Summer Swimming

It is summertime and so we have been swimming! 

 Samantha loves to put goggles on her head! 

Peter suggested that maybe I should try attaching hair bows to the goggles and she might just keep them in!

 

 The above pictures were taken while swimming one evening as a family at the rec center. I had the kids all lined up by height perfectly and then Jon had to jump. You can see Joseph's foot so he is still there but too bad Jon also hit Joseph in the jaw when he did this. 

 We have also been doing swimming lessons.

Lily was so excited to start this year. I thought she would do really well but she did not let her guard down and try what the teacher was asking until the last day or two.  I was so grateful I had signed them up for another session.

This picture perfectly captures Arabella's growing confidence in the water. She rarely wears her life jacket anymore at the pool and she is always working on getting better and stronger. I love it!

This is from the second session of swimming lessons- Day 1. It is a semi-private lesson with just Lily and Arabella. 

This was Arabella trying to put all of the parts of breaststroke together and doing a really good job of it. I am really so proud of both of them. 

New Orleans

Peter travels a lot and therefore, he earns all  kind of travel points- air, hotel, rental car. 

For the third year now, he has earned a companion pass.  This means that if he flies, I fly free. 

I know that sounds incredible but it only is incredible if you use it. 

It took some planning but we made it work for us to go out of town for just over 48 hours and it was well worth the effort. New Orleans was the perfect getaway!

Friday we went to plantations: Oak Alley and Houmas House.

The oak trees in front of Oak Alley were undeniably impresseive as was some of the items inside. I also enjoyed the restored slave quarters with the information in them.

Houmas House was enchanting.

The current owner lives there and has gone to great lengths to restore it. 

I was actually allowed to play the Steinway Piano in it. 

The gardens were so beautiful!

The picture 2nd from the right is a vampire slaying kit. 

We also had lunch with our dear friends Andy and Lindsey Maas. 

The company was the best part - so great to catch up. I am sad we did not take a picture.

The food was delicious too and my first time eating oysters- better than I thought they would be. 

Saturday we spent time at the French Market and driving by some of Peter's old stomping grounds (aka his old schools).  We also went on a swamp tour which was really cool! Yes, we were that close to the alligator.  We then ate at this middle of nowhere restaurant and it has ruined all other fish tacos for me. They were so good. Driving across Lake Pontchartrain at dusk and early sunset was beautiful!

I know there have already been a ton of pictures but here are a few from my phone. 

We used Peter's rental car points and for $10 more a day we were able to upgrade to a convertible! Totally worth it! The weather was perfect and we drove with the top down everywhere.

 The mighty Mississippi River behind us. 

 And of course, no trip to New Orleans is complete without beignets. We enjoyed them Friday and Saturday nights. 

I loved spending some quality time with this amazing man! He works so hard for our family and tries so hard to give his family quality time though there are many demands for his time. He is my greatest blessing! I love you Peter! I don't know when or where our next trip will be but I am sure it will be fantastic!

Old Camera

I have yet to share the joy that was Joseph's first scout camp but here is a sneak peek.

I found an old disposable Kodak camera just the day before they (Joseph and Peter) left, that had half of it's pictures left on it.  I sent it with Joseph, along with a crash course in how they work. I don't know if you can even buy those anymore. 

Anyway, there is a sneak peek of what camp was like. They did have a great time! There was rain, mud, swimming, laughing, food, and learning. 

Now for what we found in the other half of the pictures.

 Joseph stole the camera!

No idea whose feet those are but they are not mine. 

 These pictures made Peter the happiest. He remembered making this huge mud pit for the boys. 

 Based on the fact that Jon is still in diapers, these are from 2007 or 2008.

 My boys loved parks that had sand! 

This picture makes me so happy! You are asking why because Jon has a blank look on his face. 

Now, look at Joseph (he was okay being called Joey when this was taken).  He has his blankie, which I believe he called his "B", and he is sucking on the corner and tickling his nose with another corner.  This was his second blanket because of the sucking thing.  His first one though it was repeatedly washed I had to trim the corners and refinish and so when it was needing a trim a second time we opted for Grandma Bird to make him a new blanket.  This time it had trucks on it.  He took to it well and soon the corners started to fade and turn brown.  I will always remember the times he could not find it and he would ask "Have you seen my blanket? It is blue with brown corners and trucks on it." We finally just took it away and it was sad- much like a pacifier thing.  He continued to tickle his nose with the edges of his blankets and may still do it but I have not caught him in a few years. 

Sweet memories of motherhood, early childhood, muddy boys, and happy times. 

Lily's Last Dance Class

This year Lily has been in a Mommy and Me type dance class. She has done really well! She is a beautiful little dancer. She can follow directions well and tries her best.

End of School

I was not very good at getting pictures on the last day of school- mostly because we were out of town on the last day.

But, I did snap this picture of Jon on the day before the last day.

We were lucky enough to get to do shaved ice for Arabella's and Joseph's class parties and to attend Jon's. It was so much fun! 

Both boys have grown so much this year and we are grateful for the things the have learned.  They both did outstanding on their STAAR tests. 

I am actually looking forward to next year and the new and exciting things it will bring. 

Kindergarten Program

I am way behind but I can not just let go of my blog.

Arabella made it through Kindergarten! 

She is one smart cookie! We are so proud of all that share has learned this year as well as the many ways she has grown!

She is beautiful and we love her!

 Ms. Taylor was such an amazing teacher! I hope we are lucky enough to have her again!

Me and my girl!

Sunday Dinner

Having 1:30 church means we are not getting home and working on dinner until 5:00 but Peter and I love making meals together. This is from a day we decided to make a turkey (it had been in our freezer since Thanksgiving time). It was delicious!

We have also made a point to mostly use the china for Sunday dinner, even if we are having tacos. 

I love Sunday dinner!