Back in the Boating World

Well, we are thrilled to say we are back in the boating world! We picked up our new to us boat this past Tuesday and took it out for the first time this weekend. The girls LOVED it! Even though they were completely worn out they didn't want to leave the lake. They tubed with daddy and some with mommy, but their favorite part was swimming and jumping off the boat. Paige did love driving around the lake listening to the music loud. Here are some pictures from our time out on the lake. Derek still has his flip on the wakeboard but does admit that he is getting a little "old" for those falls! Us old?!? Surely not!!



A little worn out!!

The Middle of June ALREADY???!!!

Yes, it is in fact already the middle of June. Again that leads me to thinking about August coming and the biggest of my babies headed to kindergarten...but again I will try to put those thoughts away as to not sit here crying at the computer at 8:00 a.m. on a Friday. My girls never understand why I am crying at "nothing"! We are having a great summer so far. Paige took swim lessons back early in the spring and boy did they pay off...she loves swimming and getting her hair wet (didn't think that was ever going to happen!) She and her daddy have splashing competitions jumping off the sides of the pool. She has also started her gymnastics team classes and those are going well, too! Chloe is swimming well too with her little "turtle back" float. She will be swimming by herself in no time. She is the one that is giving me so much trouble right now...she is so precious so it is hard to believe for some of you I am sure, but she has little to no control over her emotions right now. She just melts if something doesn't go her way and the melts are not quiet! We will make it though. She did have a nap the other day where she didn't nap but must have been doing some super deep thinking because when she got up she said I want to ride horses and get my ears pierced for my birthday (not until October!). So cute! Little Lyla is a champ right now, she is pretty much potty trained...haven't had a diaper on in a week!! Praise the Lord...do you know how long we have been buying diapers??? Well, Paige was born in 2005 and for a few brief windows of time in there we actually were buying TWO sizes of diapers, so this is a HUGE deal. Although I am sure Pampers isn't seeing it the same way I am! I am so proud of how well she is doing. She is a smart cookie and has the absolute best manners...always saying "than tu mommy" or "weltum" or my favorite "bless u mommy" when I sneeze. Derek and I are doing well, just running and chasing after these little darlings.

Our Cruise

OK, here are some pictures from our fabulous cruise. Derek and I took a 7 day Western Caribbean cruise to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We had a wonderful time and loved cruising. The girls did great with Nana and Grandpa and had many fun activities awaiting them. Enjoy the pics!!

Back to Blogging

I am determined to find time to share what is going on in our life. If for no other reason than to have it written down for me some day when I can't remember what I did with our kids. We have officially finished all of our "school year" stuff. Bible study has taken a break for summer and Paige is no longer a preschooler. They had a great end of the year program about Jesus A to Z. They learned a Bible verse for each letter of the alphabet. Paige knows them all and it warms your heart to hear her quoting all of that scripture. I pray that it is forever hidden in her heart! Chloe knows that she gets to go to preschool next year and is already very excited! Derek and I had a great time on our 10 year anniversary cruise. It was a blast and we did have things to say to each other at dinner. I was a little concerned that we wouldn't know what to say to each other since we wouldn't have the girls to keep up with, but we did! It was a great trip and a wonderful time to get away. The girls had a great time with Nana & Grandpa and only missed us a little! I think that about gets us caught up. I will try to get the video from the program to share, it was really cute! I am constantly reminded how great my life really is, the blessings we encounter are just astounding. I am forever thankful for a God who cares so much about the little things in our lives that really are so temporary. Our girls are growing up so quickly...time really does fly by.

Catch Up Time...

Wow, it has been WAY too long since I have posted! Ok here is a brief catch up since our last post.

• Paige had her first slumber party for her 5th b-day. Yes, you read correctly my little girl is FIVE! We will be starting Kindergarten in the fall but we will save all of those tears for another post some day!
  
• Derek and I helped coach Upwards Cheer and Basketball at our church, probably part of the reason we were so busy recently. Paige cheered and Chloe and Lyla learned the cheers and still to this day I get an "Upwards, Upwards Grant our Wish, all we want to hear is SWISH SWISH SWISH" from the backseat while I am driving...gets me pumped!
  
• Paige and Chloe had a Sweetheart Meet at their gymnastics gym. They both are doing so well and really love it! (pics to follow)
• Paige has started swim lessons, yes at an indoor pool, to try and get her more comfortable with the water. She is doing great!
• This past weekend we took a roadtrip to Fayetteville to see a gymnastics meet at the
  U of A. The girls LOVED it and it was a ton of fun. Talk about some talented girls, the team is ranked 7th in the nation and boy were they good!

I think that about gets you up to date other than our day to day. Lyla is talking like crazy and is repeating everything you say. Chloe has just about lost that toddler look and is now looking more and more like a little girl. Paige continues to excel at preschool and is such a good learner. I will try to do better on the blogging but no promises!! Things are sometimes a little busy around here!! : )

U of A Gymnastics Meet


Girls Sweetheart Meet

Ice Day = Lollipop Cookies

Well, we are "iced in" today so I decided we needed something to do. I found these super cute cookies yesterday and thought why not give them a try! The girls love doing this sort of thing!

We rolled it into balls...













and then into "snakes"













and then into lollipops...














FINALLY....













YUMMY!!!

A month to the day...

since our last post. Sorry it has been so long, but it has been rather busy and the New Year doesn't look much different. First a quick glance at our Christmas. The girls had a blast and received many wonderful new things. They have enjoyed playing with them all. A couple of explanations of the pics. The girls all got new fancy dress up dresses. Everyone likes theirs except Lyla, a little too itchy, so hence the crown and diaper only in that pic! They also have discovered $$, and were very excited about their new wallets, Sonic cards and cash! The trampoline was fun the ONE day they have gotten to jump on it. Hopefully before much longer we will at least get above FREEZING here. Although it did look really pretty with a dusting of snow earlier in the week! Lastly, you should see these three dancing, the pictures don't do them justice, they are such a hoot!

On to today, it was Paige's first day to cheer in our Upwards league at church. She had a really good time and was super cute. I am helping "coach" our 10 girls and it is really fun.