Checking things off our list

At the beginning of the summer the kids made a summer bucket list (here).  Despite having many grand adventures in North Carolina we haven't accomplished much on their list and that is for a good reason.  When I asked them to make their summer dream list I wanted the activities be something we could do at home.  They know what we will do when visiting family.  But, with hardly being at home it is challenging.

Since we returned two weeks ago we have steadily been working on our list.  Our first thing tackled was going to Splash Town.  The kids wanted to go all last summer, but I felt like Elena was still too little to hang all day and really enjoy it.  This summer is different so we went last Friday.  And, by crazy timing it also happened to be Friday movie night.  After playing all day we stayed and the kids watch a movie while floating in the wave pool.  Crazy, fun, and tiring day!  Now they want to go everyday!

Jonah is an adrenaline junkie.  He rode every crazy scary in my opinion ride and loved every second of it.  The bigger and faster the better for him.  Emma is a close second and then Elena.  But, she can't ride on everything yet because of her height.  Samuel is more cautious, but loves everything he rides with Emma and Jonah.  I watch...no adrenaline rides needed for me!  Thank goodness they have Drew to ride with them.

One of their favorites

They loved the Tornado....no thank you!

Elena's only "big" ride and she LOVED it!

Next up was our "family pick a dish" meal.  Everyone was given a meal part....appetizer, main dish, side, fruit, veggie, and dessert...to pick for dinner.  It didn't matter if the foods matched it was what we would have.  Crazy as it is, we had a great meal!  Everything went together perfectly and it was a fun dinner! 

We had shish kabobs, corn on the cob, avocado and beet salad, a fruit rainbow with dip (2 items in one) and Italian ice for dessert.  The kids also had sparkling cider which made the meal extra special for them!

Finally, we went to an Astros games last night.  I have been excited about the game all summer.  Prior to the game, the Basels teams performed in Union Station.  It was lots of fun.  Jonah and the boys showed off skills while making it entertaining.  Elena's little Super Stars class was so cute to watch and I was super impressed with Elena's handstands.  I had no idea she had improved so much! 

They didn't all look this nice, but probably half did!

After that it was game time and yeah for us....$1 hot dog night.  Our family ate 14 hot dogs!  We had great seats on the third base line and saw three home runs.  Cool stuff because the train moves when the Astros hit a home run and the kids LOVE that!  The Astros won 4-2 so that ended the night perfectly!

Messing around with the Bagwell statue

He learned about the Astros first Hall of Famer Craig Biggio!

On the big screen and yes were are in that mess!

Always serious about baseball even when eating cotton candy

It was such a fun night.  The kids had a blast being at the game with us and their friends.  Gymnastics and baseball will always keep us all happy!