stands in line for!).

Hmmm.  What are these potatoes for?  I think I'll try juggling!

After the Farmer's  Market, Adam and J had haircut appointments, so that was our next stop.  Are there any other 2 year olds out there that need haircuts every 5 weeks just like Daddy?  No?!?!?? 

They always tell us how good Jeremiah is when he's getting his haircut!  Well, he should be-- he's been doing it since he was 6 months old, for heaven's sake!

We went with a summer haircut this time, and I just think it looks so cute on him!

And then we had to wait while Daddy got his haircut.  In case you didn't know, these are not actually hair dryer things, they are microphones.

Saturday afternoon, Jeremiah got to go in his new inflatable pool (thanks to Waandersfest)!  If you remember last year, J was not too interested in the pool or water in general.  He was much more interested in playing trucks or playing in sand!  But I think this year will be different-- he is loving his new pool and getting all wet!

He also loves his "shark."

  

 And he's getting pretty brave, too-- sticking his face in the water and trying to blow bubbles!

 Saturday evening we went to check out Smokin' in the Junction, which was a meat smoking contest held at Historic Valley Junction.  Unfortunately, it was kind of a disappointment AND it was insanely hot.  So we did not stay long, and it was too hot to take any pics.  We did, however, end the evening at Maggie Moo's for some ice cream!  Yum!

Sunday we went to church and then had brunch at Ruby Tuesday's.  J had some more pool time in the afternoon, and also took some breaks to run in the sprinklers with Grandma!

The big event of the afternoon/evening was grilling beer can chicken for dinner!  YUM.  Seriously.

Monday morning we got up early again (thanks J!) and then hit the Blank Park Zoo before the heat of the day set in.  Jeremiah was super excited to go to the zoo again!  And it was especially fun because he got to do some things that were closed last time we were there.

He got to feed the Budgie's!  With daddy, of course.  Mommy does not set foot in that cage.  J giggled and laughed and thought the birdies were so cool!  Oh, and the reason he's wearing his train engineer hat is because we also got to ride the train!

Of course, by the time we got to the train, J realized that the train hat was too tight (size 18 months!) and did not want to wear it anymore.  He was SUPER excited about his train ride!!!!!!  This next pic is not that great, but does give you a good idea of his sheer joy on the 10 minute train ride.

He also had fun playing on the playground at the zoo!  He has gotten much braver lately when it comes to slides.  He used to not like them at all (just a few weeks ago he told me that our friends' Step 2 toddler slide was "too big for me.").  But today he was brave and did the "bumpy" slide several times all by himself!

My baby is growing up.

And of course Jeremiah's favorite part-- the giraffe's and the excavators!

After J's nap this afternoon, we ended our nice long weekend with a trip to Prairie Ridge pool here in Ankeny (again, I think we might have a little fishy on our hands!  J was beside himself with excitement at the pool and splash park!).

It was a great, relaxing weekend!  Can't wait for summer vacation to officially begin! :)