Little Swimmers

We have swimmers on our hands! The kids took private swim lessons this summer and had lots of fun doing it while learning valuable skills at the same time. After their sessions were complete they still weren't swimming consistently but were on the verge. Then, while in Florida, Payson practiced and practiced and is now a little swimmer! Play the video below to see him in action:

Hayden wanted to play freely in her floaties rather than practice her new skills until we had a pool party with the cousins. She took one look at her cousin swim across the pool and then did it herself. She is one determined girl and, like with most things she does, she threw herself into it 100%. Hayden doesn't do things until she decides to and there's usually no in between. One day she crawls, the next day she walks. One day she poops in her diaper, the next day she is fully trained. One day she holds her fork or crayon incorrectly, the next day she holds it the right way and for thereafter. Most children have a learning and practicing period, like our other two children, for example. But not Hayden Elizabeth. Play the video below to watch Hayden swim. Oh yeah, and I catch her first two attempts at front flips in the water too:

Madison is making great progress as well but has not decided in her mind that she wants to practice. She can swim a short distance but spent much of her time in swim lessons being silly and playing games. That girl loves to play and have fun!

Keep up the good work little swimmers!

First Day of Preschool, Ballerinas and More

Hayden, Payson and Madison ready for their first day of preschool!

Best friends forever!

Kisses from my sisters- YUCK! (Actually, he loves it.)

The girls are loving their dance class. Hayden is always dancing around at home showing me what she has learned. But she also gets some good free stylin' going. We love dance parties in our house!

Nine adorable ballet beauties. (Madison and Hayden far right)

Cute as can be!

In other random news, we checked out a local science center with some friends and the kids had a great time. Surprisingly there were plenty of activities for the younger kids including this pulley and parachute system that Payson loved and perfected.

Madison made like a whale by touching ice first with a plain Ziploc bag and again with one filled with blubber. She learned that the blubber keeps whales warm even in very cold water.

We recently had my childhood dollhouse refurbished for the kids. It's amazing how good of shape it is in and how high quality the wood is. We furnished it with some great, although a bit too delicate, furniture which includes everything from a nursery to a formal dining room. It's pretty fancy in there!

And, of course, the kids loved it!

Back to life-sized news, Keith and I were part of a cooking competition with and against some of Keith's co-workers at a recent work event. We had set ingredients we had to use in a set amount of time. Our Cannonball, aka fried avocado stuffed with flank steak and cheese, was amazing and won us the "Best Presentation" award. Thanks to Scott's brilliant idea and Keith's mad cooking skills, we managed to pull off cooking something that none of us had ever made before!

Family Visits

We had a great time celebrating Roxanne's birthday with her in Oklahoma! The kids are always up for a festive celebration especially when it involves their Grammy (and dessert!).

We celebrated with a trip to the aquarium. It's always such a joy to see the kids spending such precious and fun times with their grandparents.

I was very impressed with the quality of the aquarium and the various exhibits. Here's Payson checking out Nemo and his friends. And, yes, that's Dori in there too!

The kids enjoyed all of the hands-on exhibits such as feeding stingrays and touching shrimp and crabs. Here are Grammy, Hayden, Daddy, GP and Madison feeding the turtles.

Let's take a closer look...

Afterwards we dined along the waterfront.

Back at home GP and Payson bonded over Legos. Payson is really good with the small Legos and has shown that he is ready to move on from the larger toddler Duplos. Like many boys his age, he could play with Legos for hours and Grammy and GP have a nice, large collection of interesting pieces to keep him entertained.

Payson had his first experience with the Wii and, like most males, he took to it right away and didn't want his video gaming to end. Like father, like son.

We enjoyed some adult time too catching up with good friends over dinner and dessert.

We also got to meet our sweet newborn nephew, Marshall. Payson has two sisters and 5 girl cousins so we are all excited to welcome a second boy to the family. Congrats Barry and Chelsey!

Keith was all smiles while holding his first nephew.

Madison still adores babies and this was her first time to ever hold a baby in the family.

My super 89-year-old Grandpa visited us this month and we had a great time with him here. Keith grilled up a whole red snapper for the occasion.

We had a swim party with the cousins who got to spend lots of time together during Grandpa's two-week visit. Silly swimmers!

Pizza party- YUM!

My mom and her dad.

The girls had a tea party with their stuffed animals and included Grandpa in the fun.

Payson giving his great-Grandpa a big hug. They had a great time, including playing t-ball together outside.

Thanks for visiting us, Grandpa!

Lost Pines

Last weekend we took a super fun trip to a resort called Hyatt Lost Pines with Keith's company. We took our wonderful babysitter and friend Liza along with us to help out for the long weekend. Soon after we arrived we put on our swimsuits and hit the lazy river. The kids were too big for the tubes but their Puddle Jumpers allowed them to float alongside us. It worked out perfectly!

The kids couldn't get enough of the water!

The slide became an instant hit and I think the kids went down nearly a dozen times each when they first discovered it.

The kids preferred company over riding solo on their way down. Here's Liza taking Madison down the slide.

Payson was timid at first but, with Daddy's urging, he went down the slide and was overtaken with joy!

Hayden just laughed and laughed. She loved it!

The next day Liza took the kids on a horse-drawn wagon ride while Keith and I checked out our bowman skills with a few games of archery. There's Keith on the left aiming for the last remaining Triceratops in the world.

The instructor equipped me with a fabulous pink bow.

How fabulous it is to find Sooner Schooners near Austin! You would think they would be banned!

It's getting easier and easier to travel as we have less and less gear to take with us. Madison and Payson did great sharing a double bed and Hayden was all about the roll-away. Looks like we might be able to take that Disney trip one day after all!

Florida Finale

Despite the thunderstorms we had our last few days in Florida, we made the best of it. We visited the Florida Gulfarium which the kids loved. Each of the kids fed the stingrays by hand. Here's Daddy showing them how to do it.

Payson's turn! They were all smiles and were so tickled by it.

The dolphin show was a big hit.

As were those silly sea lions.

At the airport, Keith led the kids in a few foot races to shake those last few sillies out before we boarded the plane.

They played, ate and watched movies on the plane but were fast asleep in the car before we even got off of the airport property.

Who knew that you could have a successful beach vacation with three 3-year-olds? Sure it wasn't exactly relaxing, but it was fun, fun and more fun!

Experiencing Florida

Playing.

Watching.

Dreaming.

Feeling.

Imagining.

Loving.

Experiencing.

Living.