It's officially summer!

 These pictures are all out of order, but you get the idea...we spent yesterday on the lake and it was heaven for our family. We only went out once last year because I was pregnant with Grant and the idea of sitting in the hot sun riding around on a bumpy boat was torture. But now I'm ready to get back to living at the lake for the summer. Blake grew up spending his summers at the lake and I love that we are starting that same tradition with out kids. It's a little tricky with the baby and dealing with nap times, but as long as we are flexible and bring plenty of food everyone leaves with a smile at the end of the day.

 After a long hiatus from boarding, I was still able to get up! Today, after a few crashes my body is reminding me that I am no longer young. I ache and have sore muscles that I didn't even know I had.

 Mr. G's first time on the lake!

 This was the morning before the lake. Sometimes Blake and I just can't get over how cute Grant is. Yep, he's spoiled and he'll always be our baby.

 The biggest excitement yesterday was Brooke getting up on her waterski! We have been trying for 3 summers to get Brooke to ski. We've bribed her with Oreo's in past years, but she was never able to get over her fear. This summer she did it! I am so proud of her. I don't care if she becomes a master water skier, but I am so happy she was able to overcome this fear she had. She did and now knows that it wasn't that scary.

 Look at her scared face before the boat took off...

 And now she's all smiles!

Video Of Brooke Waterskiing:

First swimsuit picture:

July 4th Festivities

 We had a great fourth of July. Blake had to work, which is always sad when that happens, but I've gotten pretty good and handling the kids and activities on my own.  We started the day with a parade.

 Porter literally sat and waved to everyone in the parade the entire time. It was really cute.

 After the parade, we went home to relax and I attempted to take pictures of the kids in their red, white, and blue.

 While the boys were napping, Brooke and I made red, white, and blue cupcakes for a neighborhood BBQ that night.

After dinner, we headed over to watch the city fireworks. Now that arial fireworks are legal, we got to watch tons of fireworks going on all over town. By the time the actual city fireworks show started, my kids were kind of done with the whole thing and not really interested anymore. And poor Grant! I thought he'd sleep but nope, he was awake the entire time. He was good and didn't cry, but he was super tired. As we got home our neighbors were lighting off a huge fireworks show of their own. I am thinking for next year we'll just sit on our front lawn and watch the fireworks going off around our neighborhood. It's all the same to my kids!

The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. I am proud to be an American and to have all the freedoms we enjoy in our country. I am all too aware that other nations are struggling and are oppressed. I know I am blessed to live here and to raise my children here. I am so thankful to the men and women who have fought and continue to fight to defend these freedoms we enjoy. I pray that I will never take them for granted and hope one day my children will come to have the same deep love that I have for this great country.

Dancing Queen

 Brooke did a summer session of dance this year. She hasn't taken a dance class for a couple years now, but jumped right back into the swing of things and really did a good job. I was especially proud of her because the class she took was for 6-10 year olds. That is a big difference in ability level! Even though parts of the dance were hard for Brooke, she really kept up with the other girls and did a fantastic job!

During practice, the parents sat outside the studio in a waiting area, so I took these pictures through the glass.

 The day of her performance, Brooke was beyond excited to get to wear makeup. Not only did she get to sport some "warrior paint" on her face, she got to wear mascara, blush, and lipstick. I think that in itself was better than dancing!

 After the dance, the girls showed off some of the techniques they'd been working on.

Video of Brooke's performance