Emi's 6!!!

Emi had a wonderful birthday party on Sunday. The waterslide was huge and the kids had a blast, except Ellie who slid down on her face the first time and decided she wasn't fly with the slide. Chloe and Emi slid down together many, many times. At one time we had 5 or 6 kids at once.

The other great part were the snowcones. I think Billy had 3. Maybe 4. Notice the snow cone juice down his belly. That's enjoyment.

At one point the breaker blew and the slide started to deflate. In order to save the water in the pool part (and save Travis' yard from another flooding) the kids grabbed on and held it together. That's teamwork. They were so cute and intent on the job- they barely lost a drop.

We all loved the twinkie/ding dong/rice krispy treat cake. So cute and fun, and, I must admit, delicious. Twinkies are good. Ding Dongs are good. Rice Krispies- good. The other food was delicious as well, and Natalie outdid herself (as always) on the food and decor. We were truly under the sea.

And how sweet is that girl? Six? I can't believe it. Happy Birthday, sweet Emily! We love you!

Bartlett Lake

We decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather Saturday Morning and head to the lake. We brought a few fishing poles, a container of worms, a few snacks, and of course Mom's camera.

Hayden finally found a stick big enough for him.

Chloe liked fishing for about 7 minutes- 5 minutes longer than Mommy enjoys fishing. She spent most of the time playing by me, eating her snack and running from the bees. She REALLY does not like bees.
Ellie actually enjoyed fishing. She stood there quite patiently, and would reel her line in. It was pretty funny because Hayden kept telling her that she caught a worm. She was pretty excited about it.
Taking a quick break from the excitement.Hayden started out in the traditional fisherman's stance. Sittin' and Waitin'.He then moved on to a more active form of fishing- the net.
He finally decided to just go native- lets just catch those fish with our bare hands. needless to say, we did not have a fish dinner. But we did have a LOT of fun.

Progress!

I can't believe those girls of mine! Just a few weeks ago, they were scared to be in the big pool without me. Now look at them- jumping in off the side and swimming across the entire shallow end of the pool! Chloe decided a few day ago to start jumping in off the side. Ellie decided to do the same. Chloe decided yesterday to try to jump in and swim to the steps. Ellie decided to do the same. Do you sense a theme?? And I know it looks like Ellie won't quite make it- but she does, every time! I think we need to work on her form.

I took these movies this morning, before school. Yes, I let my kids go swimming before school. That's what a cool mom I am. Actually, I was dying for AC to see them swim, so there they were at 6:58 a.m. in the pool and showing off for dad.

And, of course, after a brisk morning swim you need to eat breakfast. In the nude. I look out there to see this view, and I couldn't help but smile. I love how the kids can be naked, or be around a naked kid and not even bat an eyelash. Its totally normal to eat breakfast completely naked, right?