One of my favorite things about summer is.......

.........eating home-grown tomatoes!  As a kid, I hated them, but I have sure made up for that now.  I love them by themselves with just a sprinkle of Tony Chacheres!  Some of our friends have a garden with their parents, so I get to share in the spoils!!!  I could eat them until I made myself sick!

I also love fresh peaches during the summer!  The best peaches come from south Arkansas, no doubt!

Pillowcase Dresses and Doll Clothes

     My mom had some extra fabric at her house that the girls had been playing with and I got an idea to try and make cute pillowcase dresses for their American Girl dolls.  I knew that making normal size pillowcase dresses was pretty easy.  So, why not miniature size?  Tori picked out some fabric and ribbon and my mom said that they would try and work on it.  Well, they ran out of time, so Tori brought the fabric and ribbon home to me.  Yes, I do have a sewing machine.  No, I don't even know how to thread it!  :) 
     So, I called in reinforcements.  I called my friend Devon (who happens to be a very good seamstress) and told her my idea.  She said we could do even better than that.  She would run by Hobby Lobby and get enough fabric for her two girls and Tori to all have matching dresses with their dolls!  Yeah!  I was pumped.  So, yesterday Devon and the girls came over.  The kids had tons of fun playing and we (I use that term loosely) had tons of fun sewing!! :)  Devon is amazing.....she whipped out the three big girls dresses like it was nothing and then we ran out of time, so the doll dresses will have to wait for another day. 
     I did get my sewing machine out and after Devon loaded the bobbin and got it ready, I made Tori's doll (Lacey) a pair of shorts, all by myself (with Devon showing me how step-by-step)!  It was so easy and fun!! 

Devon hard at work

Tori's dress

Lacey's shorts that I made

 I can't wait until we play again!  I'll try to remember to post a picture later of all three girls and their dolls in matching dresses.  It should be cute....Lacey just might get herself a whole new wardrobe!!  :) 





Robert Playing Softball

Robert played softball again this year for our church's team.  It was so hot this summer that the kids and I didn't go to many of the games.  These pictures are from his last game on Tuesday...I think they got second place in the league.  It's so strange to be married to someone who is so competitive, because I do not have a competitive bone in my body.

Tori lost her second front tooth, while eating nachos!

Robert playing first base

Robert batting

I tried to get a picture of Carson playing with all the little boys, but this is the best I got.
They were a blur the whole time, running around chasing each other.
They had the best time!

Cousin Camp

The kids had tons of fun at Cousin Camp!  My kids love going to my hometown, because my whole family and my husband's whole family all still live there.  So a weekend there equals overload of cousin and family time.......and they love it!!  We spend some time with my family and then when they all get burned out and go home to rest, we move over and spend time with Robert's family.  So, it is pretty much non-stop fun for my kids!  Last week my mom had all of her seven grandkids at her house for the whole week!  Here are a few pics she took of some of the fun things they did.

Breakfast in the backyard, minus Grace (she had a stomach bug)

Playing with her puppy, Molly.  Looks like Molly is checking out a turtle

They also made cute "Cousin Camp" t-shirts
 (Katie, Natalie, Tori, and Carson modeling the shirts)

This is what they put on the front of their shirts

THE BACK

I'm sure they made tons of sweet treats.....not sure what this was

Of course, they all had to get in the bathtub to give Molly her first bath...poor
Molly, she may never be the same

I am so glad that my family and Robert's family are both "family-oriented."  Not all families put priority on spending time together as a family, so we are lucky to come from two great families!  I know that my kids will forever cherish these great memories they are making.  Thanks, Mom, for a week off of mommy duty....much enjoyed!!

Carson's End of Year T-Ball Party

Carson had so much fun playing t-ball this year.....even with a broken arm!  The team that he played on had their end-of-the year party at Larry's Pizza a few days ago.  Carson was so excited to get his first trophy!  Carson has a bunch of his dad's baseball trophies up on his shelf in his room and he proudly told his daddy that they were going to have to move those trophies, so he could put his up!  hahaha!

Carson being presented his trophy

All the team members that were able to be there, showing off their new trophies

Michael, Bentley, Carson, and Sam

Waiting for CAKE!!

Carson with Coach Michael

Sewing the Seed has a blog!

My friend Nitzia and I have been working on a blog for our new ministry, Sewing the Seed. It is now up and running, so I wanted to share it with you. You can check it out by visiting: http://www.gsfbcsewingtheseed.blogspot.com/

You can also find information about the ministry on facebook and join the facebook group.

Now you see them.........

....and now you don't!!!

 Yeah!!  I got my braces off today after wearing them for a year and eight months!

