The Wheeler Family

Called “The Two Coreys” and I realize its a reality show about Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. Well, I haven’t got much to say except I remember when I was 10 and I was TOTALLY going to marry Corey Haim … now that I see he can’t hold down a job and he’s a raging drug addict (not to mention that he is no longer hot!), I’m really glad that relationship didn’t pan out…

I must admit, I was NOT looking forward to the Fourth of July. Chris had made arrangements for us to work in Muscatine with a church group fundraising project and since we would be there I knew he and the kids would want to see the parade. I was worried that it would be hot, that there would be massive amounts of walking, and that the bugs would be ridiculously awful because of all the recent flooding.

We started off our Fourth of July festivities by arriving in Muscatine right before the parade started. We had made plans for the kids and I to ride on the Trolley with Becca, Elena, and her parents while Chris and Josh watched the parade with the other kids. Parking was nightmarish, but luckily we found a spot quickly and started walking towards the parade route waiting for Josh to call us and tell us where to meet. We couldn’t get ahold of Josh, so we called Becca and she told us where the Trolley was. We got there right as they were starting to pull away to start the parade so we ALL jumped on!

The kids grabbed some American flags to wave out the window while Chris laughed as Dan Clark teased him about being a Democrat for the day (the Trolley was covered in advertisements for various Democratic candidates).

They were out of little flags so I didn’t get to wave, but to prove I was there and enjoyed the parade I allowed Becca to take a picture of me…

Near the end of the ride we came upon Josh and the kids who climbed up on the Trolley with some of their candy loot from the parade, Josh thought it would be so much fun to throw the candy out to more people instead of keeping for ourselves. Everyone thought this was a great idea except for poor Jacob who was not happy to lose his hard earned candy…

After the parade was finished Chris, the kids, and I drove to our meeting spot for the church group. We walked over to Salvatore’s and got some pizza to eat while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive. Once they did we split up, read the instructions, and sent them off with their merchandise. Chris and Michael went to one end of the riverfront and Audrey and I stayed near 2nd Street. Most of our job was being in a central location so that the church group members could come back and replenish their selling supplies, so really it was a bit of hanging around. To entertain herself, Audrey asked if she could get an italian ices. At first I was hesitant, but she really wanted to try it, so we got some…

She thoroughly enjoyed it and didn’t ask for anything else the rest of the evening…

Soon is was nearly dark and the fireworks prematurely started. Before we knew it, they were done and the rushed part of our work began where people came back with their unsold products and the money. Thankfully with Audrey there it was a smooth operation, and we headed back to the car. I will admit that I was very worn out when we got home, but it really was a fun day spent with my family and friends!

Today we made a trip to Muscatine for Lydia and Evan’s birthday party at the Muscatine Aquatic Center! I had never been there before so I was interested to see how similar it was to Coralville’s aquatic center. I was surprised by how much cooler the water slides were… they were not necessarily taller or bigger, but they were more fun I think. Anyway, Michael and Audrey had a wonderful time running up the stairs and careening down the water slides! Chris had to leave a little early because he was in charge of getting the grill started for the food part of the party, but of course, I brought the camera along to try and capture some of the fun…

Michael heading down the HUGE red slide…

and then CRASHING into the water…

Audrey enjoying the fun and sun…

Michael on the BIG blue slide… if you look really close IN the slide you will see his reflection sort of like he is luging…

Michael on the BIG blue slide… a better shot…

The kids waiting for the blue bucket to drench them…

Michael and Audrey going down the big red slide together…

And the most cutest, sweetest shot of the day… Audrey had asked Michael to go down the slide with her, he said sure, and they took off together…

It was really fun, and the kids have both asked if they can have their birthdays at the Muscatine Aquatic Center next year (and I am seriously considering it). I still think that the Coralville Aquatic Center is cool, but Muscatine idn’t too shabby

Today the kids and I had to make a emergency run to Muscatine to drop some things off to Lori. In high hopes of getting the kids to look forward to this mini-trip, I told them that if they behaved and were patient we would have lunch at McDonald’s so that they could PLAY! They were thrilled at that idea and behaved very well. We ran our errand and then made our way to the Playplace After inhaling their lunches they set off for FUN in the playplace They got to play for almost an hour until I could not take all of the screaming children (but not before we ran into Julie and Bella Brown… I’m sure Will and the twins were running around too but I didn’t catch them).

Once we arrived home, Audrey needed a breather in the cool house to recuperate from her car sickness. In an effort to improve gas mileage I drove 60 on the interstate without air conditioning on, and the heat and long drive just churned her poor tummy! After a shower and a quick change of clothes the kids and I got out our yard games and headed outside for….. BADMINTON (that may not be how you spell it lol)! We had great fun trying to get a good volley going and I think we managed between the three of us to hit the shuttlecock three or four times! We still had GREAT fun…

Audrey preparing to receive the serve…

Michael setting up the serve…

We played for a good hour and a half and decided we were really HOT, so we came inside and the kids set out to do their chores! Last night we had a long talk about everyone taking responsibility for things in the house that need to be taken care of. To help us all remember the rules and the chores we made our annual Wheeler House Rules and Chore Chart We decided on chores that could be Michael and Audrey’s responsibilities and then chores that they COULD do if they wanted to make some money. So, we came inside and Michael cleaned the living room and made the shoe pile look nice, while Audrey washed the dishes (well, DISH) and fed the fishies.

Once the chores were done the kids asked for a treat… luckily for us Grandpa Wheeler just came back from his trip to the Pacific Northwest and had brought the kids specialty sodas! Michael got root beer, his FAVORITE and Audrey got Black Cherry! After a quick “Cheers” (where do they LEARN these things???) they drank the sodas right down. Michael thought his root beer was like HEAVEN and Audrey really enjoyed the CHERRY flavor of her soda!

Having spent far too long lazying away the summer, I have decided that since it was essentially my last real summer with the kids before I would have to be working full time, that I really needed to make it worthwhile! So today, I got up early and got the kids rounded up into the car. First we headed to the library where we all got new library cards. The kids each found four books and we decided that this is something that we could do each week! Next we stopped at Hobby Lobby where we picked up watercolors, brushes, and watercolor paper so that we could try our hands at PAINTING! Then we headed to wal-mart for some groceries! We came home, made some lunch, cleaned up (and let the kids put away the dishes and headed outside to enjoy nature and PAINT! Michael was inspired to paint some of his new Pokemons while Audrey was inspired by the nature around her

Here is some of Michael’s work…

Audrey’s work…

and my first shot at painting…

After we were done painting, we pulled out our yard games and decided to play some Horseshoes…

After dinner at Drew and Erin’s, both kids settled into bed to read their library books…

Michael reading his Snoopy book…

Audrey reading one of her Arthur books…