I'm a BIG girl now!

Daddy bought Lily a big girl bike this summer, and at first she LOVED riding it, but then she took a couple tumbles & from then on she refused to ride her bike. We tried everything we could think of to get her back on, but she was terrified. One day we were shopping I saw these princess elbow & knee pads & had a brilliant idea...I showed them to Lily knowing she loves anything with princesses on it & explained to her what they were. I told her they protect her elbows & knees in case she falls off her bike while she is riding. Because she always wants anything to do with princesses, she asked if we could take them home to try them. I had her promise that if we got them she would try to ride her bike when we got home & she agreed. Well, my idea worked & she has been riding her bike ever since! YAY!!! We are SO proud of her!!

Fun at Mimi & Grants house

We all had such a fun trip to Texas before Daddy had to leave for Kuwait. Here's Princess Lily at one of her infamous tea parties...and Lily & Daddy playing in the speed boat in the pool. Lily always spends hours in the pool whenever we visit - we can hardly ever get her out! Swimming is one of her favorite things to do.

Lily hiding at the beach house. We found this boogie board in the garage at the beach house, but had no idea how well it would go over. Lily spent the majority of the day playing with it. She had Mommy & Grant pulling her along the shore & Mommy held the boogie board so Lily could ride over the waves on it.

We all posed for a family photo - but we're missing Lily!

(There are more pics I would like to post on here, but they won't load on here for some reason...Sorry!)

4th of July 06

We drove back from Pennsylvania just in time for the fireworks celebration on post. Unfortunately the fireworks were cancelled because of bad weather, so we drove to the next town over to watch fireworks there. Lexi, Paige, Lily & AJ watched the fireworks from the roof of my car. Then we went back home & Lily & Paige played with sparklers while Daddy & his friends set off their own fireworks. What a show!





Lily in her 4th of July outfit. (Thank you Mimi!)

Sesame Place

Our last stop in Pennsylvania was Sesame Place. What a great place for kids! Lily thought seeing her favorite Sesame Street characters was awesome. Cookie Monster took a special interest in Daddy, which Lily thought was hilarious. We had a lot of fun at the water park & Lily went on her first water slide all by herself! She said that was her favorite part of the whole trip. Daddy & Lily played in the pool & Lily danced along to the parade music from the best seat in the house - Daddy's shoulders! What a fun day!!

Lily & Zoe

Daddy & Cookie Monster

Lily & Big Bird

Lily & Elmo!

Lily, Daddy, Bert & Ernie

Lily & Telly

Lily, Mommy & Cookie Monster

Lily in the pool

Lily & Daddy about to make a run for it!

Amish Country

Our next stop in Pennsylvania was Lancaster - or "Amish Country". It was really interesting to see all the people who live without modern conveniences like indoor plumbing or electricity. It was so beautiful there! Farmland as far as you could see. We took a horse & buggy tour through Amish Country which Lily really enjoyed. She also found a new "friend (as she called it) - a ladybug (on the stick she's holding) while we were waiting for our horse & buggy. I think we wore her out though because she fell asleep almost as soon as we got in the car that evening!

Hershey, PA

These pics are from our Pennsylvania vacation this summer. Our first stop was Hershey, PA.

They were looking for new factory workers at the Hershey factory & Lily had the right qualifications! She got her own employee ID card & everything. She filled a container with Hershey Kisses as they came out of the machine, then sealed it, shook it, spun around, did a little dance & put it on the conveyor belt to be shipped out.
Lily bought the biggest cookie she could find with her first "paycheck" from the factory!

Lucky Find

We found these firetrucks in a parking lot when we stopped for lunch on our way to Pennsylvania. The firemen were nice enough to let Lily & Daddy pose for pictures.

Antique firetruck

Hot Summer Days

Lily & Paige swam in the pool & ran in the sprinkler before posing for this pic while waiting for their popsicles. Nothing like a hot summer day!

Look what I can do!

I can't describe how much Lily likes to color, draw & paint. She is always drawing or coloring something. One day Lily asked me how to write her name. I helped her a couple times & then I wrote her name on a piece of paper for her to look at while she was trying to do it herself. She completely shocked me when she actually did it all by herself!! She still has a little trouble with the size of her letters, but she is getting better & better every time she practices. Here are some pics of her writing her name & the finished product. She is just as proud as we are!!

Bless You

I thought this was the cutest story ever...
Tonight when we were eating dinner, Lily sneezed. After she sneezed she looked down at her chest & said "Ohhh noooo Mama, I got bless you all over me!"