Blake's Party

We all got to go to Blake’s 6th birthday party. Alycia made it a Diego theme. She had tons of games created; blind fold cotton ball collection, put the spot on baby jaguar, Diego bingo, a Diego piñata (which was a little politically incorrect), and a treasure hunt to find baby jaguar. I helped Alycia with the cake and was the unofficial photography, which is why I am never in any photos. The blow up Jet Ski was Blake’s gift from GG. Carter got a little bored with the party, so he played outside. I know I am posting way too many pictures but I have fiber optic internet so it is really fast that the pictures are all so cute.

Painting

I finally had something other than swimming and water park pictures to post. Alycia and her kids slept over so Nick had more time to finish his thesis. We did go to the pool but the kids also did some painting. Most of them made pictures of space. This was Carter’s first painting experience. He did paint on his paper that I taped to his highchair tray, but he also ate the paint too. Good thing it isn’t toxic. I guess I will have to hold off letting him paint with oils.

A Few Words

Making Up Songs

Headstands

Sam let me sleep in today which was wonderful. I did find some funny pictures on the camera though. Gavin and Renée are into doing ‘tricks’ right now. I guess these are their newest tricks.

Booster Chair

Carter crawled into Renée’s booster chair. I assumed that meant he wanted a snack. He was as happy as a clam eating at the table. If he didn’t make such a mess with his cereal I might consider switching him.

Fireworks

We went to Grapevine Lake to see the fireworks this year. We thought we had a great spot and we had our camping chairs and blankets all set up, but when the first firework exploded in the sky we realized that we didn’t chose too wisely. Because of the direction of the fireworks, there was a group of trees in our way. We grabbed the blanket and the kids and moved to a better viewing spot. It was so much fun to watch Carter’s face as he viewed the fireworks. That is one of those fun things about motherhood, discovering the world a new through your child’s eyes. It was a great ending to a fun day.

4th of July

We started our 4th of July celebration at Johnson Road Park for the Ward breakfast. The kids decorated their bikes and got to have a parade. Gavin and Renée had so much fun decorating their bikes the night before. Carter enjoyed the sand box and even went off on his own and played. He usually just wants to be held when we are in a new place or there are a lot of people around. It was great to see that he is growing up a little.

I got us all matching t-shirts but Sam lost his, so he got to take the picture. Isn’t Carter hamming it up!

After naps Alycia and her family came over for dinner and swimming. We had brisket since we are Texans now. Alycia made chocolate raspberry crème brûlée.

Rene'e can Swim!

Renée has been getting braver and braver in the water. She has been jumping in and loves to swim around the pool wearing her life jacket. Today we went to the pool together after dinner. We took off Renée’s life jacket to start teaching her how to swim and she could swim. It really was amazing to see her progress just this evening. She started by mostly using her legs to swim straight up. Then she started using her arms and swimming horizontally in the water. Gavin also taught himself to swim. I am thinking that it is our Speedo life jacket and a lot of exposure to the water that has turned my children into fish. It has been nice not to have to pay for swimming lessons.
Carter is enjoying the pool more. He now has the balance to float in the water with water wings. He loves it when Sam and I throw him back and forth.

This is what Gavin calls the airplane dive. Doesn’t that look fun!

The first video is of Renée swimming and the second is of me throwing Carter in the water. You can also see Renée swimming in Carter’s video.

Tae Bo

Alycia posted a video of the kids doing her Tae Bo video. While we were there Blake put it on again for Gavin. They are so funny that I had to post this.

Trey's Birthday

Trey turned two and we spent the whole day celebrating. We spent the morning at NRH2O. Then we had a party at Alycia’s house. Alycia made dirt cake and we decorated it like you would a diorama. It turned out really cute. Trey loves Curious George, so the kids got to wear monkey masks. We gave Trey a bubble mower. Carter loved it and we had to fight him off of it so Trey could have a turn. Happy Birthday Trey!

First Article of Faith