Just being a kid

After Library story hour at HPF, we decided to go to Wich Wich for lunch. I am not sure if the kids enjoy the sandwiches or the water fountain that is outside the restaurant more. We went with Tiffany,Hayden, Hudson, Andrea, and Abbie. Tiffany and I had talked about letting the kids play in the fountain in their clothes. So I planned by bringing extra clothes for my girls along with Abbie! That way Aunt Andrea had to let Abbie play! hahaha The kids had a blast. Somehow when you are doing something that is not usually "allowed" you have twice at much fun! I know these are things I remember the most about my childhood. Dancing in the rain, jumping in the pond with all of our clothes on, and a having a shaving cream fight at church camp are a few of my favorite childhood memories. How about you?

I love this one! Look at their faces! They remind me of the hands on a clock.
Hayden daydreaming on the sculpture.
My own little Marilyn Monroe!

The Motley Crew

Kinley's weed

Early this summer, a strange plant appeared in our backyard. We assumed that it was a weed. As we were pulling the weeds in our yard, Kinley claims this plant as her tree. We tried to convince her that it was just a weed and that we needed to pull it. She would not hear of it. So we gave in and decided to let the weed live a few days longer. Rob and I planned to slip out one night and pull the weed once Kinley had forgotten about it. However, Kinley did not forget. She actually started nurturing the weed. She was diligent in watering it each day and I found her singing to it twice! She kept telling us about the beautiful flowers that it would soon produce. The "weed" became a family joke as it towered the peach tree in our backyard. However, about a week ago, huge bright yellow flowers bloomed all over the plant! We were all shocked! Well, all of us except Kinley. The irony of the story is that a few months ago I studying about the parables of the weeds in Matthew. I specifically prayed that my children would be able to recognize the weeds in their lives. It looks as if Kinley has it figured out better than the rest of us.

Kinley watering her "tree"

Look how Big this thing has gotten already!
Close-up of her flowers

Swimming

Our swim playgroup-The Warpula and Sanders Families

We have been swimming a ton this summer. We have so many friends and family with pools. We have been going at least three times a week. The kids are doing really well. Madison can swim across the pool. She has learned some breathing techniques and can come up for air between strokes. She loves slides, doing cannonballs, and she is trying to dive. Kinley has really impressed us over the last two weeks. She is a little fish. She can stay under a long time. It is a little scary. She is swimming about seven feet under water now. She is also jumping into the big pool and swims to the side on her own. Cade loves the water. He will go under the water without any trouble. He is doing his kicks and can pull himself out on the side. We have been working on floating.

At the pool with Melody and Saira

Madison swimming underwater
Kinley grinning at the pool

Uncle Reg and Cade in the pool

Cade working on swimming
Madison diving off Mimi's slide

Cade's First 4th of July

We had a great time hanging out with the family on the 4th of July this year. In years past, we have gone to Centerville for their annual celebration or we have hung out with Reg and Andrea. This year we decided to stay in Austin. Early in the morning, we went to the Pioneer Days parade in Round Rock. Gigi went with us which made it even more fun. We were at the very beginning of the parade line where all of the parade participants are a little over zealous with the candy!! So we came home with pockets full of candy! We had so much candy that they started choosing what candy was worth picking up. Kinley only remark about the parade was that she did not like the gun fighting.
Later that day, we had friends and family over for fajitas. Woody, Brandon, Reg, Andrea, Abbie, Chris, and his wife all came over to hangout and eat with us. Then we all headed to the swimming pool. The kids had a blast playing in the pool with the guys who are all big kids themselves!

Our favorite part of the day was watching the fireworks! We walked down to the park to see if we could see the Leander Firework display. The only show we saw at the park was Madison chasing a huge frog so we all loaded up in Woody's trooper. We were quite a sight I am sure. The kids loved it! We drove to the back of our subdivison to the Fairways. We found the perfect spot; as we were able to watch the fireworks in Cedar Park, Leander, and the display on the lake. They were gorgeous! Kinley loved the fact that we were too far away to hear the loud noises! It was a great way to end our day! The only picture I could get of the 4 of them!

The girls watching the parade!
We Love candy!
Our Little firecracker!
My Sweet boy!
Gigi and her girls watching the parade

FBA 2008

This week Granna took the girls to FBA at Westover. The theme was on Rescue. They compared how Jesus rescues us from this world to that of Community workers who rescue us from danger. Kika was the helper in Madison's class which was a major highlight for her. Kinley was blessed to have Abbie in her class.

Cade was sick most of the week with a fever of almost 104 degrees. His virus was finally over and he got to attend the last night. Granna picked up the girls and let them spend the night at her house one night. They had a blast and even went to Chuck E Cheese.

Kinley's favorite part of FBA was playing with Abbie and eating at Wally's. She has asked to go to Wally's for the past three days. She has also talked nonstop about the scary fire at church. They built a fire station and reenacted a fire each night where the firefighters rescued someone. This was Kinley's least favorite part of the week.

Madison's favorite part were the skits they performed each night. Aunt Penny would be proud since she was a part of those. Madison really enjoyed all of her teachers and the crafts she made each night. They had a great week at the Hippopotamus Church.

