Swim Lessons

This past Thursday was J and M's first swim lesson of the summer. The water was relatively warm, the sun was out, and these two little fish were rearing to go!

After their class with Miss Katie, Lila, Gigi and I jumped in the pool with them.

Earlier that day I had run to Target to pick up a float for Lila. It was perfect. Very stable, great canopy, etc. She liked it for about as long as she liked her sun hat.

Approximately 10 seconds. By the time I got the big kids to come over for a pic, Lila was so over her hat and float.

Thank goodness Mama was there to save her!

We had a great rest of the afternoon and Lila never did warm up to the greatness of the float. Jackson and Maddie told jokes, played in the spa, baby pool and big pool.

Sweet kids

Jackson was laying down on the floor this morning and Lila walked over and hopped on his back.

This brought many giggles all around. I treasure those sweet moments.

Memorial Day Weekend '11

Hot. Sweaty. Sandy. And loving life! That's how we kicked off our Memorial Day weekend.

We took all the kids over to the beach and Lila had a ball playing in the sand. She was covered in sunscreen and probably ate more sand than Nilla Wafers, but she loved it.


Jared's brothers and their girlfriends came with us for the weekend and we really enjoyed all of them:)

The Fam: Summer 2011

Lila felt a little left out, I guess, with only her water to drink!

The girl partied hard!

While Lila was sleeping, Jackson was playing a fierce game of bean bag toss. Just look at that determination!

Gigi, Maddie, Boom Pa and Lila held down the fort while the rest of us soaked up some sun.

After we got back from the beach, it was time to cook out some burgers. To keep Lila occupied, we let her pull out every trashbag in this box. Worked like a charm!

The next morning we all put on our jeans and got ready to head over to the ranch.

When we arrived, the kids got to jump on the newest addition to the tree--a tire swing that looks like a horse!

This little cowgirl saddled on up and had a blast swinging!

Soon Uncle Andrew joined the fun and pushed both kiddos super high--so much fun!

After Jared and Boom got all the horses fed and saddled, the rest of us went down to the stables. Everyone rode in the arena for a little while just to get used to the horses. The mini horse even ran over and joined the party!

Scott and Lyndsie--such pros!

While the big kids were busy being cowboys, these two rascals ate every snack they could find in the diaper bag!

Big Brother wanted to take a turn and the mini horse (aka Mr. Dub, named after my dad's colorful uncle) began following him around, too. I mean, really, is the mini horse not the funniest animal on the farm?

After everyone felt comfortable on their horse, it was time for the trail ride.

After the trail ride, Daddo, the uncles and their girlfriends took the four wheelers down to the river to do some skeet shooting. I stayed at the house with the kids and watched them swim 96 laps around this pool.

I think they had fun!

Finally, I made the fish hop out because of chattering teeth (90 degrees, but we were in the shade...who knows?!) and so he grabbed his sand tools and went over to shovel some sand. The kid loves to work, no doubt about it. I don't think he will ever even contemplate retirement.

That evening it was time to sample the brisket that had been smoking all afternoon. Lila loved it, along with the baked beans!

Then we all put on our party hats to wish Papaw a very happy birthday.

Sharron forgot the candles, so Jackson and Papaw just pretended. Good thing, I suppose--84 candles would have taken them quite a while!

All weekend Jackson had been begging us to play a game of baseball. Seriously, the kid had his baseball glove on 90% of the time if he was out of the water! He had pre-picked the teams: Rangers vs. Yankees. We were all having fun until Boom hit the ball and it got stuck up in the tree. Then they threw a football at it and it got stuck, too. Then they tossed a long pole up there and it stayed, too. The tree must have been coated in molasses!

Since all of our b-ball tools were 20 feet in the air, it was time for the boys to take matters into their own hands. So Scott and Andrew hoisted their big brother up into the tree!

Yes, that's my husband in the tree...

the one who does not like heights at all. He got all three things out, though! Way to go, Dad!

The next morning we went over to the ranch to pick up the big kids. It was just perfect outside and Lila got to take a turn on the horsey swing.

She liked it so much that she walked right over to the real horses, said "hi" to them and waved. Then she petted their noses and just laughed and laughed.

Since we didn't have time to fish the day before, we told Jackson that we could go down to the pond and do some super fast fishing. He'd been talking about doing this with his dad for weeks. Little sister was ready to snag those fish right after he caught them! No need, though. Less than 4 minutes after they began fishing, Jackson was back in the car messing with the little tackle box. Jared's hopes were crushed once again.

We decided to end our fun weekend with a little more playtime at the beach. The girls wore their matching swimsuits and looked so cool in their shades!

Lila had to borrow Jackson's and wouldn't keep them on longer than .3 seconds, so I was really excited to get this pic. Perfect way to end the weekend.

Water Day!

Today was water day at school. The kids, especially Jackson, were pumped!!

Even though the teachers only asked us to put water shoes on the kiddos, J insisted on going full out...

so he wore his new swim suit, swim shirt and swim shoes. Bam! This kid is so prepared. I hope they had a fun-filled day. Thank goodness the storms are over and the sun is out.
God is good.

Jackson's School Program

Jackson had his end of year program last night at school. They did an American theme for the first part and came out waving their flags. They started off by saying the Pledge of Allegiance and then sang the Star Spangled Banner. He's been practicing a lot lately... and good thing--these kids had 15 songs to learn! That's a lot for preschoolers!

And a lot for sister to sit through, too! She was much happier running out in the foyer or climbing up the stairs. Not sure what we were thinking by bringing her. Would a 1 year old really sit still for an entire hour? Not a chance.



We took some breaks outside of the chapel and then came back when it was time for big bro to sing some more. He did really good -he sang most of the songs in their entirety and did the hand motions, too. No smiles for his fam, though! He told me that he saw all of us there but just didn't want to let on.




Afterwards, we went to a reception with his class and got to see his portfolio that Mrs. Fields put together. How old does J look with his hand so cooly resting on his jean pocket?

Jackson has really enjoyed being in Mrs. Fields' class this year. He has learned a lot and really grown up since he started there last fall. We can't wait to see how much he learns next year!

Just like new

I found some of my old cabbage patch dolls in a box on Thursday and they have been a huge hit with the girls! Madison is especially fond of these three. She has named them all.

Introducing Travis (her boyfriend at her old school who she hasn't seen in over a year!), Addison (the name of a classmate's sister?) and Francine (Olivia the Pig's friend).

Quite the eclectic crew!

After she gathered them all up and got them properly positioned in the recliner, they all enjoyed watching Cat in the Hat.

Little Miss Mischief

With a cutie patootie smile like this it's easy to see how this little girl could get away with almost anything!

She knows that she's not supposed to pull rocks out of the fireplace. So when she gets close to it, she starts "talking" to me.

I'm pretty sure she is saying, "Hey mom, look what I'm about to do! Very soon my hands will be covered in black fireplace mess."

When I tell her, "No ma'am, Lila" I get this serious, solemn look.

Then a great big smile because she thinks it's funny to taunt me.

Then she moves on to climbing this block--yet another thing she knows is off limits!

The little girl keeps me on my toes, that's for sure.