Patoka Lake

This past weekend we decided to take a cruise on Patoka Lake while we were visiting Granny and Gramps. The boat was acting suspciously so we found a small cove right by the boat launch and had our fun there.


















Here's Alex swimming in the waves...



















Nick is an excellent rock skipper!




















And then, of course, the boys wanted to learn how to do it so they all started looking for the perfect skipper.
















Andrew spent much of his time out of the water looking for sticks to turn into light sabers.
















Look! It's Lents soup!
















Being the fantastic granny she is, Granny got in the water with the kids and had some fun.

Fourth of July 2010

Our second annual Fourth of July party was actually held on July 3rd this year but we had great weather, great friends and a great time! Here are the kids going down the water slide--always a big hit.

Whipper snappers are also a big hit with the kids. This year I made sure to get plenty! The basketball court was a mess afterward!

I have to say that I was pretty proud of my patriotic home pedicure. Stars and stripes forever! (or at least until the paint starts to chip!)













Our neighbor Dwayne brought these cool fireworks that shoot out a little parachute guy--here are the kids angling to catch one.













Sparklers!

















I love this picture of my friend Allison and her daughter Katie--Katie has a sparkler in one hand and some treat in the other. That girl was so excited for the treats that were in abundance!













This picture cracks me up! Here are Nick and Dwayne preparing their fireworks show. They looks like pyromaniacs with all those charges!

















Watching the beautiful fireworks display!














Here are Sophie (one of our neighbors) and Andrew holding hands. I mean, honestly! How cute is that!













One of the pretty fountians...

Holiday World 2010

Our annual pilgrimage to Holiday World was this past week and, as always, we had a spectacular time! This year we had the Cress family reunion there, which added to the fun.

We rode a few new rides this year, including Wildebeest watercoaster (awesome!), the Scarecrow Scrambler (boys loved that), and Frightful Falls, but unfortunately none of those were captured on film. Nick's personal favorite was the Wildebeest and mine was the good ol' stand by, Raging Rapids. We did all those and all the same ones we do every year. Here are the boys on the canoe ride...















...and Andrew on the kiddy spaceships...












...here's Alex driving an old timey car...













And Andrew driving an old timey car...












We stayed, as usual, at the Lake Rudolph campground in a rental camper. My mom and stepdad were right next to us and my step brother Chris and his family were next to them. One big redneck family in our respective trailers! ☺ Here is our attempt at a good family picture, including the "Cress Family 'Holiday' 2010" tee-shirts for all. (Yes, we're THAT family at the amusement park wearing the matching shirts!)













Getting everyone at the table at the same time was a bit of a challenge but here are MOST of us at dinner the first night.

















I don't know if it was the trailer living or what but the four kids found a dirt patch and went to town, getting absolutely filthy. I expect this from the three boys but I'm pretty sure that my neice Olivia was the instigator!














This is Alex and Olivia after they were busted and needed a hose-down before dinner. You can't tell because of the sunlight but they are COVERED in dirt, including thier faces.














Here's a better shot of the filth on Alex. That's not a black eye, it's dirt! Nice.

Strawberry Pickin'!

Strawberry season came early this year and so we hit Spencer's Farm to pick some for a strawberry shortcake. This was the boys (any my!) first time picking strawberries and they really enjoyed themselves.

It took a bit before Andrew was able to pick the berries without squishing them! Check out his hands in this picture:


















Showing off their loot!

Here we are with our bounty! Yay for strawberries! (The shortcake was WONDERFUL, by the way!)

Conner Prairie

After our fantasic balloon voyage we headed out to visit the rest of Conner Prairie. It's rather big so we only hit the Indian Village and the barn during the visit. Here are the boys working in the field preparing it for corn. Seriously? Are these the same children that refuse to even pull a weed in our own yard??! But a fake pioneer gives them a hoe and they can't be torn away!

Here's Alex grinding some corn. Again, they won't help at home with food preparation...perhaps I should try to incorporate more giant sticks in my kitchen appliances.

Here is Nick learning how to throw a tomahawk at a target. I've spared you the video of this endevour, however I have to share that after he had a few tries I felt the need to learn as well. My second try? Dead on. Who knew I had crazy tomahawk skills???

Then we headed over the the barn where they have animals just running around free for you to pet. Here are the boys petting the sweetest, softest bull! He had another name but I'm calling him Ferdinand after one of our favorite books.

The boys even got to brush him and he just allowed them to do whatever. He's seriously giving bulls a bad, or rather GOOD name!

Andrew enjoyed talking to all the animals and kept saying "Hi bull, my name is Andrew, what is your name?"

This shot is funny simply because Alex said "Here Andrew, you drive and I'll ride in the back seat."

After a bit they got out the baby chicks that had just hatched two days prior. Honestly, I was a bit afraid that the boys would accidently crush one and they'd ask us to leave but they were both surprisingly gentle.