sleeping arrangements

When Bill is away it is usually a given that the girls will end up in my bed at some point but when we got home from mama and papa's Jennifer didn't even want to start in her bed. And of course what Jennifer does Mikayla needs to do too.
So here was the scene when I went to go to bed the other night...

 I'm not so sure where I am going to sleep, there appears to be no room for me in my own bed! So I'm sure sure where Bill will sleep when he gets home, we may have both been kicked out of our own bed.

Maybe a new bed will help the situation! Jennifer and Mikayla got a new bed in their room yesterday. Our sweet friend Rylee has started to out grow her loft and so we were able to take it and put in the girls' room. Jennifer will be sleeping on the top and Mikayla's bed is under that loft. I say Jennifer "will be sleeping on top" because if you look closely Mikayla is fast asleep in her bed but Jennifer is no where to be seen. She is sleeping in my bed already. Maybe once Bill gets home Jennifer will want to sleep in her own bed, let's hope anyway.

while dad's away

Early Friday morning Bill left the country for a week. He, along with 16 other people, went on a missions trip to the DR. It is always hard to have him gone but I say ever time he leaves for a mission trip that God has just as much in store for me to learn as He does for the people that travel on the trip.
While dad is away we are trying our hardest to keep busy! Otherwise we would just sit around and miss him too much! All three of our girls are daddy's girls so not only do I miss Bill being gone but his other girls miss him too.
We decided to head to mama and papa's house for a few days. I am so thankful for our family! They helped entertain us and make the first few days without dad go by quickly.

Each evening we were there we walked over to the park after supper. These two are pretty cute in the wagon together.

 Pretty sure Mikayla is trying to tell Kelly something really, really important here.

 Along with going to play at the park, the girls thought they needed to ride papa's motorcycle. Lots of circles were made around the parking lot. Always fun to see their excitement about riding with papa. Not so long ago Mikayla could have cared less but now she makes sure she gets her equal time in on the mini-trail!

 I think Papa had been home from work for about five minutes before Jennifer started begging for a ride. It is looking like she may be getting a little too big to ride with papa though. Next I'm sure she will be asking to ride all by herself! That may be a few years away though...

 Even Kelly got to have a little ride with papa! She wasn't too sure what to think but she didn't cry and I'm sure in a few years she will be just like her sisters and be begging for a ride.

 On Saturday afternoon papa packed up the boat, mama packed a picnic lunch and headed out for a fun afternoon.

 Doing a little fishing in papa's boat (her pants are wet from water, not because she peed in them!).

 Kelly and mama went for a walk while the rest of us fished but Kelly got to play in the boat for a little bit when we were done.

We also got to visit Grammie and played with Cole and Logan while we were there. And we visited Papa Jim, Mama Sue and great grandma. A huge thank-you to our family for caring for us while daddy is away. You helped us make the days fun and go by quickly.
Now we are home again and counting down the days until Bill returns!

Color Run

Last year Bill and I did The Color Run with some of Bill's family. This year we were back and the whole family did it!

Here we are all, white and clean!

 I think Jennifer was a little unsure as to what was about to happen and there were a lot of people there so that may have been slightly overwhelming to her too. 

 Having a little fun while we waited for our turn to take off from the starting line.

 Yellow was the first color we got covered with. We let Mikayla get out of the stroller at the colors and she of course thought it was great.

 Kelly decided that it wasn't really that much fun and so she napped for part of the time.

 Jennifer walked with Aunt Kris the whole race! I'm pretty sure she talked her ear off the entire time too!

 Mikayla was covered! Love this picture though, she thought needed to have a little rest on the curb after going through the blue.

 Mikayla showing off all her color at the end of the walk.

 Kelly and the stroller were pretty colorful too!

It took us a few days to get all the color off but it was worth it! It was a fun day spent with family and our girls loved it!

4th of July

So I am still playing catch up with our summer. Although I am only a few weeks late with these!

Jennifer was very excited about riding her bike in the kids parade this year. This is the very bike that we got two years ago, was ridden just a hand full of times, crashed and has been hanging in the garage since. I was determined to get Jennifer back on it this year. After much hesitation she finally got on, I may have used Mikayla to hoax her back on, and she has been doing fabulous. She rode the whole parade (just a few blocks) and did great! She even lost dad and Mikayla because she was riding so fast.

This sweet girl just walked with her dad. She may have been one of the last ones done, she does like to take her time you know.

This sweet girl just got to watch from the stroller. The headband lasted long enough for a quick picture and then Kelly had it pulled out and thrown on the ground.

Two tired girls after watching the parade on the 4th. 

Having a little rest time with dad before we move on the next activity. 

This is one of my favorite outfits! All three of the girls have now worn it on the 4th of July which is pretty sweet to this mom. So of course I had to do a little photo shoot with Kelly in the outfit.

And the shoes make it all the more cute! Although I don't think Kelly thought so.

After the big parade, lunch out, playing at a carnival and going to the pool the girls were pretty tired. After having a quick shower Mikayla fell asleep while eating supper on the couch. I removed her plate for the picture. But she pretty much just fell over from exhaustion! 

a few more vacation pictures

These next few pictures are some of my favorite of vacation. 

Each year we go to ride go-carts and this is the first year that Jennifer has gotten to drive her own! She was very excited, as you can see in the pictures. Mikayla wanted to drive her own car too but she just wasn't tall enough. Even with the extra cushion her little legs just wouldn't reach the pedals.

Bill and I were laughing at Jennifer's sheer delight the whole time she was driving. She had a few crashes along the way but she did great! It was so much fun to watch her! 

How sweet is this picture of Mikayla and Papa watching the bigger kids drive? Maybe next year sweet girl.

Mikayla rode the power wheels instead, although it didn't last long.

Just a picture of Mikayla being silly.

Love this picture! Kelly loved playing in the sand and watching the big kids play in the water.

Kelly having a bath in the kitchen sink after playing on the beach one afternoon. She made the biggest mess ever! But it was fun to watch her splash and giggle at herself.

Helping mama and papa get the fish ready to cook.

It got a little stormy one night and Jennifer hates storms. So instead of sitting inside and listening to the kids complain about the storm they went outside and danced in the rain. They thought it was pretty great and it took their mind off the storm.

As our week was coming to an end it was time to take a family picture. 

Mama and Papa with the kids- I love this.

For our last night of vacation we decided to do some s'mores. The kids were very excited about roasting their own marshmallows.

It is hard to believe that vacation was almost a month ago. Life has been a little crazy since we have been home from vacation. I am kind of missing our lazy days of vacation, filled with playing outside, playing on the beach and fishing. Until next year...