Fourth of July

The last day of church camp was the 4th of July. So, after unpacking and cleaning up, we headed down to the church. I was able to find Annie and Mia matching shirts--which is good while Annie still likes to match her sister! I talked Annie into pigtails--probably for the last time.

This is Mia with Janie and Adison, her friends from church.

Mia and Scott......Unlike Annie, Mia doesn't seem to mind the noise, at all. So, no more headphones on the 4th--yah!!

Out to eat....

I know Sami will kill me for this, but, hey, she posed for the camera!!

I lvoe this picture of Stina and Mia....so sweet!

But, don't be fooled! This is Mia, in her natural state--even if she is a little blurry!

Annemarie's Birthday Dinner

Annemarie's birthday happened to fall on a Saturday this year, so we told her she could pick a place for everyone to go to dinner. She chose Cheescake Factory (for the 2nd year) which we are more than happy with (gone are the days of Chuck E. Cheese-thank goodness!). So, we all treked over to Riverside for dinner. The best part was that Greg was visiting from Wisconsin so he was able to come to dinner with us. It was so nice to see him--the girls were sooo excited to see Greggie--and Mia eventually warmed to him!!

Mia's Silly Face

My first baby girl......

and my second baby girl!!

Mia has never wanted to even consider getting her face painted. But, at school one day, her teacher decided to apint everyone's face and Mia hopped right into line! Her teacher asked her what she wanted and all Mia would say is "Mommy", so, this is what she ended up with. LOVE IT!!

Mia has now moved into a Toddler bed. We had planned on moving her right into a twin bed, but the one I want (from IKEA!!) is going to have to wait until we can save a bit of $$. But, Mia was starting to hoist her leg up onto the side rail of the crib, so we had to do something!!

She's really happy in her bed, tries to jump on it every chance she gets and loves to run from the other side of the room and fly into her bed! She has gotten out of bed more than a few times, but we just march her right back to bed and now I think she's got the point. One time, I even caught her playing.....She's getting so big!

I love, love, love this picture!! I don't remember what day this was, but it was in the last few weeks. Mia had been saying she wanted to swim by herself, but refuses to wear floaties. So, Sis was able to find a floatey suit. We put it on her and tried to get her to kick around a bit--but now she refuses to let go of whoever has her! UGH!! Swimming lessons for sure for this one! But, she loves the water. She does look a bit over-prepared, what with the floatey suit, ear plugs, head band......

First Day of School

So, my sister took the three big girls back to school shopping. Everyone got new outfits (which they are wearing), shoes, backpacks, etc.... I love my sister for being such a great aunt! Which is evident in the selection of Annie's outfit. Now, Annie LOVES this outfit. But, it's probably a good thing that Aunt Cathy was with her to pick it out instead of Uptight-Mom..... It's cute and all, it's just that there seems to be A LOT of the pattern...kinda everywhere. But, like I said, Annie loves it and loves her Aunt Cathy for leting her get it. Luckily, Annemarie doesn't care anymore if I like her clothes, so as long as they're appropriate, I don't care....too much! What kills me is that with all the neon colors, skinny jeans, Vans, even leg warmers, it's like I'm reliving my youth. The music from the 80's I don't mind, but please don't bring back parachute pants!!

It's so hard for me to fathom sometimes that Christina and Samantha are in 8th grade! I remember the day they were born. Yes, I realize that makes me sound really old, but it's true!! Next year-HIGH SCHOOL!! Pray for Sis and Tony ;-) Annie is now in 5th grade with middle school just a year away! So as not to break from tradition, I cried on the first day of school, but at least this year, I was able to hold it together until I got home (which made Annie happy!). Luckily, Mia was home from preschool that day, so that helped!

A few days before school started, Christina and Samantha got new haircuts. Sami has some side-swept bangs. She likes her hair long and it looks really nice!

Christina's hair is especially different. She looks so much older and as beautiful as ever!

Alas, Annemarie did not get a haircut....and she's informed me that "even if I do get a haircut, I only want a trim, I like it parted down the middle and long because it's easier to put up in a ponytail when I'm running around chasing boys......." That's pretty much where she stopped--her dad was in the room!! ;-)

Random stuff

This is Christina at her blue belt test. She's doing incredibly well in Karate-she's focused, and quite disciplined-it seems to suit her!! She is also a blue belt now. I can't believe she's in 8th grade!!

This is what happens when Nic and Mia are hanging out....poor Mia!

The girls put Mia in the laundry basket with some blankets and a pillow. Mia decided this is her boat--and that she needed some "things" to go with her in her boat....

Looking back at the blog, I don't think there is one picture of just Scott and I. I like this one because my husband doesn't look like he's high! ;-) So, here ya go.....and yep, it's a smooshed face photo!!

This is Samantha after her first ballet recital. She did awesome (and looks beautiful, too!!) and has been advancing quickly through the different ballet classes at the studio.

This is Annie at her green belt test (a few months ago). I have a hard time getting a good picture of the girls when their at karate, but this one is only a little blurry! I think she was in the middle of one of her forms......She's now a blue belt!!