Eric took the girls to play putt putt golf on Memorial Day. He said they flew through the course in no time and actually left him behind. They're big girls now! Here are a few pictures from their outing. Take a look at Lyla's grip....it cracks me up.
Look how her lower hand is twisted around the club.
Our life group meetings have ended for the summer. We have really enjoyed our group this year. We had a cookout to celebrate and to have an excuse to eat yummy desserts. The kids played in the water and on the trampoline. Then Nathan joined them on the basketball court. The kids LOVED that! He also played a little soccer with them too. The other grown-ups just sat and watched while we ate some wonderful chocolate and peanut butter brownies. Here's Jackson saying his team is #1 on the basketball court.
Let's just say there wasn't a ref calling fouls!
There was also a lot of this going on...
Sweet little McKenleigh loves to keep up with the big kids. She hangs right in there with them. 
I kept Elye the first week that Grace and Lyla were out of school. Metro and CPA both went an extra week past us, so Elye was with me. Wow, it has been a really long time since I've had a toddler all day long. I have become very spoiled with my 5 and 7 year olds! We did find out that she loves the slide and our little pool in the backyard. And, she loves popsicles. The popsicle breaks saved my back from breaking after holding her hand and going in circles around that little pool about 50 times. She's a cutie pie though.
A few Saturdays ago, Eric and I took the girls to the park and to hit baseballs on a baseball field. I tried to get some pictures at the playground. Lyla didn't want to stop for me to take her picture. Grace, of course, was very accommodating and stopped to smile every time I came near. I didn't take very many because I couldn't figure out how to take a picture without their faces being dark and the sky being too bright. I know this is basic photography stuff but I can't figure it out. I need to do some research and learn more. Anyway, after the playground we went to the field.
Lyla got a real baseball bat and balls and glove for her birthday. We quickly figured out that we can't pitch to this girl in the backyard with a real bat and ball. She's too good (sorry to brag a little). She can hit it out of the backyard too easily. I'm also afraid she might break a window. Grace is good too. The funny thing is, Grace bats left handed (she right handed) and Lyla bats right handed (she's left handed).
So, Eric wanted to take them to a field to see how far they could really hit it. They did great. I'm not joking when I say Lyla (when shes trying) can hit 1 out of every 2 or 3 pitches. Grace can hit too. Then Eric made them take fielding practice. We played until there was a meltdown, which is out cue to leave. They did great and I can't wait to see them playing on a team someday!
This is Grace's friend, Nolyn, from her 1st grade class. She slept over one night in May. Grace loves sleepovers! She sweet enough to allow Lyla to play with them too. They had a blast!
This was taken the last day of school. Grace's teacher, Ms. Hudson, was GREAT! She was sweet, funny, loving and very structured...a perfect mix. Grace learned soooo much! It amazes me how much her reading ability has changed from the end of kindergarten to the end of 1st grade. Joni actually tested her for me back in the winter sometime. I was just curious what reading level she would test at. If I remember correctly (Joni tell me if I'm wrong), I think she tested at the end of 2nd grade reading level. She doesn't really love to read yet. She never just picks up a book to read on her own. Hopefully she will get there some day. I'm very proud of how hard she worked this year. She learned responsibility in doing homework too. Ms. Hudson helped me teach her that lesson. She's going to be a great student. We'll miss Ms. Hudson!
Every knows that tan skin is somehow more appealing to look at than really white skin, unless it's a babies perfect skin. As we get older, our skin gets even worse. The little spots, veins, and bumpy cellulite make it even uglier. A nice tan can camoflauge some of that gross stuff. But, we also know that a true tan is bad for us. So, we're going the safe route...a spray tan. It doesn't get us as dark as I used to get during my high school days (when I laid in a tanning bed) but it helps a little. Joni broke down and bought a sprayer off ebay. We hook it up to Eric big air compressor and it works like a charm. Here is Joni being sprayed in my front yard! Pretty funny! Hey, whatever works.
