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!!!

Three Little Cuties in the Tub!!!!

     Ethan is growing by leaps and bounds, we all know that! Therefore, on Sunday night, we decided that since he is sitting up fairly well unassisted that we would introduce him to the big bath tub and give all three of the kiddos a bath together!! It worked out really well! The girls LOVED having their little buddy in the tub with them and Ethan LOVED all of the attention (with the exception of the cup of water that I poured over his head to rinse his hair) :( Overall, it was a great experience for everyone, even Micah and I as we were able to get all 3 of them clean at the SAME TIME!!! Baby bathtub, we LOVED you, but we have outgrown you for now, so you can resume your spot in the corner of the basement with the bouncy seat!!

All Together!

Look at that Happy Boy!

Let the Happy Moments Roll!!

Busch Gardens was HOT, MEMORABLE & FUN!!! Trip #3 of 2012

     We tackled our THIRD TRIP to Busch Gardens for the season!! And the best 3 word description would have to be HOT MEMORABLE FUN!!! Luckily for us, once again, Mimmi and Dooders decided to come along!! The temperature was scorching hot, around 99 degrees!! And boy, did we feel it!! Luckily we kept everyone hydrated and loaded up on sunscreen!! 

       We got to have lots of fun, we saw TONS of animals, rode lots of ride, mostly wet ones and fast ones, we had a GREAT picnic out by the van for lunch and we enjoyed some great entertainment, found out that one should NEVER try to locate a McDonalds near Busch Gardens with or without a GPS, had one "belly laughing experience" after another, got hotter than I am sure any of us (especially Dooders) thought we could,  took lots of pictures (although sadly, none were with Mimmi and Dooders, simply because we were never really all together except at the lunch time picnic, and we were all so hungry that we weren't really thinking about pictures), and made lots of memories that I am sure will last a life time!

        We have LOVED every minute of our trips to Busch Gardens this year, and we are looking forward to one last trip next month and bringing Micah's sister, Rachel, along for the fun!!  Our season passes have been worth EVERY PENNY!!!!  We love that place!!

Before we headed into the park for the morning!

"Come on, show me some love people!"

Haley resisting, but finally succumbing to a ride in the stroller! While Emily is still looking for some love in the background!

E-buddy is ready to Rock-n-Roll!

First Stop: The Hats!!

Recognize this girl? 

Then it was time to see the Horses!! And lucky for us, one was coming out for petting!! 

And there is Emily making friends!!

Cute!

Haley, however, was not so sure about the whole petting the horse thing!

But when it came time to ride, they were ready!!!

Sister Love!

Mommy Love!

Me and My Girls!

While our little man was snoozing away!

Daddy Love!

Haley got a turn with the camera! Not a bad picture, to have been taken by a 2 1/2 year old!

Then it was off to the bumper cars!!

They were super excited that they actually got their cars to turn around!

She's a SERIOUS driver!

Didn't take them long to go from cars to airplanes!

Flying High!

Emily, she takes her job as a pilot seriously!

The baby swings, which really should be for just LITTLE babies, they didn't move hardly at a snail's pace!

Oh, and did I mention that Emily and Haley were the only two on the ride!! And no one was even waiting in line when we left:)

All 3 kiddos tuckered out and ready for a stroller ride!

"Now, this is what I call relaxation!"

Micah and I just after getting DRENCHED on Roman Rapids and getting ready to ride the Battering Ram!

And last, but certainly not least, a nice romantic trip on the train!!