Hiking Buddies...

The girls and I just got back from a short trip to visit Granny and Poppy. We always have a great time. The girls get spoiled rotten and so do I! We play and hang out and take naps. It is better than a day at the spa.

My dad (Poppy) decided to take Lucy hiking last night. She has been asking to go, since she saw Little Bill and his dad take a hike a few weeks ago. Lucky for her, her Poppy is a hiking pro. He has scaled many of the high points in the US, including major treks to the top of Mt. Hood and Mt. Whitney.

So in true Poppy fashion, he devised a great plan to hike along the river for about a mile. They checked out the bugs, turtles, leaves, and lots of rocks. They looked so cute walking off down the trail with their backpacks and walking sticks.

Granny, Grace, and I were waiting at the end with a picnic supper. We then played on the playground and fed the ducks. It was a really fun time. Lucy kept saying it was the greatest day ever.

We finished off the night with a trip to a local ice cream hotspot, The Dairy Treat.

CCC#1 - Heads

I am mildly addicted to OHmommy at Classy Chaos. Her blog and pictures are always great. She is really funny and has an awesome way of writing. Anyways, she is starting a new photography challenge and I just had to jump on board. Those that know me, know that I have become obsessed with getting the perfect unstructured photos of the girls. My computer hard drive is full of tries and begging for mercy. I have posted two pictures that somewhat meet the challenge, but I will continue to work on it for a few more days.

Here are my first two attempts:

Go check out OHmommy! You won't be dissappointed.

Glamour Girl in Training

The girls had a great time playing dress up today and I had a great time playing with my camera. I have been trying so hard to get the hang of all this aperture/shutter speed crud. It is making me crazy. I am having trouble getting the hang of things... Anyways, I digress...

Gracie assembled all the neccessities for her outfit. A hat, skirt, beads, lei, cup and fork... Then she put them all on. She was so proud of herself.

She loves to sit in Lucy's babydoll bed. She takes all the dolls out and then climbs in. She is such a doll herself. She makes us happier every single day. We were having such a great time, and then....

My little glamour girl got herself a little drinkie out of the potty! EWWWW gross! Let's just say the party stopped there!

Every Little Princess Needs a PINK Room!

Lucy convinced me to paint her room pink a few weeks ago. It did turn out pretty cute and not too over-the-top. Of course, she had to have new bedding too, cause what would a cake be without the frosting!

My baby is growing up...

Today she conquered the monkey bars all by herself!

Girl's Weekend 2008

Almost every summer, I get together with my girlfriends from my hometown. There are about 13 of us and we have been friends for over 20 years. Some years it is just the girls and other years we bring along the husbands and kids. This year was a whole family trip. We spent two nights at a great condo in New Braunfels. It was really nice and had a pool that the kids (and adults) loved. Between all of us, there are 13 kiddos (5 and under), so needless to say it was wild. We swam, ate, laughed, screamed, played, drank, and talked until all hours of the night.

It is amazing that we have all known eachother so long. I can really count on these women to be there for me no matter how far apart life takes us. We have all come so far.

These are just a sampling of the pictures I took. I have over 300 to go through. Stayed tuned for more in the next few days...

Rest in Peace, Charlotte!

This morning started out pretty sad. Lucy's little friend passed on. She was a good inch worm and will be sorely missed. In her short life, she ate many a good leaf, went to the beach, and slept in a pretty awesome bed.

I was hoping to sneak Charlotte out, before Lucy found her, but no luck. Her tender little heart was so broken. I felt horrible for her and tried (unsuccessfully) to explain death to her. I told her that Charlotte was in a better place and that she would get to hang out in God's garden now. Unfortunately, this pretty much went over her head. She was bound and determined to go to Heaven and get her friend back.

Then out of the blue (at Target, no less) she announced to me (and everyone else in ear shot) that Charlotte was in a better place and that God could take care of her for awhile. She was very happy about the whole thing. My little girl has a heart of gold for everyone, including a tiny little inch worm.

I will take my watermelon with lots of sand, please!

We all took a trip to the beach yesterday. We were in need of some R&R after all the work we have been attempting around the house. Now that we are so much closer, the beach is more doable for an afternoon trip. Grace absolutely LOVED the beach. She would run and giggle the whole time. She would fall down and just laugh. I have never seen a kid so unafraid of the water. Lucy is a little fish, but the beach has always been a little scary to her. Well, not Grace. She was cracking us up. After a little play time, Justin cooked burgers and then we ate a whole watermelon. It was just the right end to a perfect picnic.

Lucy finally decided that the waves were cool. She really had a great time dancing and jumping all around. It was too cute to watch her acting silly in the waves... Just like a little mermaid:)

This was my favorite beach picture that I took last summer. Unfortunately, this year the beach we will be frequenting isn't as gorgeous as Destin, but the kiddo is still pretty cute (and looking really grown up)!