Hawaiian Falls, take 2

Today was a big day for Hawaiian Falls.  A group of my friends somehow found a day that everyone could go to the waterpark.  And that just so coincided with Fox 4 News broadcasting live from there all day.  There were so many people there, it was kind of crazy.

Since it's a little overwhelming to try and keep an eye on two kids, I decided to leave Lila at home with Gigi.  She was all smiles and I was thankful that I'd already taken her once this summer.

The big kids and I arrived at 10:30 and even though the parking lot was crowded, the kiddie pool wasn't too bad.  Yet.

It had been a full year since they'd been here and it took a little time for them to get comfortable. 

I went down the open slide with them the first time and after that they were on their own.  They loved it and were going down on their tummies, backwards, and having a ball.

After Chloe arrived, they showed her the ropes, too.  We thought the wave pool would be fun to go to next, so we headed over there. 

After a solid half hour with no waves in sight, though, I sought out a lifeguard and asked what was up.  Turns out the wave maker broke yesterday.  Bummer!  So, no waves, but we did enjoy lounging in the water and hanging out with our good friends. I don't think that we got Andie or Cowen in this picture, but it was tough!  After we hung out in the wave pool we went back to the kiddie area for lunch.  We were about to take a dip in that pool when it got shut down seriously fast.  There's only one thing that will close a pool down that quick.  Poop in the water.  Needless to say, we didn't get back in there all day.  We went and rode around the lazy river and then Presley, Jackson and I even did a "big" ride.  It was fun!  Totally took me back to my middle school days at Wet 'n Wild. 

Hang Time

Sunday afternoon we went for a dip in the pool.  It is so darn hot right now that there really is nothing else to do if you are going to be outside. 

We started off by playing catch with these two while they sat up high on the waterfall.

After our game was over, it was time for the real action to begin. 
Check out J's cannon ball and Maddie's leap off of the rocks!

A little while later, J got some major hang time from Daddo throwing him super high in the air. 
Michael Jordan doesn't have a thing on these two. 

9 years ago today...

I was ready to marry my best friend.

It was the afternoon of July 26, 2003. 
We were already at the church and filled with nerves and excitement.

I had all of my best girls there to support me... 

and Jared had all of his guys.  We were so fortunate to have such amazing friends to celebrate our big day with us.

Thank goodness, because right before our wedding began, the weight of it literally took my breathe away!

 

True to form, Jared remained calm and collected throughout the entire ceremony.  He walked his mama down the aisle...

and then took his spot next to Reverend Minx and waited for me to come walking down the aisle.

Our wedding had lots of smiles...

and a few tears, that my husband sweetly wiped away, just like he still does every now and then.

After Jerry pronounced us husband and wife, we headed back to down the aisle and were ready for the celebration to begin!

We hopped in this beautiful car and it whisked us away to our reception.  It was a night I will never forget.

Fast forward 9 years later and we are now a Party of 5.  We are just now figuring out how to manage three kids and having so much fun watching them grow.  They are goofy, dramatic, loud, a little crazy, funny, smart, passionate and very energetic!  And we wouldn't want them to be any other way.

Happy Anniversary, Babe!  I am happy.  Really, really happy. 
Thank you for asking me to marry you.  I'm so thankful.

Little darlings

Last week I took the girls to Lulu's Bridal in Dallas.  They both needed to be fitted for their flowergirl dresses (yay!) for Andrew and Maria's upcoming wedding.

Miss Madison even got to try one on for size.  I think we have a winner!

Her little sidekick was a tad disappointed that she didn't get to try one on, too, but perked up when she got to practice holding her bouquet:)  They are going to be too cute.  I cannot wait.

Say Cheese

The kids got a hold of my camera the other day and took some pics of their own.

Turns out, they're not half bad!

A little too much cheese?

Baby Brandy is never too far from Lila's side these days.  She insisted that Brandy be included.

Maddie even took one of me and Jackson...

and then he took one of us girls.

He tried his hand at candid photography...

and even got Tyson hiding out under the desk while all of this was going on:)

Mom Lesson #37

If the house is just a little too quiet...do not be fooled!

They are up to something!

Yesterday I was downstairs unloading the dishwasher.  The two big kids were upstairs watching a movie and Lila was playing with her babies.  When I walked upstairs to go check on them, this is what I found.  I said, "Oh! What are you doing, Lila?"  She said, "We're going to the waterpark, mommy!"

She had very diligently covered herself and three of her babies in baby powder, which was their pretend sunscreen!  It was so funny that I just couldn't be mad.  She was so proud of herself:)

Making Memories

I basically grew up at Lake Texoma.  We spent our summers there and I have so many great memories of it.  A lot of those fun times were shared with one of my very best friends, Amanda.  She lives in Abilene with her family now, so I was just giddy with excitement when we were finally able to decide on a weekend to get together at the lake.

Here's our crew in ascending order.  We had a 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 year old.

After we loaded them all up in the boat, we headed over to the beach.  They played in the water, jumping off the tube...

playing catch and wrestling...

playing football...

and taking breaks to lounge on the float.

After all of that fun play time, we took the innertube out for the first ride of the day.  The four big kids went first--some loved it more than others--but they all tried it.  About 20 minutes after our tubing excursion began, a huge storm blew in.  Fast!  We hightailed it back to the house and barely made it before the monsoon hit!

The next day the sun was back out and it was gorgeous.  As in 75 degrees gorgeous. 

Three generations of great friends.  Both Gigi's, me and Amanda, and our kids.  Our moms have been friends since elementary school and we are continuing that tradition, even if we don't live in the same city anymore.

The boys wanted to go first and they all loved it this time.  Yay!

These two lovebirds always found a way to be near each other!  It was so sweet. 

Both Gigi's took the plunge and hopped in the innertube with the two little ones.  They had a nice leisurely ride and everyone was all smiles.

Then the two big boys hopped in with them and we kicked it up a notch.

We thought our moms had probably had enough, but then they told us that they wanted to go by themselves.  And they wanted to go really fast!  Look at these two!  They tried so hard to get outside of the wake and were flying super fast and screaming the whole time!

After our crazy morning of tubing, we went back to the house for lunch.  The kids started playing in the backyard and were having so much fun that we decided to stay there.  They played with the water table...

lounged in the baby pool...

and ran many races that involved the slip and slide.

After all that hard work, these serious athletes had to rejuvenate their muscles in the hot tub. 

What a fun weekend we had making memories with The Golding family.  We plan on making this an annual event and look forward to many more summers together.

Princess for a Day

Madison has been attending Princess Camp all week.

Today she got to go dressed up as a princess.  Oh, my!  What a fun way to start your day!  She chose a lovely pink evening gown and completed her look with matching pink heels and a tiara.  Her stylist gave her a quick and easy up 'do and told her that she looked positively fabulous.

Princess Madison was gracious enough to pose with her adoring fans...

and even showed her silly side by letting loose and instructing her protege to join her in making sassy faces for the camera!