8 is GREAT!

I've mentioned before, Taylor has the best birthday date ever. Does it get any better than July 4th? No school, perfect weather, long days and fireworks.

We usually let Taylor have a kid party, but it's never on her actual birthday. This year, she decided to have a girl party the last Saturday in June. She has lots of little friends from school, some carry overs from kindergarten and others new this year. Since some of her best friends are boys and they wouldn't enjoy the girl party, she asked to have the second part of the party at the pool, a coed shindig. It was nuts (SOOO many kids!), but she had a blast.

Taylor and Michael helping with tie-dye cupcakes the night before the party.

Birthday girl - 8 is GREAT!

Some of our handmade decorations.

The girls decorated flip flops. Very fun!

Snacktime

Ready for the treasure hunt.

Candy bar! Glad we got that one in. Taylor has since gotten braces and can't eat any of this stuff!

The girls

Cupcakes and ice cream sandwiches at the pool.

More kids, including some of the boys.

Sweet Reagan loved the ice cream sandwiches. :)

Ben!

We stopped by Ella's house later that night for an after party. ;)

He was quite happy all of the girls left.

On Taylor's real birthday, we went back to the pool (we practically live there in the summer) and then met up with friends to watch the fireworks.

She asked for a red, white, blue and PINK cake this year.

My three kiddos. :)

Daddy's birthday girl.

Cake time

Hanging out in the parking lot of Lowe's waiting for the big show.

 I had to include this picture. Taylor, you know, my firecracker July 4th child, has ironically always been petrified of sparklers. This is the first year she would hold one!

I love this picture. Watching fireworks from the back of our convertible.

She fell asleep on the way home. Definite sign of a birthday success, right?

Summer is quickly coming to an end around these parts. Taylor and Mike go back to school this week and Michael starts preschool after Labor Day. More summer updates to come.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

June 2012

Oh summer, how I love you! June has been great so far, so great that I've had almost no time to blog!  We started off June the same way I left off with May - soccer. Taylor's team finished won their pool in the Creek Classic and lost the championship game in a shootout. They still came home with a nice medal and trophy. Taylor played great!

As you can see, we have some big girls on our team!

Taylor has had lots of play time with friends (at the pool and at home). Here, she and her friend McKenna turned our living room into a fort. They even let Michael sneak into the picture.

The kids and I went to see Madagascar 3. It was hilarious! They are posing here before we left.

Taylor is playing tennis again. She really enjoys it.

Working on a hand-eye coordination drill.

 

And, one very special puppy had a birthday! Champ usually gets a hot dog for his birthday, but this was his 10th, we decided he needed a steak (a very cheap steak, but he didn't know the difference).

I'll update later with details from Taylor's birthday party!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day! We celebrated yesterday by renting a pontoon boat and fishing on Cowan Lake. After that, church and dinner. What a great day! Sorry, no pictures from yesterday. Taylor caught our only fish, an impressive and HUGE bass!

Taylor had a soccer game on this really, really rainy Mother's Day. I thought for sure it would be canceled, but this is club soccer and sometimes club is a wee bit OVERBOARD. The Wilmington Heat came away a 2-0 win and Taylor played great despite the rain.

Halftime talk. Doesn't it look miserable? My mom and I watched the game from the back of the 4Runner. Wimps. :)

Late lunch at Damon's.

All of my babies.

Taylor is squished.

Michael and his buddies.

Taylor and her American Girl doll. I love that she can push and shove during a tough soccer game and still come home and play dolls. :)

These soccer pictures are old, but I forgot to put them on here. Another rainy soccer weekend.

Until nex time,

Mommy Kel

Easter 2012

We made sure we were back from Florida in time for Easter morning church. We were all a little tired, but we were happy we went!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Spring Break Part III

Michael has always liked swimming in the pool, but he surprised us one night when he decided he was done with the floaties. Taylor was so excited to teach her little bro the basics. He ended up swimming about 10 feet by himself. His mentor was beaming. :)

Our last day was just gorgeous and we soaked up every last bit of Florida that we could. The water was stunning the last day. Completely calm and clear.

We headed to Harbor Walk, a group of restaurants, shops and entertainment on our last night. We enjoyed live music, a good dinner, beautiful views and ice cream.

We left for home well before dawn and got home by dinner. Thanks to God for another wonderful family vacation (and they get easier and easier!!).

Until next time,

Mommy Kel