preparing for the fourth!

what a great day! :) the girls set of fireworks with daddy, decorated their bikes for the parade (themselves!), got their fingers and toes painted "patriotic", and we munched on red, white, and blue cookies! :) after b.c. went to bed we headed outside for some more fireworks and to watch the neighbors' fireworks too! what a great day! can't wait until tomorrow! :)

check out my new ride!

we finally put b.c.'s stroller together and had him give it a try! :) he loved it . . . i think he felt like a big boy in it! :) it'll be great for times when only b.c needs to be in a stroller . . . that sit and stnad can be a pain to push around . . . especially when all 4 kiddos decide to try to pile on! :)

i'm 11 months old (a few days ago!)

okay, so we didn't forget that you turned 11 months, just couldn't seem to get pics! you were sick . . . or in a bad mood . . . or just plain tired almost every time i tried to take them! so, finally we managed to get your 11 month pictures! soooo bittersweet. the big ONE is right around the corner! oh my goodness!

you are into everything! you are becoming so independent . . . not wanting to hold my hand when you walk or let me hold you when you're in the pool. you love to "talk" on the phone or play with keys! you are all over the place. . . exploring everything all the time. you are a lot to keep up with, but sooooo amazing to watch! you have the brightest smile and are just such an amazing kid! you cry when someone goes outside but forgets to take you! (too cute!) you love to play outside and walk around or ride in your car. you are making it clear what you want now even more! :) we're STILL working on the sleeping through the night thing . . . hoping one year will be the magic number for you little guy! i love you so much! you are an amazing part of our family! :)

end of swimming lessons for mck and kam

we had a rainy, but successful end to swimming lessons this year. mck and kam both did great . . . both working on many of the same skills, but at very different levels! the girls were little water bugs . . . loving every day they got to go to lessons. ken was a great sport this week . . . hanging out on the deck with b.c. and me. . . actually she got to color and play games while i chased b.c. around and kept him from eating other people's snacks and shoes!
today, our last day of lessons was crazy. at times, pouring down rain! the girls loved swimming in it and b.c. loved playing in the water. what a fun end to the two week session! both kam and mck passed their levels . . . i was almost wishing i had signed them up for another one later this summer . . . almost! i think having the rest of our summer days free will be great! :)

loving movie nights!

we had a toy story movie night tonight! b.c was actually interested in it. i have only seen him looking at the t.v. a handful of times, but her was really into watching the movie! (okay, maybe only for five minutes, but it was still cute!) after he checked out the movie he tried to steal snacks from everyone! such a boy! bailey swear he was interested in this movie because finally we weren't watching a "chick flick"! sorry boys! :) kam kept saying, "i don't like this movie. i want to see the pig. he's pink!" okay, bailey may be right! :)
in another year we'll have 4 little sleeping bags lined up for movie nights . . . and even bigger fights about what we get to watch! :)

our little camper!

well, ken's first week at camp was a big success! she had so much fun . . . from crafts to bible stories, singing bible songs to playing with friends, and a whole day at reunion ranch! the girl had a blast! it was a long day . . . she came home worn out, but with a big smile on her face! the best $26 i ever spent! :) the performance on friday was really cute. the kids sang several songs that they had learned through the week . . . complete with little motions to match the words! it was wonderful! what a great week of old fashioned fun! can't wait to sign mck and ken up next year! :)

making his escape!

b.c. is a lot to keep up with these days! he is so much fun though! here he is in his latest exploration . . . trying to open the front door! guess i better work on keeping it locked! i'm sure it won't take him long to figure it out!

ballerina baby!

kam has been waiting a long time for her first ballet class. she's been watching the girls in their classes since she was born . . . and was always dancing in the waiting area wanting to head in to the studio with them! well, the day finally arrived . . . her first class was today! she was thrilled. i have never seen her so excited! :) she was giddy! :) she had so much fun dancing in her ballerina outfit with her ballerina shoes! a little princess! she can't wait until next week! (poor baby had her day-old swimming injury still fresh on her face . . . we'll have better pictures at her last class!)

happy nine years!

so hard to believe it's been 9 years since we said "i do" at the paris hotel in vegas! what a wonderful 9 years it has been! 9 amazing years, 4 amazing kids, and millions of amazing memories! what a lucky couple we are! here's to "us" and the beautiful family of six we have made!

swim lessons round 2!

kam and mck started swim lessons today! :) they were both super excited! mck was first and new someone in her class from school (a little boy she really likes!) so she had a easy time. she was just great and so happy to be there. she spent the time after her lesson laying out on the chair "tanning"! too cute!

