Cars 2

We have been counting down the opening of Cars 2 for quite some time now!  When I say quite some time, I mean over a year!  Blake has always loved the movie Cars.  We have anxiously been awaiting this day... and it was finally here!

 This was Barrett's first time to go see a movie in the theater.  He wasn't too sure of it at first.  Brynn stayed home with Gram and Papa because we didn't think she was ready for the theater yet.

  Blake loved the new movie, but Barrett wasn't as interested.  The story line this time was a little bit over Barrett's head.  Cars 1 was geared more for the younger kids.  Cars 2 was definitely more for Blake's age.  After the movie we got ice cream.  The boys enjoyed their special "boy night"!

Birthday Party Fun

Blake was invited to the birthday party of his school friend.  This was his second party to attend at Shenaniganz.  He and Daddy went to the first one together and had a blast!  I took Blake to this one.  He had fun playing laser tag and video games with his friends!

Happy Birthday Kinsley

We got to celebrate Kinsley's 4th birthday at the sprinkler park.

 No better place to celebrate a summer birthday!

 The cold splashes of water were refreshing!

 Since Brynn doesn't like the sprinkler park, she chose to play on the regular playground. 

 We had pizza and ice cream!  Yum Yum!

 The kids loved taking a swing at the ice cream pinata!

 Classic birthday party fun!

 They had just as much fun gathering their loot.

 The park is right next to a pond.  The kids loved looking at the fish and turtles. 

 You can tell the turtles are used to being fed.  They were swimming all around, begging for food.

 Brynn was nervous on the dock, but felt safe in Daddy's hands.

   We had a great evening celebrating Kinsley's 4th birthday!

Wow.

I won this book from a drawing I entered on the Henan Kids blog.  It is the story of how our adoption agency (Chinese Children Adoption International) was started.  All I can say as I type this post is wow.  There wasn't a time that I picked this book up to read that I didn't shed a tear of either happiness or sadness.  Such an amazing story of a man and woman who God used to bring thousands of Chinese orphans home to their families.  All the way from Group 1 to Group 1663 (us!) and many more!

Born into the turmoil of China's struggle to establish itself in the world, Lily Nie's life is marked by opposing forces and an enduring will to find her own way. Raised in tradition-bound China, she wrestles with internal and external pressures, striking out on a journey from her homeland to America and back again. As the powers of survival and love bring her slowly and steadily into a world of abandoned children struggling to survive in China's orphanages, the strength of Lily's soul gathers, at times calm and soothing and at times a churning force sweeping away the obstacles that keep families from coming together. Out of moments of brokenness - the pain of betrayal and the grief of holding the body of a child never given a chance to live - Lily finds the power and persistence to change the lives of thousands of forsaken children, and generations to come.

Father's Day ~ 2

We spent a couple of hours at the pool trying to stay cool.

 Lots of swimming and splashing going on during this time!

 Blake out lasted everyone in the pool.  We slowly started getting out, but not Blake!

 We have been coming out here since we were young.  It is fun to now bring our own kids!

 Brynn got surprisingly brave in the pool and even jumped off the edge.

 After our swim, it was back to the camper for a delicious meal prepared by mom.

 The kids played in the dirt while the grown-ups talked about our upcoming Disney trip.

 This is the ultimate picture of a BOY!!

 Before we came home we feasted on yummy watermelon.

The kids fell asleep on our way home, but got to see their daddy for a minute before they were off to bed.

Happy Father's Day to Daddy and Papa!

Father's Day ~ 1

For Father's Day we went out to visit my parents who were camping nearby.

 All of the aunts, uncles, and cousins were there.  Well, not all of them.  Uncle Josh and Daddy had to work:(

 These are some of my favorite pictures from our day.

 4 boys and a little lady in our family.

Stay tuned for the long post filled with pictures coming soon!

This Week

Much to a certain aunt's dismay... there has been a lack of blogging on this site.

 I have been working on my blog book for 2010.  It is always my summer project.  I don't like to have it looming, so I try to get it done quickly.

 We have also been trying to beat the heat!  Gotta love Texas temps!

 Potty training Brynn has also been on our agenda this week.  She has been doing great with it!

 As soon as I sort through our Father's Day pictures, I will post those.  Be warned though, there is not a picture of either Robert or my dad in it!  Ooops!

We have a weekend filled with birthday parties, 

and of course a trip to the theater to watch Cars 2!

Happy Friday!

Chicago

Tara and I have a new summer tradition of attending a musical together for our girl's night out.  We were excited to see that Chicago The Musical was playing for the weekend.  We bought tickets a couple of months ago and then waited in anticipation for our big night!

We had dinner and then attended the musical.  It was a great show with fun music!

We had a most wonderful night out!

Last Day of Swim Lessons

Friday was our last day of swim lessons.  The boys have learned so much this year and loved every minute of it!  Barrett was so proud to show off what he learned!

 You would never know that he cried when he had to go under water on his first day...

 Look at that smile 2 weeks later!

 Barrett completed his first year of swim lessons!

 Blake started this year off by surprising us with his strong swimming skills.

 This was his third year of swim lessons.  He started working on his strokes.

 And his favorite activity of all... the diving board!

 He loved trying different moves with each jump.

 I was shocked at how he could jump off and swim to the edge all by himself this year.

 

 Blake has completed his third and final year of swim lessons!

Next year... little sister gets to sign up!