Little fish

One of the best things

about summer vacation

are the fun activities

the kids get to participate in.

The past 2 weeks

they have been

taking swim lessons.

Jordan went off the diving board

(with a little help!).

So did Austin.
Sydney learned to dive in
from the side of the pool.

Splash!!
London and I took a

parent/tot class together.

We had a blast!

It was so fun to see them swim

and watch how much progress they made

in just 2 weeks' time.

Backyard

We are lucky to have

nature's playground

so close to our home.

Today we drove about 10-15 minutes

up the road

and had a play day

at the reservoir.

We loaded up our little boat

and took off.

The faster, the better!
We slowed down to do a little bit

of fishing, so Doug could try out

his new fish finder.

He was loving it.
We all were!
The scenery was gorgeous!
We boated for awhile, then

got out and played at the

beach.

We headed home around dinnertime,

and this is what it looked like then.

Beautiful!

Sweet thing

I gave up

trying

to put London down for

naps

when she started sleeping

in a bed.

All my other kids stopped

taking them at that point.

But apparently,

she still needs them.

At least, she thinks so!

Yesterday, she had closed her

bedroom door

and when I opened it,

this is what I found.

How lucky am I?

Soccer girl

Today was
Jordan's
last day
of soccer.
She played
2 days a
week through
the month
of June.
She learned
some new
skills
and had
fun playing
with some
of her
friends.

We loved watching her

and spending some time

enjoying the beautiful

June weather.

Sydney enjoyed taking

the photos.

Here is her

self-portrait.

Then there was London.
She enjoyed

socializing

with the boys.

Should we be worried?? :)

Today's adventure

Today, we camped.

At least, it felt like it.

We woke up this morning to

no water.

It lasted most of the day.

They said the tank just

ran out.

O. K. (??)

Anyway,

when it finally came back on,

this is what we got.

Pretty, isn't it?

London looked at it and said,

"Mom, that's chocolate water."

It sputtered and coughed for awhile,

Then finally ran normal again (we think).

One of those things that makes us

count our blessings!

20 things that make me smile. . .

(Tagged by Jen) - this one was fun to think about.

1. Compliments from my sweet husband

2. Giggling kids

3. Jordan's random made-up jokes

4. Funny things that London says

5. Going for a drive with the sunroof open and a good song playing

6. Watching the kids play together outside

7. Personal email letters from family or friends

8. Homemade ice cream

9. An icy Sonic drink on a hot day

10. Running through sprinklers, or the rain

11. A couple of minutes alone once in awhile

12. Morning walks on a beautiful day

13. Watching the hummingbirds at the feeder

14. A freshly mowed lawn

15. Colorful flowers

16. New clothes

17. Elderly couples holding hands

18. Acts of kindness

19. Watching my kids learn something new

20. Realizing my blessings

I tag Carisa, Heather, Ramanda, Sydney, Mom, and anyone else who wants to!

The big 6

So, yesterday, we had a

birthday!

Jordan

turned 6 years old.

I can hardly believe she

can be that old already.

Where did the time go?

We threw her a party this year,

with 5 of her friends.

We decorated her and Sydney's bedrooms,

and then some great friends came over

and helped us give the girls

a little pampering session.

Here is Sydney's room

(notice the new paint job? Much better)

We had lights, candles, fresh flowers

and some balloons on the walls.

This was the nails and foot massage room.

Jordan's room was for

hair and makeup.

Flower cupcakes.

Jordan with her cute friends

after their little makeovers.

What's a birthday without a little

pinata-whacking?

We sang the happy birthday song,

although she didn't get to blow out the

candles - the wind kept doing it for her.

After the party, we did a little celebrating

as a family - ate pizza

and went to see "Kung Fu Panda".

She was so tired she wanted to sleep

during the movie.

She had some new p.j.'s to

snuggle into when we got home.

She kept saying it was her

best birthday ever!

Happy Birthday, Jordan. :)

Swinging into summer

This summer

Austin and Sydney decided

they wanted to take a

golf class.

It's like a clinic that lasts

for 4 days.

They get instruction on their

swing, grip, stance,

and other pointers to

help them learn the basics.

They both have absolutely loved

this sport so far.

Hopefully their enjoyment of it

will continue into the future!

Dance recital - Jordan

Last Thursday was the

Spring dance recital.

The girls always look forward to it

with such anticipation.

It's fun to finally see

what they've been working on

all year long.

Jordan's class did a ballet

number to

"A Whole New World"

from Aladdin.

It was so cute.

The whole class looked just adorable.

Dance recital - Sydney

Here are a few pictures of

Sydney

in the recital.

She was amazing.

They did a couple of numbers.

This one was ballet,

and here is the song they danced to.

Syd looked just beautiful.

Their other number was a jazz one.

Here is the song they did for it.



So fun to watch!

A perfect day

This year for

Memorial Day,

we took the kids up to

Rifle Mountain Park

for a few hours.

We were able to find

a gorgeous spot

right on the creek.

Doug grilled us up some

hamburgers

and we had a great lunch.

The weather was perfect,

and we even took Jake along

for the ride.

Of course,

we had to take along

the fishing poles

and try our luck.

Doug had some success,

he caught one little brown trout.

Not much, but at least he could say

we didn't get skunked!

We asked London if she wanted to

pet the fish.

Her face says it all.

And, of course, there were plenty

of her favorite flower around,

dandelions!

She was in heaven.

A little hike through the

riparian zone

made for a wonderful end

to a great day.