Daddy's Girls

Yesterday was the park with VBS friends. We were only there about an hour because it was just too hot to even be in the water.  They still had a good time but other than that it was mostly a chill day. Matt stayed at the camp and the girls and I watched 3 movies. A much needed recharge. Today was the final VBS day and we had to say goodbye to our wonderful children’s director who has been there since before Lilli was born. She’s all we’ve ever known and we sure will miss her!  She got a job as a teacher so we’ll still see her every Sunday but not as director. I’m sure they’ll find someone wonderful but it will be hard to follow in her shoes.  From there it was skating  And then our neighbors invited us down to swim.  I bet I know 4 girls that will sleep well tonight! Mama too! Cousin camp has been fun but nonstop. I’m trying to keep them busy by doing at least one thing a day because too much closeness in our house causes arguing. :)  But when they don’t get bored they get along perfec

It’s been an exhausting week so far around here but we sure are having fun! Monday started Vacation Bible School at our church and we were up bright and early and there at 8:00.  They have been having a lot of fun and learning so much. The theme this year is Shipwrecked and so far the message of each day has been if you are lonely, worrying or struggling... Jesus rescues. I’m excited to see what the message is today. Anna is too old and is volunteering. The first day she went with Piper and Lilli which made for a sad KatieJane. But since then she’s been with Katie and now everyone is happy. She likes it better over there anyway because she’s older and feels more like a counselor than she did before.  That goes from 8:00-12:00 each day but the fun doesn’t stop there! Monday was straight to see the Incredibles 2 and yesterday was lunch and then bowling with Bridget and Aubrey too (Tuesday we came back to the house to play).  And on top of all of this I’ve been showing houses at 5:30 Mond

These cousins are having a blast together and it’s going so well! Not really any fighting (or bugging me, ha!) so I can’t complain. Saturday morning was a repeat of Friday night. They stayed outside in the pool and on the trampoline for hours and even ate breakfast out there. It gave me time to clean up and get some work done. Then that afternoon we went to Altitude for a 2 hour jump before coming home to Johnny’s pizza and renting the first Incredibles movie.  Katie didn’t make it and was OUT by 6:15. Too much for this little one.  Then today was a lazy day for them. They rode around with me while I put out open house signs and then played in the pool for about an hour. They needed a rest day though because they were playing and watching TV in Katie’s room when I left for work and still there when I got back. I don’t think Matt was complaining. :) Being silly- Lilli and Piper are going to be mad at me one day for this!  And tonight was burgers together. Our dining room may be tiny but

Lilli and Katie have been counting down the days to today since we got back from the beach. Their cousins are here!! Piper and Anna arrived about 5:30 to spend the next TEN nights with us. Jen and Ryan are making a road trip with friends to the Grand Canyon and Daniel is with Luke. They had the option to stay with Pops and Honey but when they asked if they could spend the time with their cousins, how could we say no? We have lots of fun planned including vacation Bible school all next week. Lillian and Piper will be together and Anna is volunteering with me. (Katie has her friends so she’ll be good) Plus swimming, a movie, Altitude... it’ll be a staycation for my girls. More posts of the fun to come.  Lillian has also been counting the days to today because she has been excited about our mommy and me day for over a month. I’ve been promising to take her to Jurassic World on opening day and we went this morning. We went to the theater in Shreveport with reclining seats and I’ll never be

We took our first ever professional whole family pictures when we were at the beach. You think this is it? Nope! This is the one we caught with a timer when everyone was dressed and ready for pictures just as it started pouring and we had to reschedule for the next day. So crazy every single one of us is looking and smiling! Can’t wait to see how the beach ones turn out! 

I mentioned just last night that Matt and I were looking forward to getting back into routine. He was up and out the door before 6 o’clock this morning and I had the babysitter scheduled to be there all day for my closing and so I could get to the office. My goal is to get something under contract every month and I’ve only got two more weeks to get it done. That wasn’t in the cards this morning because poor Katie Jane woke up with a sore throat, fever and throwing up. She’s had the sore throat since probably our fourth day at the beach but I assumed it was sand and salt. I guess I was wrong because she feels terrible. A closing is the only thing in my job that I 100% cannot reschedule or not show up for. And a five-year-old throwing up it’s more than a 15-year-old can handle so I had to call Matt to come home and he was back at the house at 7:30. I’m sitting in the parking lot of the title company as I write this and praying that our 11 o’clock doctor appointment this morning will have

