The whirlwind of June

June has been busy!  We blinked and it is over?!  We have had so much fun.  The temperatures have been in the hundred degree range and it has been hot.  We have tried to just tough it out and make the best of it.  We all have nice tans and have grown gills, because the only real way to survive this heat is to enjoy the water!

The girls spent a weekend at Mimi and Papa's the first weekend of the summer.  They had a lot of fun swimming and playing in Mimi's garden.

I have loved every second, including the temper tantrums, the grumpy girl moments, the broken air conditioner, the heat, because I have loved the quality time I have had with my two special girls.  We have been crazy busy, but we have laughed a lot.

Claire carrying a watermelon she picked from Mimi's garden

The girls on their weekend at Mimi and Papa's

Claire is learning to enjoy riding her bike.  She is quite the cautious driver!

Daren surprised me for Mother's Day with a cooking class that we took together during June.  It was great!  We ate our way through the class and learned a lot.

Cousin fun at Grandma and Pops's pool!  I promise Harper is there, but if you know her well, you know she is sitting on my hip.  :-)

Harper, Claire and I have spent some portion of every single day of the summer either at Grandma and Pops's pool or at the club pool.  We must escape the heat and enjoy the summer!

The girls went to Princess Dance camp together and loved it!  Harper is striking a pose in this picture.

Day 2 of princess camp and the girls are really enjoying each other, as well as camp.  Yay for summer family bonding

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Recital day of princess camp!  The girls did great!  Belle and Snow White were beautiful dancers.  :-)

Our air conditioning broke so we spent several nights at Grandma and Pops's house.  Harper loves to lay on a pallet on the floor like a big girl to watch movies there.

Claire and Pops on movie night at their house one of the nights we escaped the heat at our own house

Play date with one of Claire's best friends, Taschi

Alex, Taschi, Nicole and Claire enjoying a play date

Pump It Up fun!

Snow cone tongues!!

Father's Day 2012

Father's Day was a great celebration.  Daren and Pops decided they wanted BBQ so we headed to a trailer on S. 1st famous for its ribs, picked the BBQ up and took it to Pops's house to enjoy.  We then went swimming to try to swim off all the meat.  Ha!  It was special and nice to celebrate both of them that morning.  After naps, we spent the afternoon with just the four of us.  Daren wanted me to make gumbo and banana pudding for dinner, so I feel like all we did is eat and eat and eat.

The girls are so lucky to have Daren as their father.  He is the best!  He is as hands on as they come and is loving, fun and patient.  He gets down and dirty on the playground with them and he plays princess like no other.  The girls think he hung the moon.  We feel really lucky to have Pops in our lives too.  He has served as a true example of strength, integrity and honesty.  I am forever grateful that he is my Dad, and I can only hope that I will be half the parent he is.  Papa has also been a source of great inspiration for all of us too.  He is adventurous, generous and lots of FUN!  We are all better because of him.  The girls adore the three most important men in their lives, and I feel so honored and blessed to share my journey through life with all three of them.  I hope that someday my girls will each find a man who will hold the traits these wonderful men possess.

The girls made these for Daren and I think they are pretty accurate!  :-)

We snuck to one of our favorite walls in Austin to take these pictures to surprise Daddy, Pops and Papa.

  

D and his lovely ladies on Father's Day

Daddy and his girls swimming

D and Pops wanted BBQ so we headed to S. 1st to have a "meat coma."

My sweet Daddy and I enjoying the pool

Zapped at Vacation Bible School

Claire, Chris and Charlie attended Riverbend's Vacation Bible School this past week.  The theme was "Zapped," as in all things bright and sparkly.  Everything was neon.  The leaders dressed up like fireflies.  At the end of the week, the kids performed several songs.  There was a video presentation to begin the VBS performance where the leaders asked random kids what "zapped" meant to them after having been to camp.  Chris made the show!!!  His answer literally  brought tears to my eyes.

Random leader: "What does zapped mean to you?"
Chris: "It is the power of God."

Our Claire and counselor Claire before the show

Chris and Charlie performing

I captured Claire's face when she first walked out on stage.  Pretty cute!  In a crowd as large as Riverbend, this is a pretty overwhelming sight for a 5 year old, especially considering she is one of 800 kids on stage!

