Midsummer

So, everyone is currently taking a nap.  Sophie had a busy playdate this morning, Harper got some time with me at Target, and Camille is always ready for a nap.  It's probably the first time in about two weeks everyone is actually stopped at the same time.  Don't worry, it will crank up soon with a sleepover of girl cousins in a few hours at our house.  So what a perfect time to dump some pictures from my phone on the blog!  It has been a busy few weeks, and we are now enjoying a month of doing whatever we want!

Two weeks ago, right after we got back from our yearly Blue Ridge trip (more about that later...) we were thrown into the busy world of VBS!  What a fun, exhausting, hot week full of kids!  Somehow I got put in co-charge this year of over 400 kids and 100 volunteers, as a learning process for next year when another girl and myself are in charge.... but it was such a blast.  Besides a few parents who got mad that they couldn't drop their kids off fast enough on the first morning of their free daycare...ahem... everything ran so smoothly, everyone stayed happy and hydrated, and both myself and the girls got closer to a lot of people at our church.  I must say the daily naps after getting home by all four of us were the BEST naps I have had since all night study sessions in college. 

 Here is a picture of our first morning at Sky....

 Harper is growning up SOOO fast.  This was her fist official year as a VBSer.  She loved every minute.



Last year as a very pregnant and then new mom, we didn't get to enjoy living near the water too much.  This year we are making up!  We have loved getting to kayak, swim, and being near the gulf is great.  A few nights ago we headed to a local pier around 8 pm to try to catch crabs.  We put out our baskets and hoped for the best.  After a few checks, Harper, Camille, and I called it quits and went home.  Lee and Sophie stayed late into the night, fishing and looking for crabs.  Although they only caught a baby crab, it was still a fun night for them.  Sophie did catch a croaker fish, and threw it right back when it starting "tooting" at her, as she described it. 



I also have a few shots of our annual Blue Ridge Trip.  We have gone for five years, and each year a new baby has come along.  This year baby Thad got his inaguaral trip under his belt!  These six kids (and their parents!) had a ball for a week in the mountains.  We fished, tubed, hiked, gem mined, played on the porch, grilled out, and as always, can't wait to go back!

On the way home from Blue Ridge we took a detour to Amicalola Falls, the largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River (no, I didn't know that... read it on a sign).  I do not recommend hiking with a baby in a Bjorn, but Camille loved seeing all the water. 

Sayings to remember

The other day we were riding in the car home from a long trip. To take a break from movies, I gave the girls some paper and told them to work on their writing. Sophie told us she was going to write sentences about her favorite parts of our trip. Harper wanted to write our names. She told me,"mommy, how do you spell your name? I want to write your name first, because I love you the most.". Lee and I just laughed it off, knowing that's just Harper. Sophie, however, needed to say something. "Harper, you can't mean that. You need to love daddy just as much....he gets us money to do stuff!"

Party Time!

 Saturday was a big day in our house... Our little Camille turned one!  Now if you have kids, or are close to any kids, you always say "Oh I can't believe they are one!"  I have said it too.  But THIS time, I really mean it.  I can't believe that little caboose is one!  Not only is she petite, but she will forever be our baby (unless something CRAZY happens).  She should be small forever.  But alas, she must grow up, so we must celebrate in style!

We had a watermelon bash, complete with seed spitting, watermelon eating, and relay games.  We only had cousins and one close family there, but it was a house full of fun.  Camille enjoyed the attention I think... who wouldn't?

And typical of one of my children, they did something unforgettable on their big day.  Sophie split her head on her birthday; Harper ate the WHOLE cake she was given like it was her job; and Camille nailed me in the face with a hand full of cake during family picture time. 

 
This is now my new favorite family picture.  Not because we paid a photographer to follow us around, or we all coordinate (which we do...gotta give props to a dad of three girls to breakdown and wear the pink), but this is totally our family.  A couple are always happy and doing the right thing, one is usually upset about something, and one has to be a showoff. 


As far as Camille being one, she is tiny.  We go for our check up next week, but if she weighs more than 19 lbs I will be shocked.  Still little to no hair, but it will be blonde.  Blue eyes, loves to dance, likes to go to church nursery, the tackier the toy the more she likes it.  She is an adventurous food eater, loves mommy, and worships her sisters.....

I think her sisters feel likewise....

After Camille's party we took off for our week at Blue Ridge.  So in effect we are at camp all week with our friends with three boys.  When we get home I am sure we will find some leftover watermelon licorice and maybe a gumball that fell out of favors. 

