Late summer fun at the lake....

It was absolutely gorgeous today so we decided to head down to the lake to spend our Sunday afternoon....not sure how many more late summer days we'll be able to enjoy doing this! So, we were able to eat a late lunch w/ the grandparents and then head to the beach for some swimming, playing in the sand and having lots of fun together. The water was still warm and the girls enjoyed playing in it. And, Katelyn is getting the hang of sitting in the beach chair w/ Mama and taking naps in her beach tent! : ) We treasure these times of making so many great memories at the lake w/ grandma and papa......as much fun as a vacation w/out the long drive!

Lauren's 4th Birthday!

Happy birthday to Lauren Elizabeth! Our "middle" bundle of energy turned 4 today and we celebrated with a big family party at our house. She was very excited to wake up today and know that it was going to be her birthday all day long....she couldn't believe that even after everyone left the party, it would still be her birthday! : ) We ended up having a "Dora the Explorer" Fiesta-themed party, complete with a "build your own" nacho bar! Of course, Lauren's favorite part (besides all of the great presents!) was the "make your own" sundae bar too! Bring on the whip cream (only the spray kind will do for our parties!!!).... We got some good pics of her enjoying the day. You can faintly see on her cheek the scar from a summer "injury" of her slamming her face into an antique school desk down at Grandma & Papa's lake house....OUCH! That happened about a month and a half ago and it still has a mark on her face. So, she's our rough and tumble girl...definitely no fear in her!

Everyone had a great time at the party and the weather turned out to be perfect for outside activities of cornhole, hill-billy golf and the kiddos running around like crazy. We ended the night by taking her to her favorite place to eat....the Mooresville Ponderosa! What a treat....she said it was her best birthday ever! After prayers and kisses, Mommy told her one more time "Happy Birthday Lauren" and she looked up and said "Happy Birthday to you too, Mommy!"....too cute!

Allie's first day of third grade!

Well, our oldest has officially began the third grade! Hard to believe that she is so grown up already.....getting up and getting ready for her first day of school was pretty much routine for her (she's so big!) and she finally had to tell Mommy to stop w/ all of the pictures! But she was very excited and couldn't wait, of course, to wear her new outfit and see all of her friends. Of course, Lauren wanted to get on the bus with her but was finally satisfied to hear that it will be her turn next week to start her new class at school and when Allie told her that she would be able to ride the big bus with her in just a couple of years, she got very happy! She has no idea how long two years is so we're sure she'll ask us a hundred times just today when she will be able to ride the big bus w/ her sister! : ) After school, we'll go over Allie's classroom news that she brings home tonight and then we'll have a special dinner to celebrate the start of the school year and Allie will get to eat off of the speacial plate -- another great start to school!

A bit of last minute fun before school starts!

We have been trying to sneak in just a bit more fun before school starts soon so the girls and I headed to the Childrens Museum earlier this week and then all of the family went to the State Fair today before catching Allison's open house at school tonight. All in all, we had a great time at our mini excursions. The girls always enjoy the museum and especially liked the couple of new exhibits w/ drawing cartoons and comic strips. Allie has always been very artistic so she thought that was great! Lauren wasn't crazy about the "scary" music from Batman that was played over and over again in the comic strip exhibit....she just wasn't sure about that! Katelyn wanted to get more and more into the action (won't be long before just hanging out in the stroller won't cut it for her!) and Mommy got one good picture of her attempting to get out of her baby seat....yes, she's adventurous already! : ) The fair was fun as it is every year and the girls enjoyed seeing the animals, playing a couple of games and gathering free stuff, like pencils, stickers and rulers! Allie was so excited about her open house tonight to meet her new 3rd grade teacher and could hardly wait to see all of her friends again. Her teacher was very sweet and seems like so much fun! Can't believe the summer is winding down already....time flies when you are having fun!