These Girls....

 

My beautiful girls, my life. Oh how I love them all so much! How blessed are we?? 

 

This little beauty is 15 months old and into everything! She is so independent and strong-willed.  We have to beg her for kisses or to let us hold her at this point, but oh how sweet are those little arms that reach out and those little legs that come running as soon as we get home everyday?  LOVE it!

 

These two have enjoyed this summer! With all the swimming, softball, trips to the library, VBS's, and tea parties, they are having a ball.

She is too silly!

 

I just had to share this video clip.  Avery and her Daddy have done this since she was big enough to crawl.  He would chase her around the living room going "booga booga booga" and she'd just SCREAM and run (or crawl at the time) to me.  Now that she's talking more, she has started calling everything "baby".  She'll get down in our dog's face and say "Hey Baby!" then move her little fingers like she's trying to scare him and say "booga booga booga"! Ha!  It is hilarious!!  Wish I could get THAT on camera.

 

Last week, I walked into the living room and Avery had strewn Fruit loops all over the living room.  I got her out of her highchair and told her what a mess she'd made and how we need to clean it up.  She reached down, picked a few up, looked up at me and said, "I got it!" then proceeded to throw them in the garbage.  I sat there with my mouth wide open and said, "Did you just say 'I got it'?"  She smiled, said it again, and kept cleaning up her mess.  Whoa! My baby just said her first sentence! Not ready for her to grow up so fast!

 

Last night at Grandma's she asked for a peach.  Not thinking she'd actually eat it when she felt how fuzzy it was, I handed it to her.  She loved it! 

 

I ended up taking it away by the time she'd devoured half of it in hopes that it wouldn't hurt her tummy, and of course, she let me know how unhappy she was with me for taking it away!



Father's Day 2013

We started off Father's Day weekend with a fish fry at Audrey and Hermon's.  It was so nice to get to spend some time with family!

 

 

Saturday night we spent time with Ricky and the rest of the Scarbrough bunch, and the kids had a TON of fun playing on the slip-n-slide and in the pool.  I WISH I'd have taken pictures of all the fun they had (especially when KK went down the slip-n-slide with Dean!) Dean loved the slip-n-slide and Avery wouldn't have anything to do with it!

 

Then Sunday we woke Wayne up early  (or the girls did) with the happies they had for him.  I think the best gifts are the ones that come from the heart, and the girls had worked really hard on a book they wrote and illustrated themselves about their Daddy and them.  It was so sweet.  I loved how they said he was their hero and how they talked about the things they loved to do with him and the sweet things he does for them. 

 

I tried my best to get them all to cooperate throughout the day for a picture with their Daddy, and every time, someone (either Avery or Presley) did NOT want to have their picture taken.  This was the best I could get.  So sad...

 

 

Oh well...maybe next time! Ha! It was still a great Father's Day with an amazing husband and Dad of my own.  We spent lunch on Sunday with my Dad and my Mom's family celebrating my Grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary.  What could be better?



Presley's 6th Birthday Party

 We started Presley's party off with swimming!  We actually took this picture before all of her friends arrived.  There was just too much going on for me to get a picture once everyone got there.

 

Wayne and my Dad grilled hotdogs for everyone....

 

Then we made snow cones for everyone in the flavor (or flavors I should say) of their choice.

 

The grand finale of the evening was the outdoor movie screen we set up inside my Mom and Dad's garage (so they could watch the  movie before 9 pm!).  We set everything up like a theatre with a popcorn machine and movie theatre sized candy.  Even Presley's cupcakes went along with the theme! 

 

 

We ended up getting to keep the movie screen for more than one night so we enjoyed several movies...so much fun!



Vacation at Yogi

We didn't have much time to get away this year for a family vacation, and while a beach trip was on our agenda, we couldn't find a spare week that wasn't already booked solid or affordable.  We asked the girls where they'd like to go, and they wanted to get a cabin at Yogi.  We have visited in the past for the day when our cousins have stayed, and after hearing them say how much they enjoyed it, we decided to go for it.

 

 

Our cabin was really nice with two bedrooms and a loft for the kids.  It was however NOT child-proof lol so we were constantly trying to keep Avery off the stairs.

 

The view was beautiful, and the girls loved feeding the geese that came up each day.

 

We also enjoyed the outdoor movie each night.  Avery usually got too sleepy to stay very long, but Makenzie and Presley enjoyed Daddy time and a good movie even after I took Avery back to the cabin.

 

They ALL loved the Splash pad.  They'd play ALL DAY LONG, and would be worn out by the time they went to bed each night!

 

On Wednesday, Katie and Brad stopped by with Dean then later the Johnson cousins joined us as well.  We all played at the splash pad and then grilled hamburgers at our cabin for dinner.

 

These two are something else!

 

We celebrated Presley and Ellie Kate's birthdays with a cake Jan made for them.

 

These sweet girls were so excited to get to see and play with each other!

 

...and this is Avery's face when it was time to go home! LOL...seriously, none of us were ready to leave.  We had such a great time!



Mommy-Daughter Date

These little beauties needed some Mommy time, and this Mommy needed some time with her girls....

 

 

Time is flying, they're growing up on me, and I'm just not ready! It's hard not to get emotional when you feel like you blink and your babies are now 1st and 2nd graders.  I hate it.  I miss the days of little chubby toddler legs and giggles and picnics outside during the summer.  I loved every minute of being a stay-at-home Mom to these girls, and now that they're in school and I'm working, I miss the time we had together. 

