Cousins' Visit

This past week, my niece and nephew came for a visit. We had a lot of fun! I had four kids and only one adult. Wes was in Brazil for work (again).

My parents brought Sydney and Sam to me with Lizzie and Gracie. The girls had spent a few days prior to that with my parents. By the time I got the kids, they were a bit tired. I wore them out even more.

The first full day that I had them by myself, we went to the Dallas World Aquarium. The kids all loved it. It was the first time for Lizzie and Gracie. Sydney remembered going once before and Sam didn't remember. It is such an amazing place and a great way to see animals!

The crew - Gracie, Lizzie, Sydney and Sam

Amazed by the animals

Watching the otter swim

 The next day, we headed to Legoland. Sam was very excited to go. It was his thing! All the other kids liked it also.

Sam is excited to start!

The kiddos

 The last night they were here, we had movie night. The kids all snuggled on the sofa to watch 101 Dalmatians. I popped some popcorn for the kids. It was so sweet how they snuggled together.

Ready for a movie!

It was a fun few days. The kids all got along great! Every night, the big kids read to the little kids. It was so sweet. I'm so happy with how these kids all love each other and play so well. It is a blessing to watch them grow up together.

Trip to Wylie

Today, the family loaded up in the car and headed to Wylie, TX for the Last Monday Trade Days. Its been a long time since I have been to a flea market. The girls could not figure out why we were going to an "outside store".  

First, we made hand print pictures for the girls. A young girl had the great idea of taking paint, putting it on a kid's hand and then creating a picture. Lizzie and Gracie loved the idea and we had the pictures framed. After that we looked around a little and then saw the bounce house. The girls had a great time. The last thing we did was ride the little ponies.

Gracie

Lizzie

We had a great time being together and looking at all the fun things at a flea market. It reminded me of being a kid with my parents and going to flea markets. When we asked the girls their favorite part, Lizzie said it was riding the horses and Gracie said it was making the picture. My favorite part was being together as a family.

Princess Dance Camp

This past week, the girls went to Princess Dance Camp and had a blast. At the end of the week, there was a program to demonstrate their new skills. It was really cute and they were sweet little dancers. Their friends Reese, Riley and Abigail danced with them.

Reese, Abigail, Riley and Lizzie and Gracie

Waiting for the show to start

Tapping away

Ballet dancers

Sweet girls

So pretty

Now the girls can't decide whether they want to be dancers, ice skaters or gymnasts. Big decisions for little girls.

Beach Vacation

For many months, the girls have been begging to go to the beach. They have never been. So, this past weekend we took the girls to the beach with our friends the Blackwells. We had a fun time!

We left on Thursday and stopped for lunch in Austin with our now retired pastor Dennis and his wife Linda. It was nice to see them. Then we made our way to Corpus Christi and our hotel on Padre Island. The hotel was right on the beach. We walked on the beach for a couple of minutes and then went in search of dinner. We found a great pizza place.

The next day, we ate breakfast and then went to the beach! When Wes and I walked into the water with Lizzie and Gracie the first time, they giggled and giggled. They loved the feel of the waves. It was a fun moment for our family.

Gracie stopped long enough to have her picture taken

Matt showing baby Alysse the ocean for the first time

Chandler, Gracie and Lizzie

Building sand castles

Gracie and Chandler in the sand

Chandler

 After the beach, we cleaned up and headed to lunch and to see the USS Lexington. It was a huge ship and we didn't even get to see all of it. The kids were ready to go after a couple of hours. It was really interesting to see. Its like a little floating city.

Lizzie and Gracie with their new hats that nana sent

Looking out on the deck of the ship

The kiddos

 We parked next to a store that had a giant shark in front. The kids loved walking in and out. We teased them that the shark was spitting them out.

Taking a break after all that walking in the belly of a shark

 After the tour of the ship, we went out to dinner. The restaurant had a miniature golf course. It was a beautiful night so we sat outside to eat and then the kids played golf. It's funny to watch five year olds play golf!

Penny and baby Alysse

Getting ready to "tee off"

Sweet girls telling daddy about their day

 Saturday, we headed to the beach first thing and then around lunch cleaned up and went into Corpus Christi. After lunch, we went to the Texas State Aquarium. The aquarium was fun and had a splash pad. The kids loved playing. When they were done, we went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

We headed to Port Aransas for dinner. It was crazy busy and the restaurants were packed. We ended up having dinner at Whataburger. The kid loved it.

Lizzie wearing my sunglasses

Wes at lunch

Lizzie and I

Fun captains wheel

Watching the giant sea turtle at the aquarium

Watching dolphins

Splash park!

So focused

 We had a great vacation and enjoyed going with the Blackwell family! I asked all three of the big kids what their favorite part was and each said playing in the pool. Go figure.

Fun Day at the Mall

Yesterday, we met up with our friends Amy, Reese and Riley to play at the mall. It's been a long time since we have played there and the girls had a fun. They had a new fire truck toy that all the girls were happy to see.

Gracie, Lizzie, Riley and Reesse

 After playing, we went to the food court for lunch. The girls each had a kids meal from Subway that came with a little back pack. Each girl had to wear it out of the mall!

Outside posing

Showing off their back packs

It was a fun day to play and see our friends!

Fourth of July

We had a wonderful Fourth of July. We met up with friends, cooked out and watched fireworks on July 3. We had a lot of fun!

On the Fourth, we started the day off with donuts and then grabbed a spot to watch the parade! Again, we met up with friends and watched the parade. It was really fun!

Waiting for the parade and eating donuts

Gracie

Lizzie

Our friends waiting on the parade to start!

  After the parade, we went home and I took a nap. Then we grabbed lunch and went swimming. The girls are getting so good this year! They want to go swimming every day.

Apparently staying up late, getting up early and swimming make for tired girls. They both fell asleep and took a very long nap.

Sweet Lizzie

Sweet Gracie

After naps, we ate at Babe's, best chicken and sides ever! Later in the evening, we loaded into the car and went looking for fireworks! We watched one city and then on our way home, we saw another city shouting theirs off. We had a great day celebrating the Fourth of July.

5th Birthday!

Yesterday was the girls fifth birthday. I can't believe how far we have come from the day they were born. Wes and I should have known what was ahead for us. From the first day, the girls were fighters and strong. They didn't let anything prevent them from growing. We had ups and downs in the NICU but faith that everything would work out.

Today, these two little girls are sweet and loving. They fall down and will get right back up again. We love them very much and hope that we are raising in the best way. Parenting is hard, but we make it through. Constantly, people are telling us how tall the girls are. Wes and I are amazed when we hear that. Who would have expected these tiny babies to get so big?

Their actual birthday started out with donuts. Wes picked up donuts and brought them home for breakfast. The day was full of fun things for the girls. They got to go to Chuck E Cheese and Build A Bear. It was so fun!

Here are some pictures from their birthday.

New bikes from Grandma and Papa

Gracie having fun!

Lizzie getting her picture made

Now waiting patiently for the picture to print

Pizza!

Love it!

Build A Bear!

Cleaning them up!

Creating the birth certificates

Wes and I are thankful everyday for these two little girls. I still think of them as my miracle babies. They are beautiful and full of spirit. Each with their own personality.They love each other and encourage each other.

They challenge us daily, but make Wes and I want to be better. They are really a mirror of our behavior both good and bad. Hopefully, more good than bad but the bad really stands out. That's when I know when I need to change and become better. Each day brings new joys. Love these little blessings.