Water Park Fun!!

June 1st: First Trip to Whirlin' Waters

We lived in Charleston for 10 years, but we never made it to any of the water parks. Richard is beyond pasty, and the sun is just not his friend... so, as single people/daters/young marrieds without kids... it wasn't something we did. Then we had Blakely, and we always talked about going, but when we moved she wasn't even 2 year old yet... so we didn't go. Now that we live in Lexington, Banks and Blakely are finally into water slides, so we decided it would be fun to use that last day of Rich's Stay-cation to check it out. What a blast! We will definitely be going again!!

These two love the pool this summer, and we knew they would love a water park! Blakely loved the lazy river, and Banks loved the wave pool. But they both LOVED the water slides!!

6 lanes of racing water slides! We went down these (Rich, me and Blakely) holding hands like 100x! I love this era of childhood when she still thinks her parents are cool!

"Mom! Mom! I love this!"

Great way to end Richard's vacation!!

And the winner is....?

 

Bankster had a great day!!

Alyssa and her boy!!

Usually, it is Alyssa and I with all 4 kids. It was so nice to have MORE adults than kids, and to spend the day with just our big kids! They got some well deserved special attention. Love them.

Banks loved the "Pink tube slide!"

 

Only 1 1/2 hours from the house and a whole lot of fun... we will be coming again! See you next time Whirlin' Waters!!

 

Beauty and the Ballet

May 26th: Princess Ballet Recital

This past year, Blakely was in her very first ballet class. She did very well, and made a lot of new friends. She had a great teacher names Ms. Amy, and we are very grateful for such a fun, positive first experience with dance!

In lieu of costumes, the girls were told to wear a princess dress with their tights and shoes.

Left to Right: We had Cinderella, Anna, Elsa, Belle and (I don't know??).

Blakely's current favorite princess is Ariel, but when we put that dress on it held her legs too close together (because its a mermaids tail!) to allow her to dance, so she went with her second favorite: Belle!

My Silly girl!

Katy Ellis was pretty excited to be allowed to go in the room with mirrors.

Blakely's adoring fan base!

We are ready for the performance to begin!!!

They danced to "Bibbity, Bobbity Boo" from Cinderella and "Let It Go" from Frozen.

Blakely was always quick to find her mark and paid close attention to the teacher the whole time.

She loves dancing, and it was such a cute performance.

So silly... but I got a little misty watching her dance! Ha! Crazy weepy mama.

Blakely is good student, and so well behaved during her recital. I was very, very proud of her!!

After the recital, she let them free dance to "Let It Go," and told them to sing it loud! Always quick to obey Ms. Amy, Blakely starts singing loudly (WAY off key) "Let it go! Let it go!" She was so happy!!

Blurry, but Blakely LOVES Ms. Amy!!

They each got a certificate for their performance with a superlative on it. Blakely's was "Best Smile."

Daddy got work off to attend the performance, and he brought Blakely a bouquet with pink roses. Pink roses are Blakely's favorite flower!

Daddy and his Tiny Dancer!!

Thank you Ms. Amy!! We love you!!

Auntie loves her Blakely girl!!

Banks made Blakely a sweet congratulations card! He was so proud to give it to her!!

GG with all 4 Grands! This is as good as a picture with all of them in it gets! HA! Love this motley crew!!

Congratulations Blakely!! You did a great job!!

Memorial Day 2015

May 25th: Memorial Day at the Lake

We had a restful, magical memorial day this year!! The day started off cooler and overcast, so the boys got some fishing time in with Banks and Blakely. Not so excited about the fishing process, but man do these two love to have a fish in their nets!!

GG and PopPop had a big slumber party with all 4 kiddos that night before (it was Rich and I's 7th Wedding Anniversary), so we were able to get over there extra early for coffee and jammie time on the porch. When we had a lake house, this was my favorite time of the day on the lake. Everything cool and quiet; enjoying a cup of coffee with family. *sigh* Perfection!!

CeeCee helping Blakely with the early morning fishing!!

These kiddos love it when the daddies catch a fish!!

They had to take turns with who got to have the fish in their nets. They were so proud!

Yes, that is a worm in Blakely's hand. Girlie she may be, but prissy she ain't!

....and the kids favorite part. The release! They love letting the fish go back into the water, and seeing how quickly they swim away.

First Mable ride of the day was a little TOO slow for these two dare devils. Maybe you can go faster later...?

After fishing, the boys went back to manning the smoker. They smoked so delicious pork and BBQ. So, so good.

Last summer, Katy Ellis was just a little squirt and scared of the beach and the water. This year she is really, really loving the sandy beach. She loves to eat sand... its a problem.

GG and her little bit!

The water was FREEZING and it was not that warm out... didn't seem to stop these two water bugs.

The mandatory family shot... love this crew!

PopPop with his two best girls in the sprinkler.

Blakely loves it.... Katy Ellis is not so sure.

For desert we had carrot cake and homemade ice cream! Delicious.

First Big Mable ride as big kids for these two! PopPop even got the boat up to 15 mph. Would be considered slow for an adult, but the littles felt like they were flying!!

Such a perfect day!! Thank you GG and PopPop for hosting a wonderful Memorial Day!!