More swimming!

Grady loves "going swimming" but he isn't SWIMMING yet!  He does not want to take swimming lessons for whatever reason, and so we don't want to force him to do it and make it worse.  AGH!  What to do?  We are trying to teach him slowly but surely on our own.  I feel like a failure each time we go swimming.  He makes a little progress, but then freaks out when water gets in his eyes...  AGH!  Help?  Ideas?  Suggestions?

Vera, on the other hand, is fearless.  We have to watch her like a hawk because she also isn't "swimming" yet.  I think we should probably do swimming lessons pretty soon because she is going to just jump in if we aren't careful.  

Anyway, hopefully something will click soon and Grady will lose the fear!  They had a blast in the pool with Gavin and Samantha this weekend!  Samantha was a life saver because she kept Vera so entertained the whole time!

Four little sunbathers...
(yeah right, this lasted all of three seconds...a miracle that I caught a picture with all four of them looking before they jumped up!)

Mini Fruit Pizzas

I've had a LOT of help in the kitchen this summer!  (HA!)  Well, they try at least.  And they want to help so bad...  Well actually, they just want a chance to sneak a few bites while I am making whatever it is that we are making.  

This is the BEST little quick summer dessert and a good way to get my kids to eat some yummy fresh summer fruit!  Grady loves fruit and anything healthy.  Vera...not so much.  But even SHE gobbled these up!

I got this recipe from pinterest last summer.  See link here:

http://bannerboutique.blogspot.co.il/2012/04/easiest-mini-deep-dish-fruit-pizzas.html

Mini Deep Dish Fruit Pizzas

1 roll sugar cookie dough

fresh fruit, cut up into bite-sized pieces

1 (8 oz) bar cream cheese (room temperature)

1 (large) tub cool whip

First, roll cookie dough into tiny balls (about 3/4 inch) and bake in mini muffin tins.  I only have one of these pans and I need to get another!  The roll of cookie dough makes about 48, so you'll need two pans, or do it in shifts like I did.  They should pop right out of your pan when they are done.  We baked ours about 8 - 10 minutes at 350.  Just watch them and take out when they are slightly golden around the edges.

While the cookies are baking, cut up your fruit.  Don't you just love summer time and all the fresh fruit!!!?

To make the frosting, you whip together the cool whip and cream cheese with a mixer.  I put mine in a ziploc bag and snipped the end off to make an icing tube thing...NOTE:  this makes a TON of frosting!  I think next time, I will only use HALF the cream cheese and cool whip.  That would have been more than enough for 48 cookies!

Then, you top with fruit!  Grady and Vera's favorite part!  Of course, there was LOTS of sampling here!  Hey, if Vera will actually eat fruit, who cares?

Aren't they just so cute and yummy looking?!

Happy Fathers' Day...

...to our hero, 

DADDY!

Love,

your two little munchkins

Birthday Cruise

Grady requested swimming time and a boat ride on his actual birthday.  Thanks, Pops and Grana!  They both had a blast as usual!  Pops and Grana gave Grady a new fishing pole for his birthday and he was excited to practice casting it off the boat.  He's been fishing with Josh and a friend of ours who also has a little boy about Grady's age...but that was the only time.  Josh plans to take him more now that he is getting older and more interested in it.  He looks so old and grown-up in these pictures!  AGH!

Eight Years

Today is our 8th wedding anniversary!

THEN...

and NOW...

A lot has changed since June 10, 2006!  For one thing, Josh said that "WE" were a lot skinnier back then (Yeah, he said "WE" when he looked at a picture of the two of us his mom had from before we got married...  Gee, thanks hon!)  But true it is...  And for another, I couldn't even find a picture of just the two of us from any time recently.  Any picture nowadays of the two of us has two other little people in it too!  :)  Wouldn't trade it though!

These eight years have definitely not been perfect.  We've had the "for better" and the "for worse" moments for sure.  God is GOOD, and He has carried us through them all.  I don't want to take one day for granted.