Happy Father’s Day to the best Dads I know! I have always had a great relationship with my Dad and love that it’s stayed that way as I became an adult and that he’s such a great Pops to our girls. And I am lucky to have a Capn that is so generous and kind to his whole family and helped to raise the man that I love and turn him in to who he is today. And I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have found such a caring and loving husband and father in Matt. He may not be perfect to everyone but he definitely is to me! I know I’m being mushy but I truly do feel so blessed!  We’ve had a very low key Fathers Day weekend. We got back late Friday so yesterday was spent cleaning, grocery shopping and going to the office and a final walk through for me. Everyone else stayed around here. Today we did NOTHING and that’s exactly what Matt wanted. We’ve watched 3 movies from Redbox, cuddled with the animals we missed and did some napping.  He woke up this morning to his girls giving him his g

We started our beach trip a day early with a night in Baton Rouge visiting family. The kids got to swim with cousins and we got to visit with the adults. We hadn’t seen them since Easter because Matt’s ordeal made us cancel one trip so it was really nice.  That night Lilli showed me a rash on her leg that I assumed was a heat rash from all the running around she was doing. By the time she woke up that morning it was obvious it was more than that. We had planned to leave at 730 that morning but instead we were at urgent care being diagnosed with an allergy to sulfa drugs. She had been on an antibiotic she had never tried before and the doctor said that being that the rash had spread to her face we were close to it being very serious. Luckily we caught it in time and by 10:30 we were in the car with meds filled and finally headed to the beach.  It had her feeling crummy for the first two days but by Monday she was ready to go! We have a referral in to an allergy doc to see if there is an

When Matt and I take trips alone we spend all day on the beach and never have a need to do anything else. But with kids there are other memories to be made. What trip to the beach is complete without a trip to the souvenir store? We ended up with airbrushed T-shirts and four new hermit crabs. Our one from last year survived a year. And we talked with the “hermit crab guru” (as Matt called her) at the store so hopefully we know what we need to do now for them to have a long and happy life. She had one that was 16 years old! One morning the whole family went to The Hangout for breakfast. They serve breakfast family style with a pirate and princess theme for the kids. They got to go on a treasure hunt and it was definitely a lot of fun. And our last night we went on our evening crab hunt. Lillian, Katie and Austin caught a total of 51! Definitely a new record. Lilli said that was her favorite part of the whole trip! And it has become a tradition every year for Yaya and Capn to keep all t

We are home after a wonderful week with the “deer camp family” in Gulf Shores. Yaya and Capn are so generous and have taken us 4 years in a row to enjoy the sand, sun and family time. This is the 2nd year at this same house and it’s already booked for next year so I think we have found the one! The weather was nice. It did rain everyday but all but two storms didn’t start until we were already in for the evening anyway so I’d call that perfect for June on the Gulf!  Capn would start every morning with taking the kids to the beach before the rest of us were ready. It’s so nice to have a cup of coffee in peace and I know this is a memory they will always have. He has done it every year. After coffee and breakfast the rest of us are down there for a day of laughing and relaxing together.  Most of our days were spent doing this. Sitting in our chairs watching the kids play in the sand and surf. Matt and I will remember this trip as the year Katie started to really appreciate the beach. She

That was one of my Papa’s famous quotes that he truly believed. And if it’s true, we must be ecstatic this week. :) I had a babysitter come 3 times so that I could go to training, a meeting and phone duty at the office. On top of that I was shopping, cooking, cleaning, packing to get ready for our beach trip that we leave on tomorrow. (Yay!!) Even though it’s been busy for me, I still wanted the kids to have some fun. Lilli went to science camp 3 mornings. She loved doing experiments and being with her friends but said they didn’t really teach her anything she didn’t already know. (Which isn’t surprising considering her love of it.) Katie and I met a friend at Chuck E. Cheese while she was there one day, we all went swimming at a different friend’s house after camp, and had lunch and play time at McDonald’s after the last day today.  They also finally got to meet Josie when we went to Cara’s house. She needed a shower and I needed baby snuggles before we leave. She is getting so big an

We’re finally starting to get it to a routine around the house and enjoy the summer. Matt went back to work Thursday. (He’s still way more sore than we expected but he’s moving better) And the girls and I got in some time with friends. We went to the bowling alley on Barksdale Airforce Base and they loved it. It was Katie’s first time to bowl and she won the first game! And we spent the weekend in Arkansas to be able to relax but with a change of scenery. Katie learned how to ride a kid 4 wheeler and she sure felt like such a big kid!  They spent all day outside and Matt and I got to relax with a great view! I know from experience that the camp is the best place to recover and I think Matt now agrees.