Slide Update

Well, I'm happy to report that today Miss Kendall has figured out how to do the slide the correct way and is having lots of fun.  She now sits and slides down it all by herself - like the big girl she is!

I'm A Big Kid Now

Well, we are quickly approaching Kendall's first birthday and she's hit all kinds of milestones...She's got a mouth full of teeth - 8 to be exact with #s 9 & 10 on their way.  She's been walking since the second week of June by herself and now she's practically running.  She goes under the water in the pool without me having to blow in her face - she is conditioned to know what's going to happen when I count to three.  She uses sign language to tell you when she's finished eating and working on learning new signs every day.  She loves to eat - pretty much everything and anything.  No peanut allergies in our house!  She's even taste tested the dog's food and went back for seconds.  We affectionately call her "Swiper" (from Dora the Explorer) because she is always looking for things that do not belong to her and taking off with them.  This is how she got so good at running!

Well, her latest and greatest is to climb up our indoor 3 step slide and stand on the top by herself...she use to sit down right away when she got to the top, but in true youngest child fashion, she's demonstrating her lack of fear by standing on top of the slide!

Watch and enjoy!

A Trip to the Mountain House...

As many of you know, our family has been living apart for the past month and a half.  Things have been rough on all of us.  Riley has been struggling to sleep through the night since Andy left and of course that means I rarely get a full night of sleep either.  My parents had just returned from their vacation to Colorado/New Mexico as well as a trip to see my brother and his family and called to see if we wanted to come up to visit them at the "mountain house."  My parents live in western North Carolina and they also own a condo on Kiawah Island, SC (aka the Beach House).  Riley has been anxious to go to the mountain house all summer.  He LOVES to play with Uncle Matt's star wars toys.  His favorite is the "milleanna falcon."  I don't have the heart to correct him!  

I was a wonderful break for me - even though he did wake me every night but two, I still didn't have to cook, clean or change many diapers.  The dog went with us and loved hanging out on the back porch with my dad or heading out into the woods on my parents' property, sniffing for deer, rabbits, etc.  Riley and my dad spent time in the woods too.  Crossing a log over the "river" was great fun for him as well as throwing rocks in the water to see what kind of sound they'd make.  We also went to the park and the pool at the club.  My dad worked on teaching Riley how to ride a bike w/o training wheels, but he's not quite ready yet...

The drive there was killer.  I had all of us loaded up in the truck and Kendall slept for a grand total of 20 minutes and screamed for maybe all but 2 out of the 7 1/2 hour trip!  YIKES.  Wasn't sure I wanted to make the trek home today, but it was much better than expected.  She still didn't sleep much, but was a bit happier.  

I got my new DSLR camera the morning we left so I was able to practice taking pictures with it while I was there.  Here are a few:

Riley playing in the creek that runs through my parents' property.

What a handsome dude like his dad!

One of my favorites!

Checking out the action off the back deck.

Another favorite!

Riley made a friend.

Hey, where did you go?

He thought the turtle would like to sit on his head...He even hugged it!  Crazy kid!

Riley and Pappy went to see a friend's old car collection...and plane collection, and motorcycle collection.  This guy has it all!  Amazing!

An original sprint car...before the wings on top!

Loving the baby pool at the club.

Showing off his swimming skills at the club.

Wonder what he sees...

Check out the worry in that face!

Riley was being a chicken so Nanny ran through the water park with him!

Kendall at the splash park.

From my mom's beautiful garden...

Isn't this the picture of pure relaxation...

Pappy!  What's that over there?

Watch me walk over the log by myself mom!

Playing with the Star Wars land cruiser...I think he's got storm troopers driving it...

Cutie Pie!  She's been crinkling up her nose when she smiles now and I love it!

Enjoying one of Nanny's yummy meals

Yummy cornbread!

Water, Water, Everywhere

Today we ventured out to Hanna Park in Mayport, Fl.  It's next to the naval base and it's a park w/ beach, lake, camping, and a splash park.  It is perfect for Kendall because she's walking all over the place.  She can walk through the spray and chase after her big brother.  It's also fenced in so she can't pull a Houdini on me.  (Although we've been calling her "Swiper" lately since she loves to take things that don't belong to her)  We met one of Riley's friends from church there later on, but only got to play for about 45 min. before the heavens opened up and we got soaked...I know that sounds funny since we were at a splash park, but I had all of our towels, food and the stroller with us so we ended up leaving.  

I'm not sure what she was doing in this shot...

This is her new way of walking - fingers pointed and arms up...

Anxiously Waiting...

for Daddy to return from Utah...Kendall couldn't wait for Andy to return.  She hung out by the door and watched for him.  It was so precious.

She helped pass the time by reading a book.  (She's finally interested in books!)

Not yet...

Even Penton couldn't wait to see Andy!

Still no Daddy...

He's here!

Happy 4th!

For the past two years we've spent the 4th of July on the beach.  This year we packed up a cooler with dinner and camped out for the evening on the beach.  Riley spent most of his time digging in the sand, Andy was riding waves, Kendall was practicing walking in the sand.  I spent most of my time enjoying my family being together for the first in a while.  

Once the sun set, fireworks were blazing from all sides.  People were setting them off from the beach as well as the official ones from the pier in Jax Beach.  Riley and I had gotten him some sparklers, but as I anticipated, he freaked out and didn't want to hold them.  I think he thought he was going to burn his hands.  Our neighbors ended up meeting us there and the kids got to play in the sand together while watching the light show.  We are really going to miss being able to get to the beach in 10 min...I'll pack up the kids and go for the evening.  We either eat dinner on the beach or stop by Al's for a pizza on the way home.  Life is good here...but I'm sure Utah will be just as good, just in a different way.

Check out this action pose...She works so hard to keep her balance while walking in the sand.  I couldn't get a picture of her looking at the camera because she spent all of her time looking where she was walking!

What a sandy mess!  I had to take her up to the showers and clean her up before the sun set.

Riley holding a sparkler.

You can see how he's starting to get nervous.

Sleeping Beauty

I love watching my munchkins sleep.  They are so peaceful and precious.  Whatever has happened during the day, this makes it complete.  I love the fact that both kids sleep with blankets that were knitted with love by Nanny.  Before I go to bed at night, I like to go into their rooms and pray over them.  I pray for their friends, their future spouses, the relationship between the two of them, etc.  

Splish Splash!

I broke down and bought a three-ring pool for $10...A good investment so far.  The kids (and Penton) love it.  It's a great alternative to dragging everyone up to the pool in the 'hood for a quick cool off.  The first day we had it out, Penton decided to use it as a water bowl and then proceeded to pee all over my house...She peed 3 times on the tile and then while she was locked in her kennel and had to get a bath as soon as I got home from church that night!  Kendall loves walking around in the water and Riley wears his goggles and "swims" around the bottom.