Celebrating Jenna

Today we celebrated Jenna!!!  In just a few weeks Jenna is headed to Tigertown...we won't hold that against her!  Not all of God's children can be perfect. :-)  Daniel and Claire hosted all of us and we had the absolute best time!!  The weather didn't look promising around noon but thankfully the storm rolled through and all was well.  The cousins always have the very best time when they are together.  I will warn you now, this is definitely a picture overload post!!

We ate dinner early and saved the river for last.  While Uncle Daniel was grilling the hot dogs and hamburgers, the kids were itching to get in. So we walked down to the river to kill some time before dinner.

Peyton was excited to have a fishing buddy...Phillip was excited to fish!

Pretty sure this picture needs a frame!!  Maggie loved wadding in the water.

There was a dark cloud and I wasn't thrilled about putting on my suit so I told my girls they had to wait for Uncle Daniel.  They were so excited when he got his suit on and got in.

Daniel is a big kid himself. The kids loved trying to throw him in...instead he grabbed them and threw them in!

Mom wasn't in the water too long on her float when Daniel told Claire to grab the rope...otherwise we were going to have to pick momma up at the next landing...Maggie loved hanging out with Granny on the float.

This may have been the best part of the day.  Jenna said that she didn't know we were going swimming so she didn't bring a suit.  Phillip convinced her to jump in in her clothes...they were going to jump together.  However, when they got to the end of the dock, Phillip let go and Jenna kept going...the kids couldn't believe he didn't jump in with her!!

She was a good sport and this time, she made sure she held his hand the entire way!!

Maggie decided she needed to take a break.  She got Uncle Daniel to fix her fishing pole and she sat on the dock and "fished." She was content to play.  She did manage to drop her pole but thankfully Phillip was able to grab it for her.

Love these girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maggie was attempting to jump to Uncle Daniel

The sliding board into the river was a huge hit!

Our crew

Peyton caught a FISH!

We don't get to see each other near enough but I'm thankful for these two!!

Caroline was so excited that she learned how to drive the golf cart.  She may or may not have gotten a little close to the van and wasn't sure what to do.  Thankfully she figured it out. :-)

Today was fun!  I'm thankful for my family and days like today that we get to spend together!!  Oh how I wish my daddy was here to see us now...he would definitely be proud of the newest Tiger in the family!!!

No Floaties

Today we met Jill, Tyler and Nori at the pool like we do most days.  I have loved our summer days spent at the pool with our friends.  We have a pretty set routine and folks ask where the other one is when we aren't together.  One lady even asked us if we were sisters and said that Nori and Maggie looked like cousins! :-)

Nori tackled another set of swim lessons this summer and passed!  She has a yellow band which gives her SO much more freedom in the pool.  She gave Maggie her floaties since she no longer needs them.  These floaties buckle in the front and give Maggie a lot of freedom.  Today everyone wanted to swim in the deep end.  So Jill and I sat under the umbrella's while they swam.  We were nearing our 3 hour mark and Maggie decided to get out and dry off.  I gave her a snack while she waited.  Jill and I chatted as we watched the other kids play.

After Maggie finished her snack, Jill and I watched in very slow motion as Maggie decided to jump in and join the rest of the kids in the 5ft section!  During the 2 second slow motion action Jill said as I thought in my head "she doesn't have her floaties."  Sister sank straight to the bottom.  I'm pretty sure I got her before her feet truly touched the bottom...I pulled her up and she said with a big smile "I think I need my floaties..."  Yes ma'am you do and I need a nerve pill!!!!!

Today was a good reminder of how quickly something fun can turn into something tragic.  When water is involved, something can happen in the blink of an eye.  Thankfully we were paying attention and all is well.  But I was reminded why I can't relax and read a book while the girls are playing in the pool! :-)

Pink Purse

This girl LOVES a purse.  We can't leave the house without it.  Many times, she feels the need to sleep with it!!  I love it!

Friends Day

About 6 years ago, I was pulling out of my driveway one day and noticed a young momma and her baby.  I had seen them several times in the neighborhood and my cousin Megan told me the young mom's name was Megan as well.  She was a new mom and was staying at home with her little boy.  So I introduced myself and said "let's get together soon."  That was the beginning of a sweet friendship!

Now that our kids are older, I work 5 mornings a week and she is homeschooling, play dates don't happen very often.  Today we planned an impromptu play date.  The kids had a blast playing together and us momma's enjoyed catching up.  I'm learning more and more that things that we take for granted, won't stay the same...

Tie Dye Fun

Tonight our kids group from church, along with siblings and parents, gathered at a friends house for pizza and tie dye fun! It was hot but we had so much fun!   Neither of my girls have ever tie dyed a shirt before so they were super excited!!!  Caroline fell in love with the sweet kitty up for adoption and really wanted to bring it home...she also enjoyed a game of kickball, which I didn't get any pictures of, and playing softball with daddy.

So thankful for the friendships the Lord is creating in our church.