Our last free weekend of the Summer.

This weekend marks our last free weekend of the summer. We have one more week until school starts back for me and Lexie will be back in preschool full time. Yesterday, we decided to use the day to head to Splash Kingdom in Canton, TX. Yes, I know we have one here but the one in Canton is just so much better. We got there around 12:45pm and true to form we stayed until they shut the place down at 7:00pm. Right before we got there they had some "rainy" weather blow through so the entire day was a cloudy day. It didn't get above around 88 and I admit that I told Ryan I NEVER thought I would be "chilly" at a water park in the middle of August in TEXAS! It was slightly chilly with the wind blowing and the water was cold. Lexie noticed none of the above. She rode every ride that she possibly could and would have STAYED in the Lazy River if we would have let her. This girl is a FISH. We had such a good time.

Her before we left!


Today we started out by going to church. Today was "promotion" day so Lexie moved up to the next Sunday School class. She was a little hesitant at first but once she saw they were doing art with glue, she was ready to go in! She did great and we are so thankful to be part of such an awesome church. After church we headed to eat and then to Sears to order new tires. It is time to replace all 4 of mine! Afterwords, we headed to Lowe's and then came home.

Lexie's newest place to "ride". She always says, "Daddy, I can ride on your head?". Silly girl.

My sweet baby. :)

Yesterday Lexie went to daycare for the day. She has been telling me for several days that she needs "baba time" (Barbara time). My baby love Mrs. Barbara! Since yesterday the school age children went back to school, Lexie got to spend some extra time with Mrs. Barbara. While waiting with my mom in the dr's office I got a text from Karen. Lexie apparently not only got her "baba" time but also talked them into letting her take her nap in the office. Who can say no to this sweet little face? I know I have said it before but I seriously LOVE all of the ladies at Lexie's daycare. They treat EVERY child like their own and you couldn't ask for a better daycare provider. I have NO IDEA how Lexie is going to survive when she starts "big school" in a couple of years. She absolutely loves her daycare! We do too!!



Today we went to the gym so I could get a good work out in. I've been going 1-2x a day for the last 4-5 months. I'm hoping to be able to continue to go at least 3x a week when school starts. Who knows, we will see. This is what I found when I went to pick her up. She had taken "chucky cheese" with her and she said he was napping while she did a puzzle. I can only imagine what the ladies in the daycare at the gym thought when she busted up in there with this big creepy mouse!

Wrapping up Summer time.

We are in the process of wrapping up our 2011 summer. I can't believe it's already almost the middle of August. School will start for me on the 22nd and I'm ready to get going.

The last couple of weeks we have spent in the dr's office. Believe it or not, we have made a total of 8 dr visits.The funny part is that no one was sick! Ryan has been receiving allergy shots 2x a week for the last 2 weeks and we are so thankful for them. Insurance currently covers them 100% and we don't have to pay the co-pay (40 bucks a pop!). We have seen vast improvements around here too! I have made a total of 4 trips to the dr including 3 updated immunizations, a physical, and 2 blood draws. Then 2 trips to collect the paperwork. Oh well, at least I'm completely ready for Nursing school now.

Lexie went last week for her 3 yr checkup and she is doing fabulous. Yes, I know she is actually 3 yrs and 7 months but due to the fact that she is born in the middle of cold/flu season, I was NOT taking my well child in for a visit at that time. She weighed in at 32lbs and was 40 inches tall! She is right about 40-50% for weight and 75-90% for height. She is right on track but I didn't need a dr to tell me that. I know she's perfect! Well most of the time. Mimi had an appt yesterday (just a checkup) and she is fine as well.

Last Friday afternoon we headed to Little Rock for the weekend to spend time with our family. My niece is in Girl Scouts and they were able to score us water park tickets for 11 dollars a person! That's cheaper than a child's ticket. We got there on Friday night and after supper we decided to go bowling. We had a BLAST! Of course I'm pretty sure Ryan won that round. He always does!

Our crazy group picture! (girls only!)LOL



Saturday we enjoyed the water park. Everyone else headed home at about noon. Not us. Lexie was ready to stay until she dropped. Thankfully by around 3:30 I convinced her to leave. This kid is a water baby for sure. Sunday afternoon before we headed back home we went out to eat with my sister, BIL and niece. Love these family times!

Lexie and Aunt Nea


Lexie and Aimee

Swim Lessons, Contests and School!

Lexie is wrapping up her last week of swim lessons and let me tell you, I'm impressed. She has always loved the water but she is actually SWIMMING (just a few feet) underwater. She is now diving for the little "toys" that throw in and going completely under when she "jumps" off the side. Lexie has enjoyed swim lessons so much and Ryan and I have enjoyed watching her "learn" to swim. I am planning on putting her in lesson every year.

