Welcome Baby Genevieve

My brother and his wife Stacie welcomed their new baby girl, Genevieve Magdalene. Preston and Malaina are great siblings already. Malaina especially loves to help Stacie with everything! Sweet Genevieve is doing well. Can you believe all the dark hair? Stacie and Ryan's kids are always born with a full head of hair and they don't lose it! We are all very excited for them! Congrats you two! xo

Farm Camp at Hess Hathaway Farm

Lilly went to farm camp with her friends Kaylin, Caroline and Caitlyn. She LOVED it! Each day the kids learned about a different animal. They also fed the animals and got to pet them. Lilly's favorite animal was the bunny! Each day they were there, the kids would sit in a circle and the bunny would hop around. She loved it so much that she asked if she could go everyday for the rest of the summer.

Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing! We've been busy pretty much everyday! Lilly has had many play dates with friends that she doesn't always get to see during the school year and I've gotten to catch up with their moms! We've also celebrated several birthday's this summer, which means lots of parties! Of course, when we can, we've squeezed time on the boat at my sisters house and dips in the lake at my parents. Lilly would prefer a pool over the lake, but will make the best of it. We had the chance to swim at my girlfriends pool, and Grandma Cookie's pool, they were both beautiful! When I leave any pool, it always makes me want one of my own. And, of course we've spent time with family. June has passed and July is on it's way out. Memories have been made! We have about 4 1/2 weeks left of summer, which means more fun!

Florida 2013 Family Trip

Getting ready to head to Magic Kingdom. The kids were so excited! 

We're here!! We met Stacie's sister, Dina and her daughter Payton. 

We met some of her favorite Disney Characters. 

Lilly went to the princess castle to get made up by the fairy godmothers. Here's here before shot.

Here is the after shot of our Princess. Her poor head hurt so bad. They used so much goop. Her hair was out of the up-do before we left the park. 

 When we weren't at Disney, we stayed home and swam. The kids LOVED having a swimming pool right outside our door.

 

                                          One night we went to Celebration for dinner.

 That same night, we walked around and got ice cream. The kids are sitting near a pond that had 2 baby alligators swimming around in it. Honestly, the kids could put their hands in the water, there was nothing there to keep the alligators from walking up. Kinda crazy!

It was an awesome trip! We had a great time at Disney, however I don't feel the need to go back for many years. We also went to Animal Kingdom. The favorite part of Animal Kingdom was the Safari Ride. The kids loved swimming in the pool everyday. Lilly went from relying on a life jacket, to swimming underwater and jumping in.
For some reason I can't get my hands on more pictures. It was the entire family, mom, dad, sis, Saylor, Sagan, Ryan, Stacie, Preston, Malaina and us.It was a wonderful start to our summer!

Dance Recital and First Birthday Party without a Parent

Lilly loves when dance is almost over because that means it's time for the big recital! She gets to get all dolled up. Putting make-up on, doing her hair and prancing around in her costume is right up her alley. She did awesome on the big stage. We loved watching her show off her tap and ballet skills!

Lilly was invited to her friend Elle's birthday party. This was the first time that we've dropped her off. I was more than comfortable since Lilly has been going to Miss Kelly's with her since she was 2. They have the best time together! Plus, I know her mom. As you can see it was a hit, the girls came in their best and they each got a tiara and boa! When we got there to pick her up, all the little girls were decked out. Lilly had a ball! It was a nice way to ease into the big girl birthday parties!

Preschool Graduation and Kindergarten Story Hour

Lilly started off 4 year old preschool this year pretty quiet and shy. As the year went on, she began to come out of her shell. She'd play with some of the other girls during free choice time. Her teachers Mrs. Curl and Mrs. Lynch were so good with her. They encouraged her to try new activities other than the craft table as well as building new friendships. They always had wonderful things to say about Lilly! I had a feeling that she'd be shy, but as long as she was listening, participating and doing what they asked of her, I was content. They assessed her on kindergarten ready skills all year and by the end of the year, she showed she was more than ready to take on kindergarten! I was very pleased. Now, I just need to get my act together and do more with her this summer. I always tell my students to read, write etc.. and I'm totally slacking!
 The last 2 pictures are of Lilly at my school, WLE for kindergarten story hour. My mom was so nice to play the parent for us that day, since I was teaching and Ryan was at work. Lilly LOVED story hour. She asked the next day if she could go back to kindergarten. Made me so happy. She's super excited that she'll be coming to my school next year, and so I am!