precious. . .

my sister-in-law is an amazing artist in every way. i just love this picture she took of emery. it is so precious. to check out more go to http://habit-of-art.blogspot.com/

papa and grandma's house

our kids are so blessed that both sets of grandparents have the most spectacular location for their homes! our kids favorite places on this planet are their grandparents houses! here they are above with their sweet cousins in grandma and papa's front lawn. i think this picture shows how much they love it there. . . the sheer joy on all their faces.

lulu walking down the road to join the big kids to pick blackberries. she looks like she is going on 16!

i am noticing i take a lot of pics with emery on aaron's shoulders. . i think it is so sweet and emery loves to snuggle her dad's head.

she is our snuggler. . there is not a better feeling then when your baby girl puts her head on your shoulder to snuggle.

amazing blackberries the kids picked.

so proud of themselves. . .

the walker. . showing off!

to say lucia adores her dad is the hugest understatement these two cannot get enough of each other. he has always called her sugar. . and now she calls him "sugar daddy." everyone always told me there is something really really special father - daughter and it is so true!

grandma's flowers are incredible look at that sunflower taller then grandma!

when emery wasn't practicing her new walking skills she was sitting with a box of crayons and a cup . . putting the crayons in and out of the cups for hours.

we are so blessed to have such amazing grandparents on both sides who love our kids so much and have such amazing homes to be at!

oregon coast

every summer we spend a week with the mcmurray family at a water location. this year papa and grandma rented a beautiful house on the oregon coast. it is always such great family time. here are some highlights from the week. . . i love this picture above of papa flying two kites at one time. . . he is such a servant to his family in every way. grandma and papa made it all so special and relaxing for us. . we are so thankful!

emery loves to ride on daddy's shoulders and now has a new trick where she leans over for lots of kisses. they both love it!

lucia loves the beach but is not so sure about the waves.

she has the cutest tiniest feet i have ever seen!

it does not matter the temperature of the water or outside my boys go IN the water and play!

excited for the beach!

a big highlight for all of us especially me. . . the candy store!!!

bridget and kinkade taking their time at the candy store to make the perfect selection.

emery and lucia are so blessed to have two older wonderful girl cousins who love them so much

grandma had a treasure hunt for all the big kids and each one got a new kite to fly at the beach. lucia thought it was fabulous!

every puddle this little girl can find she does and makes a huge mess!

lots and lots and lots of hot tubbing.

we gave the kids popsicles and sent them outside and this is what we found. .. all in papa's truck eating popsicles.

i asked them to do their favorite pose and this is what i got. i love lucia trying to copy bridget. thanks papa and grandma for such an amazing week we all had a blast! i think we have two movie stars in the making:)

i learned to walk at the beach!

emery literally started walking on the beach! yes this is the big news. . not really big news for anyone else but let's just say it has been a long time coming. she has been taking steps for a long time but just wouldn't take off and walk! well, i guess she was waiting to go to the beach. she is so proud of herself and we are so proud of her!

sorry no puppies here. . . 5/6 the mcmurrays would love that! i think it is in our future, but i can't feed anymore living things. so when the boys can truly help with a dog game on! and NO i am not pregnant and we can't move we just refinanced. so there it is emery is now among the walking humans! it is so dang cute! i was looking back when lucia started walking such cute pics. . here is the link http://mcmurraymania.blogspot.com/2008/07/officially-walking.html

i just love kids with popsicles in the summer. . .

it's the simple things of summer that make me so happy. . sundresses and popsicles are two of my favorite!

i love how lucia is crossing her legs so sweetly.

my messiest kiddo yet! she is covered in whatever she eats. . she could and should take a bath after each meal and snack!

my best purchase of the year. . yellow saltwater sandals they are the cutest and in my book go with everything!

i have to hose down the whole porch after emery has a popsicle no joke. . look at the swing! twin boys were not this messy. this little girl dives into life full force!

enjoying that first lick!

man i love my girls and summer! aaron makes fun of me for taking so many popsicle pictures but i can't help myself. along with first day of school shots and beach photos they are my favorite. exciting news to share next post stay tuned. . any guesses????