It has been a busy summer!

It has been a while since I posted on our blog. We were very busy this summer with swimming, visiting family, going to museums, and finally heading to the beach. Caroline and Ryan had a good summer and enjoyed all our activities. Enjoy the posts from the past few months!

First Day of School

Family Beach Photos

I love these pictures, but it was torture getting these photos. I noticed during the week, many families would walk to the beach in matching clothes to take pictures and argue/fuss and then smile for a picture. This was very true for our own family, but the photos are precious and priceless.

I had seen this before with another family. They have older children and it was really neat. I think Ryan needs to be a bit older before we try this again. We also need to teach Steve to smile while jumping!

Beach with Sammy

Ryan had been with only girls for several days. We was so happy when Sammy arrived and gave him a hug and said "I am so happy you are here now!" Caroline and Ryan had a great time with Sammy!

I love this picture of the kids on the beach. I love their shadows in the sand!

The Beach with Catherine and Sophia

Our trip to the beach was a week full of family! We started the week with Papa and Nana. Then Aunt Carol, Catherine, and Sophia came. Then Gee Gee and Papa Ron and finally Aunt Becky and Sammy. It was good to be able to spend time on the beach and relax from a busy school year and work schedule for Steve. All the kids loved having the ice cream stand so close and enjoyed all the pools and beach. I believe Ryan stayed in the lazy river one day for 4 hours straight! I think he wants a lazy river for Christmas if anyone is wondering what to get him. hehe

Discovery Place with Rachel

Swim Team Award Ceremony

Cupcakes

Cupcake Tuesday! Wegmans has great cupcakes and the kids loved this one. A strawberry and banana cupcake. Yummy!

Our cousins come for a visit

4th of July

Our 2nd Swim Meet

Here is Caroline at her 2nd Swim Meet! She swam in the 25 meter freestyle and 25 meter backstroke. She broke both of her old records from last week! We are so proud of her! Ryan enjoys the meets too! He comes to the meets ready for many hours in the sun! He brings trains, cars, and his leapster to keep him busy and goes through tons of food! Caroline also is a big eater and we all found out today she loves cup of noodle soup.

We woke up at 5 a.m. to be at the meet by 6 a.m. Caroline was in the pool doing warm-ups by 6:30 and the meet began at 7. We left the meet at 11:00 and headed home for lunch and naps, for Mom and Dad! It is really fun to watch Caroline in the pool!

Caroline getting ready for the backstroke!

Here she is during the 25 meter backstroke race. Caroline came in 2nd place!

Caroline 1st Swim Meet

This was Caroline's first swim meet! The Westridge Waves Team bathing suits for the younger children did not arrive in time, which was a blessing. Caroline was very easy to spot in the water! She swam in the 25 meter freestyle event, 25 meter backstroke event, and a relay. Caroline had a good time and did her very best in the water! It is so much fun to watch all these kids swimming and they all work so hard during the week! Practice is every day for an hour and then on Saturday the meets last about 4 hours. The meets start early, and hamburgers and hot dogs are on the grill and ready to eat by 9 a.m.

Here is Caroline finishing her first event!

After she finished her first event Mrs. Sweeney a teacher in her class this year was there to cheer Caroline on! What a great moment!

Braves vs. Pirates

After a 90 minute rain delay the Braves took on the Pirates and WON! We arrived at the game before 6 0'clock and left after midnight! The kids had a hard time sitting through the game after waiting so long for the game to start. Thank goodness the kids received a Pirate action figure that they played with all night. Also, ice cream, hot dogs, and popcorn seemed to help!

I believe Parrot the mascot saw me taking his picture, what do you think?