4th of july

we had a great 4th of july weekend.  we started early with our annual fireworks show at delmar gardens on tuesday.  yes, we go to the nursing home for fireworks :)  believe it or not, it's a ton of fun. they have a great event for the public - cotton candy, snow cones, bouncy slides, games, drinks, all sorts of things.  and a great fireworks display at the end of the night.  the girls love it, it's enough for them to go "wow" without the noise and the craziness of other fireworks displays.  personally, i love the mile drive home at the end of the night :)

picture quality isn't the best - that's what you get with the phone at night...

she was loving the fireworks...laughing at the noise and ka-booms :)

loves the fireworks...just not the noise :)

hanging out with the boys....what a little ham :)

saturday we were at friends for fun and food...the girls did sparklers for the first time.  what an experience.  the pics totally show their personalities :)  little c was not going to be one of the "babies" that watched.  jumped right in she did!!



sunday we headed over to grandma and grandpa's for a great dinner and sunday we headed down to terre du lac for some cottle family time.  some friends from lima were in st. louis for the weekend so they came along with us and got to play in the lake, have a great lunch and some good old fun with the barrett's and grandma and poppy. 

we are completely exhausted over the many late nights and are hoping to rest up before next week...vacation here we come!!!!

one month later...

wow.  it's been a whole month since i've posted anything on the blog.  guess time flies when you are having fun :)  we have spent the month swimming, playing, going on walks, vbs, magic house, going for ice cream and snow cones, t-ball, parties, fireworks, you name it...

quick recap:

swimming -

• j figured it out....she is swimming under water!!!  not for long distances and is most comfortable where she can reach, but we are making progress :) 
• e is on her way....still likes to wear water wings but is more daring.  jumping in, going under, not a big deal to her!! 
• little c....well, she loves the water, hates any type of flotation device but doesn't want anyone holding on to her.  it's a quandry :) 

ice cream and snow cones -

• yummmyy!!!!  we love our treats and have enjoyed tropical moose, spanky's, the malt shop, DQ, the ice cream truck, you name it :)

t-ball -

• well, j started off doing pretty well this summer.  but it seems to be a few weeks to long for us. 
• two weeks ago j didn't have her pink helmet and needed to borrow a friends helmet and we bombed from there.  let's just say she never put her feet on the field and watched the entire game with tears in her eyes from the dugout. 
•  last week she was prepared and ready to play until she got hit in the mouth with a ball.  ouch.  i managed to talk her into going back out on the field for the last inning and hitting one last time.  she ended the game on a good note - hit the ball without the tee and (since she was last to hit) got to have a "home run" :) 
• i think we are retiring gracefully for the season.  this weekend russ will have to miss, and all other family is busy - out of town, etc. so i'm not sure i'm up to taking all 3 girls for a questionable game.  the last game of the season we are on vacation.  so....we'll see if next summer is another t-ball season or not.  who knows.....

vbs -

• another fun week at st. lucas with vbs!!!
• j ran off each morning to meet her class and play with her buddies.  LOVE that she has made such good friends at church :)
• e did great for a 3 year old.  we had one rough start where i think she was just darn tired but got it pulled together and really did a great job participating in all the activities :)
• c managed pretty well for someone who is not used to any type of daycare.  she was in the toddler room all week and her favorite activity by far was the music.  that girl loves to dance :)
• i survived.  we had a great weeks in crafts with lots of hard work.  russ was travelling again this year during vbs week so it really took a lot of energy to survive the 24/7 while pregnant.  needless to say, i crashed on saturday.
• vbs sunday was basically a bomb for us - j refused to sing with the other kids, e wasn't sure what j's problem was, and c couldn't sit still or keep her mouth closed.  she and i lasted about 15 minutes before i had to take her out of the sanctuary.  good times.

that pretty much sums up the major highlights of june.  we'll talk 4th of july another time...now we are getting ready for vacation.  will i ever get it all pulled together?!?!!?!