Neeno and Poppy Time!

Neeno and Poppy offered to take the girls for a few days while Clay and I relaxed and got ready for the baby.  We dropped them off and left the next day (neither girl was in the least bit sad we left).  These are some of mom's pictures from their trip.

You will notice a significant junk food/candy theme going on in these pictures.  Not that my mom didn't have anything to do with it, but my dad is a notorious connoisseur of snack food so it makes me smile to know that my girls are enjoying his gifts.

Cheetos are always a favorite.

Trip to the doughnut store

Enjoying Whoppers on the way to the creek to catch minnows

Enjoying suckers in the creek while catching minnows

I guess deer feed doesn't count as junk food. :)

My parents' next door neighbors have a sweet little girl (named Avery!) that my Avery loved to play with!

Baking snickerdoodles with Neeno

Thanks mom and dad for the break!  

Phillips Boys

We got to spend some time with Jaymie and the boys this week and had so much fun.  My girls loooooove entertaining Kanyon and Quinn.  The last day I took a few pictures and they were too cute not to share.  As you can see, Quinn was showing off especially well for the camera... that or he has too many rolls to get away from the camera so he conceded out of helplessness. :)

Just so you know, he is definitely peeing on my leg at the exact time this picture is being taken.  I like the little smirk on his face, like he knows he's getting me.

Dallas Aquarium

My mom and dad offered to take the girls for a few days and give me and Clay some time to relax and prepare for little number 3.  On our way to drop them off, we took them to the Dallas World Aquarium.  Since both girls love animals, we definitely won cool parents points.  Avery asked me today if we could go back after naps.  When I told her it was too far away, she asked "why did God put the aquarium so far away in Dallas?"  

Here is Miss Animal-lover herself with an anteater.

Watching the manatee

I'm not squeamish, but let me tell you, if I was aware catfishes that large and ugly were in a lake, I wouldn't be caught dead swimming there.  You can't tell by the picture at all, but they are HUGE!

Lucy following the turtle.

Avery needed some assurance concerning the glass that separated the sharks from us.  After she was convinced it would hold the sharks back, the shark exhibit became her favorite.

Flamingos

I'll post again soon with some pictures of their stay with Poppy and Neeno!

Umbrellas and fishing poles

The girls and I were languishing in the heat under our fan in the living room one day (and yes, languishing is the right word... I'm 37 weeks pregnant, remember?) and I heard it... rain!  I jumped up and told the girls we were going outside.  They were conveniently in their underwear already so off we went.  I LOVE summer rain!  The girls LOVED the umbrellas.

Why is this so fun? 

Racing grass blade boats down the ditch

And, do we see a recurring theme here?  Fishing is Avery's #1 request... even over swimming.

Oh the joy!

The girls and their fishing guides

She hooked a big one!... or maybe it's a perch that wrapped itself around the dock...

Finishing the day off with a big bowl of ice cream... does it get much better?  Not for Landry.

Update and Summer Fun

Well, I ran into a sweet lady at Taco Delite today who asked about my Papaw.  She reads this blog and had been praying for him and my family (thank you!) and I realized that I had been putting off writing an update for too long.  I keep putting it off because I don't really want to acknowledge where we are in the search... it's not the wonderful and quick ending that we all wanted.  Right now, the authorities are still following leads, but we are definitely to the point where we are mainly just waiting.  Waiting to hear something, waiting to find something, waiting for closure of some sort... and coming to terms with the fact that we may be waiting a long time... we may always be waiting.  We haven't lost hope, but it would be maddening to not accept that there may not be an answer, for me at least.  So, I am still praying.  I am praying that God has Papaw safe and at peace where ever he is.  I am also praying that God give my family peace and comfort in ways only He can.  So, that is the update.  It's not the one I wanted to give.  And, I probably won't say anything else about it on here unless something happens.

Okay, so on to something else.  My girls don't understand stopping life when bad things happen and so we don't.  It's one of the great blessings of children.  Both the girls like to paint so the other day I let them each pick a Bible story and I sketched out a scene from it.  Half of the fun was letting them tell me what to draw, especially since Landry chose Noah's ark and then they both went crazy with what animals they wanted drawn on there.  I had to limit them a bit... I'm not that great of an artist.  Avery chose the parable of the lost sheep (thanks to INCREDIBLE Bible teachers, Mrs. Connelle and Mrs. Sandra!).  Here they are working away...

Landry is very serious about her art... not so serious about keeping the watercolors unmixed.

I LOVE this picture!  Real smiles from both of them at the same time!

We had another big event happen last week... we got our first swingset.  I researched for a long time (almost too long!) and found this little set that is the perfect size for preschoolers.  Not too big, not too small, and most importantly, not too expensive.  The girls LOVE it!  And can play on it all by themselves (read: get on the swings and don't need me to push them!) so I like it too.  I have a feeling that will be a great feature when Baby #3 gets here.

I don't have a picture of the finished product, but here are my parents and Clay setting it up.  They were determined to get it together all in one afternoon and did.  Although by the end, Avery was using a jar of lightening bugs to light their work.  Thanks mom and dad!

Sprinkler fun with the Spencer cousins and the Benedick kids

Makeshift umbrella so they don't get wet?

Maybe two separate umbrellas would work easier.  

All that fun left Nolan exhausted!

While we were playing the guys were out working on a new beach/sandbox at the lake for the kids.  That's my dear husband with the shirt over his neck.  He had gone out much earlier than everyone else and forgotten sunscreen.  He looks very similar to a lobster today. :)

The girls are making boats out of feathers from a turkey vulture (Clay says they are called buzzards, but he also calls a skunk a pole cat... therefore, he can't be trusted.)

Last, but not least, 5 weeks until baby #3 comes!  No, we are not ready, but since when has being ready been all that important?  If you have any great name suggestions for a boy or a girl that you would like to  share, we're open for suggestions!