What a Week! - Friday

This morning the girls and I made our first trip to the Nieter's pool to meet Aunt Kim and Blake. I was scared about doing this with 2 kids because Erin isn't a water rat like her little friends, but she did great. Anna swam for a little while and then went down for a nap. We had a really fun time and can't wait to do it again. (Pictures to come)

Friday night we met the Jackson's at the beach for a picnic. The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time in the sand. Then we splurged and played Jungle Golf. Get Cody's autograph now because he is good - Erin needed some guidance on how to hold the club, but Cody knew exactly what to do. Anna just chilled in the stroller eating crackers. I love the beach at dusk this time of year, not too hot, no bugs and beautiful sunsets. It doesn't get any better.

Too bad I couldn't capture more of this beauty on camera - ours is on the fritz and Monday will be sent away to be repaired/replaced! Yeah! Joe's will have to do in the meantime when I can get my hands on it.

What a Week! - Thursday

Anderson and Carter came over for a little while this morning. Poor Carter and Anna had to nap durning their play date while Anderson and Erin made Jello Jigglers. Then after a quick appearance by mom, Carter was off and Erin and Anderson played outside in the water. They were supposed to be in the sprinkler, but chose the baby pool instead. Erin always has a great time playing with her bud Anderson!

What a Week! - Wednesday

We got some pizzas and walked over to our neighbor's house so Joe could help Kevin with the swingset while Erin got to swim in their pool. Our neighbor's are so cool and we all get along so well. Not to mention they have a trampoline, a pool and a swingset - Erin loves them!

The Graduate?.....The Speaker!

Joe and I attended the Graduation Ceremony for Open Campus for Virginia Beach Public Schools last night where Joe was the Commencement Speaker. It's a long story of how he came to be asked to speak at this event, but he was and he accepted. He did a wonderful job giving the students a charge to say YES. In the acronym YES he challenged them to do something for Yourself, Everyone else you know, and a Stranger. Although he wasn't allowed to speak about God, he did give a very clear message about seeking Truth. I was so proud of him and so amazed at how well he did in front of all those people. I know this will not be the last time Joe is asked to speak publicly, I think the Lord is going to use him in this way many times in the future. We are very proud of you Daddy - you did a great job!

This is Brandon, the student that Joe met through his involvement with Recovery for the City. He and Joe formed a special bond and his mother recommended Joe as the speaker.

Toofy Alert

I discovered today, Anna has cut her first tooth! The picture doesn't show it very well, so we'll wait until we can get a better one! Yeah for Anna!

Breaking the Rules

So we had already put Erin to bed last night when we walked outside to observe our neighbor organizing his newly delivered swingset. It's twice as big as the William's old set and we all know how long that took to put up. So Joe is kindly trying to warn our neighbor and give him some pointers. But, when we saw what was going on outside we had to get Erin out of bed to join in. There were 9 huge cardboard boxes in the driveway and his kids and our other neighbor had markers and were enjoying the empty canvases. Erin has a heart for art, so we knew how much she'd love this, and she did. Then, she went right back to bed and was asleep in no time. Summertime is all about breaking the rules!

The Aquarium a.k.a Museum

Petting a snake....Doesn't the handler look like Aaron Spelling?
Here Sharky, Sharky...
A few minutes of peace at storytime.
Our little builders...
Just training her up right, sometimes we just have to do it ourselves!

Erin absolutely loves the Virginia Aquarium which she calls the Museum, so she was thrilled we were going with her friends. She also loves being a tour guide, and took right to it yesterday. We went with Baba, MawMaw and cousin Samara, Jamie and her 2 and convinced Jessica to skip work and bring Cody(bad influence!). We went on a Tuesday so we could participate in story time, but that lasted about 10 minutes, whose got time for stories at the Aquarium. The kids all loved the new exhibit "Little Builders". Of course, my battery died, so only 1 picture. It was a great time with friends and grandmas looking at the sea turtles and sharks!