Madison singing "Deep and Wide"
Cade feeling much better!
Caden giving me sugar!

Me and my girls
Thank you Granna for a great week!
The girls dancing in the aisles.
The girls chatting with an EMT worker.

My God is sooo Big!! One of Kinley's favorites!

Cari and Joel's wedding

Cari, another of Rob's sweet cousins, just married Joel Goudeau. They make an awesome little couple. Rob and I worked with Joel when he was in the youth group at Highpoint, which makes us both feel really old! He is a really sweet guy. Madison had a crush on him whenever we first moved back to Austin. Whenever Cari and Joel started dating, Madison's response was "My Joel?" Her adoration of Cari won over and she is now thrilled these two are together! We are so happy for Cari. She deserves someone special.
Cari looked absolutely gorgeous! She looked as if she stepped out of a bridal magazine. They are really a stunning couple! The wedding was at Vintage Villas on Lake Travis. It was a perfect day. Maddie had the privilege of being one of the flower girls. She looked like a little angel. I was so proud of her because she behaved like one too. She is growing up too fast!
The wedding was so much fun! You could tell that cari and Joel were enjoying themselves! It was really neat to have so much family involved! April and Jared were both part of the wedding party along with Erica and Elizabeth. The reception was the highlight for my girls. Maddie had a blast dancing with Kinley, Abbie, Darby and Sutton. Madison danced every dance that she could. She and Kinley were wiped out by the end of the night. Cade never went to sleep. He was a good little baby especially since he was exhausted!
I have way too many pictures from the night but here are a few of my favorites!

Our Family at the reception

Maddie getting her hair done.

Kinley checking herself out before the wedding.

Maddie posing with Erica and Lizzie.

Madison kept peeking out the window in anticipation before the wedding.

Cari and Joel taking a break from dancing to make time for the girls.

Mimi and Cade

Cade stayed awake through the whole reception!

Maddie and the beautiful bride!

Caden adoring his big sis!

Maddie praying on Uncle Jared's lap.

Erica's Graduation

Erica, Rob's youngest cousin, graduated High school this year. She is such a doll. I have had the privilege of watching her grow into a beautiful, bright, Godly young lady over the past nine years. My girls absolutely adore her. They beg for us to go somewhere so that Kika can babysit. We have taken her to Padre with us, swim lessons, play dates, and the list goes on! She has been such a lifesaver for me! We are really going to miss her when she leaves for Abilene. Our family had a pool party honoring her graduation at the barn. Here are a few of my favorite pics!

My sweetie pie- Abbie Grace
Cade and two of his idols
Kinley and Kika

Maddie and Erica

My Crazy brother-in-law sporting his lovely goggles!

Caden having some of Uncle Mark's homemade ice cream

Crazy Kinley

Kinley sporting her sunshades!


Kinley has an amazing imagination. She is constantly pretending she is someone else or that the circumstances are different. (Example:Today we were mowing the grass while we were driving down the road.)
Last night before bed she asked Rob to get Brandon to help him take the moon down so she could sleep on it. She said it looks real soft and comfy! She thinks her big strong daddy can do anything. Tonight before bed she asked me what was God's phone number. She wanted to call him. I told her she didn't need a number, we can talk to him anytime in prayer. She said" I know that. But I want to call him on the phone so I can hear him talk back." I know how she feels, I too have wished for that! :)
Last week Rob tore his pec muscle when he was working out. Kinley was very concerned for him. That night she prayed that God would heal "Daddy's pickle". We all got a kick out of that!
She has such a tender heart. One night we were getting ready and I could not find my make-up anywhere. We were meeting a group of people for the first time and I was self conscious without any make-up. As we were driving down the road, Kinley said "You look real pretty tonight Mommy." I guess she could sense my insecurity.
Her latest fears involve falling in a hole and dying. She is a little obsessed with death. She is constantly looking to the sky to see if Jesus is coming back yet!
She has her own sense of style and could care less what anyone else thinks. So much of her humor is what I call "potty humor" and I am not able to post it! But she sure makes us laugh! Rob always says she is going to be our little free spirited hippie. Whatever plans God has for her, I know we will enjoy the ride!

Trip to The Woodlands

Last week we went to The Woodlands to help our great friends Bob and Wendy Smiley move. They just bought a new house that was made perfect for their family. The kids loved the pool and spent most of their time swimming. Madison was thrilled because she finally remembered how to swim from last summer. It is funny how we forget things if we do not practice.

We had a great time hanging out with Bob and Wendy. This was the first time we really spent anytime with Zander. He is a month older than Kinley so he was only five months old when we moved. He is an absolute doll. Madison and Trenton are one day apart in age. They had so much fun dressing up. Trent had a superman costume and the people that moved left a wonderwoman costume which Maddie wore all weekend! Colter was still in school so we did not get to hang out with him much!

We also went to see The Rays. We went to dinner with them at Kirby's and then spent the day with Cece and the girls. We miss them so much. They are such a great family. The Rays have three girls ages 8, almost 7, and 5. Although we love Austin, we sure miss our friends in The Woodlands!