Cinci Summer

Ahhh, our lazy days in Cincinnati. The kids spend most of their time in the pool and I lounge by the pool, reading, snacking, and taking pictures of all their antics. It's wonderful!

With shouts of "Mom, watch this!" the kids give me an eyeful of dives, jumps, and cannonballs into the pool.

Wrestling

and splashing

and squirting abound!

Ciara is definitely a little cutie and gets lots of attention.

Lots of boy antics...I'm never sure what they're up to.

We bribe them to get group shots (which unfortunately all turned out blurry).

But then I get a shot that makes me smile every time I look at it.

Although the pool dominates our time, the kids also find other fun things to do. Noah can always find time to draw...

and Savannah immerses herself in some good books.

Picnics!

Acting goofy!

And dress up!

Imaginary games, like King Xander being attended by his servants.

Love the hair do!

A few tea parties for good measure.

Oh, how we love our summers in Cincinnati!

The 2nd Clark/Pierce Cupcake Wars

What was supposed to turn into a new tradition for the Clark/Pierce families fizzled out after its first year but Heidi and I were determined to give it another go. So, one gloomy day in Cincinnati we gathered the teams, picked out our choices, made our grocery list, went shopping, and started off the Second Annual (hopefully) Pierce/Clark Cupcake Wars!!!
Team Cupcake Divas!

Due to the absence of their team leader, I filled in to help out Team Spiders!

Let the baking commence! (Kellan is giving Noah a sad look because apparently Noah and Kellan had had a little tiff right before we started and still hadn't resolved their issue. Thank goodness baking usually brings people together.)

All smiles from the Cupcake Divas.

When baking always make sure you have your sippee nearby.

A little blending...

and filling the cupcakes with extra special peanut butter goodness.

The perks of baking! All smiles now!

Mixing...

and measuring.

Mmmmmm, they smell so good!

We have to make sure it taste good, right?

Xander learned the art of zesting.

Working together to rock out that frosting.

Look at all those cupcakes!

After all the actual cupcake making was done, the kids wandered off to play and Heidi and I got stuck making most of the frosting. Oh, well, after all the chaos of our cupcake afternoon, it was fun being in the kitchen with just my sis. Have you ever seen a more glamorous baker?

We headed back down to Grandma and Grandpa's with cupcakes in tow for the taste-testing event. The Cupcake Divas present the "Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcake" and the "Cherry Coke Float Cupcake."

The Spiders present the "Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cupcake" and the "Orangesicle Cupcake."

These babies are legit!

We quartered the cupcakes so everyone could get a taste.

The votes were tallied and the winner of the Second Annual Pierce/Clark Cupcake Wars was:
The Spiders!!
The "Orangesicle Cupcake" nabbed the number one spot, with the "Cherry Coke Float" coming in at second. The boys and I were very proud of our accomplishment!

Oh, yeah!! Champions!!