Swimming Weather

I dropped Natalie off at my Mom's while I ran to the store this afternoon and while I was gone my mom texted me a video of Natalie swimming. I couldn't believe it! She has a bathing suit with floating panels in it and it can keep her afloat but she has always been super scared of the water. Today she just walked down the steps and started swimming. From the steps to the deep end, to the steps to the deep end...back and forth over and over. She was so proud of herself and she didn't want to get out of the pool. 

When Heidi saw Natalie swimming she wanted to swim too. No time for changing into her bathing suit she just took off her clothes and jumped in. I love her bare little booty. :)

Also...just to add a couple more pictures. Natalie looked really cute this morning when we went to church in her new outfit from Aunt Colie. :)

Thanks Cousin Julie!!

Last night I had the best dinner ever. And then I today I had the best lunch ever. :) When Julie and Ricky were here, she gave me a recipe for this chicken and it was AMAZING!! Super easy and super tasty. I bought a family size pack of chicken breasts...I think there were at least 6 in there. I threw them in the crockpot with a can of Herdez salsa and a packet of taco seasoning. That's it! The house smelled amazing all day and when it was time to eat I just took two forks and shredded the chicken which fell apart. I put it in a flour tortilla with some shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream and sliced avacado. Perfection!! Thanks Julie!!

I Love Baking!!

Today I made almost 300 mini cupcakes and they were soo yummy! Shane's Mom had an open house and she wanted cupcakes at the party. I made three flavors...pink champagne, chocolate, and coconut lime. 

 

 

They were a big hit and that made me so happy. I've been wanting to start a baking business for a while now but the rules in Georgia are not working well with my plans. They won't let me work out of my house and sell baked goods to the general public. So...while I'm figuring out how to open an actual business I'm going to just sell my cupcakes to family and friends...which is legal in the state of Georgia. :)  So here is the link to my baking blog if you want to check it out. :) Wildflower Desserts Feel free to let me know what you think or if you have any suggestions or ideas!

Julie and Ricky Come to Visit

 Julie and Ricky were here for the weekend from Arizona. We love having them around! They are so much fun to be with and after the kids warmed up to them...they loved them too! The weekend was  full of good food and lots of hanging out. We are really going to miss them now that they are gone. Can't wait for our family reunion in October!!

Yesterday was a really hot day. Definitely the hottest day of the year so far and the girls were so excited to finally go swimming in my parents pool. Shane and Ricky did "buttercups". I combination between a belly flop and a cannon ball. Big splashes and lots of waves! The water is still too cold for me so I just took the pictures. :)

 

The girls putting their feet in the pool with Julie after an AMAZING dinner of my dad's famous hamburgers on the Egg.

 

 Heidi swimming with her turtle...all over the pool!

 

 We are going to try to teach Natalie to swim this year. Shane is trying to show her how to kick her legs. Baby steps. :)

Nokie in her new birthday outfit from Cousin Julie and Rickey and Heidi just after she got out of the pool

An Interview With A Four Year Old

 

Favorite color

Pink. Purple. Pink. No Purple. I mean Pink. Pink pink pink. 

Favorite song

I Want to Be Like Jesus

What do you want to be when you grow up

A ballerina

Favorite stuffed animal

Raffi (her stuffed giraffe)

Favorite Food

Macaroni & Cheese

Favorite Ice Cream

Strawberry

Favorite tv show

Backyardigans

How high can you count

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14

Favorite book

Tina Cocolina

How do you like to sleep

On my back

Favorite game

Soccer

Natalie's Birthday Part 2

We celebrated Natalie's birthday with all the family on Saturday. She got to spend the morning with my mom while I was getting everything ready. After she woke up from her nap, my parents brought her back here where the whole house was decorated. We were supposed to have thunderstorms all day but the weather was actually perfect. They were able to play outside with their cousins while we got dinner ready. We had some of Shane's world famous grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese (that was Nat's request), fruit salad, mixed vegetables, a green salad and dinner rolls. It was a pretty yummy dinner for a 4th birthday I have to say! :) After dinner we did cupcakes and gifts. Shane had to take a nap before going into work so we all went in the backyard to watch the kids play. Justin was spinning them and chasing them all over the yard. They had so much fun! It was a really great birthday for her. :)

 Natalie's cupcakes I made her

 Can't believe she is 4 already!

 All the kids eating dinner together

 I took video of Nat blowing out her candle but forgot to take actual pictures. :(

 Heidi loved the cupcakes. She got it all over her dress and spent the rest of the day like this.

 Opening presents

 So many cute clothes

 Love this dress

 Heidi wanted to get in on the action! When Nat opened this suitcase from Nan she said, "Now I can go see Hollyann in California!"

 

 With Grandma and Grandpa

 Justin playing with all the kids

 

 Love this shot of Heidi

 All the kids had so much fun with Justin

 Heidi loved getting spun around!

 I got Nokie to smile for me!

Natalie's Birthday Part 1

Nat had such a great birthday this year! On Friday we went to the EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia, SC. The girls had so much fun.

 First they got to go shopping at the Piggy Market. They each got to put 5 items in their carts and then take it to the check out to pay for it.

 I love this shot of Natalie...she looks so grown up :)

 Natalie bought a can of vegetables, a HUGE steak, a mango, a donut and a box of cookies. Heidi bought a can of vegetables, eggs, laundry detergent, macaroni and cheese and a box of chocolate cereal.

 Then we went to the farm where they got to check for eggs...

 Milk a cow...

 Pick apples...

 Drive a tractor...

And plant vegetables

 Dad sat in the rocking chair and watched all the crazy kids :)

 They drove a car too. Heidi got in the back seat and buckled herself in!

 They dressed up like firemen and went inside a firetruck. Heidi even slid down the pole.

 We spent a lot of time in the news room. The girls loved seeing themselves on tv and changing the weather around.

 Shane joined in on the fun too.

 They played in the music room. Each hopscotch square was a different note and they loved jumping on it to make music.

 They had a huge 40 foot kid that you could climb inside of. Shane took Natalie inside the skull. She was trying to figure out what each of the insides were compared to her face. It was pretty cute.

 Shane played with the girls on the shrimp boat.

 It was so hard to get both of the girls to cooperate for these pictures! Heidi kept running off cause there were more interesting things to look at. These are probably my favorite shots of the whole day!

 We went through the butterfly exhibit right before we left.

 The girls tried to sit really really still so that the butterflies would land on them...so adorable but it didn't work. :(

 

So I just took a picture of Natalie with the butterflies behind her. :)