We have spent most of the past two weeks in Des Moines for our annual summer trip. These trips always revolve around the pool and sure enough within 5 minutes of our arrival (at 9:45pm!) both Jude and Anna were in the pool. And they spent time in the pool every single day. Below is a shot of Uncle Nathan propelling Jude to the other end of the pool – which he loved of course.

All the cousins got along really well for the most part and here they are all goofing around on our first morning there.

But the trip wasn’t all spent by the pool. There were lots of activities including fishing (where Jude caught plenty of fish), some time at the Iowa State Fair, the Science Center, Living History Farms, (which both Jude and Anna said was their favorite) as well as lots of activities and games around the house. Here is Jude showing off his first fish.

Marcy and I were able to get away for a couple of days by ourselves which was fantastic. We chose Dubuque this time where a friend of ours is from. We stayed at his great grandparents mansion which was turned into a bed and breakfast. We stayed Monday to Wednesday so we ended up having the place to ourselves. Here is Marcy reading outside with a beautiful view of the Mississippi River. We stayed in the end unit on the top floor which was actually a two bedroom suite. Awesome.

We were back in Des Moines less  than 48 hours before leaving for home. The drive was uneventful and we arrived back home at 8:30pm on Friday night.

We have had a pretty low key weekend and both kids spent a lot of time playing with their toys. But the big news is today both Jude and Anna got their first pet. They had to choose a low maintenance pet and it was between a fish and a frog. Jude initially said he wanted a frog but changed him mind when Anna chose a fish. They each have a Betta in a bowl. Here is Jude admiring his new friend that he named Blue Scale, with the fish bowl decoration of the Cat in the Hat. This is a learning experience for both Jude and Anna and if they do well we will consider a dog or cat down the road but they have to take care of their fish all by themselves.

Jude has been talking about snorkeling with the fish for over a year now. Ever since he found out that when you turn six you can go to the aquarium and swim with the fish he has been excited about it. This past Saturday we did it and he had a blast. The fish are so tame in the aquarium that they come right up to you and almost touch you. Above is Jude in full snorkeling gear taken with the underwater camera they provide.

After moving almost two weeks ago Jude is settling in to our new house well. He likes having his own room again, after more than 18 months of sharing with Anna. He is very happy to just go to his room to be alone and read some books or just play with his toys. His sleeping has been great which is more than we can say for his sister.

The local public school is literally 100 yards from our house and they have a great new playground. So, we are making this a regular place to visit after dinner and on weekends. Jude likes to practice his climbing skills there as he maneuvers up the pole.

These days Jude’s favorite books are the Magic Treehouse series. We have a few of them in paperback but Marcy has been checking the audio CDs out from the library. And Jude can literally listen to these stories for hours. This is going to come in handy when we drive to Iowa this week.

Here is Jude in a real treehouse at one of our friends places. He thought it was very cool.