Memorial Day Weekend

We had such a fun Memorial Day weekend! We are getting to know friends here in the Woodlands and it is nice to get together with them and their families.

After Greg got home from work on Friday we took the kids to the splash pad. Greg and I were texting back and forth as he was getting ready to leave work and I was getting the kids ready for the splash pad. I sent him this simple list of how to get kids ready to go.

1) Administer snacks
2) Put on swimsuits
3) Apply sunscreen
4) Pack towels, swim diapers, toys, etc.
5) Check current diapers
6) Pack sippy cups
7) Put on water shoes
8) Repeat step 1 if you took too long on steps 2-7

See? So easy.

Anyway, they had a great time. While we were there our neighbors invited us to meet them for dinner. So after we headed home and did a quick change we met them for pizza. The restaurant has a nice outside area for the kids to play which makes family dinner outings possible.

Saturday we spent a lot of time outdoors and running a few errands. Sunday we went to church and then after naps we tried out another pool. This time Lainey really liked it! Colton was still scared and wanted to koala bear me the whole time.

Monday we ran an errand in the morning and then one of the families in our small group hosted a BBQ. The storms held off and it wasn't too hot outside. The kids had fun playing together outside. Cambry loved the swings and Lainey loved the sprinkler and the sandbox.

I'm thankful for the freedom we have in this country due to the sacrifices of so many brave men and women. And I'm thankful for the new friends God has brought into our lives here.

Mother's Day, Dobbin, and Kids

Mother's Day weekend we bought pool passes and tried out one of the Woodlands pools for the first time. It was enormous and amazing. I am excited to try out more of the pools this summer. The water was still a little chilly so Lainey and Colton did not really enjoy it. Cambry loved it though.

I also got to do a little solo shopping over the weekend. And one evening we went on a long family walk. Then my parents and my aunt came over Sunday and we got Lupe Tortillas to go. I am thankful that I have such a wonderful mother and I am so so thankful to be a mother. I can't imagine life without these 3.

Speaking of moms, my mom usually comes over once a week to hang out with the kids and often lets me go run a couple errands. The kids love their Gigi time. This past week my Dad came too which the kids loved. One week my mom came over wearing a clown nose and brought clown noses for all the kids. It was so cute.

We made a quick trip to Dobbin one Sunday afternoon to see Greg's parents and Aunt and Uncle. The kids always have a blast there running around outside and Greg got to do a little fishing and shooting.

A few weekends ago we did a 6K walk with World Vision to raise money for clean drinking water world wide. We were proud of Cambry for riding her bike the whole way. The littles got pushed in the stroller.

Greg has been fishing the Woodlands lakes in the evenings occasionally trying to find where the fish are. He has been catching them lately and enjoying it. One day Colton will be his little fishing buddy.

Life right now is fun. I am enjoying the little ones and I am thankful to have them all together this summer. I just realized that when Cambry is in school every day in the fall and Lainey is in school 3 days a week, Colton is going to be so sad without them. He loves his sisters and asks about them as soon as he wakes up each morning. I hope he doesn't get too bored while they are gone. I will be missing them too! Here are a bunch of photos that sum up life lately.

PreK Graduation

This sweet girl graduated from PreK last week. It has been a great year and I can't believe she will start Kindergarten in the fall. She is definitely ready, but I'm not sure if I am. It makes me sad that her little years at home are over. But I am excited about new adventures for her.

I don't see too much difference in her first day (left) and last day (right) pictures. She is still working on her fake smile, haha.

I am very thankful for all the photos the teachers take throughout the year. It is nice to get to see what goes on during her day. Especially on the days when I ask how her day was and she says "ugghh don't ask!".

They had a short and sweet graduation ceremony that we got to see. Lainey slept through it in the stroller since it was during nap time. Colton was entertained with pouches and raisins. 

We will miss her sweet teachers! Lainey will be at this preschool in the fall and I am hoping she has a great experience too.

Looking forward to a fun summer with these kiddos!

