Busy Summer Days

Well, I know you are all wondering where in the world we have been. It's been pretty busy around here and I have been bad about putting off updating the blog. I figured it was past time.

We have been having a great summer so far. I thought I might post a few pictures of what our summer has looked like so far. They are in no particular order.

Annalyse started the summer off with swim lessons at our YMCA. I was hoping both of them could take but Lucy had to be 3. Unfortunately between our schedule and the teacher's schedule she has only had two lessons. She is really doing great though.

We also had to break out our pool of course. It's amazing how much fun two little girls can have in a $30 pool (no, this is not a picture of the $30 pool). They love it! They also got a slip n slide. They thought it was okay but preferred to play in the little pool attached to the end of the slip n slide. I remember having a slip n slide when I was little and absolutely loved it and would just about break my neck sliding. Maybe they just aren't old enough yet to get the full enjoyment out of it. We also got Charlotte her own little pool since the big girls are a little too wild in theirs. She loves the water and has fun splashing of course.

We decided to take a break from gymnastics this summer and try out something new. Annalyse and Lucy LOVE to dance so they started a ballet, tap, and tumbling class at the beginning of June. It is just a 7 week class. I thought that might be the best way to try it out and see if they like it. They seem to really be enjoying it, especially Lucy. I have to wait in the waiting room and I'm not able to see in the room and it's driving me crazy. At gymnastics we watched the entire time and now I can't see a thing! This was after they got ready for their first day of dance.

We also discovered a wonderful secret. The pool at my mom and grandparents community club house is fantastic. No one is ever there and the deepest it gets is 5 feet. It is 3 feet deep at both ends and then becomes 5 feet in the middle. The girls are begging to go everyday. They love it and it is amazing what spending multiple days in the pool does for their confidence. Annalyse can swim all the way from one end of the pool to the other by herself. She's not exactly doing the freestyle but she can get there. It is so cool to watch her swim. She's doing great. I'm so proud of her.

Nathan told her about how he used to do cannon balls when he was little and now that is all she wants to do. It is so cute. I was amazed that she immediately got it and knew how to do it without us showing her.

I thought this picture was hilarious. Lucy as you can see has become a little more brave in the pool as well. She has a death grip on you when you are holding her though.

I got a cool picture of Annalyse riding on Nathan's back under the water.

We also have been doing some fishing at our neighborhood pond. I'll have to take some more pictures of the actual fishing but thought this was a cute one of the kids when we met up with some friends to fish. Believe it or not only one kid ended up in the pond! Luckily, it wasn't one of mine. :)

Four generations!

I celebrated a wonderful Mother's Day with my family. I woke up first thing to Annalyse getting into bed with us saying "Happy Mother's Day mommy". I think that is the first time she's ever said that completely on her own without Nathan prompting her. She's growing up. I see it in little things like how she likes to hang out in her bed longer after she wakes up than before because "it's just sooo comfortable". Anyway, so back to Mother's Day. Nathan made me blueberry muffins and a bowl of cereal (it's what I asked for) for breakfast. Then the girls wanted to give me my gifts. They had brought home some flowers that each of them picked out the day before and they were so pretty. Nathan said they wanted to make me a cake for Mother's Day. I'm sure that was totally with a giving spirit, not because they love cake and would use ANY excuse to have some! :) They had made it on Saturday while I was gone for a few house. Apparently it was a comedy of errors according to Nathan. It fell apart multiple times and they "icinged" it back together. Well, it didn't slow me down for a second (surprise, surprise!). It was precious. They made it in the shape of a heart. Obviously we got into it for breakfast before I thought to take a picture. Nothing better than having cake for breakfast on Mother's Day! They gave me a precious card, a note pad, and candle that they picked out all by themselves. It was all just so perfect.

