It's Ridiculous...

how many pictures are going to consume this whole post. I'm definitely way behind, so I figured I'd catch up with one long picture post to sum up our summer so far.

End of School

Gracie Claire had a great first year of YCW. She loved every second of it and can't wait for the new year to start. She had two great teachers, made some new friends...one who has become her best friend, and learned lots of new things. This is GC with Mrs. Kristen on the last day of school. Mrs. Jennifer was also one of her teachers, but she wasn't able to be there that day! She loved them both!

Bowling

One of the first activities of our summer was going bowling with some good friends. This was GC's first try at bowling and she loved it!

Gracie Claire and Emmerson

Fossil Rim Wildlife Preserve

BigPa & Gigi (my parents) took GC to the Fossil Rim Wildlife Preserve to spend the day. She loved it and talked about it for a couple of days after. She was able to pet some of the animals and feed others. She LOVED it!

Feeding the Giraffe

Cookies With Daddy

Paul & Sydney had some Daddy/Daughter time one evening while having cookies and milk. Syd watched Paul's every move and did everything that he did. It was sweet!

Swimmin' Fun

We've had lots of fun swimming so far this summer. We definitely plan on being in the water a LOT more. Who wants to be inside during the summer? Probably most people in TX...but, the pool and a tan motivates me to get out. Aunt Gracie has a great neighborhood pool that we plan on visiting lots!

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day this year! Saturday night we celebrated Paul with just the four of us and had a great time! Sunday we cooked out with my Dad for lunch and went out to eat with Paul's Dad for dinner. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful Dad's in my life! Paul is beyond anything I could have imagined as a Daddy! I'm so thankful that our little girls have a man like him to look to! My Dad is a wonderful Dad! I couldn't have been given a better Dad to learn from and love! Paul's Dad has been a wonderful father-in-law and a great Dad to Paul!

Making silly faces with Daddy!

Playing the organ at BigPa's and Gigi's!

Daddy's Day Nap Together

Gracie & Me with Our Dad

Father's Day Reading Time

Pretending to take a Daddy's Day Nap Together

Some Daddy's Day jamming on the electric guitar.

The Girls with BigPa

The Girls with PaPaw
(The girls were definitely pictured out by this point of the day! Instead of crying or throwing a fit, Gracie Claire makes crazy faces and Syd just refuses to look at the camera. Oh well, makes for a funny picture.)

Sam's Birthday

Our sweet nephew Sam turned one this past week and we loved being able to celebrate with the family and friends! Sam and Syd are exactly four months apart and it's amazing to watch how much they love each other already! GC loves being in on the action with them too. She's a good little mommy hen!

Couldn't resist getting a couple of pictures of my girls!

The birthday party was a cowboy/western theme and they'd set up a little area for pictures with hay bales, saddles, ropes, hats, etc. We tried our best to get some good pictures, but getting three little ones to look right at the camera all at the same time at the end of the day was pretty much impossible.

The Birthday Family

Summer Spectacular

Summer Spectacular is always spectacular, but I have to say that this year was the best yet! It may be because GC & Sydney loved every second or that I loved every second, or that Nkere and Gracie were such a huge part of the show. Didn't they do such an awesome job?! (In case you didn't know...Nkere (my brother-in-law) played Jonah and Gracie (my sister) was one of the dancers/company/back-up singers.) They did SO good and I was very proud of both of them! OK...enough of the bragging on the siblings. We were also so excited that we were able to bring our nephew Parker with us this year. Paul's brother, Jeremy, was able to come the first night and we were able to pick Parker up for the next couple of nights! He had a great time and we're so thankful his experience was so memorable!

The girls with "Pirate Gracie." Syd wasn't thrilled with GC.

Our nephew Parker and Paul's brother Jeremy

On the Way! (They're holding hands!)

Being Silly with Her Glow Stick

Gracie Claire with her BFF Claire and her friend Foy. So Much Fun!!

Nkere and Gracie performing. Gracie is the Palm Tree on the left!

Heading Home! Summer Spectacular was awesome!!

OK...if you made it this far, you're greatness!! Hopefully I'll be better about staying up to date!

Good Times at the Beastro

Friday night, Paul and I had the chance to go to a fund raising event that the zoo puts on called, "Beastro." It was basically a restaurant tasting event where we walked throughout the zoo and waited in line to sample foods from the restaurants that were there. There were lots there, but some of the best were The Blue Mesa Grill, Simply Fondue, Texas de Brazil, Piranha Killer Sushi, Daddy Jack's Lobster & Chowder House, and Hot Chocolates. Some of these were new to me...i.e. the last two I listed, but they were soooooo good!! If you love food, like me, then you would love this kind of thing. You can tell that I love food by seeing the pictures below. The double chin that seems to make a home on my face when I'm pregnant has suddenly appeared. Oh well...baby is so worth it, and to tell the truth, so was this food! ;o) It was definitely a fun date!!

When we were walking in, there were fun animals hanging out to get pictures with. Do you see how close that thing's head is to my hand?!

Charlie Robison was there along with a couple of other cover bands. Paul's a big Texas country fan, so we loved seeing Charlie Robison. (If you don't know who he is, think Pat Green or Willie Nelson type music. He's also married to one of the Dixie Chicks. I know...not something to brag about. Although, I have to admit that I still love their old stuff. Random rant...) Oh! Charlie is in the background. This is our famous person in the background pic.

I'm a big fan of taking the self-portrait.

Charlie Robison

We went with Paul's brother, Jeremy...

and Jeremy's girlfriend, Sharon.

This is how Paul felt about the number of self-portraits I was taking. I seriously did take way too many!

This is the famous person in the background picture with just me. I think Paul was away getting more food. Therefore, more self-portraits. Oh, notice the twin that my chin now has. :o)

It's A...

