I LOVE THE BEACH!!

So, last week my family went down to Emerald Isle, NC for the week!! It was so much fun and I loved every minute of it. We, of course, went to the beach everyday, went swimming in the pool, played putt-putt, went to Cape Lookout on Harkers Island, had fun at the aquarium, went to Fort Macon, NC, and overall had a super fantastic time!!!! I loved being there watching my kids play and enjoying the sand and sun. Karly loved the sand, but not so much the ocean. She did enjoy the pool, especially walking off the edge and going under. She did that about 100 times. It was so funny to watch her. Kaleb loved the ocean and seriously just dived right in and let the waves knock him down, and then he would get up and do it again. He really enjoyed the body board and actually would stand up on it, to try to surf (I am bummed I didn't get any pictures of that). He really had good balance, I was so amazed how long he could stay up on the board. Hailey loved it all!! She actually would go out in the ocean with me and float over the waves and dive under them. She swims so well!!! It really was so AWESOME!! I am so grateful for my parents for making this trip happen and so thankful I have a wonderful family to enjoy the trip with. We decided to do this trip as kinda of a last big family get together before Kyle leaves on his mission in the early fall. I am so glad we did this trip because it makes me realize even more how blessed I am to have this family, they really are amazing! There are a lot of pictures in the slide show, but I hope you will look at all of them, b/c they are all good:)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

July 4th and Our big 5yr old!

Well, we had a fantastic 4th of July!! We spent about 3hrs at the pool, having a jumping contest and just playing around. It was so fun!! After that we had dinner with my parents, Brent and the Elders. My dad fixed his fabulous hamburgers and grilled brats as well. Then my mom made homemade pie, yum yum!! After dinner we headed out to the fireworks. I love fireworks, and I look forward to seeing them every year on the 4th and at the NC State Fair. So, I was extremely disappointed when a big storm came through and they cancelled the show:( We were already there, chairs up, blanket out and we could just see the clouds rolling in. We did however see a good lighting display:) I hope you enjoy the slide show

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My Hailey is growing up..she is now 5yrs old!! It really doesn't seem possible to me that I have a 5yr old. Hailey is such a wonderful girl, so caring and loving. She is a great blessing in our family! Hailey was so excited for her birthday and couldn't wait for the day to come. She picked cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and after breakfast went upstairs to get her "pretty" clothes on. Then I took her to the mall to get a stuffed kitty at The Bear Mill (exactly like Build-a-bear). After that we went shopping and she picked out an outfit, then we got some cookies for later. When we got home, Stephen was waiting to take the kids to my parents house, while I finished the cake and wrapping presents. My parents had their house set up like a theater for Hailey,Kaleb and Sean. They loved it!!! They got tickets and everything. When the movie was done everyone came back to our house for pizza,presents and cake!! Hailey got pretty much everything she wanted, plus a few surprises...like a guitar!! She loves that thing, and plays it all the time. Uncle Kyle is teaching her how to play. Overall is was a AWESOME day for an AWESOME girl! Hope you enjoy the slide show:)

Splish Splash

We love the pool!! We seriously go everyday. Hailey is such a little fish!! She can swim so well, she does the backstroke and freestyle excellent. I am really proud of her. She will just jump in and start going. Kaleb loves jumping in, as long as he has his float. He can swim without it, but would rather have it. Also, this kid can hold his breath....he will go under to get the dive sticks and I am so surprised how long he stays down! Karly is so chill in the water. She will try to swim as long as you are holding her and she will jump to you from the side. Most of the time she plays on the stairs, just dropping and picking up the dive sticks. I am so thrilled that all my kids love the water and aren't afraid of it. We love taking them swimming and watching them play, it is so much fun!!!!

little photographer

I went to upload pictures the other day, and this is what I found on the camera.....




Hailey is apparently quite the photographer! Look how well she posed her subjects, and they are all smiling. She is so talented:)