Annalyse and I went to church and Nathan stayed with Lucy and Charlotte because they had colds. I am a small group leader in Annalyse's 3, 4, and 5 year old class so we are in there together and then she goes with me to "big church" afterwards. She does very well for her age and sits there pretty quiet the whole time. Then we came home and Mom, Grandma, and Ppaw came over and Nathan grilled out for us for lunch. We had a great lunch together and enjoyed visiting with each other. All the girls got together for a girls picture. It's pretty cool to have all four generations in that picture. Of course, there wasn't one that everyone was looking at the camera at the same time but I think it's pretty cute.

Me and my girls!

Afterwards, Mom, Grandma, and Ppaw went home and the girls went down for naps. Nathan and I laid on the couch and were lazy and took a short nap until Lucy and Charlotte woke up. Charlotte has had a bad cold for over two weeks now and I am so done with it. She is coughing and snotty. It is keeping her up at night. She doesn't just wake up and go back to bed but stays up a couple hours and then goes back. She is wearing me out. Believe me, I need my sleep! Just ask Nathan. :)

The rest of the day we were pretty lazy until we went fishing. I will have to post those pictures sometime soon. We have been going about 2 to 3 times a week now to the pond down by the park. The girls love it. We came home and Charlotte needed a bath. I thought these were cute.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I am so blessed to have Nathan and the girls. Sometimes I feel so unworthy but just so so thankful. I love you my precious family!

Dolphins!!!!

Yes, it actually happened. Annalyse got to see a dolphin! We went to Key West on Wednesday of last week and Thursday morning we went on a sight seeing trip. First things first of course, was the hunt for the dolphins and it didn't take long until we found them. We followed this one around for a little while and watched it play. Of course, my timing wasn't all that great on getting a full body shot of it but I think you get the idea. Annalyse and Lucy both just loved it. I think Annalyse had been waiting for that moment for a long time. I am surprised she didn't jump right in and start swimming to it.

After watching the dolphin we headed over to an island to look for seashells and play in the water. The girls loved the boat ride. Annalyse wanted it to go faster and faster. She loved being jostled around. It was so much fun for dad, Nathan, and I just to get to see them enjoy it all so much. Thankfully Hollyce was so kind to stay back at the house with Charlotte. Being out on the water was wonderful. It made me realize how much I miss living by it and getting to go out on the boat skiing or fishing. It's just so relaxing no matter what your doing. All your worries seems to just fall to the side.

Annalyse having fun being silly and writing her name in the sand.

Lucy really did enjoy it all so much. Last year she was not a big fan of the sand. This time it took her a few minutes to get used to it and she wanted to wear her Crocs but within a minute or two she had taken them off and was playing in the sand. She also played in the water more than I thought she would. So cute.

After the island we headed over to see a "sunken pirate ship". It was just the top portion of an old rusted ship sticking out of the water with tons of birds sun bathing on it but the girls liked seeing it. Then we went fishing for a while. We mostly caught snapper and it was lots of fun. The girls were only interested in touching and kissing the fish. The would reel one in every once in a while but weren't overly enthused with it. :) After the fishing we headed back after a great day on the water.

That afternoon we headed to the pool. Annalyse had been begging to go since we stepped foot on the island. The pool has one of those gradual entries so it is perfect for the girls to play in. It is especially nice for Charlotte because she can just sit and splash around. She really had fun but unfortunately was a tad bit fussy on this trip with a cold.

The day the guys went fishing Hollyce and I took the girls to the beach. Mom Mom played with them in the sand building sandcastles. Lucy loved putting her hands in the sand. She would run up to me wanting me to wipe them off with the towel every few minutes. She didn't understand that she could just rinse them in the water. The weather, as you can see, was beautiful that day and quite hot. Charlotte and I stayed in the shade under the umbrella.

As you can see the girls were sad to leave. It always goes by way too fast. We had a great trip. Thank you Mom mom and Pop pop!!

