the little guy

The older kids aren't the only one's enjoying the pool this summer.

There are some who claim to have never heard Nathan fuss. Although, I would say that he is certainly a happy guy, you can certainly hear him loudly complain when he is taken from the pool.

Swimming lessons

The long awaited time of the summer....swimming lessons. This year it was Ryan and Emma's turn. Again, the lifeguards amaze me with what they can get the kids to do!
Ms. Kelly has taught our kids swimming lessons for 5 years. This year she's with Emma's class. Emma is improving her diving and getting the hang of freestyle!
Mr. Craig has the little guys. I always question myself, "Are the lessons really worth the money? I can teach the kids to swim." Then Philip reminds me they are. It's moments like this that remind me....that they are worth every dime.



There was no need to convince Ryan to go off the board. Mr. Craig just had to be sure to be ready to catch him quickly. Ryan went barreling down off the board at full speed.

Beach excursion

We headed to my parents last week for a few days in the sun! We had a great time and packed a lot into two days. We started off at the Sea Turtle hospital and swam in the sound the first day. The second day we started at the beach and ended the day with a canoe and kayak trip. This was Peter's first solo kayak excursion. He loved it and did a great job.

Bye Bye Blonde

We've kept Ryan's hair long for the summer. We did it to protect the scar on his forehead from extra sun exposure! It couldn't get much longer than it had. It was time to say good bye to the long blonde hair...
I have to admit I was sad to see it go. He has really nice hair!

Time with the Taylors

We had a whirlwind visit with my sister and her family. They arrived Saturday at 4pm and left Sunday after early service. We were sad to see them leave but tried to remain thankful for our short but sweet visit.
I love how the kids continue to truly love their time together.

Watermelon time

It seems like a tradition to post some photos of the kids eating watermelon! So I would be remiss if I didn't add the 2010 pictures.



Here's 2009- well I can't find any watermelon ones but here's July 4th 2009
Here's 2008
Here's 2007 Ryan would have been

He's swinging

Nathan received a swing for his birthday. The swing we had for the older 3 finally gave out sometime during Ryan's toddlerhood! It was the perfect day to hang the swing. I'm thinking he's going to like it.
Unless the novelty wears off, he shouldn't have any trouble finding a sibling to push him.

Galatic Blast

We just completed round 1 of VBS 2010. The kids are always invited to join in with the Lea's Chapel UMC crew for VBS. This was their 3rd year with the Lea's Chapel crew. There is always a conversation that takes place before we go as to why they are going. "Isn't 1 VBS enough for one summer?" Peter asks. Then by night 2 Emma is in tears at the thought of the next night being the end and the last time she will see her new friends!

How can three children not enjoy fun, food, friends and water balloons!

Meatboy

I have neglected to fill you all in on our latest and greatest nicknames for Nathan!
That's right: "Meatboy" is #1 on the list. He comes by that name wisely as he is the third of 4 to measure in with a double wide foot.

"Fat and Happy"

There are hardly two adjectives to better describe this fellow!

A sweet reward

I've been thinking for a while now that the kids toy baskets needed to be weeded. I usually do this when I know the kids are going to be away from the house for a few hours. So far I've been pretty lucky and haven't gotten rid of the wrong toy, if you know what I mean. Recently, I read an idea in which the kids are challenged to clean their toy baskets themselves. The reward is a hierarchy of prizes. Wednesday morning, I found myself without Ryan so I spontaneously laid out my challenge to Peter and Emma. I explained that it was time for a toy clean out and I felt they are old enough to participate. Their challenge was this: if they each found 4 toys they could part with I would take them out for icees. If they each found 7 toys, I would take them out to lunch at McDonalds. I was blown away by what they were willing to part with. At last count they each had about 14-16 toys (big and small) waiting for my approval.
After a bit of thought, I decided that a lunch from McDonalds was in order as well as a banana split dessert.
It was definitely a success for everyone! The kids loved the banana splits. As I said before, I'm a mean mom so we definitely don't serve ice cream around here1
Nathan had his own form of fun while we were indulging at the table.

The cake

I am one of those strict mommies who doesn't feed her children ice cream, cake, cookies, Dr. Pepper or Sweet Tea. It's just not what I do. However, for their first birthday, they get their cake.



The birthday party was deemed a success. Nathan had more cake on him and around him than in him!

Birthday visitors

We had Philip's mom, dad and nephew in town for the weekend. They came on up to help us celebrate Nathan's birthday. I should also add that they brought their dog, Lilly.