A Day at the Circus

Today we woke up bright and early and went on a road trip to the Circus. We all had a great time! Brian as many of you know is our ticket buyer and he really did good this time! We were on the very front row and had celebrity passes. That basically means that we got to be in the circus! We rode around in these little cars while the clowns were performing and got to dance out there, too! I don't think they knew what they were getting themselves into inviting this group on the floor! It was a day that we will never forget.

Chance with not 1, but 2 swords!

A clown giving Chance a high five during the show!

Snow cones...

Snow cones...

and more snow cones!!!

Don't you love our new hair!

Being in the circus is fun! Cheese!

Dancing fun!

The whole crew!

Bowling Fun

We had a fun day! Brian was off today, so we had a lot of good family time together. Emma Cate went to a birthday party this morning at the lake. Chance and I were going to go to our playgroup, but it was a swimming party and it got rained out. We ended up at the Mud Hut where he painted a race car and an alligator. Daddy took Campbell with him to run errands. After a quick rest we all went bowling. The kids had a blast! Chance was a very serious little bowler and Campbell was not! Emma Cate just had fun! It is so funny to see how each child is so different! I have included some videos of all the kids on this bowling adventure. When we finished bowling we all went out for pizza. It was a great day!

Campbell clapping for himself!

Yeah me!

Chance threw the ball and dropped to watch.

Emma Cate smiling for the camera.

Campbell is still for the moment!

The ball is bigger than Chance!

Strike!!!


Chance bowling a strike!


Campbell doing a victory dance before the ball even makes it to the pins!

Emma Cate and her running start!

Flip Flop

Emma Cate's gymnastics class has continued during the summer. She is in a tumbling class that she just loves! Her Daddy took her yesterday, so when she got home she had to demonstrate her new trick for Mommy!

Tae Kwon Do

Chance has been taking Tae Kwon Do for a year now. When you get to a Camo belt, which is what he has now, you can begin sparring. You have to have all kinds of special gear and yes basically they fight each other in a civilized way. Chance has done very well and is actually getting to be pretty aggressive which is a little surprising considering it is not really his personality. You can catch a glimpse of what this class is like from the videos below.
Oh yeah, it is hard to tell where he is in all that gear because they all look the same. Just keep your eye out for the littlest one. He is the youngest in this class.

It is hot in here!

Chance punching Master Sam!

I'm ready to go and spar!

Sparring




Knockdown

2 on 1

A Day at the Farm

Emma Cate and her cousin Brooke.

Today we went to Brian's Family Reunion,without Brian! The family reunion is in a little town in Louisiana every year in August and you can always bet on it being HOT! We start out at the church and have a service and then they conduct the family business which includes a meeting and a talent show. Then everybody heads outside and eats a really big pot luck meal and it is always sure to be good. After that we head out to the 80 acres with the farm house where Granmom and her family grew up. Today Chance asked, "Mommy if this a farm where are the animals?" From what I have been told, they had some horses and animals a long time ago when people used to live down there. It has just always been called the farm. Just the closest to kin come here and we continue to eat and the kids play. The cousins had a great time playing together in the heat. Near the end of the day they resorted to throwing ice on each other to cool off and this turned into a pie fight between 2 of the "adults" in the family! The kids thought it was so funny and it helped to end our day with a bang!

The farm

Chance and his cousin Cade.

It is hot out here!!!

Campbell

Campbell and Aunt Laura riding in back of the "Big" truck.

The cousins on the go!

Pie fight anyone?

Potty Training Fun?

It is August and Campbell is now 2 1/2 and I thought it might be a good time to start potty training. As most of you know Campbell has not been our easiest child, so no I did not think that all of sudden things would change and they didn't. We started off doing pretty well with 2 successful tries of both kinds, so I gave hime his 2 Skittles like I did the other kids and he screamed because he thought that his acheivement warranted a whole bag! So the next thing you know the pull-up is off his bottom and on his head and he was saying "hat"? So maybe he isn't our brightest either?! After that I found him in my bathroom playing in the potty and doing a fantastic job of plastering wet toilet paper on the wall. Are we having fun yet? Later I decided to try a different technique by asking him if he wanted to water the grass? So as you can see by the pictures, there is a puddle that he eventually goes to jump in like it is a rain puddle! Oh well, tomorrow is another day and Campbell will still be Campbell, so maybe we will try again when he is at least 5!


Juice always helps this process!
Yeah! I did it and stepped in it, too!!!
I think the concrete needs to be watered instead!
Mommy ruined my fun!
Is this a hat or what?!

Skittle drool is the best!

A Day of Dancing

Emma Cate has started a new dance class with the ballet company here in town. The teacher, Ms. Mitchell , has not had a class for little girls in a while. She decided to try it this summer and held auditions. Emma Cate made it and it has been a really great experience. As you can see in the pictures, no cute frilly tutus anymore! Ms. Mitchell wants them to wear the same black leotard, pink tights and a bun. Emma Cate has learned a lot and had a really good time in the process. Yesterday was the last class for the summer and it was a "Mommy and Me" class and it was very interesting to say the least. It did end up being a lot of fun and a good workout, too!

Emma Cate, Ms. Mitchell and Caroline

Ms. Mitchell and Emma Cate

Emma Cate and her Mommy!

Anna. Zoe, Caroline and Emma Cate