6.30.2011

last swim meet










The kids had a blast last night (down pour and all) at their last swim meet of the summer. I am so glad that all three of them have LOVED it!!


Elise has come sooo far this summer. In fact, last night she participated in three strokes- free, back and breast- and did wonderfully! It is pretty unusual for 6 and unders to do a legal breaststroke or backstroke, but she did just that! So proud!


Lila did a great job as well- swimming her freestyle lap without assistance and using her arms much more!


Of course, we are super proud of Bennett also! Poor thing had to swim in the pouring rain, and still managed to finish his lap- although he did look slightly terrified!


I hope that this continues to be something they all love!

6.26.2011

rolling on the river



Summer has been flying by....we had a great week last week filled with swim team (Elise went 5 seconds faster in her swim meet Wednesday!!!), a few rainy days, a trip to the library, and a fun night out for David and I with some of my awesome old high school friends. June is almost gone in the blink of an eye!














Yesterday we were thrilled to be invited by the Barrois Family to go on a boat ride. It was David and the kids' first ride down the Tchufuncte River. It was a BLAST! It brought back lots of memories for me of learning how to ski and having fun times on the river..but I think this may have topped most of those! Seeing Bennett so fascinated by how everything on the boat worked, and the girls L O V I N G the wind and watching the scenery. We even stopped at the swimming hole and the Dads and kids went for a swim! Later we docked the boat in Madisonville, grabbed a bite to eat at a restaurant on the river, and then continued our cruise. The kids were all so good and had so much fun. It was truly a great day.








It almost felt like a little mini-vacation for the afternoon....a great way to escape in our very own town! As you can imagine, the begging for a boat has already begun.....ha!


6.20.2011

Father's Day

We were so blessed to have lots of Fathers with us on Father's Day. Both sets of Grandparents came over, as well as my parents, brother and sister-in-law. And one of our little deer friends joined us for a bit...



















It was a jam packed day celebrating all of the amazing Dads in our lives! We are so blessed...

6.15.2011

Happy Birthday Boss!!








Boss participated in the kids' photo shoot and I thought his 1st birthday would be the perfect time to share some of our favorite pics! He has definitely become a true member of our family and we are soo thankful to have him!
Happy Birthday Boss-man!
Love you!

6.12.2011

rock n' roll

The culmination of our marathon week last week was the girls' dance recital yesterday. The way things fell, last week the kids had swim team, swim lessons, a swim meet, Elise had cheerleading camp at my old high school, and the girls had dance class, dance awards, and dress rehearsal Friday night. None of us thrive on that type of over-scheduling, and so I am thankful that the rest of our summer will be much more laid back. I will say, as crazy as it was, the kids did have a blast last week, and that is what is most important.

The girls have been looking forward to their recital for months, and were so glad it was finally time....
The theme this year was Rock N' Roll, and so the costumes were a little brighter than in years past, which (of course) the girls' LOVED! Their dance school has grown, and so although they are in class with several friends each the recital is split into two groups and so they don't all get to do the final performance together. This is bittersweet, but I definitely understand why the owner does it that way. Luckily, each year, we have been able to be with the Barrois girls- which makes for a very happy Elise and Lila. And, they did get to hang out with all of their friends at the rehearsal Friday night! So, it has been a fun weekend for them...



Elise and Ella ready for Hollywood!







The above two girls are two peas in a pod. I think in competition for who is the nuttiest!



Our sweet girls.





These were their ballet outfits. Elise's group danced to "Hippy Hippy Shake" and Lila's to "Teddy Bear". Some old school rock n roll.







This was the first year Kimberly and I let the girls wear make-up and they were soooo excited!




These are their tap outfits, which they adored! Their song was "Let it Rock".



Lila's class tapped to "Bird Dog" in these cute outfits.





Our performers...


I will say, the stage is the one place where any shyness that Elise has completely goes away. Both at the cheerleading performance and for the recital she had the BIGGEST smile on her face the whole time. She loves, loves, loves it!
And, without a doubt, Lila loves the stage as well- NOT a surprise!





Goof balls.





Sweet girl looking all grown up at the end of a long week.







This picture makes me laugh so hard. My attempt to show that I actually exist by jumping in a picture...then my eyes are closed and Lila is hidden by her flowers. So typical!




Can you tell which ones are sisters?? Although they all act like they are!




Time for sleep!!!!!!!



The girls had a BLAST, and David and I are so thankful to both of our parents for sitting through almost 4 HOURS of dance to see their granddaughters dance 4 times. It was a long recital!

We are also super, super grateful to the Bristers for allowing Bennett to hang out with them for the day. He would have been completely miserable at the recital, and instead he had an absolute blast and thought it was his special day! We owe them big time!



Looking forward to a week next week filled with Vacation Bible School and some afternoon swims...can't wait. I must say, I am having lots of fun with the kids the summer....and I hope they are too!

6.05.2011

the party


























































































































As you can see....Lila and Bennett had a BLAST at their 4th birthday party! It was their first "real" party, and they were so excited to play and celebrate with so many friends!! We were so blessed that so many special friends could make it, and especially grateful to the Boerners and Adams for traveling to be here on their special day! David's parents and Uncle Jared and Aunt Erinn also came into town for the big day, and Aunt Mo and Uncle Phillip were with us in spirit!

How blessed are Lila and Bennett?? And David and I are so thankful to have great friends that love our children!


It was a jam packed day as it was also David's birthday, and so we continued the partying way into the night last night....


Recovery day today! :)