Yesterday Lexie and I met up with my mom and her 2 sisters at her nursing home. She told me they were having a "beauty pageant" of some kind. Last week I took her a dress to wear thinking that is was just another activity. I started thinking that it was a "big activity" when I pulled up and had to park in the church parking lot due to the fact that the parking lot at the nursing home was empty. We walked in and there were TONS of people. Apparently what my mom deemed a "beauty pageant" was actually the Annual crowing of the King and Queen of the nursing home. There were a total of 8 women participating (mom being one) and 3 men. The place was decked out! I walked mom down while they gave a little speech about each participant. Then each participant was asked a "question". Mom's question was "What is the greatest gift you've ever been given". Mom's answer "My two girls". After the "voting" took place they announced the winners. Lo and behold MIMI won!! She was so excited and we were excited for her. Apparently, after talking with my sister last night, this is a big deal in the "nursing home world". I'm so proud of Mimi and so is everyone else!

Lexie and Mimi

Swim Lessons

This week Lexie started swimming lessons. I've been waiting for these 2 weeks since the beginning of the summer. We decided to sign her up at the local YMCA this year and so far it has been great. One of her best buddies (who also happens to be a neighbor) is also going so it was an easy transition into the class since they had each other.

Lexie LOVES the water. She has always loved taking baths, playing in the pool, playing at splash pads, waterparks and anywhere else she can get into the water. The only thing that worries me is that Lexie is fearless. She's pretty fearless about everything and the fact that she sees a huge pool and just immediately wants to jump in sometimes scares me. We have talked alot about NOT getting in pools (or any water for that matter) without mommy, daddy or another adult around and she does pretty good with that portion of it. I just feel that learning to swim is such a vital life skill and I'm glad the YMCA provides these lessons for the local community.


This was before we left. I was cleaning out my car and she decided that she would like to sit in the passenger's seat of my car in order to eat her snack. She is so cute.


This was at the very beginning of swim lessons. Her teacher was trying to convince her to go under. Yeah, she was a tad bit skeptical and wasn't buying it. I must say that this is such a "Carol" look. No lie. She got that honestly.


This is her "kicking". By this point she had warmed up pretty well and was having a great time.



Here she is practicing her "swimming arms".


Attempting to float on her back. :)


We have a long way to go but I'm hoping to continue lessons every summer so that she will be proficient in the pool.

Water play area!!

Lexie is a water baby through and through! We are lucky enough to live close to a park that has a "water play" area. She loves it. It's usually to hot to go early in the day so we usually make trips after supper in the evenings. It's only about a 5 min drive from our house so it's PERFECT for cooling off after a long day. Last Friday night we decided to try out her new bathing suit. You know, she just NEEDED that new bathing suit. :)

Waiting for the "buckets" of water to fall.


They always miss her because she never stands in the right place! I love how this picture turned out.


This is her silly face.


Doing what she does best. RUNNING!


So far we are enjoying our little "break" from school/daycare. Friday we did some much needed grocery shopping. Today we hit the gym and then headed to the library and to Brookshires for an Icee. She loves those things!! Today she starts swimming lessons for the next 2 weeks. I'm so excited to see how she does. I'll be sure to load lots of pictures tomorrow!

Goats, Birds, Gymanstics and Visiting. That covers it!

This past weekend we decided to take a short overnight trip to Tyler, TX. Saturday we visited the Tyler Zoo and had a great time. As you can see, these goats were LOVING the attention from everyone. I'm not sure who enjoyed them more, Lexie or Ryan. LOL.





After looking around we decided to feed the birds. Lexie and Ryan have done this before but this was my first time. I loved it! This bird was slightly heavy and just really fidgety hence my facial expression.



Sunday morning we got up and went to The Villages Waterpark. Lexie enjoyed it but Ryan and I thought it was pretty lame. Entirely too small for an indoor waterpark. Oh well, at least we tried it and we had free tickets so we weren't out any money.

Silly girl resting before we left! She loved that big bed. Made for a princess!



On Tuesday I decided to take a couple of pictures of her during gymnastics. I STILL haven't figured out how to get good pictures with my camera in the gym lighting so this was the best I could do. I'm so proud of her! When she first started she was very leary of the beam. Now she LOVES it. She really does thrive at gymnastics and will be moving up to the next class in the summer. While I'm glad she is doing so well, it makes me sad to think how much she is growing!



When we arrived on Tuesday, our friend Brody was just finishing up his lesson. I snapped a cute picture of him, Lexie and Mrs Lora. Lexie LOVES Lora and she is so awesome with those kiddos! So grateful to have her teaching Lexie. :)



Yesterday Mimi came to visit us. I picked her up shortly after getting Lexie from preschool and we went to Walmart and did some shopping. We came back home and she spent the afternoon with us. They had such a good time. Lexie loved laying on the couch and cuddling with Mimi. I'm so grateful for mom's health and that she is able to watch this baby grow up!