DASH night

This little man was SO EXCITED, he was dashing for the stadium!

We had pretty GREAT seats...that came with a free Chik-fil-a meal, couldn't pass that up!

Both of the little kids were a littl unsure about BOLT. Coleson was trying to act excited, but then he couldn't take his eyes of the, not even for a picture, just in case...you never know

Can you see how sweaty we are? Because it was at least 100 degrees that night and INCREDIBLY humid. So we were soaking wet before we could even get loaded in the car to leave for the game...

I couldn't believe how much these two watched and got into th game. EVERYONE was in tears when it was time to leave, even though it was 9:30 (Ty had to be to work by 10pm) and STILL extremely HOT!


We would definitely try out another round of the DASH!

Who do THEY belong to?

Why not practice gymnastic moves while finishing off your watermelon, just to warm up...

Coleson dancing in his new shoes, WHILE eating watermelon...incredibly talented (oh and thank goodness this other HOT stud belongs to me!)

Yes, she did wear this to go watch gymnastics...WOW!

Mom! Can you take a picture of us? We're really bein' silly!

T-baLL and a few cute faces

Sometimes she IS READY! (with her alligator)
Sometimes she is NOT so ready...

SWING! a big Double!!!

Strike a POSE! ( I must have missed this practice)

RUN!!!!

Oops! (In all fairness, she catches it more than she misses...I just never happened to take a picture of her catching the ball :))

Happy spectators! They are too CUTE!Random happy, dancing faces...why not?

What A DAY!

After swimming ALL afternoon...you would think she would crash, well, not before she could take Grandma and Grandpa to gYmNAstIcS!

She fell asleep in the car on the way there, but when daddy mentioned turning around to go home she burst into tears. NO WAY, she LOVES gymnastics!

Kinz even managed to take the new and improved "Flat Stella" to watch!
Someone else...didn't quite make it to gymnastics. He couldn't even make it through 2 stories before he passed out on the floor. All that WORK and swimming is HARD on a little boy!

And they SWAM and they SWAM

As a little reward, after all of that HARD work, we went to the pool. The kids had free passes from their library reading program, and I LOVE to go swimming when the adults out-number the kids!

My poor children would love to swim ALL the time...or at least more than once in a summer.

Having Grandma and Grandpa AND Daddy around made it THAT MUCH MORE FUN!

They were ALL grins, even without any naps!

And, who knew they all could actually swim pretty well with their life-vests on? Maybe I will have to try to get them to the pool a little more often...or at least make it a goal for next summer.

HARD workers

While the men were busy doing THIS for 2 days (they were AMAZING!)...

I tried to keep the kids occupied (when I wasn't at therapy)...otherwise they were BUSY being incredibly helpful on the deck!

And then we ALL needed to relax and have a movie/dinner party night! It was hard work all around!

Driving Grandparents HOME

On the way back home, we took the scenic route.

We wanted to jump in and slide down the "sliding" rocks...but it was REALLY rainy.

The scenic route wasn't too scenic for the first part of the trip...there was a LOT of rain and FOG!

The overlooks ALL looked pretty much like this.

Retreat!

We picked up Grandma and Grandpa from the airport and drove straight for the mountains. We had a wonderfully peaceful time! The temperature was cooler, food from a campfire is always more delicious, sleeping under the stars is amazing, and time away from work and life is always welcoming!

The view...

A perfect watering hole!

BEAUTIFUL! Maybe someday we can escape to the mountains for a little longer!

The 4th of July...and a few things left in June

It was a HAPPY 4th of July. (Or, at least she was happy...)

Just need the other 2 to cooperate...and Tyler to sit up straight! Oh well, this is the best family pic we have been able to catch in a REALLY long time.

And, I love that we are all wearing red, white and blue with the flag behind us...I felt like the 4th was a wonderful holiday to celebrate on Sunday!

It's nice to dress up in nice clothes, to show respect for a country we love, to stand and sing ALL the verses in the National Athem and other patriotic songs, and to reverently show how grateful we are to our Father in Heaven for a wonderful nation to call home. It is a good reminder of how happy we are to be in America, to be free, to have had many before us, and even now, fight and work to keep us free. We know we live in a very special place, a Land of Promise.... The last part of June was filled with blackberry hunts...We tried to go for walks as a family in the evenings, it was still pretty hot and sticky, but there are wild bushes all over the nieghborhood and we ended up with a LOT of berries after a few short walks...Enough to make 10 8oz jars of yummy jam! And with a bunch to use as toppings on yummy summer salads, fruit pizzas, and waffles!

And, finally, a couple of ok pictures of the "anniversary floor." Our carpet was a light orange by the back door (above left) and front (above right). Now, the entire main level, except for the living room and family room, is covered in this beautiful dark "wood", wide paneled, antiqued style laminate...which was incredibly affordable thanks to a bargain center store's sale! Might be our new FAVORITE store. (You will see why when I post pics of the new pergola/deck soon.)

Mainly due to the fact that we don't have much "real" grass and our yard IS a bunch of orange clay-dirt, the carpet was ALWAYS orange. This 8th anniversary present has made me feel a lot less stressed and anxious EVERY time the kids come in and out because it is sooo much easier to clean. Thanks Ty, for a great new floor and a wonderful 8 years! I am one lucky girl...We had to pay a little extra for this CUTE face, but it was worth it! :)