Sleepover at Grandmama's

Friday date night for Samuel and I meant sleepover fun for Jason, Colleen, Caleb, and Grandmama. Here they are getting ready for bed. Apparantly, a too-big-for-his-costume Spider Man made a special appearance!

You're Fading

Lying here next to you, your growing body fills the space next to me more than it ever has...
You're fading
Listening to you talk, I notice more words have been spoken correctly than otherwise...
You're fading
All day today, your hair stayed swept over to the side instead of hanging wildly in your eyes...
You're fading
This morning you came down dressed for the day without any prompting...
You're fading
So I will watch you, hold you, breathe you in and capture every moment because...
You're fading, but I'm remembering.

Hurricane Shoals Park

Another activity on our summer list was to visit Sliding Rock, then Grandmama told us about Hurricane Shoals Park and offered to meet us for a picnic and sliding. The park was beautiful and we slid down the rocks into pools of water over and over again. There were a few wipe outs, but otherwise we had a great time together! Jason would jump off the edge of any rock into deep pools and loved exploring the river with Samuel. Colleen slid down each rock like a pro and probably traversed the slippery rocks better than any of us. And Caleb, well lets just say he would have done everything including float down the rapids to who knows where had Grandmama not kept a watchful eye on him!

Signs of Summer

Popsicles and painted toes!

Our "Fancy" 3 Year Old

Colleen is officially three years old and loving it! We decided early on that the party should be themed "Fancy Nancy" in honor of her favorite books and so preparations for a grand girls gathering were made. The cake was a beautiful doll dressed in the most delicious of outfits with pink punch and ice cream parfaits also on the menu. Candy necklaces and lipstick were sent home with every girlfriend who were already dressed to the nines. Colleen enjoyed every moment of her special celebration and still talks about her "Fancy fancy" party! Happy 3rd Birthday Colleen. 

Birthday with Grandmama

Since Grandmama was going to be out of town for Colleen's birthday party, she decided to throw a celebration of her own. Sharing a cookie cake, reading books together, and getting a beautiful new outfit...Colleen couldn't have planned it better herself! Caleb may have enjoyed himself more than anyone, what with Grandmama holding him and eating cookie cake at the same time!

Look out, North Carolina!

We seem to be developing some sort of a family tradition where we take a trip on or around someones birthday. Such was the case this time as we packed the van with bicycles and all and headed to North Carolina to visit with Uncle Joe and Aunt Abby for Colleen's birthday weekend. On the way we stopped by the train museum, something on our summer list, and then spent the rest of the weekend soaking up time with family. Joe and Abby's neighborhood is very flat for the most part and we were able to ride our bikes over to the swimming pool in the afternoons. Jason, Colleen, and Caleb loved being with Lizzy and Josh (a few cat fights between the girls of course, but otherwise a great time!). There was time for a home depot workshop and even some fireworks by Samuel to celebrate the 4th of July. Possibly the most fun of the weekend was our last day when we visited a neat park in Burlington, N.C.  There was a carousel, boats, cars, and a train. The kids loved it as can be seen by their happy little faces. So, Happy 4th, Happy Birthday, and Happy Family!