A Picnic and NOVA!!

     Our weekend started off EARLY, when we picked up Micah at 3:40pm to head up to Greene County for his annual Company Picnic! It was our 2nd year at this park and we LOVED it even more this year than last!! The weather was actually perfect! We were expecting rain and storms all day, but luckily it was just overcast and a bit warm by the time the picnic rolled around! All 3 kiddos had a BLAST on the playground and they also got to enjoy a magic show (the girls seriously could have stayed by Mr. Magic's side FOREVER), ate some yummy BBQ, got faces and hands painted, enjoyed snow cones, jumped in a moon bounce! Seriously the fun almost never stopped! The picnic was from 4-7pm and we really didn't believe we would hang in there the whole time, but we didn't end up getting everyone to the van until 7:10!! It was that much fun!! And double bonus, we remembered the camera and got some great pictures too!!

      Then we got home, got everyone bathed and in bed, got up the next morning early and headed to NOVA for the day! WE got to visit with Mummis and Rachel for a bit (and wished Mummis a happy belated birthday), then we headed over to Nathan and Sarah's to visit and drop the kiddos off with them so that Micah and I could attend the temple! It was a really great weekend! Fun, Family, a Spiritual Boost, along with pictures and good food!! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!!

Down the Slide in a Line!

Emily: Back Up Again!

Brave Girl!

Ethan really enjoyed the swing!!!

As you can tell!

And I enjoyed pushing him too!

I just thought this was a cute shot!

Emily was SO EXCITED to have her face painted!

The Finished Product!

Complete with THE POSE!

Entranced by Mr. Magic!

Happy, Excited Little Girls!

Haley was Miss Social Butterfly!!

Emily thought this hay bale was fun!!

She even thought it would be fun to eat.....she was wrong!

E-Buddy Eating Lunch at Nathan and Sarah's House!

And we can't forget the Cheerios!

3 Silly Girls Having Fun together!

The Chef, herself!

These 2 (Lydia and Emily) have so much fun together!!

Cousins + Back Yard Pool = A Great Friday Night! (Plus Video)

     Our Friday started off GREAT, with a surprise visit from Dooders!!! He came bearing HUGS and DONUTS, so everyone was happy!! Everyone loves parents and grandparents.......and one can never have too many surprise visits either!!!

      If that wasn't enough, the kiddos got a SUPER TREAT on Friday night when Mimmi and Dooders showed up with Eliza and Olivia in tow! We all had a fun evening together of pizza, watermelon, and LOTS of pool time and pictures!! Emily, Eliza and Haley (of course) had a GREAT time together, laughing and giggling and being crazy!! It was really neat to watch Ethan and Olivia interact too. I think it was the first time that I had seen them together and it was fun to watch them stare at each other and do their version of playing!! Even though there is about 7 months between them and it seems pretty big right now, I know in no time at all they will be super close!! So grateful to have so many members of our family living within 2 hours of us! We are so blessed and grateful to have so many opportunities to play!

Being silly with Dooders!
 

Olivia checking Ethan out!

Checking Out each other (and the camera!)

LOVE this picture!!!

Emily and Eliza enjoying Dinner together!!

Little E-Buddy out by the pool!

Eliza in the Pool!

Silly Pool Sisters!

4 Girls at the Pool!

Splish, Splash, they all got a bath!

Ethan's Pool Time was SHORT LIVED!

Eliza: Backwards, Down the Slide!

Olivia: With Some Assistance!

Emily: And The Water was EVERYWHERE!!

Haley: Ready, Set, Go!

Olivia: LOVE the Look! 

And She's DOWN the slide again!

Emily Got BRAVE: Head First!!

And Lastly, Here's a Video of all the girls taking a turn!!

Emily's First Gymnastics/Dance Class!!

     Yesterday, Emily participated in her FIRST dance/gymnastics class! It was big stuff for this little 3 1/2 year old! Aside from church, it was her very first time being in a class setting! She did GREAT!! We took her to the Little Gym in town for a Dance/Gymnastics class and she was SO EXCITED!! 

      They spent the first half hour in the gym, where they worked on forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, rings, balance beam and more!! Then they moved over to the studio and spent the remaining half hour doing tap and ballet!! Emily had a BLAST!! This was a free intro class to see if this was the right fit for her, and what we found out by the end was that right now Emily is much more interested in and excited about gymnastics than she is about ballet or tap. I saw a totally different girl in the gym than I did in the dance studio. In the gym she was much more free and excited to go and explore and be who she is and in the dance studio she was a little more uncomfortable and just not quite as happy. Having watched the entire class through a glass and then talking with her teacher at the end, Micah and I decided that for now we would sign Emily up for a gymnastics class and to seal the deal we asked Emily if she liked her class and she said she did and when we asked what her favorite part was she enthusiastically (with that big Emily grin) said, "Gymnastics!". 

     So, starting next Thursday she will be going to the gymnastics class at the Little Gym!! We are all excited, but no one probably as much as Emily! Already she can hardly wait to get back out there on the gym floor!!!

All ready for class with her "shoe bag" and all!

There she is, practicing a backwards roll!

Rolling Down the Mat!

Getting Ready for Another Backward Roll!

Now, it's on to Tap!

And she's Ready!

Cuteness Galore!

And lastly, Ballet!!

Perhaps my FAVORITE moment of the evening!! I think she looks like an Egyptian belly dancer here:)

One last picture with Mimmi and Dooders!! Especially since they came all the way across town to see her first lesson!

In the Gym!

On the Dance Floor!

Micah's Latest House Project!!!

     Ever since we moved into our house, almost TWO YEARS ago, we have only had a main light in the middle of our kitchen and randomly ONE recessed light on the left hand side right over our sink. We have always thought that was odd, especially since ALL of the other houses we have seen in our neighborhood have 2 lights over the sink, but the builder was insistent that only one recessed light in the kitchen was part of the house's "light package". 

     Anyway, Micah finally decided he'd had enough!! He went to Lowe's on Monday night and bought the supplies he needed to be able to install 3 more recessed lights! He started working on it and worked for several hours on it Tuesday night and got in the second one over the sink and then last night he added the 2 over our bar, while I took the kids to my parents and hung out for a couple of hours!! When we came home we were all so excited and amazed!! Micah included:) He was pleased with his work and I was so proud of him and I am LOVING the new lighting in our kitchen!!! Everything is SO MUCH Brighter Now! I sure am grateful for my handy man, who is also my husband and my best friend!!!

TWO Lights over our sink!! (Micah installed the one on the right side!!)

TWO Lights over our bar!

The full view of our kitchen area now, with the newly installed lighting!! I LOVE it!!!