Photo Booth Discovered

 I would like to say my girls are spending their summer learning a new language, computing calculus problems, and discovering a cure for the common cold. But in reality they are wasting away the hours on photo booth.  These pics are mainly for the grandparents.  Sorry to everyone else.  I found out today that Grace knows how to take her own photos.  I heard her in our office clicking away.  Most of her pics just had the top of her head in them.  As you can see, she improved as time went on.  

Dance Recital

Isabel, Caroline, and Charlotte are still loving "recreational" dance!  I call it recreational because that is about as far as we will be going in the dance world.  They all love it.  The girls started attending a new studio this last October.  I was so impressed with the performance...appropriate costumes (except for Caroline's short shorts), music, and dance moves. My only complaint is the cost for everything.  Costumes, tickets, and of course the dance DVD.  With 3 girls in dance, each in a different performance, I am looking at $75 of the cutest dance moves you have ever seen.  Who's performance should I cut out?  Caroline smiling and bouncing around while tapping away, Isabel dancing so elegantly to her jazz number, or Charlotte singing her heart out to The Cleanest Little Piggy in the Market?  I just can't seem skip any of them!

Scavengers

Last weekend we headed up North for a much needed weekend in the pines.  I know it is only June but I'm hot!  Too hot and too cranky because of the heat!  Eric and Jan invited us over for an afternoon filled with a scavenger hunt, a cook out, and yummy homemade ice cream sandwiches.  The girls spent every waking moment outside (except Charlotte, who played inside with Eric and Jan's new kitten).  Jan planned out the entire hunt with maps, stories, and treats.  The girls even had to use a digital camera to capture pictures of wildlife.  The girls had a blast.  Thank you, thank you!  Thanks for treating the girls to such an adventurous afternoon and thanks for helping me keep cool. 

I forgot.  Check out the picture of Charlotte with one shoe on.  She scraped her toe at the hotel pool and would not put a shoe back on.  Some how she managed to walk through pine needles and tall forest grass without injuring it any further!

Summer Sneaking By

What happened to summer picnics, catching fireflies, watermelon seed spitting contests, and all of those other lazy summer day activities?  First of all we live in a place where it is way too hot to do any of these and second there aren't any fireflies anywhere close to here.  Summer is flying by at record speed.  We have yet to make it to the library or mix up all of those science experiments I found online.  But for all we have missed out on, I love what we have done.  

Free Tuesdays at the local art museum.  The girls loved it!

Swimming, swimming, and more swimming.  From swim team meets to hanging out in gracious friends backyard pools, we love it.  

Summer movies, trips up North, and backyard water toys.  Anything to keep cool.

For now we will settle for an indoor picnic, unless we can find another friendly neighbor to crash their pool!

Happy Birthday, Grace!

Grace turns three!  Happy Birthday, Gracie Girl!  We love you!

No Moms Allowed

Blake and the three older girls headed up North for the annual  "Dads Only Camping Weekend". Otherwise known as "No Moms Allowed."  The girls get to fish, play in the dirt, hike, and catch crawdads all without me bugging them.  The only worry Isabel and Caroline had when they walked out the door was Charlotte.  This is her first trip and she insisted on wearing a skirt.  The older girls were so bothered with her attire that they kept repeating that you don't go camping in a skirt.  Charlotte had no worries about her outfit of choice. 

  

 

This is a tent only weekend.  No moms or trailers allowed.  Too bad Grace and I are missing it!  These pics are from an earlier camping trip.  I am sure they are up to the same fun, just a little dirtier. 

Grace really wasn't there but I thought this picture of her practicing her cast was too cute to leave out.

Dreams of Disneyland!

After sitting around on Memorial Day Weekend, we decided to join the rest of the country and take a mini vacation to Southern California.  Here are a few photos that spotlight our very quick trip.  

Here are the girl's highlights from the trip...

• Isabel's favorite ride was California Screamin' (a crazy roller coaster)
• Caroline's favorite rides were Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Grizzly River Run (lots of mountains involved!)
• Charlotte's favorite rides were the rockets and Soaring over California.  Least favorite ride the ferris wheel (notice picture from above with her sisters)
• Grace's favorite ride was Winnie the Pooh. (which we rode 4 times in a row)

Every visit over the past couple of years we are fortunate to run into old friends.  I saw two teachers I used to work with and their families, an old friend from high school, and a parent from my days teaching.  We also met up with the James family and their kiddos.  So much fun!

Grace as a Two Year Old

My last two year old.  I say this with sadness but also with relief.  Grace has always had a determined spirit.  She wants what she wants and wants it now.  She walked at 10 months, ran quickly away from me at 11 months, and climbed everything including our swing set at 12 months.  She has never looked back.  She is the only one to have dislocated an elbow, climbed out of her crib, and gone through a biting phase (unfortunately it occurred at the gym).  But with all of this energy and determination she also has a shy side.  She can be nervous around new people and frequently states she wants to go home.  She loves her family, her dog, and her Curious George Doll.  Next week Grace turns three and we are all looking forward to her many new adventures as a three year old.

Trailer Life

Two years ago or even eight months ago, I never would have thought we would be trailer owners. But last January, to the surprise of many friends we bought a travel trailer.  It has a cute little kitchen, bathroom with shower, and sleeps eight (actually more if you have small children who enjoy sleeping with their sisters).  The girls love it and Grace often asks to go tamping (camping).  The trailer has already seen Northern Arizona, Southern California, and a nearby lake.  If the price of gas wasn't so high I'm sure it would have been to a few more places by now.  All of these little trips are gearing us up for a two week vacation to Zion, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Colorado.  So to all of you that thought Blake would never go camping, he is out there in the great outdoors but safely tucked in a hard shell trailer!

Four Weddings

What a silly name for a blog!  Let me explain.  After the birth of our fourth daughter the comments about having four girls never seemed to stop.  We sometimes get the usual, "Four girls?  Have fun during those teenage years." or "Are they all so dramatic?" or "Those four weddings are going to cost you a fortune!"  We usually smile and move on but lately Blake makes sure that everyone knows that not only do we have four possible weddings but also four college tuitions to pay for first.   So here is this silly blog, mostly about four sweet girls with a mom that is hanging on by a thread and a dad who can't even talk about four weddings without a tear in his eye.