The Botanical Gardens

Last Friday the girls and some friends of ours Amy, Ann Catherine, and Lily headed over to see the Tremendous Treehouse's exhibit at the Botanical Gardens. We had a great time. As you can see the girls did lots of posing for the camera. Ann Catherine and Annalyse are one month apart in age and Lucy and Lily are about 9 months apart. They all get along so well. We live just a few houses down from each other, take gymnastics together, and go to church together. And as you can see on this day have lots of fun with each other.

Here is a picture of one of the tree houses designed to be a big flower pot. How cute is that? It was a bit congested inside. I think Charlotte is a little claustrophobic because each time we went inside one of the tree houses she started crying, and she never cries.

Lily Baker and Lucy loved the sand box. We had to pull them out of there. They look so sweet and innocent in this picture, and they are. By the end of the two hours Lily and Lucy were done. It was hot, they were tired and they were hungry. They also walked as slow as snails.

And these two were a hundred miles an hour the whole time. Ann Catherine and Annalyse loved playing in all the houses and running around. We also went into the butterfly garden. They happened to be releasing some new butterflies and the girls got to hold them. They loved it and it was really sweet.

Afterwards we headed to lunch and then back to our house to cool down with some ice cream. Yummmy!

Easter weekend

Earlier during the week before Easter we dyed easter eggs. As always we had lots of fun. Of course, a few eggs usually get broken in the process but the girls love it. Here we are making an absolute mess.

And here is the finished product. Pretty cute!

The easter bunny made a surprise visit also! I think that's the cutest bunny I've ever seen.

On Friday before Easter Blake, Kim, and the kids came for the weekend. We had tons of fun as always. I love the fact all the kids absolutely adore each other. It is so fun to watch them play. I am also glad that poor Grayson is finally going to get him a buddy to play with. Although, I think Grayson has a good time with Blake and Nathan too. The usually play some video games and he loves that. We made pizza's one night, went to Rosie's for lunch, played outside a bunch, and mostly just had a good time enjoying each other's company. Here are a few pictures of the kids having a big time.

I have tons more pictures but my computer seems to be erasing my pictures after I download them somehow. I am very frustrated and it is making this very difficult to do. Hopefully I will get this figured out soon. :)

I don't even know where to begin, I'm so behind!

How's that for a title? I'm a little behind in posting these days. We've had a lot of fun these past few weeks. Last weekend we started by having some of our friends over and made breakfast for the kids while they watched Toy Story in their pj's.

I don't know why the above is underlined but can't seem to remove it. woops!

That same day Mom Mom and Pop Pop came in town for Charlotte's baptism on Sunday. We had tickets to go see Disney's Rockin Road Show Friday night. Hollyce and I took the two big girls while Dad and Nathan grilled steaks and took care of Charlotte. Not sure who got the good end of that deal! :) Hollyce and I really did enjoy it. How can you not enjoy watching your kids totally light up when they see their favorite Disney characters.

Annalyse and Lucy ready to go see Mickey!! I have no idea where the peace sign is coming from.

I completely stole these pictures from my friend Amy's blog. Our pictures were so far away you couldn't tell who we were watching. Not really! But these turned out great.

I think the girls love the popcorn and drinks almost as much as the show!

In case your wondering if Lucy is crying or laughing, she is having a ball!

This picture totally cracks me up of Annalyse. This is the way she looked the majority of the time.

So we had a great time seeing Mickey and the girls were worn out. The girls love going upstairs and waking up Mom Mom and Pop Pop. The first morning they went up Pop Pop was shaving so the girls had to explore the shaving cream a little themselves.

Pop Pop's little monkeys!

Sunday was Charlotte's baptism. It was such a special time. You kind of wish something that important and special could last a little longer. It feels so good to openly profess your faith and dedicate your daughter to the Lord and raising her in His Word and in His Church. It was special having our family be a part of it, but we also missed those of you who weren't able to be there with us that day.

What an awesome ending to a great weekend. I feel overwhelmed by how blessed I am to have these three special girls. What a gift they are!