My date with Ephram

I took ephram on a date to the mall while the other kids were at the pool with Brian. He picked CFA for dinner and got to ride on the train...as in I actually put money in it!


Next up we went to the playplace where it was pretty much empty and he ran around having a blast. He hasn't come here much since the others are too big for it but he had so much fun. When the other three were little we came here weekly! After the playground we went to the 'quarter rides' and he was happy as a clam just sitting in them looking at all the lights...no money needed:).


The main reason I wanted to take him to the mall was because of the train that goes around the lower level. It wasn't opened and I was afraid we wouldn't get to do it after 'talking it up' but apparently the employee was on a break. When he came back we were the only ones on the train and ephram picked the blue car to ride in. He LOVED it!

posing in front of the train

I took these when we got home from our date because he was just sitting on the ball and grinning like crazy...plus my pretty flowers were in bloom!

he's always holding something...a car, stick, rock, train, etc.:)

I had a GREAT time out bonding with my littlest boy!

his hat

He's worn it in a lot of pictures. This was the day he got it. He picked it up in the store and didn't want to leave without it. Usually I wouldn't give in but he was OH.SO.CUTE. in it and so I got it. He's pretty much worn it everyday since then...seriously. If he sees it he asks for it. He wears it to church, playdates, swim meets...you name it! He wore it at the beach with my parents for the first time and dad thinks we should keep finding bigger ones the same style and make it his 'thing':). We'll see how long he loves it...and do you wear them in the winter?

this one was at a swim meet

party girls!

Kinsey had several parties to go to in June (one being ephram's) and was excited to go with just me. The first one was Caroline's and she had a mock sleepover. Kinsey was the oldest and the others were too young for a sleepover but it was so cute! They came in their jammies, decorated frames, painted pillow cases, ate dinner/cake, got in their sleeping bags and helped make up a bedtime story.

They also played upstairs in the playroom like silly girls:). She had a blast and can't wait for a real sleepover with Caroline!

The next party she went to was Addison's and she was having a princess party. Kinsey still loves Cinderella more but decided to be Snow White this time:). She even dressed her bunny up to match and brought it with her. The girls decorated crowns, got their nails painted, ate yummy princess dinner food/cake, and played together...another fun girlie party for just kinsey!

my little princess:)

all the friends...and cinderella with snow white

addison loved the princess blanket from kinsey:)!

Water Day at awana

I downloaded the little red camera and came across some 'old' pics I wanted to blog about. The kiddos had a super FUN water day at AWANA right before it ended in May. It had been really hot leading up to the day but then cooled off quite a bit. They did relays with water balloons, had to 'dig' pennies out of ICY water with their toes and see how many they could collect, and more:). Because it was so cold they didn't get as wet as they would have but still had a blast.

cailey with lindsey and harrison

cailey with emilee and ms. frances (one of her leaders..who also happens
to be emilee's mom)

kinsey looked like she was having so much fun! since i was helping out with the older kids i only got to see her for a little big. next up the TnT girls were helping make a long chain to represent the number of verses they learned. this was my group of girls for the year...cailey, emilee, holly, and meredith.



i came out to see braden quickly and his pants were folded up because of the icy water! he loved it and had so much fun with reece!

technically they weren't supposed to throw water balloons...but at the end when they were putting stuff up braden decided to try his luck with hitting Dave. he was unsuccessful but had a blast!

2 year old check up

Ephram has his two year check up solo (first time ever) with just mama while the big kids were at choir camp. We LOVE Dr. Walker and he was sure showing off for her:)! For the first time in a while he GREW significantly (which explains all the eating he's been doing)...YAY! He's on the American Growth Chart for everything and in the 3rd % for weight, 10% for height, and can't remember head...but it was normal.

He's above average for his age in development in speech and fine/gross motor. He holds and controls a pencil better than most of my Kindergarten students ever did...it's crazy amazing. He knows some colors, can count to 10 (when he feels like it), etc. He doesn't like to perform his 'skills' for others so I have a feeling he knows more than he's sharing at this point.

He was super proud to be able to show Dr. Walker his big boy underwear too:).

Scout Campout

Brian took Braden on a scout campout for the bridging weekend. Unfortunately a few hours after setting up camp a huge storm was rolling in so they had to take everything down and come back home. Braden was pretty bummed about it but was able to get in some hours of fishing with daddy, shooting off rockets, and going on a hike with everyone.


They ended up moving the bridge ceremony to the church so they were still able to eat together and bridge up...and we even saw a double rainbow! Originally we were planning on joining them at camp for the afternoon and evening but loved watching him at the church too:). I posted on the bridging back in May.

he LOVES this stuff!

Susan G. Komen 2011

After training for her race she was READY! The weather had cooled down a bit and there was a nice breeze. She felt nervous but was ready to start.

With team Cailey! (and daddy:)

the cheerleaders who had a GREAT spot!

and they're off!...........and the finish line!

We sat right near the starting/finish line so we'd be able to see them well. The course was very hilly but cailey ran a 9:39 the first mile. After that she averaged around 10:30 up and down the hills and LOVED throwing water on her hair and running through sprinklers. When she came in at 33:19 (YAY!! AMAZING for the course!) she was DRENCHED...with what I thought was sweat but then found out about the water:). She was looking a lot like when she had heat exhaustion because her face was splotchy white/red and she was dizzy. After chocolate milk, banana, granola bars, and water she was back to normal:). She did such a GREAT job with daddy!

my runners after the race

Afterwards we went around to all the expo tents getting free samples and checking out all the fun activities. One of the big highlights for the kiddos was getting to ride on a bus from RBC center to Meredith. Oh...and thankfully Ephram stayed dry the whole race:).