Big Bear Trip

This summer we were able to go on a really fun trip to Big Bear with our friends Kim and Greg and their two children.  Greg's parents own a cabin there so it was free fun!  We spent a lot of time playing games but we also went on some hikes, rode our bikes, went to the zoo, shopped Big Bear Village and played at the swim beach.  We really enjoyed this quick little get away.

                                                    We need these chairs at our house!

                                                     Taking turns on the Big Bear "bear".

                                                  Eating treats from the ice cream shop.

                                           The coolest animal we saw at the Big Bear zoo!

                      We went on a really fun hike with the girls - this was the "throwing rocks" competition.

                             The girls had a lot of fun jumping off all of the logs and rocks we found.

                      One of my favorite family pics ever!  Too bad Lincoln stayed back to sleep.

                            The swim beach was a lot of fun but Kenna doesn't love the water!

Emma lost her first tooth!

This week Emma lost her first tooth!  She has waited a long time for this to happen. When Emma first noticed that her tooth was loose, Emma was very excited.  It only took a couple of days for it to really start to wiggle.  I told her that she still had a few more days before it would come out because it wasn't even hanging yet.  However, later that day Emma yelled that her tooth had fallen out.  I asked her what happened and she said she was playing with her legos and was trying to get some of them unstuck so she bit them and her tooth popped out!  She put the tooth under her pillow and the tooth fairy came for her very first visit.  I took her shopping at Target and she picked out some bubbles with her money.

Summer Beach Trip

We had a lot of fun at our annual trip to the beach.  I don't usually make it there more than once because it is so much work with 4 kids!!  We went with our friends Kim and Greg and the girls had a great time.  Lincoln enjoyed sleeping and getting held a lot.  I have to laugh at Kenna because she was not a fan of the sand.  She would sit in her chair and bend over to play in the sand.  Jacob and the girls had a lot of fun playing in the waves, looking for seashells and building sand castles.

4th of July

For the past couple of years we have gone to MaryBeth and Nathan's house for the 4th of July.  We really love going there because we swim and eat all day and then enjoy the fireworks from their driveway.  Does it get any better than that?  The girls (Maddie and Emma) stayed in the pool for a record breaking 8 hours barely coming out to scarf some food down.  It was a momentous day for Emma as she swam all over the place without floaties and was able to confidently enjoy the water.  Below is a picture of her doing a cannonball right into the deep end.  Kenna doesn't love the water yet so she stayed attached to grandma, me or MB the whole time.  Unfortunately, Daddy couldn't be with us since he was working hard for us!  Every year, my favorite pictures are always the ones that I take on the drive home.  8 hours in the pool will do that to you!

Maddie's 5th Birthday!

This past weekend we had Maddie's 5th birthday party with most of our friends and family.  We like to keep it simple and just enjoy the company so we got a jumper, made some food and had a party!! As always, here are 10 things about Maddie right now!

1. She knows all of her letters and sounds and is already starting to read.
2. She still loves all things Ariel.....and loves to sing like her too!
3. She is taking swim lessons and is doing an amazing job!  We can't wait to take off her floaties for good.
4. She is the best cuddler around and comes to give me kisses all day long.
5. She is a great helper with Lincoln!  Anytime he is crying, she will rub his head and sing him songs and say "It's ok, Lincoln".  She is my go to girl whenever Lincoln is crying.
6. She is so excited to start Kindergarten and go to the same school as her big sister.
7. She learned to ride her bike without training wheels this summer and is a great bike rider!!
8. Her favorite thing to eat is meatballs, spaghetti and chocolate cake.
9. She is the tough girl that will kill the bugs, fall and not cry, and stand in the way when someone tries to hurt her sisters (like daddy when he is messing with them).
10. She is the most athletic girl that we have so we are starting her in softball in the fall.