this was kam's first lesson EVER. she was sooooo excited . . . she almost went in the pool with her shoes on! :) she was a great listener and did so well! she was so excited after her class to tell me all the things she did! she was soooo excited that she was bouncing to the car and totally fell face first into the pavement. poor. poor. baby. ooooh. she got a fat lip, some scratches, and a bruised nose. she was a tough cookie . . . crying, but holy crow, sort of holding it together. i think i was the one freaking out! sooooo . . . the face injury is the reason for the missing picture. we took the pictures after swim lessons . . . she wasn't quite in the mood for a picture . . . so we'll get one of the last class! :)

camp for ken! :)

ken went to her first real camp this morning! camp crestview! 8:30-5! i was nervous. she was excited! she actually got her name tag and was ready to walk away from me . . . didn't even want me to help her find her group. (by the way, she is a "fence post"! ) :) well, the report at the end of the day was WONDERFUL! they did crafts, bounced, played, had gym, music, science, snacks, pizza, sang, and did lots of bible stuff! she was a happy, happy kid. she's already talking about me signing her up for next year! how wonderful! :) good old fashioned summer fun!

a belated birthday treat

we headed to build-a-bear with kam's friend miss b for lots of fun! :) just walking up to the mall was pure cuteness. mck led the way with her 2 little friends in tow. sooooo cute! (b.c. was home sick with daddy and ken was at camp for the day!) the girls picked out matching flamingos (complete with pink sparly feet!) and matching outfits (pink capris with cute white tanks!). they were so cute together . . . dancing with their "mingos" in the store! :) we headed to the new carousel for a couple rides, played, and ended the afternoon with cotton candy ice cream! what a fun belated celebration for miss kam! still can't believe my baby girl is 3!

kitty-sitting!

our friend ms. j. asked us to kitty-sit 3 of the 5 kitties she is fostering. we were sooooo excited to help out! the girls had so much fun with them! ken was like a little mommy the whole weekend, keeping a close eye on them all. kam liked to watch them for a few minutes or try to chase after them! and mck loved to hold them like a baby! :) b.c. got a kick out of watching them and was pretty gentle! we kind of had a fav . . . little s'mores! she is soooooo stinking sweet! (and i am a sucker! we are working on daddy!) we were so sad to see them go! our house is quiet . . .

a shrek-tastic father's day!

after a yummy breakfast-in-bed of corn pops and water (preparedby ken and served by all the kids) and then a second breakfast made by me, bailey opened his father's day gifts . . . a picture i had done of all the kiddos, some fun gadgets, a new coffee mug, some cool artwork by the kids, and more! then the girls "took" bailey to see shrek 4 for father's day! :) they headed there armed with hidden snacks and drinks and their shrek toys from mc d's! what a fun treat! :) they all came back so excited about the movie! (can't wait until b.c. is old enough to take!) they stopped for sonic drinks on the way home as an added treat! :) we went out for an early dinner, did a few errands, and even stopped for a fav of daddy's . . . dairy queen! :)

fun at g&g'S

the kiddos and i headed to spend a few days at g&g's! we all had so much fun! from swimming, to a trip to the mall for pictures, ice cream, and play, we had a great few days! the girls were little water bugs the whole time. ken is practicing her diving, mck and practicing her cannon balls, and kam is just enjoying being more independent. b.c. is all over the place! he loves to be in the water or just running around exploring! the girls made super-cute cupcakes with sarah, too! we even celebrated father's day with the whole fam a little early and had a super yummy meal at taste of texas! we had a great time . . . next time daddy needs to come!

a "fishy" treat!

ms. b (LOVE her!) stopped by with a cool snack for the girls . . . their own jello fish bowl! what fun! the girls spent awhile studying it trying to figure out what it was made of and if the fish were really real! (it probably didn't help that i was giving them a hard time about it!) what a fun summer snack! we'll be making this very soon! :) hello . . . you can't go wrong with jello and gummies! :)

all smiles for swimming!

ken just loved her first swimming lesson! i watched the whole lesson from the side of the pool . . . it was HARD! they were doing each stroke . . . she had never done the backstroke or some of the other things he was having her do. i thought she would come over at the end of the lesson in tears . . . but the girl was walking with a giant smile on her face and exclaimed, "mom, that was the best swimming lesson ever! it was so fun!" ummmm, okay. so, we're headed back for more tomorrow! can't wait! :)

first boat trip 2010

amazingly, our ghetto boat still runs! :) and thank goodness because we had a great first trip out on lake g'town! :) the girls are in heaven! they love jumping off and climbing up the ladder! i think it'll be awhile before b.c. appreciates the boat . . . he liked it for about the first 5 minutes . . . then the life jacket was bugging him. he wasn't even too happy in the water. he fell asleep while the girls swam . . . and enjoyed going fast . . . but next year will be better for him! we are thinking of leaving b.c. with a sitter the next time so we can try out water skiing and tubing with the girls! :) what fun! :)

splash pool 2010

with daddy's trip to china cancelled at the very last minute, we had more time to play this weekend! we kicked off the first weekend of our summer with a visit to the g'town splash pool! LOVE this place! the big girls are in heaven with the water slides and the fact that they can be pretty independent! and it has amazing stuff for b.c. and kam! not sure i can handle a trip with all four by myself this year . . . maybe next year! we'll be visiting this pool when daddy can join us! what a fun summer treat! :)

sweet sleepy baby!

this is what a summer day does to b.c. at 6:30 in the evening. that baby boy is worn out every day! it's tough trying to keep up with 3 big sisters! :)