We tried to sit down at the aviary and see the birds but I don't think that we were quiet enough! They got an "A" for effort though. McKenzy was positive she saw a penguin but besides that we did not see much.
Some of us took a break in the shade while Keyan and Daddy caught up. We hiked at least a mile and everyone was able to keep up. (Keyan was in the stroller, but she did her best) It was a really nice way to spend a beautiful day together.
A couple of weekends ago I mentioned to Paul how nice it would be if we could find a place to meet his parents half way between here and Merrill. We started looking into it and found this nice park in Carson City. We callled Mom and Dad to see if they were up to meeting us the next afternoon. Once we knew they were able to make it we called the rest of the family to see if anyone else wanted to join us. In the end everyone but Dennis and Lija were able to meet for a few hours. It was the first time since our girls were born that all of the grandkids were together. We had a lot of fun playing, eating pizza, fishing, and getting ice cream. I guess sometimes things work out without a whole lot of planning. I thought that it was a pretty exciting day to finally have the kids all together!
You can tell they are all Hogan kids, huh? They really take after their grandparents in this picture!! There is nothing like your family.
Today was Jamahl's first day of Kindergarten. He was thrilled to go and went off with no problems. Mommy was very anxious about the new adventure but kept her emotions in check until the car. Daddy took the afternoon off so that he could be part of the big event as well. 
Oops! Mommy forgot the name tag that the teacher mailed to us TWO WEEKS AGO!!!! (I don't know why they have to do that?) But, Mrs. Hoeneke was prepared for those parents who can't keep it together. She even already knew his name without the name tag. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
He is off and running! No hesitation....he told us to have fun while he was gone, and he started chatting with the little boy next to him. The only glitch in the day is that the office tried to put him on bus #18, but he told them that his mommy was nervous about him riding a bus so she was picking him up!!! True, but does everyone neeed to know that? He said he had a great day and he could not wait to go back tomorrow. Where does the time go? Can he really be old enough to start school? I guess I am off to cry now!
If you know me at all, you know that the 4th of July is a big event around our house. The girls have never seen fireworks so Uncle Jeremy and Auntie Roo brought some simple ones over. We still stuck to our schedule so the kids had to see the fireworks before it was dark but they had a great time. They were lined up in their chairs and clapped after every one. Most of them enjoyed doing sparklers on their own. We survived the night with only one minor burn! Near the end, McKenzy got totally freaked out so we called it quits. Everybody had fun and we all loved having Jeremy and Amy home to celebrate with.
Just a cute picture of Jamahl at the park. September 4th is his big day starting Kindergarten! He is absolutly ready but Mommy refuses to believe it. He told us last week thought that he had to go to school because he was going to become the smartest boy inthe whole world! How is that for a goal?
We also attempted to take everyone to the 4-H fair. Everyone loved the animals although Sidney is still talking about the smelly pigs. Their favorite animals of the night was the goats, who tried to eat the strollers and the girls dresses. We were having a fun time until the tractor pull started. The noise completly freaked McKenzy and Keyan out. We ended the night by rushing 4 two year olds, 2 strollers, and all of our stuff to the van. Next year we will go during the day!!!!
Of course we have had a great summer for using the pool. You will never hear us complain about all the 90 degree days we have had. Jamahl is swimming, jumping, and cannon-balling all over the place. He is learning new things in the water every day. The girls are doing really well also. Everyone except Keyan can bob around on their own, "swim to the ladder", and jump in. It has been amazing to see how quickly they learn. Poor Keyan can not get her trach wet so she has to stay swimming with Grammie and she is not happy watching her sisters having so much fun. We just keep telling her that eventually she will be doing the same thing!
We also managed to get out first professional pictures taken just a few weeks ago. The kids did great....I won't comment on how the studio did! We hope that you all are having just as good of a summer as we are. Enjoy what is left of it!
I just thought that I would share the gift I gave Paul for fathers day. My friend Kerri took individual pictures of the kids and photo shopped them together. I was thrilled with the outcome and Paul loved his gift. Paul is a great daddy I am so lucky to have him to travel this path of parenthood with. He is wonderful with the kids and gives them 110% of himself. "I Love You"--Your wife!
So it has taken me awhile to post about Tulip Time this year but we had a great time. We were able to get everyone downtown for the festivities four times. Grammie made the girls new costumes this year and they LOVED them. It is virtually impossible to get a great picture of them all so this is as good as it gets. Jamahl readily put his costume on after we bribed him with cotton candy. Paul still refuses to dress up but I am not giving up hope yet!!! Here are a few other pictures of our fun week...
"Just smell the flowers!!! Don't pick them!!!" (There is a fine for picking the tulips!) Needless to say, we did not make it thru the week without picking a few!
Sidney is going to be our first Dutch Dancer!
