Just Keep Swimming

One of the perks of living in our neighborhood is the community pool right around the corner from us.  Last summer was so crazy that we didn't even visit the pool once.  So, to make up for lost time, we have been thoroughly enjoying the pool this year!  Here are some pictures from a few of our swimming excursions over the past couple of weeks- enjoy!!!
Garrett's very first trip to the pool and he was not a fan!  I think the water was a bit too cold for our bath water loving boy!

Tori was a bit on the cautious side as well- we started out with just dipping the toes in!

Tori then requested we get her bathing suit on!

We then went for the get-in-real-slow method, which seemed to work much better for both kiddos!

Love this girl's smile!!!

We were so proud that Tori was in the pool "swimming" with her floatie! Not a bad first outing to the pool!!!

Our second visit started out much better- Tori jumped right in!

And Garrett did so much better getting in as well!!!

All warm and toasty and ready to head home!

I think that visit number three was just about perfect- look at our little Tori!!!

Yep, that would be our girl swimming in her floatie without anyone holding on!!!

Check out our little Tori fish!!!

Garrett was loving the floatie as well!!!

Yeah for fun times in the pool- we are loving every visit!!!

Tori loves getting all cozy in her towel before we head home!!!

Check it out- Garrett is getting a tan line!

I'm so glad that Tori and Garrett are fans of the pool- many fun hours will be spent there I'm sure!!!

Tupperware Toys

I know I have heard many a parent utter a sentiment something akin to, "we buy them all these toys and then they play with the box."  Well, in our house our kids love to play with our tupperware bowls!  Tori has been doing this for quite some time and is now showing Garrett the ropes!!!

Tupperware- great for storing food and makes a great hat too!!!

Garrett was loving his new 'toys'!!!

No need for food inside- it tastes great all by itself!

What a cute boy- with such a mischievous look on his face!!!

And here is the queen of playing with tupperware herself sporting some awesome new 'shoes'!

Putting her new shoes through their paces- this girl cracks me up!!!

Hurrah for tupperware- who needs toys?!!

Happy Dad's Day!!!

We love Father's Day- it is so much fun taking a day to celebrate with Jared and all of the Dads we know! Jared and I are so lucky to have wonderful Dads that have always been, and will always be, there for us!  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all you do for our little family!  Tori, Garrett, and I are so very blessed to have Jared in our lives!  Thank you for being such an amazing husband and Daddy!  I love watching you with our kids and seeing how much they adore you!  I'm so grateful that we all get to have you for eternity!!!
This morning, Tori and Garrett were so excited to give Daddy his Father's day card- Tori even drew a picture on the envelope for him!!!

Tori and Garrett had both drawn pictures for Daddy on the inside!  (Pretty exciting- this was Garrett's first masterpiece!)

We surprised Daddy with tickets to and Indian's baseball game- going to be so fun!!! 

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads in our lives- we love you all so much!!!

8 Months!!!

Garrett is 8 months old today- crazy!!!  It seems like he is growing up much faster than Tori did.  How I wish I could just slow time down.  But since I can't, we are just going to do our best to love every day with our two little ones!  This past month Garrett got his second tooth (2 on the bottom now), went to his first dance, pretty much decided to give up on ever taking a bottle again, and his hair is really starting to come in!  He is also starting to reach for and grab at anything close by.  Occasionally, Garrett will push himself up on his hands and knees (no crawling yet) and he has held himself in a standing position while holding onto things a few times.  He loves being in Primary singing time with me every week- he laughs and giggles during the songs!  This month Garrett also went on his first hikes and his first camping trip!  Our little guy has had a very busy month!!! This month we did our traditional photo shoot, but I also put in a few pictures from the day.  Here are some of the fun things that happen in the day in the life of Garrett!

This kid loves his bouncer chair!

And he loves making cute faces while in his bouncer chair!

Here is Garrett in action- bouncer chair extraordinaire!!!

Garrett is a great eater- which usually means it ends up all over his face like this!!!

He loves to chew on his binkie clip!

One of the highlights of Garrett's day- bath time!!!

He is starting to discover that playing with toys while in the tub makes it even more fun!

Wrapped up all warm and cozy!!!

Our cute boy in his jammies!

Garrett loves watching Tori do all of her fun things!

She is great at showing him how to be on his hands and knees!!!

I'm pretty sure this is my new favorite picture of Garrett!!!

Our 8 month old-getting so big!!!

What a cute boy- love him so much!!!

Camping Wrap Up

Yesterday our fabulous camping trip came to a close.  And a pretty late close at that- we ended up getting home at 11:15 last night.  It's just so sad that you look forward to a vacation for so long and then they always seem to be over in the blink of an eye.  Here are a few last pictures from our great adventure in the Smoky Mountains!!!
Sometime during the night (on Wednesday) Tori ended up outside of her sleeping bag.  I think she was laying right on the tent floor.  I kept waiting for her to wake up- nope, she slept until 8:30!!!

Here is one last cousin (and Dad) picture- Willie, Lincoln, Henry, Tori, Parker, Garrett, and Jared! (Oh, that is our awesome tent in the background)

Tori and Garrett on our last morning- Tori would only cooperate for this picture if she could bring her cereal with her!

And this is how we got the cute picture above- thanks for the picture Krista!!!

Garrett had a fantastic time on his first camping trip!!!

Getting packed up and all ready to go- Garrett loves eating his rabbit!

Garrett and Daddy playing on one of our numerous stops on the way home- it made getting home take a lot longer, but go so much better!!!

And here is what we did first thing this morning- soak the kids clothes in the bathtub!  I'm pretty sure neither one of them has ever been that dirty-which means we had a perfect camping trip!!!

Yeah for our wonderful first trip of the summer!!!  So sad you are over, but at least we have a few more trips to look forward to! (Willie and Krista- maybe our next camping trip will be in Colorado- anyone else want to come?!!!)

Camping Cousins

Looking back at my childhood, I have so many fond memories with my cousins!  And for that reason, I love that Tori and Garrett get to have time to play with and get to know their cousins.  They are already building some of those awesome memories and they will (hopefully) always be close with their cousins!  So, here are a bunch of fun cousin pictures!

After our first night of rain, we hung up a clothes line to dry everything out.  The kids thought that running under this sheet was the best thing ever!

They played under and around it the entire morning! 

Willie and Krista brought this fun table- it was perfect for Lincoln, Henry, Parker, and Tori!

Tori, Parker, and Lincoln were all geared up and ready for our first hike!!!

All of the kids had a blast playing with, eating, digging in, and generally moving around the rocks in our campsite!

I think the most repeated game of the trip was playing in the road with the kickball!  (Yes, we let our kids play in the road the whole time- of course, we were right there with them!)

All ready and waiting for the ball to get to them!

 I think they would have been happy doing this all day long!!! (Just a reminder to me that things don't need to be crazy or complex to be a blast!)

After our hike to Indian Creek and Tom Branch Falls, Aunt Krista had the wonderful idea to have story time!  It was the perfect thing to do while waiting for dinner!!!

I got to read a few books to our crew as well! 

Lincoln, Parker, and Tori enjoyed some cereal this morning- sadly, our last camping meal of the trip!

Henry and Garrett got to hang out a little bit this morning!

Parker found a rolly-polly bug and Tori was fascinated!!!

Aunt Krista, Garrett, and Lincoln- I absolutely love this picture!!!

Hurrah for fun times and great cousin memories- definitely priceless!!!