My little fish

We are in the midst of toddler Hell... otherwise known as swimming lesson month.  Seriously, it's awful.  We went through it with Sophie when she was three.  That first time you are forced to make a fun past time a learning experience, and you have to trust some lady with bad hair with your life as you hold your breath and try to learn a stroke.   Sophie used to hide in the bathroom at the Bell Road YMCA, just to avoid her turn at jumping in the training pool.  Well, that was a breeze compared to Harper.  

We started Monday with the official lessons.  Although we swam practically every day the week before with no fear, Monday there was fear.  She did a great job of watching her sister as she is now learning to swim with correct form. She watched her friend Darby jump in, although scared, and kick her feet.  Harper did just as the teacher asked Monday.  Lee and I both heaved a huge sigh of relief, knowing Harper's attitude, that if she wanted to do something she would.  Tuesday, she did not want to swim.  Or Wednesday.  Or Wednesday night when I took her to a friend's pool to practice.  

Thursday morning Lee was back in town from a trip and I strongly encouraged( actually begged) him to take them one morning.  I don't want to force anyone to swim if they were scared.  I got a call after her lesson that she can swim.  I tried to upload our video, but it won't.  But she swam the width of the pool, perfect kicks, and screaming every third breath.  She only screamed every third because she has figured out that that is the only feasible time for her to breathe, because she has to have air to go under water.  I can't WAIT to see how she swims with that extra air when she quits screaming!

When not screaming at swimming, we have had a busy few weeks!  We had a friend invite us to a painting/pool party date.  The girls got to paint mermaids and swim, and had such a great time!

We have been dying to introduce the kids to our new laser tag place in town, and after swim one day we met my sister and our buddies Charlie and Gus.  The Laser tag man let us walk in the arena with the kids before and during our play time.   Words cannot describe how hilarious it is watching kids ages 3-8 run around an arena with fog, black lights, and laser guns.  They all picked up the game very quickly, and had some high scores!  I cannot wait to go back when I can play!

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A Not-So-Bummer one

With Sophie finishing school Friday, and Harper the previous week, we are well on our way to relaxation.  Friday Harper, Camille, and I joined Sophie and her class for one last lunch in school, gave hugs to our favoirite SFES friends, and drove to The Little Gym for a last day of school party.   That started our summer off with a bang!  When we got home we grabbed our summer notebooks and wrote down some things we MUST do this summer.  Here is our list of things to keep our summer fun:

-  SWIM!
-  Sleep on the floor in Camille's room.  (Harper swears this will make her have the best summer)
-  Have a lazy day
-  Head to the Cabin for our yearly tubing trip in North Georgia
-  Go to Bible School
- Eat candy
-  Read books


I think we can handle this summer!

Recital Time

 Post number two for the night!

The girls have been busy dancing the past two Saturdays.  The way our ballet studio works is they really concentrate on technique for the younger girls, not so much a dance, so they don't participate in a big showcase until they are in first grade.  Instead, we get to sit through an entire dance class, watch them do their everyday things, and do a small dance at the end.  It is so fun to watch them dance, even if they aren't perfect or fabulous.   But they try so hard, and smile the whole time!

Harper went first with her recital.  She is hilarious to watch.  She is in lala land half the time,  but when she listens, her form is usually spot-on.  She has AMAZING flexibility.  Splits, bends, leg lifts are all so easy to her.  If she keeps this up we will have a talented dancer or gymnast on our hands!  Her teacher this year was Ms. Zoe.  Sophie had her last year and we love her patience, ability to teach the girls correct terms, and her recaps of Harper's funnier classes.

Sophie had her last year of in-house showcase.  Next year she will be in the big recital.  So, it was fun to get one last chance to watch her up close.  Sophie, being a major people pleaser,  does great with her form and tries so hard to complete each movement.  Her toe-pointing ability makes her a pretty ballerina to watch!  Her teacher this year was Miss Raley.  We LOVED having her, because she is a Rockette during the holiday season!  That is now Sophie's career dream!

Back with a biggie!

So, I am sure no one reads this anymore, but since I started this blog to keep track of our family events, I am going to try to do a better job of recording our history!  So here is my first attempt at doing that... and what a BIG event it was!

Sophie graduated Kindergarten!  As you can tell by the picture below, she was in good hands this year with a teacher that truly loved her and her classmates.

This year she has learned to read, subtract, eat snowcones without spilling much on her, run fast in PE, eat cafeteria food, ride a bus, play on the computer, and many other useful life skills.  She has figured out that if you keep your shirt tucked in and your bow straight and are polite teachers really like you.  She has had a great experience with sweet, normal kids in her class.  She has a few she talks about more than others, but for the most part she genuinely likes and plays with all the kids in her class.

I will probably tear up next year when we walk past all the other first kid in school parents as they meet the sweet, sweet kindergarten teachers our school has, and we turn left on the primary hall towards the first grade classrooms.  But THIS year, we have had a ball!