On Friday morning, Claire's teachers asked me if we were coming for the performance.  When I told her we'd be there, she said, "Oh good.  Claire is a hoot!"  Watch and see... I think she did a great job!

"Left, Right and Side to Side" - This was he first song performed by the kids and it took me a while to figure out the camera.  Keep in mind, I had a very wiggly 2 year old in my lap who would sit with no one else.  Ha!
http://youtu.be/KORbsAkNbZw

The song "God's with me and He's with you" is the one that all week at home, we listened to over and again.  Harper loves it and Claire too, so it was their favorite. One of these days, I hope to video their at-home rendition.  It is pretty funny!
http://youtu.be/AOyQGXDCA_E

This song was Daren and my favorite.  "I Will Follow You" is one I have loved for a long time, so seeing my daughter sing it makes me love it even more.  Charlie and Chris are in the center of the screen, and Claire is at the bottom in the center.  You can't miss her neon green bow.  She picked it out herself and it was a great choice because it glowed in the dark.  We couldn't lose her in the crowd of 800 kiddos!
http://youtu.be/tifjdNFEkAc

Happy Birthday, Daren!

Happy Birthday to Daren!  Happy Birthday to the love of my life, the light of my daughters' eyes, my best friend and my partner in this crazy life.  We love you so much!  This year for D's 35th birthday, I decided to throw him a party (without children) at The Range, a sports bar with simulated golf.  We had a blast!  He played 18 holes of pretend golf with some of our closest friends.

People came and went, but this is the crew that played most of the 18 holes.  Jeff, Cole, D, Rance and Aaron

Christi and D

D and I

Just played a hole and now cheerleading for Jennie!

About to eat his birthday apple fritters!

The next night, we enjoyed a birthday date night.  We went to Perla's for drinks then we went to Papi Tino's for dinner.  It was a wonderful night in this amazing town we love so much!

D on the deck at Perla's

On his real birthday, we celebrated the old-fashioned way.  D got a new bike and rode out in style.  He wanted to go hiking so he went to Twin Falls with the girls and his parents while I cooked his favorite meal and dessert - Beef Ragu, salad, German Chocolate Cake and homemade vanilla ice cream.  It was a special day for a special husband, friend and father.  We love you!  You are one hot 35!

Taking off on the new bike

Daddy and his girls at Twin Falls

Taking a break on the hike

The girls with Mimi and Papa at Twin Falls

Blow out your candles!  Happy Birthday, D!

And one more birthday celebration...  We had dinner at Grandma and Pops's house with all of my side of the family.  Daren asked my Mom to make another of his favorite meals along with homemade cookies and cream ice cream.  Yum!

Primrose Pre-K Graduation 2012

Mommy got to join the End of Year field trip to J.W. Tumbles before graduation

Claire's class at J.W. Tumbles

Claire before graduation

Preparing to line up

Taylor, Dani, Brendan and Claire - 3 of her favorite buddies

"You are my sunshine" is a special song for Claire and me.  We sing this every single night together and have since the day she was born.  Her class learned to sign and sing this song and I cried like a baby watching her.  When did my baby girl grow up?

http://youtu.be/m5Ij4BODpDA

"B-I-G, I'm Big" is another song they performed for us.  Claire did a great job with this one.  I was impressed with her poise.  There were some wiggly kiddos around her and she continued to sing and do her part in the song. 

http://youtu.be/nf1zxzRbMYM

Ms. Dawnyale giving Claire her diploma

The best teachers ever - Ms. Alexis and Ms. Dawnyale

Grandma, Pops and Claire the graduate

Mimi, Papa and Claire the graduate

D, the kids and me

Christi, the boys and Claire

Yippee!!  She's ready for Kindergarten!

Fun with the Banzhafs

The Banzhafs came in town because Rob was competing in the CapTex Tri.  We swam at ACC the day before the race, and the kids had a lot of fun playing together.  We then ventured out on Monday to chase Rob around the race course.  It was quite impressive and we were very proud of him!

Harper and I having fun in the sun

D and Parker have big fun together!

Claire and Parker

Rob's pep squad

Claire and the boys hanging out waiting for Rob to exit the bikes and transition to the run.

Finish line!  We are so proud of you, Rob!  We really enjoyed it!