Happy Birthday Joshie!

This weekend was Joshua's birthday and we celebrated by going camping. Which is one of Josh's favorite activities. We went with Joshua's brother and sister and their families. We had so much fun! So much in fact that the kids and some of the big kids didn't want to leave. The place that we went had four wheeler trails and a great river for fishing. We had fun being together and becoming one with nature.
All the kids waiting for their turn to go for a ride.

Cute girls, despite the dirty camp girl look. Madison, Makenna, Alexa, and Makenzie

Mr. Monkey man Josh preparing for rain.

Me and the kids snuggling by the camp fire.

Princess and Pirate Camp

Last week Makenzie and Jacob went to day camp. Miss Shannon, Makenzie's preschool teacher was the one offering the camp. So I knew the kids would be in good hands. It was Pirate and princess themed. They had a lot of fun doing crafts, singing songs, telling stories and playing games. They got to go with their pals Abbey and Zack which made it even more exciting for them. I enjoyed camp because they were gone from 9 to 12 giving me a nice break to get some things done. I of course missed them but it's amazing the things you can get done when you're all alone.


Jacob, Makenzie, Abbey and Zack


The Last Day of Camp. They got to dress up
and have a Pirate and Princess Parade

Graduation Day!

Last night Makenzie graduated from preschool. She looked adorable in her little cap and gown. Unfortunately, this is the only still photograph I took of her. All the fun stuff is on video. It was a pretty terrific night. The graduates put on a cute performance of songs they had learned throughout the year and then we saw a slide show of pictures of all their fun school experiences . I can't believe she is going to kindergarten in 3 months. My little baby is growing up! Everyone always asks me if I'm excited that she's starting school but I can't say that I am. I will miss her during the day with her funny little comments and happy laugh. I also think that little Jakie is gonna miss her a lot. They play so well together and have such a cute brother and sister bond. I ask her if she's excited to go to kindergarten and she always says that she's a bit nervous. But I think when the day comes she will be excited.

Bouncing Bummies on Bikes!

Joshua and Jake rearin to go!

Makenzie on her Ariel bike! I forgot to get Joshua to
take a picture of my bike but trust me, it's really cool!.

On Memorial day Joshua and I decided to buy a pair of bikes. We had been thinking about it for a while and finally did it. After buying the bikes we headed to Alexandria to try them out on the Mt Vernon trial. It starts in D.C. and ends in Mt. Vernon. The trail is about 18 miles long. It's a beautiful trail that winds through the woods along the Potomac river. Of course we did not go all eighteen miles but did go five miles up and five back to where we started from. Little by little we'll build up to the eighteen miles, maybe! When we started out we had some concerns about Makenzie. First of all, she's so new at riding without training wheels and we weren't sure how well she would handle the ride maneuvering down the curvy trail, around people & across bridges. Second, there were several hills (some were pretty steep) that she had to go up & down with out gears meaning of course that her little legs would have to do a lot more pedaling than we did. But our fears were laid to rest because she did awesome! She was fearless. When we would come upon a group of walkers or bikers not going as fast as she wanted, she would kindly honk her horn (using her voice) and then say, "excuse us, coming through!". She rode all tens miles like it was no sweat. She liked it so much that she didn't want to stop. Joshua and I had to promise her that we would come back again before she would get off her bike. I was so proud of her for doing so well. Jake however didn't have such a great time. I think he would've had a better time that day if he would of taken a nap. I kept telling him to look at things and asking him if he was having fun, but all I would get from him was "I want out!" and " I don't want Daddy's bum in my face anymore!" I can see how the bum thing might be a bit annoying. Well, besides Jakie's boredom, we all had a great time and are loving our new bikes and our newly found favorite pastime.