Summer Fun, Part 1

I hesitate to call in Part 1 since that insinuates a Part 2.  That kind of commitment is definitely out of character for me as far as blogging goes, but we'll give it a try.

So I've ignored blogging pretty much all summer and thought it was about time to give a couple of updates.  This is helped by the fact that Mallory is still sleeping at 9am!!!!  What in the world is that all about?  Not complaining though.  So here is what we've been up to this summer in a list-like form...

Being silly

Water play with neighbors (this is before all our grass died from the scorching heat)

Dress up!

Checking on abandoned goose eggs

Getting dolled up

"Big bully croaker" hunting

Beach trip with the Spencers!!!

Crocodile watching

Smore making

Learning to walk

Riding longhorns

Waterparks

and waterslides

Dancing the nights away

Snapping peas

Sandbox fun

Making mud pies

4th of July parades

Riding the paddleboard

Mobile cooling units

Watching fireworks

SKIING!!!  See that tiny speck?  That is my 3-yr old water skiing!

Sparklers

And more to come... 

Someone turned one!

As I write this, the someone that turned one is emptying our art supply cabinet one crayon and marker at a time... hmm, I will ignore it for now so that you can enjoy a post.  You can thank me later for cleaning up the mess. ;)

Mallory started off her day with birthday greetings all the way from Peru.  Seriously, at one year old she's apparently important enough to receive international conference calls?!?!

Trying to give virtual hugs to her cousins.

And now poking Kellan's virtual eye out. 

Mallory's cake made from the same tin my first birthday cake was made in.

Super excited about her party!

All the guests minus Dane (who, at 3 months old, can't handle picnic table seating yet).

Going in the for kill

Yum!

Hey, where have y'all been hiding this stuff all my life?

She ate this all by herself... that's just gross, even for a sweet tooth like mine.

Gift time!

Sportin' the new shades.

... And the new kicks.

... And loving her puppy book her sisters picked out for her.

Happy birthday Mallory!

Cousins and more

We finally got the chance to see my little niece and nephew after a long absence!  Avery and Landry (and Mallory, she just didn't know it) had a great time playing with Gabriel and Sierra.  There's some mandatory re-aquainting time normally for people we haven't seen in a while, but my girls picked right up with their cousins and had a wonderful weekend.

Making "Ghost Island" in the sandbox, the idea compliments of the only boy. :)  We make Ghost Islands regularly now though.

We got to take our cousins to one of the girls favorite yearly events, the Spring Fling.  They had been asking about riding horses at the Woodalls' for months... really, it was months.  The day finally came and it exceeded expectations.

Mallory had her own private chauffeur.  

Bedtime stories with the girls... big boy Gabriel was having some man time with Dad in the living room.

The crew minus Landry, who was having one of her regular emotional meltdowns... she OBVIOUSLY takes after her father. ;)

Playing with Cozy

Right after they left, we found a newly hatched turtle in our garden.  We of course had to play with it for a little while.

This just cracked me up so I had to post.  Avery and Landry LOVE to pretend to be dogs.  They get tied up on their "leashes" and walked regularly.  In this picture though Clay and I decided they look just like a team of oxen plowing the field.

Farm Fun

We got to spend Easter weekend at my parents' farm and, although Easter itself was fun, there is something that is SO wonderful about watching my girls roam outside, perfectly content to throw rocks and dig in the dirt.

Here are the girls VERY proud of their father's success the first morning.  We ended up having to keep lots of feathers for a project the girls said they were planning... really, they just wanted to carry them around everywhere.

Little Lucille's morning stares  :)

The girls have been loving their cowgirl hats lately so we took them to the farm to see if we could get some pictures.  And, yes, that's a turkey feather in the hat.

This is the face I get (looks accidental, but very intentional) when I asked for a smile.

I can prove the face is intentional because this is the face that immediately appeared when I offered a 4-wheeler ride in exchange for a smile.  Punk.

Ha!  Clay said Mallory looked like an old-time sheriff with a slightly too small hat sitting up on the top of her head.

Playing in the creek

On the hunt for minnows and water striders

Cooking hot dogs

A tornado hit the farm the very next day and while it did minimal damage to the house (some blown out windows, etc.), it was strong enough to completely uproot a big pecan tree in the front yard.  My parents were there and waited it out in a storm cellar.  We are very grateful for their safety.