Our July

I've been absent from blogland for a little while. If you didn't know, we've sold our house (w/in 2 weeks of putting it on the market--a huge answer to prayer) and have moved in with my parents temporarily while our new house is under construction. More on that later. But, with all of the moving, transitioning, etc. I haven't had a chance to update until now. So, with that being said, get ready for LOTS of pictures. Even though it was busy, we had a really good July full of lots of fun. We left July 1st to head up to MO for the 150th anniversary of the little town that my Dad grew up in, we started packing almost as soon as we got back because the closing date on our old house was moved up which gave us a little more than a weekend to pack up and move, we moved in with my parents, we've had lots of fun with the Mommy's Day Out program that the church offered this summer, we've played with friends, and we've had fun watching our new house grow from nothing to something. Here are the pictures to go along with the stories.

Newtown's Sesquicentennial Celebration

Somehow, our whole family was able to plan far enough ahead to all get to travel up to see all of our family from my Dad's side to celebrate Newtown's 150th anniversary. Now, Newtown is probably not a town that anyone has ever heard of, probably because it has a population of around 200, if that. But, it's the town my Dad grew up in and my grandparents have lived in all of our lives. So, we all love it. There were tons of activities planned that were like no other and we had so much fun being a part of it. The best part was being together as a huge family. Here are just a few of the highlights from our trip. (I know it's a lot, but I had to cut back from almost 500 pictures.) :o)

Daddy & GC going fishing. This is probably my favorite!

The girls had a blast swinging from the swings that hung in Grandma's tree.

Paul and Nkere playing catch in my Grandma's awesome yard. This picture is more for the view. Isn't it beautiful?!

Sam with my cousin's twins, Cole and Tate.

My Grandma was nominated for the "Queen of Newtown..." thus, the outfit. This is her with almost all of her grand kids and great grand kids.

Grandma with all of her kids...
Dad, Aunt Teresa, Uncle Kirk, and Uncle Kent

Grandma and all of her great grand kids. Obviously, they weren't in the most cooperative mood.

One of the fun activities...Outhouse Races! People entered by building their own, and then...

they raced them. Seriously. :o) Funny side note: Paul and Nkere got to be Outhouse Race judges!

Another fun activity...the 4th of July parade! Here's my sweet girl watching the action!

Here's some of the action she was watching! Clowns on four wheelers...

and little girls walking their dressed up goats! So fun! There were other fun things in the parade like huge farm equipment, various floats pulled by pick-up trucks or riding lawnmowers, lots of horses, and every firetruck from every surrounding county's fire station. Even my Dad pulled the float for the "Stitch and Chatter" club, which is my Grandma's quilting club! :o)

Grandma and Gracie Claire

Tickles from Daddy

4th of July Fireworks...Gracie Claire had this reaction throughout the whole show! She LOVED it!

Sydney wasn't so sure about the fireworks. Check out her expression in this picture!

Another fun activity...the Mule Jump! Yes, we did go and watch and yes, it was fun!

Mules are exceptionally talented at jumping! :o)

My Sweet Syd

This is all of the grand kids, great grand kids, cousins, etc. We had so much fun all being together. Who wants to go to the beach when you can go to Newtown and hang out with your ENTIRE family?! Not me...I loved every second!!

Random July Pictures

Paul raced in another triathlon after our trip (which I have no decent pictures of...I could just kick myself!) It was at Lake Ray Roberts and the girls had so much fun playing in the water after the race. This is them with Mimi (Paul's mom.) Another side note: Paul raced the Olympic distance this time instead of the sprint. He did great!!

My little mischievous girl.

Tortilla Thief

Walking in GC's princess slippers...I think that I might have forgotten to mention that Sydney is now a WALKER!!! Yes, after 16.5 months, she finally decided to walk! HALLELUJAH!!

They love each other!

This girl loves cookie time with Daddy!

The House

After a quick move and transitioning through all that comes with moving, we are finally able to just have fun watching our house go up. Here are a few pictures of it's "growth."

A Few Favorites

Here are just a couple of random favorites that I took with my phone. Just had to share...and then, I promise I'm done...for now!

Caleb, my brother, crashed into another dude playing basketball. It knocked the other guy out, but busted Caleb's head open. Just thought I'd share the crazy stitches he had to get.

This picture shows my sweet GC's personality completely! She's such a sweet little stinker! She came in one afternoon saying that she'd lost her gum. When I spotted it in her hair, I told her I'd take her picture to see if she could see it. (It's the blob right above her shoulder.) This is the face she chose to make right as I took the picture. She makes me laugh everyday!

Why not end with my sweet babies together. They're just the best!