Summer Fun!

Errands wear me out, too!

Sissy making lunch. :)

This photo is so indicative of their different personalities...Emmy lets it all hang out and Sis is a bit more reserved.

Little Beggar Darla

At capacity!

I'm going to keep working on this picture, it's kind of a fun challenge. :-P

On my birthday, I decided we needed to do something out of the norm.  So, in the spirit of being spontaneous, I loaded all of the kids up in the car without a spare diaper, our "my carry potty" or so much as a plan.  After we left the driveway, Emmy convinced me to get Zaxby's for lunch and so I decided it would be fun to eat it picnic-style at a park by the river.  As soon as we got into the drive-thru line, Emmy informs me that she really, really, really needs to go potty.  I realized at that time that I had forgotten the "my carry potty" in the utility sink in the garage from the last time I cleaned it.  The thought of pulling all of the kids out of the car to go into a busy fast food restaurant bathroom at noon sounded unbearable.  I decide to abort the plan and go home.  As I was driving home, I was overcome with a wave of irritation with myself for giving up so easily.  So, I find myself pulling the car into a Rite-Aid parking lot. It had automatic doors, which, these days, make the biggest difference.  Me and my entourage overtook the bathroom, loaded up on some baby food pouches (I had TOTALLY forgotten about feeding the babies) and diapers for Sis, who, after she insisted on "going potty" with Emmy was now commando.  By the time we got to the river, it was "quiet time" but, we went for it anyways. It went pretty well for about 10 minutes or so until Sis started running for the edge of the embankment towards the river.  The highlight, though, was an ENORMOUS barge that sailed passed us while we ate. 

Picking Strawberries!  This is such a sweet memory (both literally and figuratively.)  I picked this patch because the area to park your cars is right next to the patches.  I left the babies asleep in the car with the air conditioning running (and window rolled down) and we picked from the strawberry plants right in front of the car.  I just went to check on them every couple of minutes.  It wasn't ideal, but it was really the only way I could make it happen.  My heart was warmed watching my Sis as she sat quietly and carefully picked enough strawberries to fill her basket.  Her shoes were caked in mud, so she took them off, and walked barefoot through the strawberry patch.  She looked like a lost child, but had such a wonderful time I had to pry her away.

We brought them home and after eating a bunch made some freezer strawberry jam and fruit leather.  We still have a couple of big bags in the freezer for smoothies!

The day they learned to hold their bottles!  A momentous day, for sure!

This girl is such a little ray of sunshine.

Emmy, Mommy in Training. :)

Play hard, sleep hard.

Still amazed by this new skill!

It's a long day for these babies...Couldn't keep their eyes open while I finished bathing the big girls.

Our reward for surviving grocery shopping!

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but we needed a new stroller.  A double umbrella stroller.  Now that James has outgrown the infant carseat, my double snap and go is rendered useless and ready to consign.    That stroller was a GOD SEND, truly, I don't know how I would have left the house without it.  Our double jogger stroller is great for walks, but it doesn't fit through doorways, which is an obvious problem if I need to use it for church or to run errands.  So, because I refuse to buy new strollers, I was excited to find a good one on Craigslist.  The only thing was the kids and I needed to drive to Franklin to get it, which is a little over an hour away.  They were WONDERFUL, but clearly tired once we finally got there.  So, I promised them a treat.  Franklin is GORGEOUS, there's a reason all the country music stars live there, so it didn't take long to find a really beautiful park.  We picked up some ice cream  and headed to the park.  I was lucky to find a parking spot right next to a tree and a grassy area.  So, I literally laid a blanket on the ground right next to the car and plunked everyone on it.  It worked out so well and we had so much fun! :) 

Emmy doing my hair while we sit with Hannah.  Sissy says to me, excitedly "It's working! My pivates are working!"  She went potty on the potty for the third time ever! Yay!

Anna and Elsa visiting the girls' favorite frozen yogurt place...The girls were awestruck when we walked in the door. :)

Sis, who is usually very shy around people she doesn't know well was mesmerized by Anna and Elsa, she just wanted to be near them.

We tried to maximize our time with Daddy and went to the city pool.

Hannah was very unsure about the water when we first got there.

Not Emmy!  She jumped right in!  This girl's bravery scares me sometimes!

It's not so bad!

We had a beautiful day last week, and we desperately needed to get out of the house.  A nearby church just built this park and the play structure is very appropriate to the girls' ages-so they didn't need me to be standing there to help them play.  I set the babies up on a blanket with their lunch...I was SO PROUD of myself and then I felt a little bug run across my sandaled foot.  I look down and there was, unmistakably, a brown recluse spider on the blanket right next to my foot.  I throw the wipey container over top of it to buy myself time to get the babies back in the car and pack up our lunch.  It was good while it lasted!