A Little Fish

Ben has been taking swimming lessons all this week.  They have gone great.  He is doing an amazing job swimming.  Last year he would not take off his life vest in the water.  This year we would not let him swim with it and made him just made him swim.  He did really well and then has gotten even better with lessons.  We found a great private lady who teaches lessons in her backyard.  She is a kindergarten teacher so she is great with the kids.  His buddy Hunter got to be in his class as well.  They have had a great time together. 

 Kate and Kaylee have really enjoyed getting be together during the lessons.  They can't wait until next year when they can swim. 

 Look at him go!  Swimming underwater with no float. 

He has even learned how to float on his back. 

 His favorite thing to do is jump into the pool and swim all the way across. 

At the end of each lesson the teacher puts a penny on the bottom of the pool and they have to dive down and get it.  So proud of how well Ben is doing.  We are excited to spend the rest of the summer practicing all he has learned. 



New Carpet

I am a little embarrassed to show this photo.  It shows how nasty the carpet was in the back 3 rooms.  I don't know how it got so bad looking but it was just disgusting!!!  The "nursery" was the worst.  I never wanted anyone to go back there. 

 But we took care of that problem today by getting new carpet in the back bedrooms.  I was so excited!!  The kids were pretty excited to when they got to run around in empty rooms. 

 It was a bit of a disaster today with all of the furniture piled into other rooms in the house. 

But it was all worth it!!!  Look how pretty the new carpet is. 

The kids are so excited with their new carpet.  It is super soft! 

Their rooms are really coming together.  I can't wait to show them off. 

Up

We had the best time at Alabama Jubilee hot air ballon festival on Saturday.  It is one of those events tht has been on my "to do" list for several years.  I have wanted to check it out and see what it was all about.  Saturday was the perfect day for us to go and I am glad we did.  It was just a fun evening.  It was hot but there was a nice breeze.  We laid out blankets and just relaxed.  It was really neat.  We met up with our friends the Carlisles and Hambys so it was great or the kids to play and the adults to visit.  The ballons were awesome!!  It was too hot for them to go up but they did blow them up and do some tendering rides.  The kids loved seeing the ballons.  Just a warning there are a bunch of pictures to come...

 

 One of the highlights of the evening was when the kids got to go inside of the Cooks Pest Control balloon.  They said it was really neat on the inside and they got to learn about hot air balloons. 

The giant Pepsi can balloon was really neat!

They had a fun play area for the kids. 

 There were balloons everywhere.  It was beautiful. 

 The kids had a blast with their friends!

 We stayed through dusk and got to see the balloons light up.  It was so neat. 

It was a perfectly wonderful evening!  Lots of fun and very relaxing.  I think we will be going back next year 

Memorial Day 2012

There really isn't much to say about our Memorial Day weekend this year.  I always enjoy the time to slow down and reflect on what a blessing we have in our freedom!  Friday night my parents kept the kids so Matt and I had a date night.  We went to dinner then did some shopping for the kids new rooms.  Saturday and Sunday we spent working on the kids rooms!  They are really starting to come together.  Can't wait to show you pictures.  Saturday night we went to the Alabama Jubilee Festival in Decatur.  It was a ton of fun!  Pictures to come tomorrow. 

The kids looked cute in their patriotic clothes on Sunday before church.

Matt had to work today so really we didn't do much of anything.  The kids and I went and ate with him at the hospital.  They always enjoy riding the tram and seeing where daddy works. 

 The big issue has been that our air went out yesterday!!  Ugh!!  Nothing like 96 degree days with no air.  And of course it was a holiday so no one could fix it.  Hopefully tomorrow.  Until then we are spending as much time as possible upstairs!  The kids were excited to get to sleep up there today.  Their own little camp out on the futon.  We are getting new carpet on Wednesday so hopefully the air will be fixed by then.  We were moving furniture tonight and got a little warm!! 

The Poom

There is nothing like mid 90's in May to make for a long summer!!  We have decided that the only way that we are going to make it through is going to the pool.  The kids and I headed there this morning.  It was tons of fun!  I think everyone else had the same idea as it was super crowded.  I am sure we will be spending many hours here this summer.  Kate calls it "the poom."  She also says, "I want to put on my bathing soup and go to the poom."

End of TBall

Last night Ben had his last Tball game.  He has had a great first season playing ball.  He really enjoyed it and learned alot though out the year.  He loved having Matt as one of his coaches.  He played a great last game. 

 After the game the team had a little ceremony to pass out trophies.  For the kids this is the highlight of the season.  It's all about the trophy. 

 So proud of our little ball player!

Big Girl Bed

We moved Kate into her "big girl" bed last week.  I was so nervous about how she was going to do.  She had been sleeping great in her crib and I didn't really want to rock the boat.  We are getting new carpet next week so we were going to have to change everything anyway so it seemed like a good time to transition.  She did awesome!!!  She loves her bed and all the new things in her room.  She just laid down and went right to sleep the first night.  No issues (well she did fall out the first morning but other than that was great).  She has continued to do great.  One day she wouldn't take a nap but she stayed in her bed so I couldn't complain.  I am so glad she did great.  I remember being so worried when Ben moved as well but he did great too. 

Here are some pictures in her new bed.  We are still working on her room.  She doesn't have a headboard yet and we have to put stuff on the walls but it is coming together. 

It was  really sad day when we took down the crib.  It has been up in the house since we moved into the house 5 1/2 years ago.  I can't believe we are done with it now.  But it is also a happy thing.  We are moving on from the baby stage.  Lots of fun things to come.  Now we just need to find a good home for the crib!!! 

A Day At The Zoo

To celebrate the start of summer, we headed down to Birmingham for a fun day.  We went over to my awesome friend Lisa's house and got to meet her sweet baby girl Savannah Grace.  I have been dying to meet her for the last 4 months so I was so excited to get to go down today.  Lisa and I decided to go to the zoo with the kids.  The weather was just perfect today.  Sunny and not too hot.  And it was 1/2 price day at the zoo so everything was just great!

Kate could not wait to go see the snakes.  I don't think she belongs to us!

 Sweet Savannah Grace!!  She is just the best baby.  We drug her all over the zoo and she didn'tcry once! 

 My favorite animal!

 Checking out the elephant show.  They have it trained so it was really neat to watch. 

Kate fell in love with Savannah Grace.  She kept giving her toys and pushing her stroller.  She loved getting to "take care" of a real baby.  Tonight at prayer time she included her in her prayers.  So sweet!

The monkeys were a big hit!

The kids had a fun time playing on the playground.  They have really improved the Birmingham zoo over the last few years.  It is much bigger and nicer than the last time we were there.

The lions were so active!  I have never seen lions up and moving around as much as these were.

We took a fun train ride around the zoo.

Last stop was at the splash pad.  The kids had a blast!!

Kate was a wild woman in the water.  She looked so grown up to me.

It was such a great day.  We are all exhausted now but it was full of fun!  It was also wonderful to get to spend the day with such a wonderful friend.  I always love when we get to hang out.  She is one of those really special friends that I am so thankful for.