GIRL!!!

We are thrilled to be having our third baby girl! How fun is it going to be with three little chickies running around!!?

Isn't she perfect?!!

7 Years

Paul and I celebrated our 7th anniversary last Monday. My parents came over to watch the girls and we went on a fun date. Any date is fun these days. Paul likes to go over the top sometimes when it comes to special events (which I'm not complaining about,) but I told him that this year I just wanted to go to dinner, see a movie, and anything else that was simple. We had so much fun just talking and being together. I am so blessed to have been given Paul to be my husband. He is my perfect match. It's amazing how God works that out for you if you just wait for Him, isn't it?! Paul is the best husband, my best friend, and the best Daddy that I could have ever chosen for our babies. The first 7 years have been awesome and I can't wait to see what the rest of our lives together hold.

Our Wedding Day

7 Years Together
(It's obvious from comparing the two pictures that maybe I need to hit the tanning bed a little harder these days...) :o)

My Little Star

This is a little late, but I still wanted to post about Gracie Claire's first school program. She did such a great job! They had the whole auditorium decked out with things to match the theme..."In the Tall, Tall Grass." All of the students had made most of the decorations...ladybugs, butterflies, kites, so cute! When GC's age group performed, they came marching in to "When the Ants Come Marching In" all wearing cute little bug hats. They sang sweet little songs and did all of the actions to go with them. The funny moment of the program was when Gracie Claire, who was on the front row, lost her ladybug hat to someone behind her and she stopped singing, dancing, etc. to make her way up the risers to the top row to retrieve it. Once it was safely back on her head, she went back to the performance as if nothing had happened. Secretly, I'm so glad that it happened because there was a little boy who was suppose to be next to her on the front row that was standing directly in front of her instead...therefore, no view of my GC. I had to fight off the urge to want to go up on the stage to shove the kid over myself. Yes, I know he wasn't doing it on purpose... :o) Here are some of the pictures from the night. Unfortunately, my videographer (Paul) didn't hit the record button until the performance was almost over. I will give him the fact that it was an innocent mistake on his part, but I again had to fight off the urge to shove him. :o) Thankfully my dad took video and got it all, so hopefully I'll be able to get a copy of that soon to post.

My Sweet Little Bug

Gracie Claire and her Best Friend Claire

Sydney Enjoying the Show -- I LOVE this picture!

Mommy and Her Girl

Daddy and His Girl

Gracie Claire with BigPa and Gigi

Gracie Claire with PaPaw and Janny

Gracie Claire with Uncle Caleb, Aunt Sandra, and Sam

The whole crew who came to cheer our sweet girl on -- minus Aunt Gracie who was there but had to leave as soon as it was over for Summer Spectacular practice...she's forgiven! :o) (Uncle Nkere's forgiven too since he IS playing Jonah and had to miss the whole program for practice...I know he wanted to be there!)

3 Year Old Prayers...

Gracie Claire has been changing her prayers up here recently instead of saying the same prayer every night. It's like it has clicked that she can say anything she wants to God. Love it! Sadly, I have a hard time containing my laughter as she prays her sweet little prayers that are straight from her heart. I can hardly stand it, it's so precious! Here is the prayer that she prayed last night before bed...

"Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for my falimy (family.) Thank you for my clothes and my food. Thank you Lord for essythang (everything,) and essythang, and essythang, and essythang. Thank you Lord for helpin' me stay all night in my big girl bed so I don't get a sankin' (spanking) with the sankin' soon (spoon.) Thank you Lord for helpin' me stay all night in my big girl bed so I don't get a sankin' with the sankin' soon. Thank you Lord for essythang and essythang and thank you for helpin' me stay all night in my big girl bed so I don't get a sankin' with the sankin' soon. Thank you for Jesus! Aaaamen."

Apparently she is thankful for everything and very thankful that she is receiving help staying all night in her bed. I just love how sincere her prayers are and how she is learning to talk to the Lord straight from her sweet little heart! It's the best being a mommy...don't you think?!

YAY!! I've Been Tagged...

by Jennifer!

What Was I Doing Ten Years Ago:

10 years ago I was finishing my first year of college and working as a student worker in the financial aid office. I was still living at home with my parents, which I loved, and I spent lots of time with one of my best friends, Ashley, traveling back and forth to Tyler to see her boyfriend, now husband, play football. I also probably tanned way too much 10 years ago. Random.

5 Things On My To-Do List Today:

• Laundry
• Pack boxes
• Organize some of the girls' clothes
• Dust & Vacuum
• Watch Claire (which isn't really a chore! :o)
  

5 Places I Have Traveled:

• Maui & Oahu
• London
• Rome
• Florence
• Barcelona
  

5 Snacks Or Treats I Enjoy:

• Twizzlers
  
• Cheetos
  
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream
• Chips and Salsa
• Pickles

What Would I Do If I Were A Billionaire:

• Give to the Lord
• Pay off any debt as well as debt of family
  
• Buy any shoes that I want
  
• Buy lots of bags
  
• Redecorate
  
• Get Paul lots of trips to hunt and fish
• Spend lots on the girls
  
• Travel, Travel, Travel

Places I've Lived:

• Iowa
• Missouri
• Watauga
• Abilene
• Euless
  
• Keller
  

Jobs I've Had:

• Nanny
• Ticket Booth at NRH2O
• Financial Aid Office at TCC
• Admissions and Financial Aid at ACU
• Recreation Program at Christ's Haven
• 1st Grade Teacher
• Mommy (My Fave!)
  

People I'm Tagging:
Gracie, Emily, & Angela

**Side-Note: Pictures and possible video coming from Gracie Claire's first school program!**

I'm the Big Sister...

I just love my brother and sister!