7 months gone by....

This little lady is 7 months old today and just got back from spending a long weekend with Eric and I in San Francisco....she was a pretty good traveler!

Summer Swimming Lessons.....

I enrolled Ana and Eli in swimming lessons 2 days a week for 6 weeks this summer. It has sort of been a big commitment....that I sort of have regretted...but seeing the progress the two of them have made in the water in the last 4 weeks has made it all worth it.

Poor Eli - today I forgot his swim trunks....so he swam in his regular shorts...and had to leave swimming lessons wearing only his underwear...thankfully he didn't seem to care!


Adi gets to come along and enjoy the view from her car seat....


And Ema would so badly like to be in the water too....but unfortunately she just isn't old enough to take lessons without Eric or I in the water with her.

Fishing Day.....

Eric had Monday off from work....so we headed out into the hills to find a spot to fish. Pactola Reservoir is where we stopped....


Grandma Judi helping Eli get started....he was pretty insistent on doing it all himself.


As was Ana.....although she would let you cast it out for her....but they never stayed out very
long....they loved the thrill of reeling it in.


Ema....was kind of out of her element...not much for her to do while everyone was fishing.


Grandpa Hal and Eli....Eli was fishing but lost interest....laid his pole down next to him while it was still cast out into the water and began throwing rocks instead.


Ana's first ever FISH.....she really wouldn't go near it or hold the pole....so this is what we got for a picture....For those that know my kids though and their fear of "everything under the sun"...I am happy to report....the bug fear is slowly dwindling...and Ana has NO fear of worms. (unlike her mother!)



Eli's first ever FISH! (you have to look closely - it blends in with the rocks)...I actually wasn't feeling well - so Eric and I went home with the younger two while Grandma Judi and Grandpa Hal continued to fish with Eli and Ana. Eli was so proud....he actually caught 5 fish after we left.

The final little fish.....Miss Adilyn!

4th of July 2010

On Saturday Grandma Judi and Grandpa Hal arrived for a visit.......and with that Grandma Judi brought the dresses she made for the girls and the matching shirt she got for Eli.....so Sunday was the big debut....the dresses were a hit...I LOVE them...the girls love them...and there were lot's of compliments all around.
Thanks Judi!


Sunday morning we went to church.......




Three crazy kids...I only wish Adi was big enough to stand in this picture too!




After church we came home and ate some lunch and got ready for our evening BBQ.....Ana, Eli and Ema also tried a little "driveway" fishing with their new fishing poles....


After our group camping weekend....our kids were so set on having their own fishing poles....so Daddy came through and bought them each their own.


Eli practicing his "cast"


And then reeling in all those "driveway" fish!


After dinner and dessert we finally settled into some chairs outside to light off our "ever so small" amount of fireworks.....thankfully the neighbors came through and put on a much larger show. We didn't buy a whole lot because we were not sure what the kids would think.....but now we know....Eli LOVES them....Ana - TERRIFIED.


Our pyro-maniac.....



Ana spent most of her evening in the house....the noise really got to her....I convinced her at one point to come out and sit in the car and watch them....but she mostly just hid in there too! Crazy girl! Once the neighborhood show was over Eric and I took Eli and a friend downtown to watch the city fireworks....while the rest of the gang stayed at home and went to bed.

Stay Tuned.....

We had an incredibly busy but fun 4th of July weekend with family and friends.

Below is a small glimpse into the start of our weekend.....stay tuned for many more pictures to come from the rest of our weekend.

More Swimming....

On Saturday morning...we went back up to Spearfish for breakfast, swimming and to retrieve two of our children that got to spend the night in Grandma and Papa's camper.


This time it was Eric that got to get into the water with the kids....as you can see though today just wasn't as warm....and it took a little convincing to actually get Eric to go into the pool.




Ana showing us her "muscles"



Little Miss H


And Big Sister Z

Little Swimmers....

On Friday Afternoon of 4th of July weekend we met up with Grandma and Papa at their RV resort in Spearfish for some swimming.


They had a great kids pool....only 36 inches deep....so all the kids could enjoy it.



Even Adi got to get in on some of the fun....she loved the water.




Ana showing us her back float.


Eli doing some sort of trick that he later regretted....after getting a mouth and nose full of water.

Eric joined us later that night for dinner at their campsite.

Visitors and Bears......

My sister-in-law and three nieces decided to spend part of the holiday weekend with us....we had a great time visiting, letting the kids play and even spent one morning driving through bear country....I think it is safe to say now that my kids need not do bear country again for quite some time. This was there 5th time through the park this spring/summer and they were much more interested in what snacks they could eat than actually looking at the animals.


This was quite the car full - 6 kids in car seats....and 1 baby left behind with the babysitter because we absolutely did not have room for one more car seat....poor Adi!



Little Miss D had never been out of her car seat to roam with the car in motion (understandably) and boy was she BUSY!! It was all we could do to keep her contained while driving through the park...and at one point she even managed to open the car door....thankfully the bear had already walked pass the car.


And Little Miss H...was equally just about as BUSY!



The Baby Bears....