Kidsfest 2013!

Over Memorial Day weekend we had our 5th annual kidsfest at Aunt Mandy’s house.  It’s so hard to believe that it’s been FIVE years!  The Hatch family joined us again this year and as always, we had a blast!  Here are TONS of pictures to document the fun:

Jay and Mandy goofing off. . .

I just can’t emphasize enough how much I LOVE Mandy’s house.  I’ve been going there for over a decade (before she owned it her parents lived there) and we’ve had such great times there.

The boys almost jump out of their skin when we drive up and they see the bounce houses ready to go!

So beautiful and peaceful.

Lincoln having fun in the jumperoo.

Nick trying to throw Mandy into the pool.

Precious little guy made it very challenging to keep a hat on him.  My little ginger is so fair skinned that I’m constantly working to keep him in the shade.

I just love those swings and the beautiful scenery.

Just like with Nanny and Paw Paw’s house, the fishing is always a huge hit!  This particular weekend the fish were biting like crazy. 

Godmother Mandy teaching Bear.

Lots of fish caught!

Bryn and Bear on Bear’s tire swing.  These two were inseparable and had so much fun together.

Jackson and Owen with their prize catches.

Bear hasn’t yet caught a fish but he did a great job of casting.

Unfortunately it rained quite a bit.  Fortunately Mandy was totally prepared with TONS of indoor activities and crafts.

In true 12+ months of sleep deprivation fashion-somehow Lincoln’s suit case was left at home.  Luckily we made a fast run to wal mart and we were good to go.  Man I’m really looking forward to the day (which I know is coming soon!) when I sleep through the night.  I’m ready for my brain. . .among other things. . .to come back!

Mandy and Nick are definitely a couple divided.  She’s a Baylor Bear through and through and Nick bleeds burnt orange.  Here they are doing “hook ‘em Bears, or Sic ‘em Horns!”

Jack loving the art table.

It seems like nothing makes Bear happier than playing in the rain and jumping in puddles.  Love that little guy!

Bear even did really well with all of the dogs.  He’s typically scared of dogs but I think it helped that these big guys all stay outside.

The pick-up trike is still a big hit.

Nick and his son Austin playing ping pong.

Jackson loved playing ping pong with Nick and Austin.  They said he was actually pretty good for a 5 year old.

Curls McGee.

Nick gave a few rides on the pick up trike as well.

Sweet dogs were probably wondering where all the kids had come from.

My kids would be so happy to live out on some land!

I was worried that one pizza wouldn’t be enough for all of us. . .we had almost half of this beast left over!

Uncle Nick is a champ and always swims with the boys.

Lincoln was thrilled during the day but miserable at night.  The teeny man cried for almost 3 straight hours each night.  He does NOT travel well. 

Crazy (the dog) got into a vicious fight with a turtle.  Sadly the turtle really hurt Crazy.  Jay tried to break up the fight multiple times but somehow Crazy and the turtle would always find each other again so we gave up.  And with giving up we just let the boys watch.

It’s amazing how my boys are all smiles and no very little mischief when they are outdoors.

Lincoln (or as Bear calls him Dinka) got lots of attention from Nick and Austin. 

Bryn and Bear are such a great duo!  It was hilarious seeing them interact.  At one point Dacia was watching them run together and she said that Bear said, “Bryn, slow down.  I’m only 3, cut me some slack please!”

This was before Lincoln was mobile.  My how things have changed in the last month!

Jay, fishing expert extraordinaire, cleaned all of the kids fish so that we could have a fish fry for dinner.

Mandy made a GIANT fruit salad that the kids went crazy over.

Precious faces at the diner table.

More art fun during yet another rain storm.

I made a Kidfest sign before being told that it was actually KidSfest.

Hence the crazy addition of the unsightly S.

More Longhorns Uncle Nick?!?

Pig nestled in for a good nights sleep.

Owen and Bryn literally laid down in the room where all of the adults were watching a movie and just went straight to sleep.  I don’t know what kind of hypnosis Dacia and Bryan use on their kids but I’m fairly certain that it’s not legal

I think we got 9, yes NINE inches of rain that weekend.

Luckily it cleared up for a while and Kidsfest was it’s usual blast.

Uncle Shelby’s brother, Dustin, and his family live in San Antonio so we invited them to come swim and have lunch.

Random and awkward shot of Lincoln and me.  It’s not the greatest but I’m posing it anyway because I have so few pictures of me with my boys.

Reagan is such a little cutie!

It was so fun to get to hang out with another branch of the Francis family!

Such a perfect mix of kiddos!  No fuss, just lots of fun!

Jay wanted to show the kids how to make soda explode with Mentos.

It was a huge hit!

Just wish this picture wasn’t so dark.

The finished product from the fish fry.  These kids were loving the delicious fish and so proud that they had caught them all the day prior.

That night super fun Aunt Mandy set up glow in the dark bowling for the kids.  They loved it!

We decided next time to use a basketball b/c the ball that we used was a bit too light.  But the kids still had a great time!

My competitive child of course actually kept up with the score and will thrilled that he won.

I used my flash on the pictures above so that we could see the kids.  The pictures below are without the flash and since we played after dark this is what it really looked like:

It was super cool.

The next day we played with the left over glow sticks.

Mandy brought home a bunch of ingredients from the bakery and the kids had a make your own bundt cake party.  Since my kids rarely get sugar. . .this was an incredible hit.

The adorable kiddos of Kidsfest 2013!

Jay took the boys out in the kayak and it was the highlight of the weekend for both of the bigs.

“Mom, can I just wet one more hook?”  My mini-Jay asked before we left.

The boys were going to watch a movie while Jay and I cleaned up the house.  5 minutes in and they were both snoozing!  Such a fun and relaxing weekend.  I can’t wait for next year when Lincoln and I will be sleeping through the night!

Thanks once again to Mandy and Nick for their incredible hospitality.  What a treat these long weekends in San Antonio are for our family!