Grady and I were out eating lunch the other day when a young girl, her mom, and her friend got in line to order behind us.  The whole time we were in line, the girl and her mom were arguing over wedding details...how she looked in the outfit she'd just tried on for her engagement pictures (I looked GOOD...NO, that dress was too tight...NO, if it zips, it fits!!!), where the engagement pictures should be taken, what time the engagement pictures should be taken...and on and on.  The line we were waiting in was LONG and Grady and I got an earful.  Then when we placed our order and went to sit down, we were so blessed that this lovely group decided to sit right next to us!  So our entire meal was consumed with more and more wedding talk... er, wedding arguments.  Whether to have an October wedding so that they could do it sooner and have it on a Sunday, or wait until January so that a Saturday would be available...  wear a strapless dress or not... bridesmaids hair being up or down?.....  how UGLY so-and-so's wedding reception site had been last month....  and can you BELIEVE her cake????.....  and on and on and on...

As our pastor at church has been doing a study on relationships in the book of Ruth, Josh and I were talking about the sermon on Sunday and I told him about this girl, her mom, and her friend and their conversation Grady and I were thrilled to listen to...ha.  I told him how super close I was (well not really...but WANTED TO) go over to her table and just put my hand on her arm and tell her to slow down and breathe.  Your wedding is just one day.  One day that SO much planning goes in to (and don't get me wrong...I am SURE I was the same way to an extent) but then in a few hours, it's all over and real life sets in.  It's not worth arguing over.  And marriage is hard.  Really hard.  So is life.  Even if someone would have told me to slow down and just breathe when I was in this girl's shoes, I probably wouldn't have understood or listened to them.  No one at that point in their life realizes that it's going to be hard and not a fairy tale.   It's funny how it's so easy to see NOW that what mattered so much back then DOESN'T matter all that much now at all.  Maybe it's just what growing up does to you.

Oh well...anyway...  sorry for writing a book today!  The point is, I am happy to celebrate 8 years!  And I hope to celebrate so many more!  When I got married, I guess I probably thought at that time, that it was the happiest day of my life...  If you could only look into the future and see that it just gets better!  :) Yeah, there will be plenty of ups and downs, but marriage is supposed to get better with time.  At least, that's how I think God intends for it to be!  And I'm thankful that that's the story of my marriage.

So...cheesily....
JOSH,

"I love you more today than yesterday...

but not as much as tomorrow..."

love,

J.

Inflatable Birthday Party!

Grady's 4th birthday party was at Pump it Up.  The very next day after his party, he informed me that he wanted his 5th birthday party to be at Pump it Up as well.  He didn't let us forget it.  For a whole year.  Despite almost every single friend of his having their party at Pump it Up over the last year as well, he STILL loves that place so much and wanted another party there.  They are SO organized and easy to deal with...  You just show up and they do everything!  So fine with me!  :)  We decided to do it on a week night this year as opposed to Saturday.  Saturdays in the summertime are hard...everyone is on vacation, playing ball, etc.  We had a MUCH better turnout on a Thursday night and will try to do that again!  

 Wish I could buy one of these cool interactive floor mats to entertain Vera in my garage or living room...  HOURS of entertainment!  ha!

 The queen of cakes did it again!  Grady requested LEGOS and Susan came through above and beyond as usual!

LOVE this picture Grana caught of Grady prepping to blow out the candles!  From the look on his face, you'd think he had 50 candles instead of just 5.  ha ha.

Happy Birthday, Gradyman!  :)

FIVE!

Five years ago today, sweet Gradyman entered this world and we were blessed to call him our son!  Cannot believe this little guy is FIVE YEARS OLD today!  He is growing up into such a great little guy and of course, this biased mom is really proud of him!  He has such a sweet and gentle spirit.  He's still shy at times, but has grown out of alot of that "shyness" in the last year.  He loves playing games and sports of any kind, and would probably live outside if I'd let him.  He is the greatest big brother in the world and absolutely adores Vera!  I still have to pinch myself sometimes to think that he is actually about to start "big school" in August!  It just doesn't seem like it's time for Kindergarten already.  He is so excited to come to mama's school and he is dying to learn to read!   My baby isn't a baby at all anymore!  :(

June 2009

June 2010

June 2011

June 2012

June 2013

June 2014

Happy Birthday, five-year-old!  I love you so much!

"I Need a Hero..."

Memorial Day Weekend, Orange Beach