Monday, July 15, 2013

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.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

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!

Friday, July 5, 2013

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.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

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.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Strawberry Shortcake Yoga Party!

This past Sunday, we celebrated the girls 5th birthday with a yoga birthday party. My friend, Cheryl Walker, does kids yoga parties and it was so fun! The party was hosted at Rescue Yoga All the kids had a blast! As always, Allison took pictures for us. I made floral crowns for all the girls and had hard hats (that's the best I could come up with) for the boys.

Here are just some of the awesome pictures she took.
Gracie with Reese and Riley


Lizzie

Cousins!

Having a blast

Nana and Lizzie

Nana and Lizzie

Ready to start



Dance!

Thumbs Up!

Relaxation


Blow out the candles!

Sweet girls

More cake

Sydney and Kassidy

How many are you?

FIVE!

Our family
 I can't believe my babies are 5! It was a fantastic party! Cheryl is awesome with children. We had 19 kids including the girls and she did great!