Phoenix Vacation

We flew out to Phoenix last week to visit the Kimmels. Our last Phoenix trip was 2 years ago so the girls hardly remembered it and Colton wasn't even born then. This was our first flight with the 5 of us and it went really well. We were so excited for a fun trip!

The kids absolutely adore their cousins (on both sides!) and were so excited to see the Kimmel boys. Colton thought it was the best thing ever to be in a house and backyard filled with only boy toys.

So many kids everywhere

One morning Greg and Cody did a man hike, and we also took a couple group hikes. Time spent preparing to go hiking with kids: 57 minutes. Time spent hiking with kids: 12 minutes. We packed 15 pounds of sippy cups and snacks for probably a .18 mile hike. Haha. But it was still fun!

Look who fell asleep on the strenuous hike!

To recover from all the exhausting hiking we did, we went to a fancy resort one day to use their pool. 

Lauren and Cody's church had a Parents' Night Out while we were there so we dropped the kids off for a few hours and went to dinner and to a coffee shop to play games. It was great to have some good conversation and time together.

We got to go to their church on Sunday morning for the first time. It was neat to see the place that they play such a big role in. And we got to see Cody lead worship as usual and do a fantastic job.

We also went to a splash pad, went to Goldfield Ghost Town where the kids panned for gold and we rode a train, went to a trampoline park, went to a cute ice cream shop in old town Scottsdale, and spent lots of time playing outside and enjoying the nice weather. Lainey was in love with their dog Duma and played with her every chance she got. Cambry stayed with the Kimmels and we stayed in a hotel a few minutes away with Colton and Lainey. The first night was pretty awful but after that the kids slept great! We even put them down at the Kimmels' house twice so we could stay up playing games and then transferred them to the hotel. 

I'm so thankful for such a wonderful trip. I had prayed and prayed that we would all be healthy for the trip and God was so gracious to answer that prayer. There were no urgent care visits either! Lauren and Cody were the sweetest hosts and cooked us lots of yummy meals and even greeted us with a big welcome package full of goodies. We had tons of fun and were all sad to leave. We'll see you at the beach this summer!

Lainey 3 1/2

Our sweet Lainey is 3 1/2. She is loving, affectionate, funny, and silly. Her laugh is contagions. She is continually making progress with her speech and making us smile with all the funny things she says. 

She loves music and singing. She tries to sing the 5 little monkies song often. She likes head shoulders knees and toes, and it especially cracks her up when I sing it at super speed. She loves Justin Timberlake's Can't Stop the Feeling song and will sing "my body" and "sunshine pocket". Sometimes in the car or in her crib at night she will sing to herself and we have no idea what she is singing.

I call this one her "model shot"

She is learning manners and is starting to say thank you or sorry unprompted. Although when she wants something that someone else has, she will start saying all done, meaning YOU are all done.

She still gives the sweetest hugs and kisses.

She is very social and enjoys going to childcare classes and loves therapy. She especially loves one little girl she does therapy with and will always greet her by telling her hi and giving her a hug.

She has been doing private gymnastics lessons for about a month now. Her attention span is short but it is improving. She loves the trampolines and the foam pit the most. She likes attempting her front rolls at home.

Playing with water is one of her favorite things. Baths, the water table, and splash pads are perfect for her. 

She still loves baby dolls and also she likes to play with little doll house dolls. Making messes is a favorite activity too.

She adores dogs. When we were in Phoenix she played with Duma non stop.

She loves to wrestle, especially with Colton. She is very sweet to him and is always willing to share her food and drinks with him. 

Lainey has such beautiful hair. There are perfect little ringlets at the bottom. She has never had her hair cut because I am scared the ringlets won't come back. Occasionally people will ask me if I curl her hair. Nope, all natural! She also has natural highlights that are so pretty.

She does ST 3 times a week and PT once a week plus gymnastics. We are so proud of all her hard work and progress.

Happy half birthday to our beautiful Lainey Reese!!