Summer Fun

Josie loves just hanging out in the pools in the front yard. She always says "ow -si,  ow-si" (outside).

 

Annie is taking swim lessons at the Beach Waterpark this year and she absolutely loves it! On the last day of the week, they take the kids on slides.

 

Josiah likes to multi task! Swimming while ready at any moment to dart off on his bike.

 

Queen of the castle

 

And Supermodel

 

And just a beautiful little lady

 

This little girl melts my heart day after day. God knew what I needed when he blessed me with this sweetheart.

Me and My Man

Our Second Home - Kings Island

The kids tried out one of the seats at K.I. They can hardly wait til they are big enough for the "mommy, daddy" rides.

 

Nathan and Mike on the Slingshot! I am dying to try this thriller :)

 

Nathan, Katie, Mike and Jennifer on Drop Tower. We loved going to K.I. with them this night and the kids were so good. We rode mostly adult rides and they just sat and watched. I promised them blue ice cream, so at 9:59, we got to the ice cream stand and they were pulling the curtain down. I walked under it and begged them for a cone. They obliged! Iwould have had very sad kids had they not got their ice cream for being so good.

Annie's last day of Kindergarten

Annie had her last day of Kindergarten. We decided to make it a special occasion, so we got up early and headed as a family to UDF for doughnuts and chocolate milk. Then, we all took her to school for her very last day.

Annie has grown up so much this year. She reads so well and is at the top of her class for reading. She really loves her school and her friends she has made this year. She is also very happy about being a first grader now. My baby girl is growing up way too fast but I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming.

 

Annie on her first day of Kindergarten

 

Annie with her yummy chocolate cake doughnut on her last day of Kindergarten.

Our special family time on Annie's last day of Kindergarten.

 

Annie and Mrs. Harris on the last day of school.

18 Months and Counting

Josie is the funniest toddler I have ever met. She will do anything to get a laugh out of people. And when she gets the laugh, she keeps doing the same thing over and over to get more. She is very loving and will go to just about anyone to cuddle. She is SO independent and wants to do everything herself. She now walks down the steps like grownups do trying her best to hold onto the railing, although it is hard for her to reach. She loves to eat, eat and then eat some more. Her favorite foods are Spaghetti-o's , Oatmeal and Bananas. (Oh, and anything sweet....she has a big sweet tooth.) I am so blessed to be this little girl's mother and I look forward to watching her grow into a beautiful young lady.

3 Very Different Personalities

This picture shows how very different my kids are. Josiah is the sweet, cooperative one. Annie is the silly, not always cooperative one. And Josie is in her own world most of the time. Three very different kids, but they each bring mommy and daddy such joy and happiness almost all the time. I can't thank God enough for these 3 wonderful children he has entrusted us.

Annie Conquers the Rock Wall

We went to Pump it Up for a friend's birthday party and Annie tried the rock wall climb for the first time. She did great! She gets her bravery from her daddy for sure.

 

Annie and I had a race to the top and let's just say I didn't even make it to the top :)  It's that darned afraid of heights thing.

 

Josiah just loved chasing the teenage workers around with the ball.

 

Later, we got to duke it out in the boxing ring. Annie won that too I am afraid.She packs a mean punch.

 

Josie just sort of hung out.

 

Here's the group of party guests. Can't get Josie to sit still for long.

Josie and "Cross eyes"

Josie can cross her eyes on demand. It has made for hours of laughs for anyone she has 'performed" for. I am telling you, she is a little comedienne in the making. We are so blessed to have this 'little" bundle of joy.

 

So Silly!

 

 

Our little Movie Star!

Annie gets bangs!

This was a big step for mommy but I think she looks adorable and she has gotten lots of compliments on them. She is beautiful no matter what!

Josie's first ride in the Bike Trailer

Cookie in Hand.......

Family Fun Nights

We decided to take advantage of the really nice days we have had recently. On this night, we went for a 3 mile walk in the Miami Bluffs neighborhood. It was such a nice time together as a family.

What a handsome little guy!

 

One of my favorite pictures!

 

Another night, we rode down the street to the field to fly kites. The wind wasn't very strong, so daddy and the kids did a LOT of running to keep the kite up :) Si rode his bike to the field.

 

Annie with her My Little Pony Kite

 

I think Josie had the most fun. She loved chasing the kite all through the field. Her giggle just cracked me up.

 

  Up, Up She Goes!!

Devotions with Daddy

We end every night with devotions with daddy. The kids have a special book we read out of with a Bible Verse and Phrase they repeat every night. This has become a special time and the kids remind us that it is time for devotions before they go to bed.

Some More of Josephine

Josie riding in her convertible sports car....vroom vroom

 

My silly little girl.....lovin' the hair Josie!

 

Josie was so slap happy this night. She was cracking us up! They don't come more precious than this little stinker.

Let's Go Bananas!

We had a busy yet fun week around here. We went to Bananas to play with our neighbors Amy and her daughter Maddie and Kim and her daughters Maddie and Kaitlyn. We had a great time, although it is hard climbing the ladders of those slides with Josie in tow :)

 

Josiah and Annie had races up the wall to the big slide on the other side. They had so much fun with this.

 

Josie and our neighbor Maddie

 

A Cheesin' Josiah

Our little Old lady in a Shoe

Annie had Open House at her Kindergarten. All the kids dressed up as Nursery Rhyme characters and recited their rhymes for the parents. Annie was "the little old lady who lived in a shoe". She did awesome!

 

We had a good time being shown around the classroom by Annie. We got to see her journal and lots of other things she had done in the classroom (even her letter to Obama in which she said "I love you"....I suppose we need to have a chat with her...:)

Park Day with Daddy

Nathan took a half day off to spend time with us at the park. It was so much fun. The kids love unexpected time with daddy. This is their favorite thing at Schappacher park, the merry go round!

 

 

Josie thinks she has to walk through all these tubes. She is hilarious.

 

Now that's the way it is done baby girl!

 

At the top pf the BIG slide.

 

One of our favorite things about this park is the Dog Park. Here Josie and her cousin Layla are watching the dogs and saying, "Let us in!"