Summer Fun

We've had a fun and busy summer! It didn't go exactly as I planned out in my head (wasn't really considering having a newborn, ha!), but was fun nonetheless. June seemed to fly by. It started with Mallory's birthday, a visit from our California cousins, then off to DFW for 11 days at my parent's while Brad was gone, a visit with my youth pastor's wife/youth group friends and lots of family time.

All of these pictures are in reverse order. I don't want to waste naptime changing them, so we'll start from the end of June and go to the beginning!

After such a busy month, it was nice to have some slow days at home. Just a normal day in our house with two girly girls. Reading books in tu-tus, with tank tops to match!

I got to have a mini reunion with some old youth group friends in Waxahachie. It was a great visit! I brought Max along to introduce him to Ruth, my youth pastor's wife. She has been a huge part of my life through mentoring and ministering. I loved seeing her, Bruce and lots of old friends I don't get to see often enough.

The girls got to play with Julia and Johnathan while I played with my friends. They also got to attend VBS with their cousins. Apparently, Morgan can't go to Waxahachie without adding drama. She passed out asleep on the floor of her VBS room with a 102 degree temp and then threw up when she got to Jason and Jenn's house. We felt awful and had no idea it was coming! Luckily, it was a one time thing and she didn't infect anyone else.

Brad is a soccer coach. He coach's a men's college team during the fall, starts recruiting the weekend after Thanksgiving and ends in April, takes May off from traveling, works several different soccer camps during the summer, and has about a week off before it all starts up again. It exhausts me to type that out. He is a hardworker, that is for sure. What is more impressive, is that even with all he puts into his job(s), he still gives 100% at home. For instance... After working for 10+ days in 100+ degree heat and babysitting teenagers all week, we came home to this:

Brad immediately wrestled, tickled and took the girls on horsey (or stallion, as he likes to be called!) rides all around the house. It's impressive. I'm a thankful mom and wife to have him. The girls and Max absolutely adore their dad. He's by far the funner and funnier parent.

While Brad was slaving away in the heat, we stayed cool at Mimi and Grandpa's house for eleven days! We had a lot of fun swimming, playing with more cousins, meeting old friends, attending more VBS and getting in some quality time with grandparents. I tell the girls all the time how lucky they are to have two sets of grandparents that we get to see so often. Both sets of mine lived out of state. I'm thankful to have two sets that love my kids and get to see them often!

We take showers at our house, but the girls love taking baths at M&G's, so a bath it is. Grandpa gave them a new hairdo this time (and Mallory has some sleepy eyes from the flash)!

Kelly and Wade get the "super aunt and uncle award"! For three nights straight, they arranged their schedules to pick up the girls and drop them off (and feed them dinner at CFA with their own kids as well) for "Summer Spectacular". The girls absolutely loved it! It was their first VBS experience and it was a specatacular one...heh heh. My dad and I came on the last night for the big show. It was pretty amazing!

I always joke that Morgan looks more like Kelly's child than mine. Here's a little proof:

Max got his first dip in the pool...and loved it!

Wearing a hat like Grandpa to take a walk to the store. Morgan's a little ghetto:)

I took advantage of being in the metroplex for so long by seeing lots of friends! My fun friend Marla had us over for a playdate. The kids loved playing with Shepherd, Owen and Marley!

And as a bonus, I got to see Marla twice! My sister is now friends with her, too. Cool, huh? We had a late night treat at The Cheescake Factory for dessert.

Cousin swimming! They had so much fun!

Even Connor "got" to swim!

We had a playdate with some old friends from high school, Melanie and Jennifer. We did this last year and I'm so glad we did it this year, too. Next year, we'll add two more babies to the mix!

It was a special treat to have my cousin, Amy, here from California! She and her daughter, Audrey, came along on a business trip with her husband, Paul, to Austin. She braved the Austin traffic and headed south to spend the afternoon with us. The girls loved playing with Audrey and I loved talking about mommy stuff with Amy. I'm sure they didn't love the heat.

July seems like it's been just as busy! I can't believe our last summer before we're on a school schedule is about to end. Craziness!