I  also drove my kids to my hometown today to spend the week with my mom.  All the grandkids are staying with her this week, they call it "Cousin's Camp."  They were so excited to be going down and spend time with their cousins and they have several projects that they have planned.

Did I mention that our kids are out of town all week?!!  Yeah!!

My hubby took me out to eat tonight to celebrate being braceless and

we have a Redbox rented for later. 

I have a list of projects that I want to get done during the day when I am at home alone this week and then looking forward to spending some quiet time at night with my hubby!

Lake Fun

This weekend we went to the lake with some our good friends.  We have all been friends since college days and we would dream about what we would do once we were all married with kids.  We are lucky enough to now live very close to each other and our kids are getting to grow up together.

Carson LOVED the water!  One of his favorite parts was his daddy throwing him up in the air off the boat and him landing in the water.  He did get spanked by the water a few times, though.

Devon and the three girls tubing.  Devon's going to love I posted this pick.  Ashlyn hated getting the water in her eyes and she would cry because she couldn't see.  Devon would let go with one hand and without looking, reach over and wipe Ashlyn's eyes off for her.......that's a full service momma!!

Robert and me taking a turn....we aren't actually moving yet in this picture.  The action shots were not so great.....I look like I'm laughing, crying, and squinting all at the same time.  :)

Robert with Carson, Tori, and Reece

These two were our daredevils.  Just look at those faces....they were so focused.  We couldn't go fast enough and jump high enough for them.  They both said that it was the best day of their life and
that they wanted to tube until they die!  Ha, ha!

More Summer Fun!

Once Robert got safely home from Peru we stayed a few extra days in our hometown to celebrate the 4th of July!  Over the weekend we experienced our first movie in 3D.  We saw Cars 2!  I must say that I was a little disappointed.....I'm not sure that was the best movie to see in 3D.  It was a cute movie, but there didn't seem to be much 3D special effects.  I was expecting the cars to come speeding off the screen at me.

The boys stylin' in their 3D glasses

The girls sporting our glasses, too!

We have been having a great summer.....it is flying by so quickly!  I feel like I'm constantly catching up on here instead of blogging as we go.  Guess that is just how it's going to roll this summer!  I will try to hit the highlights.

A few weeks ago Tori had fun going to VBS with a friend that goes to a different church.  On Family Night the kids got to ride a camel.  Tori was hanging out with her friends family, so I didn't get a picture of her. 

The kids have also been to several birthday parties lately.  One of Tori's best friends from school had her party at Playtime Pizza.  Playtime Pizza is crazy!!  The kids had a blast, but there were so many kids running around and the music was so loud.....I think I must be getting old, because I was glad when it was time to go! 

Robert spent a week in Peru on a mission trip, so the kids and I went to my hometown to spend some time with family.  At the end of the week, Tori and I went with two of our friends on a little girl's trip to Dallas.  Instead of having a birthday party, one of Tori's best friends wanted to go to the American Girl Store and the Galleria for her birthday.   So she and her mom (which happens to be one of my best friends as well) invited us to go to Dallas for the weekend.  The girls had so much fun.....and us moms had a great time, too!!

Tori, Lacey, Laney, and Emma were all smiles, so excited to hit the road!

Here they are as they entered the American Girl Store.  Tori has only been to the actual store once and this was Emma's first time.  It is quite overwhelming because there is so much fun stuff to see!

The girls got their dolls' hair done in the beauty shop! The ladies were so sweet and really pampered the dolls and little owners!  :)

Here is Tori and Lacey in the Bistro after Lacey had gotten her hair done.  It was time for our dinner reservations in the bistro before Lacey's hair got done, so the stylist delivered her to our table.  I'm telling you the staff there really go all out to make girls and their dolls feel special. 

It was so much fun to watch our girls experience this wonderland for little girls.  Even the waiter pampered the dolls and their little owners.  Tori and Emma were grinning from ear to ear the whole time!

They were just as excited about our hotel!  It was very nice.....thanks to Hannah's husband!

Lacey and Laney both got new swimsuits at the American Girl Store, so of course they had to
sport them at the hotel pool and hot tub with Tori and Emma!  :)  Lacey and Laney just did some sun bathing while the big girls swam!

SHOP TIL YOU DROP!!  Here the girls are in our hotel lobby.  The color scheme in the hotel was PINK!  We couldn't believe it......it went along perfect with our girly American Girl Store weekend theme!

The next morning we ate at the coolest McDonald's ever!  It was shaped like a happy meal and Big Mac.

Then it was off to the Galleria to shop. Emma still had a little birthday money left that she didn't spend at the American Girl Store the day before.  The girls got necklaces that connect to say "Best Friends."

Hannah and Emma resting a minute on a bench in the Galleria.
Thanks girls for such a fun weekend....we'll never forget it!