Marlie's First Birthday

On August 7, Marlie turned 1 year old! The kids were excited to celebrate her birthday. Reed said "Wow, she's finally an age". He was also excited because he knows that his birthday comes next in the family birthday order. Marlie had no clue as to the meaning of the day, but she did learn that in this family the tradition is that she gets to eat an entire chocolate cake all by herself, if she can! This is taken when she was just about finished. The kids were still pretty wound up that day. We had just gotten home from out Utah trip and we were still out of whack. I had a hard time getting all three of them to sit still enough for a picture.

Lainey taking a little liberty and having a little bit of cake too.

Back to before she ate the cake. We sang her happy birthday and she loved the lit candle.

She wanted to grab the flame, and wasn't sure about our requests for her to blow it out. She'll have to get that concept next year!

She got very upset at Reed for pulling the candle with the cake attached away so that she didn't burn her fingers on the flame.

But, once she got to dig in to the cake she was happy and gave us a great cake filled smile fit for a first birthday picture!

Marlie, we love you! Its been a great first year with you in our family!

Lainey is 3!

In July Lainey had her 3rd birthday. Lainey was glad she could have her cousins visiting from Utah, and her South Carolina cousins there to celebrate with her. Dora is a favorite these days, but so is Ariel, the little mermaid. Dora is much easier to draw with frosting, so Dora it is! We love you Lainey, and are glad you are in our family!

Dad's gig at the Marine Corps Museum

Here's a little clip of my Dad playing trumpet. When we were up in Virginia this June, his band "55 in Overdrive" performed at the the Marine Corps Museum. I love seeing my Dad get involved with the folks in their "Senior's Only" neighborhood. I am impressed with how great he sounds in his solo break!

Mischief

What do you get when you turn your back for 30 seconds and your 3 year old gets hold of a pen, and her 11 month old sister?

A lot of scrubbing for Mommy and a time out for Lainey.

Live After Five

I'm going way back to late May for this post. In Greenwood, we have a regular concert night in the center of town. Live After Five features live music of different genres throughout the summer. We have only made it to one this summer, which is a shame. This week was a Motown group and the kids had so much fun "getting down" to this music. They had free face painting during the band's intermission, which the kids loved! Playing at or in the fountain is also a must for any visit to "uptown" Greenwood.

A few summer shots!

We've had such a whirlwind of a summer! Fireworks, water slides, picnics, a family reunion in Virginia, cousins from Utah came to visit, a family reunion in Utah, a trip to Yellowstone, Jackson, and more to share. Here's a few photos to get things started.

Surprise!

About a year ago we bought one of those blow up water slides that you can set up in your yard. ( I will post pictures of that later.)  We had a real heat wave and decided to surprise Reed with setting it up.  We kept telling him that when we moved back into our house we could set it up.  He has been waiting patiently for a LONG time!

We set it up while he was playing at a friend's house on our street.  

The first picture is when he thought I just wanted to take a picture of him.  The next photos are of him spotting the slide blown up in our backyard.