First Haircut

Miss Madison had her very first haircut, ever, earlier this week!

She was so excited.

She entertained Shannon and sat pretty still, well, as still as a four year old busy girl gets!

We trimmed off about 2 inches, so she's still got plenty of long, pretty curls.

I think she's a fan!

Happy Father's Day!

We had a great day celebrating Daddo this past Sunday.

After enjoying some Starbucks with his breakfast, our fam headed off to get some good religion.  Actually, it was our turn to teach Sunday School, but we still learned about how God created the world from their lesson.  I thought it might be a lesson about fathers, but no dice.  Maybe next year!

After church, we met my parents up at the golf course for lunch.  It was a beautiful day and many dads were taking advantage of it.

Anyone who knows my dad, knows that he is full of stories.  Lots and lots of stories.  The man has so many crazy stories, that I have been telling him for years that he ought to write a book.  So, in order to faciliate this process, I found a computer software program.  All he has to do is wear this cool headset and tell his stories.  The computer will type it all out and when he's done I can begin putting it all together.  It's so genius!  I can't wait for him to get started.  I also bought him two books that were written by a guy and are all about what his dad said and did while he was growing up.  His dad is so funny and politically incorrect and reminds me just a tad bit about another dad I might know...I thought maybe it would inspire him to share all of his wisdom and experiences, too. 
Stay tuned for book updates!

After the girls napped and the boys watched some soccer, it was time to give Daddo his presents.

Then we hopped back in car and went over to Memaw and Poppi's for the annual Father's Day Swim Par-tay.  Daddo really enjoyed relaxing with a cold one in his float...

probably a little more than he liked hand-cranking this homemade ice cream machine!

The big kids were the first ones to test the vanilla ice cream.  Let's just say they LOVED it!  It was all over both of their faces.

After we stuffed ourselves with burgers and sides, it was time for the chocolate cake that I brought.  I think I went a little overboard with sprinkles, but it sure tasted good...

especially with Poppi's homemade ice cream!  Yum, yum, yum.  The perfect way to end a great day.

Happy Father's Day, Daddo, Poppi and Boom Pa!  We are so thankful for all of you.

Cubs Swim Party

We celebrated a fabulous Cubs season with a swim party on Saturday night. 

Memaw and Poppi were nice and brave enough to let us use their pool and awesome backyard!

While the adults tried to stay in the shade...

the kiddos were all over the backyard!

It was so much fun!

This little girl stuck right by her daddy for a good amount of the night.  He was in heaven.

Madison and Cole quickly found each other and hung out on this float for a while!  Too funny.

After a good hour of swimming, these munchkins had worked up an appetite.

With the exception of Jackson, Cole and a few others, who just couldn't tear themselves away from the water.  J did finally eat and he was hungry!  Two hot dogs, many chips, cookie cake and an ice cream sandwich.  Whew!

In addition to the pool, we also set up these fun sprinklers and had the bean bag toss going, too.

One of the best parts, though, was when the boys got their trophies from Coach Brian.

We didn't realize it, but Jackson had a remarkably high batting average this season.  He batted .954 and got the award for highest batting average!

Way to go, #32!  We're so very proud of you.

Thanks again to Shelley and Warren for letting us take over your backyard for the night.  We all had a really good time and appreciate your generosity so much.

Frisco Roughriders...the best place in town!

Seriously, how have we missed the boat?!  This is such a great family outing, I am just kicking myself for not going until now.  Friday night was Wylie Baseball night at the Roughriders game, so our family headed out there to see what all the hubbub was about.

It was also my dad's birthday and he said that he couldn't think of a better way to spend it.  He was so right, too!  From the moment we got there things were all good.  First, no trouble at all with parking close. 

Jared met us there from work and we walked inside the ballpark.  It was so cute. 

Soon after, we met up with some of Jackson's teammates. For some goofy reason Jackson got all sad when they asked him to pose for this picture.  Just look at his face!  He looks like he's being tortured.  C'mon, son!  Pull it together.

By the time we made our way to the right field foul pole he was doing much better.  The kids and coaches all gathered there so that they could go down on the field before the game.

Here are the boys walking out for the pregame festivities.

They were front and center for the National Anthem and first pitch.  Pretty cool!

After getting to be on the field and then getting a drink and hot dog, this kid's tears were long gone.  Thank goodness.

We had been told that there was a lot of entertainment between every inning at these games.  The Kiss Cam was one of them.  Mom and Dad didn't get on the big screen, but they smooched anyway!

A few innings into the game, the kids started to move around.  First, Cole came over to hang with Jackson.  Immediately, Madison crawled over my mom and then over me to get to sit next to the boys.  She's proclaiming them the "Three Musketeers!" in this picture:)

Another fun thing was catching people on camera who were dancing and putting them on the big screen.  Maddie danced like all get out to "Shake Your Booty" but they didn't see her! 

Jared and I took a little walk around the park.  It really reminded us of being in South Carolina.

There is even a pool in left field! Now that's cool.

Later on in the night, my dad took Cole and Madison to the gift shop.  They came back with these foam fingers, a Roughriders monkey and batting helmets for Cole and Jackson.  Grandparents are such softies.

Happy Birthday, Dad!  We had a great night and hope you did too.

The Roughriders won the game and clinched a spot in the playoffs...

and we ended the night watching the cool fireworks show.  We will definitely be back soon:)

Boom Pa's birthday

We celebrated Boom Pa's birthday yesterday with him and some coworkers. 

The kids all worked very hard on their cards.  Jackson even wrote out "Happy Birthday" on the outside and drew a picture of him and his granddad on the inside, signing the card "Love, Jackson."  Maddie drew him a flower and signed her name as well.  Lila's contribution to her card was in the form of stickers and stamps.  They were all super cute.

After some good italian food it was time for the cake. Thank goodness he had so many willing helpers to assist with his three candles.  Not sure he could have handled things on his own!

The lunch party crew.  Thanks for inviting us.  We enjoyed celebrating with you!

Summer...still my favorite season!

I realize that I have been out of school for well over 10 years now, but I still get giddy whenever summer time rolls around.  There's just something so fun about a less rigorous schedule, playing outside after dinner and getting to spend more time with your friends.  I love it.  And I think the kids do, too.

Last weekend we went over to my friend Kelly's house to celebrate her birthday.  The kids had a blast.  How cute is this picture of Lila and Chloe?!  They were playing so sweetly together over at Andie's kitchen.  Chloe told Lila, "you cook and I'll watch your baby."  The funny thing is, Lila played right along, and was working so hard in that kitchen!

After they got done cooking dinner, they joined some more of their friends in the living room.

After the bounce house went up, it was time to take the party outside.  These kids bounced until their little legs almost fell off.  They loved it!

Teagan and Maddie had to take a break and came inside to visit the younger ones of the group.  After dinner and cupcakes, we packed it up and headed home.  And it was 9:30!  See what I mean about being more relaxed?!  We even slept in a little the next morning.  I don't think any kid woke up until after 8am.  Genius.  Pure genius.

Today we decided to get out the fun water toys that dad bought the other day.  The kids took many turns going down the slip and slide...

and the girls even took turns somersalting into the shallow pool.

I'm pretty sure we set a world record.  Most children in the world's smallest baby pool.  Sawyer, Lila and J man all thought it was great.  For about 5 seconds...

then they were off and running again!  Let's hope the rest of the summer is as fun as today.  I'm smiling just thinking about it.