Those last summer moments

The kids jumped in the pool one last time the other night.  The water was about 76 degrees, but that didn't stop them.

And here's a short video of the kids at the park.  If you listen carefully, you can hear Jada bribing Beckett with a sucker!  Ha Ha!

Figuring out our routine

Routine.  

Get Dressed.  

Eat breakfast.  

Pack lunch.  

Brush teeth.

No more lazy summer mornings. :-(  

But the kids are both enjoying school.

Beckett started preschool last week and is loving it!

Tenley wants to go too!

Jada - 2nd grade / Beckett - preschool

"Signing" himself in for the morning!

First morning...very excited!

On to some house news...I've been "working" on a project lately for the stairwell.  I knew what I wanted to do, but needed to hunt down the right items to use.  I found this really cool mirror at a garage sale.  I didn't like all the gold on it though, so Nate spray painted it white for me and here it is!

I decided not to put the mirror back in the frame and just use it like it is.

It's still a work in progress as I don't even have pictures in the frames yet, but here is the current stairwell!

And in other news, Tasha (below) moved in this past week and will be staying with us through December.  She is here from Canada and is working at Cypress as an intern this semester.  She is very sweet and the kids love her! :-)

Good-bye Summer!

Wow!  One month has gone by and it has been one of the busiest months in a long time.  I really don't know where the time went!  We started the month with a vacation back to PA where we celebrated Maw Maw and Paw Paw's 40th wedding anniversary and then spent a week at Camp Hebron.

Here are Paw Paw and Maw Maw with Beckett, Sierra, Tenley, Jada & Ethan.

We went boating and even got Nate into a kayak!

Jada loved the kayak although we found out after she was already out there that you are supposed to be 9 to ride the kayaks!  Oops! :-)

We've also been spending lots of time in the garden and watering the fruit trees.  Green beans, corn, tomatoes, peas...yummy!

Jada and Beckett LOVE helping in the garden and running through the cornstalks.

And Jada also started school this month and LOVES 2nd grade.  She likes her teacher and is in class with two of her best friends.  Meanwhile, Beckett is counting down the days until preschool starts.

Tenley and Jada on Jada's 1st day of 2nd grade

My goal is to get back on a schedule again, so more pictures to come!

Pool time!

Wow!  How the time flies!  Maw Maw, Ethan and Sierra were here for a few days over this past weekend and we spent quite a bit of time in the pool.  We tried a few "stunts" which ended up in quite a few splashes and some water up the nose.

Unfortunately, Tenley was sleeping so we couldn't get her in this family picture..OK...so probably would not have been a good idea anyway. :-)

No hands!

Sierra was even walking across the pool like this with Jada on her shoulders!  Crazy girls. :-)

Popsicle time!

And here's a picture of Ethan, Tenley and Beckett watching a soccer game before Jada and Beckett's game.

Have a great day!  More pictures to come in the next few days. :-)

New experiences

Kids are growing like crazy and always learning new things.  Beckett recently learned how to ride his bike without training wheels.  Only had a few spills...:-)

The other day I ran upstairs and I think I asked Beckett to watch Tenley for a moment.  When I came downstairs a couple minutes later, she had found the candy and was pulling off the plastic from a lollipop.  Now I'm not sure that she ever really had a lollipop before, so I thought it was too cute to take it away from her...even though it was still fairly early in the morning!

I don't know that Jada has really done much new lately, but she has really started playing with Tenley lately which has been really neat.  Actually all three kids have been getting along very well this summer and big sister Jada does a great job with both younger siblings.

N.O.T   H.A.P.P.Y  that is is already the middle of July and school will be here before we know it.

Happy 4th of July!

We hope that you had a great holiday and that you were able to stay cool.  We had some friends over to cook out and swim.  The kids were in the pool from about 4 until 9:30 with only a few breaks in between for food.  It was so hot that the cheese melted all together and the stick of butter that I set out for the corn on the cob completely melted into a plated of liquid butter in no time at all.  The thermometer said about 102 degrees.

We had plenty of food though and some yummy desserts!

I found the recipe below on the Family Fun Magazine website and it was super easy!

It was almost unbearable outside the pool until the sun started to set, so the adults spent lots of time in the pool as well.

Very tired children!

Emma got some love too.

And Happy Birthday to Tenley too!

We cannot BELIEVE that Tenley is 2 already!  

Her birthday was June 12th.  The present was too big to wrap, so we just covered it with a blanket.

Tenley LOVES babies.  Doll babies and real babies.  So, we got her a 4 station baby center.  Includes a place for baby to eat, to sleep, to give a bath,, etc.

New cup from Maw Maw and Paw Paw.  

  

Waiting for the cake!

Nate tried to get her to dig in, but she only stuck her finger in slightly (and only after we had to convince her that it was OK) and then licked her finger carefully of the tiny bit of frosting that was on it.  That's my girl!  No messes, please! :-)

Thanks for all the gifts!  For the clothes for her and also for her dolls...She loves to take off their clothes and then brings them to you to put them back on again...and again...and again...:-)

Two is a fun age so far.  Temper tantrums are very minimal and she is a pleasant little girl who loves to play with her big brother and sister.  She loves the outdoors and the pool.

We love you, Tenley!

Happy Belated Birthday...Jada!

So, I promised Jada a late birthday party since she wanted a pool party and it was definitely too cold in early May!  We finally pulled it off the other weekend.  I said she could only invite 4 friends, so it was just a small party (because Mom didn't want to be responsible for too many 7 year olds in a big pool!)

Beckett got to join in the fun as well...even though he was the only boy!

Birthday treats included a fish/swimming theme with fish cupcakes, goldfish crackers and boats made of fruit.

Just hanging out on the grass...which only lasted a little bit since ants started to appear on the towels and the girls were NOT thrilled about that!

Where's Tenley, you ask?  Napping, of course!  I did let her join in the fun for a little pool time at the beginning of the party, but unfortunately, the camera didn't come out until she was already sleeping.

First Birthday Pool Party = A Big Success! :-)

Our Father Who Art In Heaven

We decided that the kids should know "Our Father Who Art In Heaven" so we said it every night together for about a week.  It's amazing how quickly they picked it up.  Enjoy the clip! :-)

Happy Father's Day!

We had a very relaxing day around the house...especially since it rained quite a bit today.  


We played some Wii sluggers baseball (boys won).


Wrestled around on the floor while getting some fun rug burns.


Called the Grandpas to say Happy Father's Day, but no one answered.


Snuck outside between the rain clouds for some great pictures. (unfortunately, Tenley was napping)

And just. plain. relaxed. together.