Sweet Lil' C turned seven years old! She showed me how tall she was compared to the kitchen counter. (Is this the last year she'll do that? I hope not!) Seven sounds so big. She started her second grade school year last week! (We thrive on structure around here, so a whole summer off just doesn't work for us.)
We had a great time last weekend grilling out with some family to celebrate both Hannie and Charis' birthdays. The end of June through mid-July is solid birthday partying. The dollar store decor stays up in our kitchen for an entire three weeks, although I did remove the huge plastic sign on our front door which said - in letters large enough to read from the street - "THE PARTY IS HERE!" We just don't know our neighbors well enough to leave that one up for too long.
Here are a ton of pics from the fun. They're a little out of order.
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| Charis feels shy about opening presents while everyone's watching, so she acts a little reserved, but she was super excited about her real crystal and plastic clip-on earrings! Care-Care, you are our sweet, smart, energetic, helpful girl who still likes to "start the engine of the world" after all these years. We absolutely treasure you and we're excited to watch as you become a young lady! |
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| Look at that front tooth! She's firmly opposed to yanking it out. Just for the record we did have more for her bday dinner than just lettuce. The plates had not been served yet... |
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| This is one of Bethy's first pics of Mommy and the children! |
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| Swimmin' today in the 90+ degree heat. This pool is the BEST $20 investment we have EVER made. The big girls are actually learning to swim in this thing! |
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| Cookout Princesses and King James. Sus kept singing, "I a boootiful princess..." |
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| Can't resist that dimple! |
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| Staying cool. |
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| Love this pic of the ladies. |
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| Charis loves her Auntie Sarah |
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| Fig & some of her Yummies |
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| Every baby boy needs some snuggles from Pop! |
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| Sally & smiley Baby John |
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| Just waking up. |
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| Love! |
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| Figgy's homemade cheese balls make the party. I think we finished these within a few days. |
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| Little Besties already! |
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| Sus was putting on a little concert & Uncle Steve was enjoying the tunes! |
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| The big girls were each allowed to invite one friend to the cookout, so they invited their new sweet buddies, Kara and Cassidy. They all danced and put on shows on the stage - I mean hearth - late into the night. |
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| CAKE! |
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| The kids table. Okay Sal, if you want to pin the decorations, this would be the perfect photo. |
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| They have a blast in this pool! |
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| Cassidy, Care, Kara |
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| Aunt Sarah & Baby John had some bonding time. |
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| Those curls! |
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| They've been so bejeweled with all the special gifts from Granna & Gdaddy! |
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| It was so much fun to have them here! |
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| Baby John was still sleepy & slightly overwhelmed after nap! |
Now that summer birthdays have passed, I've been researching various blogs to makeover our grocery shopping and menu planning practices to become more efficient. We recently discovered ALDI within 25 minutes from us. The kids and I went last weekend and we were so impressed! We also learned that yogurt can be made at home, without special equipment, for the cost of regular milk. Does everyone else in the world already know this?? It was like Christmas when I woke up this morning to find two quarts of homemade yogurt on the counter! And I'm not even a good cook or DIY-er!
Looking forward to a busy week of school & visitors. Hoping your week is off to a good start!
