Welcome Baby Kadence!

Congratulations to our good friends, Kevin and Rachel, who welcomed their first baby - Kadence Lynn- into the world on June 28. They waited a looong time for this precious miracle! Allan and I went to visit them today for awhile. I always love hearing other women's birth stories.

Magic House

Allan and I took the girls plus Claire to the Magic House today. Hopefully, it is one of many fun activities we do as a family this summer. Of course, I took way too many pictures!

This is a neat sculpture made of old bike frames and forks.

H for Harper

C for Claire

D for Delaney

Claire was a pro at climbing on the Beanstalk. Harper wasn't too fond of it.

Delaney trying to catch a flying yarn ball.

Delaney and Harper making vegetable soup from the garden in the outdoor playhouse.

Building with super big blocks

I absolutely LOVE the exterior of the Magic House!

Good thing Delaney already knew how to drive a boat from the lake house. Claire lounges in the sun.

All of us

Delaney serves tea up in the Victorian attic.

It's not a trip to the Magic House without touching the static ball. Claire's hair is perfect for it!!

The girls weren't tall enough to reach the ball, so I had to hold them and act as the conduit. I felt like I was in a photoshoot with big fans!

Harper and Mommy

The water room

Delaney could have stayed here all day.

Yes, I do!

Harper would not walk away from the chalkboard until she had erased every last bit. "But I'm cleaning up", she would tell me when I tried to drag her away. Man, she is just like me!

She also loved going grocery shopping.

Claire makes an ice cream cone for Delaney.

Allan knew Craig would be so proud of Claire when she rolled under the car to fix it.

Delaney's turn

Harper and Claire take a fake pizza break.

Delaney checks out a library book.

All in all, it was a great day. The girls had so much fun! Lunch at Fuddrucker's was a little iffy because the girls were all tired, Delaney was not in the mood to eat burgers, and Harper almost re-busted open her head trying to climb over a wall!

Home Improvements

About a month ago, Allan took a week off and landscaped our whole yard. He did a fantastic job and we've gotten lots of compliments on it. He's always wanted to do the sides of the driveway and now he got his chance! We also just got a covered porch built on the back of the house. It is huge! Allan made sure it is wired for a TV and has 2 ceiling fans, 4 speakers and a vaulted ceiling. The plan is to build a short, stone wall around it by the end of the summer. I'll post pics if it ever gets done :)

We moved all the kids toys to one area and rocked it in so we don't have to mow around it.

If you look closely toward the right you can get an idea of what the wall will look like. It will be about 2.5 feet high and have an opening on each side of the patio to access the yard. We also plan to wrap the bottoms of the beams in stone and cover them with white columns.

It's kind of hard to see, but the TV is going to go up on this little portion of siding. It has already been purchased and is currently lying on my kitchen table waiting to be hung :)

Landon's Pirate Party!

Today we got to celebrate Landon's 4th birthday! His birthday is in May, but his parents decided to postpone his party so they could have it at his grandma's pool. Good choice! Unfortunately, Harper isn't able to swim for the next 5 days, so we took her to play at Honey and Grandpa's. It would have been torture for her to be there and not be able to get in! Delaney and the rest of the gang had so much fun splashing, riding the giant shark, and going on a treasure hunt.

The group listening to Mrs. Erin explain the Treasure Hunt

Reading the next clue

They found the treasure and each took a turn swinging to get it open.

The birthday boy got to have the final whack!

Happy 4th Birthday, Matey!

We got him two Super Soakers!

Peyton, Delaney, and Claire relax in the hot tub for awhile.

Another Date with Dermabond

Well, we took another trip to the ER with Harper today. You may remember that she bumped her forehead on my Mom's fireplace about 10 months ago. This time, she bumped into a friend at the park and fell just the right way on the stairs of the playground equipment. She is such a tough little cookie! It was bleeding all over the place and she probably only cried for about 3 minutes. I couldn't get ahold of Allan because I knew he was mowing the lawn. We were very close to home, though, so I left Delaney with Ness and drove home to get Allan and a bag of snacks and toys for Harper. We were to the ER less than 20 minutes after it all happened. She was laughing and talking with Allan in the backseat and entertained us the whole time we were in the waiting room. Ness came to the hospital and picked up Allan to take him and Delaney home for lunch and nap and I stayed. I would say we were in and out in less than 1 1/2 hours. Not too bad.

She has a pretty good gash!

The bandaid soaked right through.

Showing off her latest hospital bracelet.

All done! Her old scar is in her hairline and barely visible (can't even see it in this pic), but I think this boo-boo will leave a much bigger scar.

Small Group Friends

Tonight two members of our small group, Morgan and Andria, were baptized at church. To celebrate we hosted a party for all of our small group friends afterwards. Unfortunately, some storms blew in and the warning sirens actually sounded, so we all played down in the basement instead of outside. We still had some delicious food and great company!

We currently have 14 kids under the age of 5 in our small group and the Rudds have another baby on the way! Tyler R. is not pictured.

Harper and Baby Bella

Music Camp

This week the girls went to Music Camp at their school everyday from 9:30 - 12:00. They had so much fun seeing their school friends again and making instruments and Allan and I were able to get so much accomplished! Here they are showing off their streamers, shakers, drums, and rainsticks.