Sitting Fee

Maury had to have pictures taken by a family friend who will be painting her portrait and I had to bribe her throughout the morning.  Not just because she is 3 and doesn't really want to cooperate for pictures but because she woke up at 4:30 am!  Maury's sitting fee:  a make-up/nail kit!  We got several good ones but I'm having a hard time choosing the perfect one for her portrait.

Back on the Boat

We took a quick afternoon trip to the lake last week for another boat ride!  I am happy to report that the boat is now up and running at full speed (well not really happy, full speed made me really nervous)!

I Jump

We met friends at I Jump yesterday!  The kids ran around as fast as they could from slide to bouncer to arcade, I managed to get a few quick shots!

"Wike Maury"

Carter wants to be just "wike Maury" in everything he does, says, and even wears.  He loves to play dress-up with her but I try not to take/post pictures of him in tutus for his Daddy's sake.  This morning I was putting Maury's hair in pigtails and he wanted "one pigtail wike Maury's."  And of course he wanted her to have the other one, one pigtail for each of them!

Bradford and Bug

Mary Bradford and Gray got to come spend the night with us last night!  The big girls play really well with Maury and Carter and keep them entertained!  Bedtime was a little too late for my two but it wasn't the Jackson's fault, they were in bed first!  Maury and Carter were kicking and screaming because they wanted to sleep with their cousins!  We were all up bright and early and had a fun morning at the pool!  Maury did her first jump off the diving board with no one in the water to catch her!

Beating the Heat

We decided to take a break from the sun and head to Cherub's Clubhouse for an indoor adventure.  First we went to a Kindermusik class and then had free play in the Clubhouse! 

Point Mallard

We went to Decatur this week for a quick visit and took a special trip to Point Mallard with Mimi and the Jackson's!  Maury and Carter had so much fun splashing, sliding, swimming, they did it all!  Maury even went down one of the big water slides with Mommy! 

First Voyage

We took our first family boat ride on Monday!  It went pretty well, the kids kept their life jackets on and didn't try to jump out, which is all I can ask from a 2 and 3 year old.  We did jump in for a swim and have a picnic lunch on the boat.  We had a little mechanical problem that kept the boat from going fast but I was kind of thankful for that!  It was a fun family outing but I'm thinking Daddy may go by himself next time!

The Fourth With Friends

We had a few friends over for a cookout and lots of backyard fun on the 4th!  After bouncing, running through the sprinkler, and flying down the Slip-N-Slide we had supper followed by a dance party on the porch!

Fireworks!!!

Last year firework were a little traumatizing to Maury and Carter but they loved them this year!  Carter yelled "BANG" throughout the show and they both had fun calling out the colors!  Maury pretended to be scared a time or two, in the picture above she had just said "I'm a little bit scared!"

Look Who's Swimming!!!

Maury realized last week that she could touch in the shallow end of the pool.  Since then she only wants to swim with "nothing on" and has gradually taught herself to swim.  She had lessons in April but they were very basic and focused on water readiness, the teacher never let go.  I realized earlier in the summer when I was trying to teach her that she was going to have to do it on her own time and I was right!