Trip to Lumberton

Ellie and Jared taking care of Alli, whose foot got run over by my sister on the Ranger.

Kevin kept trying to ride on Bitsy's back!

This poor dog got dragged around so much by the kids that it actually enjoyed resting in this doll crib!

The kids and I took a last-minute trip to visit my sister and her kids in Lumberton last week. The kids had a blast swimming in the pond and playing with the dogs and cats!

Father's Day

water balloon fight


egg race


three-legged race

2-man hula race

tug-a-war

"I love my Dad" arm paint

For Father's Day, we had a "Game Day" with a few other families at a local park. We played tug-a-war, had an egg race and a three-legged race, and of course, had a big water balloon fight! Before the games, we had hamburgers and hot dogs and after the games, we walked over to the pool!

Kevin's True Love

On our way home from the Galveston trip, Kevin and Ellie played mermaids... They were using them as swords at each other. When Kevin got bored with the game, he began staring at his mermaid saying, "Happy Mermay" Then, he kissed her over and over again!

Trip to Galveston

We went to Galveston a couple of weeks ago with Chris's parents. It was a great trip! I love the beach! Ellie and I each got stung by a jelly fish, and Kevin just waved bye all day and wandered off in the sand!

May - More pics from the visit to Stanford

Fishing Derby

Last weekend, we participated in our town's annual fishing derby! We caught one fish - a tiny perch. We had lots of fun and found our neighbors fishing nearby!

The next day, we went to another local park to fish again. This time, the fish were biting like crazy! We just put our line in and would catch one! We caught three fish that day, but we didn't fish very long at all.

I have to admit that it felt a little cruel. One poor catfish that we caught got hooked a little bit in the eye. They were just swimming around and looking for food until we hooked them and left them wounded! But I used to love fishing as a kid, and Ellie really did enjoy it. We'll probably do it again, but I'll be less excited next time.

Sharing the Love!

Ellie and Kevin are so sweet to each other. It really does amaze me! They rarely fight and love to hug! Both of these pics are just special moments between them that I happened to catch! No coaching from me!

Thanks Granny!

Ellie's granny sent her these very cute cupcake decorations! Fortunately, we had some cake mix and icing on the day the gift arrived, so we made them "right away," as Ellie would say! We ate plenty ourselves and gave some away to the neighbors as well!

First Sleepover

Ellie had her first sleepover last week. Our neighbors lost their electricity for the night and needed a place to sleep! Ellie really looks up to Kate, who is 7 going on 15!!

When we told her she was going to have a sleepover with Kate, Ellie said, "This is going to be the BEST day of MY LIFE!!!" - full of excitement and expression, as you can imagine!

We put the princess tent over the queen-size bed with pink sheets, and the girls were in heaven! They slept in the tent-bed all night!

May - Ellie's End of the Year School Party

Ellie had her last day of school party in May. As always, Chris was a hit at the playground! All the kids were chasing him and laughing!

Next year, she will be moving to a school that is much closer. So, Kevin and I will no longer spend 2 hours each day driving Ellie to and from school!!

Her teachers, Mrs. Ljames and Ms. Moffet, were great, and Ellie really enjoyed them!

May - For Karen

Karen, I took this pic just for you after reading Arden's "preschool readiness test" story. Ellie usually doesn't write her name backwards. In fact, this is the first time I've seen her do it! But you can't predict what a preschooler will do - especially when it seems important!