 

The girls' last two days of school were half days, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to spend some time with them.  I took off work, and we made plans to make the day all about them. 

 

They made the decision to eat at Mi Hacienda for lunch, and this Mom almost choked when the waiter came to take our drink order and Presley decided to order an alcoholic beverage! The waiter and I looked at each other with big eyes, and I said, "Excuse me?"  Presley just smiled up at the waiter, pointed to the picture of a blue martini and said, "I want this one!" LOL...the waiter just laughed and said, "Honey, I don't think you're quite old enough for that one."  So what did Presley do? She pouted, in good ole Presley fashion, of course!  Come to find out, the only reason she wanted it was because it was blue.  Can you blame the girl? Who wouldn't want a blue drink? Ha!

 

After lunch, we did some shopping damage at Claire's.  The girls both had gift certificates to use from Christmas, and they both got brand new sunglasses.

 

Next, we were off for haircuts with Aunt KK.  Makenzie sat down in the chair and told Katie she wanted her hair cut, and she didn't mean just a trim!  She told her exactly how she wanted it. It took us forever to get her hair to grow out and thicken up a bit in the first place so I just kept repeating to myself "choose your battles..." and gave the go ahead to Katie.  I knew I had nothing to worry about...Katie's great, but this haircut sure did make my little girl look a lot older :(

 

She loves it though, and that's all that matters.  It's only hair after all...right?

 

Yep, I'm in trouble...she thinks she's a teenager.  With the haircut and new sunglasses, the jewelry, and the new shirt (all of which she picked out on her own because she is cool like that-according to her), she really does look like a big girl.  She reminds me all the time that she is no longer a baby, and she talks like a little adult, but I keep reminding her that she is still my baby, she always will be, and she better just get over it. 

 

On to pedicures...gift certificates again, thank God! There is no way I can afford to keep our nails/toenails manicured and polished for the next 15 years.  For three of us just to get pedicures it was $75, and we didn't even get to the fingernails!  Better get used to doing them ourselves or Wayne will go broke trying to keep us pampered and stylish!

 

The finished product....

 

Presley, the free spirit that she is, decided one color on her toes just wouldn't do.  She had to have three!  She was very specific about which order the colors would go in as well. 

 

Makenzie on the other hand, went in knowing exactly what she wanted as usual.  She picked out her colors and gave specific directions to the manicurist.  Cheetah print :)  The design cost me an extra $5.  Go figure...she is definitely my child.  I can see our future now, and it's not going to be pretty (or cheap).

 

We so very much enjoyed our day together.  We laughed and hugged and just had good quality time.  Memories that I won't forget, and I hope they never will either.  Thank you Lord for blessing me with little girls :)



Softball

Makenzie moved from t-ball to coach pitch this year, and to my surprise, Presley was allowed to join her team as well! We'd signed Presley up for t-ball, and I won't lie, I was a bit stressed thinking about how on Earth we'd go to two different games and possibly have to play several nights a week, but I didn't want to keep Presley from being able to play. In the process of filling out their paperwork, I had requested the coach Makenzie had last year (she's great!) for both girls because I wasn't sure if the coach would stay with t-ball or move to coach pitch with her niece. 

 

Luckily for me, the people processing the paperwork noticed this detail and called me before making out the teams.  They asked if I would be comfortable allowing Presley to play with 8 year olds even though she was only turning 6, and I said, "Of course! She's as tall and as tough as the rest of them!"  I can't begin to say how thankful I was that they allowed them to be on the same team!  It was quite shocking especially since last year they wouldn't even allow Presley to play t-ball even though she would be turning 5 two weeks after the season started. 

 

 

I love the 2nd picture...it shows just how crazy it can be to get 11 little girls to sit still for a picture for just two seconds.  They were a ball of energy, and I really felt sorry for the photographer! Ha!

 

The girls LOVE softball, and I am sooo glad!  It's fun to see them enjoy a sport that both Wayne and I enjoyed as well.

First Time in Pigtails

Look whose hair is long enough for pigtails!!

 

 

....and now she says, "That's it Mom! I'm DONE with pictures!" Ha!  Maybe I took one too many....

 

 



Presley's Kindergarten Graduation

 

Time just goes way to quickly in my opinion.  It seems like just yesterday my baby started kindergarten and now, here she is graduating. She has had a great year and has loved her teacher so much.  Wayne and I couldn't be more thankful for the school our girls attend and for the teachers there who love our girls like their own, who share God's love with them daily, and who pray for and with them. It's the next best thing to homeschooling, and I am forever grateful.

 

 

Graduation was simply precious.  To hear and see those children recite scripture from memory, sing praises to God, and get excited over receiving the medals they worked so hard for all year (for memorizing approximately 50 Bible verses) was priceless. 

 

And isn't she just beautiful?? I mean I know she's mine, and I'm a bit partial, but oh how I love this sweet face!

 

Big Sister was proud of Presley too! Makenzie was so sweet and kept telling Presley what to expect at graduation and how exciting it was going to be.

 

The day of graduation, school ended at noon.  This Mommy picked up her girls and took them to lunch to celebrate.  I've been so terribly busy lately so any opportunity I can take to spend time with and enjoy these sweet girls, I do!