We went to to College Station, TX over 4th of July weekend to visit my brother and his family, and that Sunday we drove over (down?) to Houston to a baseball game. This was SO FUN! I'm not big on baseball, we are definitely a football family, but I have to say, I can't wait to do this again....we all loved it and had the best time!
Mattie at Minute Maid Park in Houston at Astros vs. Red Sox game...SO FUN!
Us. We left PK with Mimi which was a VERY wise decision:
We went to a mall in College Station that had a pet store where you could hold the puppies....basically a little girls paradise. Mattie fell in love with several that day. It looks fake, but this is a real puppy she's holding:
My girls were HORRIBLE on our trip to TX. It's about a 5 1/2hr drive, and we left at naptime hoping that would sleep most of the trip...they were awake and whining THE ENTIRE TIME....until about 30 minutes before we got there, and they both fell sound asleep. My nerves were absolutely shot!
In early June, we made our family beach trip to the Gulf Coast. I'll post more pictures hopefully, but this was Presley at the beach....she would stay at the beach or pool as long as you wanted her to, as long as she had a snack handy. She's eating her favorite, cheese doritos, here:
This pic is from vacation too. My precious nephew went with us, and Matthew being the good sport he is, let the kiddos bury him in the sand. Someone (I won't say who) added the "feminine chest", which is hard to make out in the picture, but really.....who would do that?! (it was me)
Presley is always running away from me! I have been very aware that this is probably her last summer to wear these little bubble suits, so I have been putting her in them as much as possible, because I LOVE to see those baby legs!
Mattie and I....at a restaurant while on vacation:
Gaming nerds! Many times while my nephew was visiting, we had to tell the kids to "put the devices down and GO PLAY!"
This has been a popular activity this spring/summer....going for a 4wheeler ride with daddy:
I am so addicted to "Smocked Auctions" on Facebook. It is SO ADDICTIVE....precious smocked clothing for very reasonable prices, but it's sold "auction style", so you have to be a quick bidder. I got this little turtle dress for PK back in May
Mattie's preschool class went on several field trips the last week of school, and I went on several of them with her. Here we are at the fire station:
Mattie has just about completely given up her nap, which is good since she's going to kindergarten in a few weeks. Some days I make her take one (like today) when I KNOW she needs it, but most days I let her play or watch a movie during that time. And every now and then, she will accidentally fall asleep while playing. This time she happened to be dressed up as Sleeping Beauty, ha!
Sweet friends:
Presley in pigtails....she's saying "Ti-Tuh doh?", which translates to "Where'd sister go?"
This is Presley wearing a gown that belonged to Mattie. It's a little girl's size 4, and Mattie had just been wearing it up until the week before, although it was quite short, so I decided to try it on PK....and it fit. There's been several things I've been able to move straight from Mattie's drawer/closet to Presley's, even though there's 3 1/2yrs difference.
Mattie's first lemonade stand with her neighbor friends:
Presley had a VERY nasty fall a while back:
If ever there were a daddy's girl, Mattie is it....this was one night during the NFL draft, and Mattie watched with daddy as long as she could before falling asleep:
This is from May, I think....I worked so hard and planted all these gorgeous planters, and for a while my porch looked great. All that's living at this point is the sweet potato vine : ( I don't think anything can survive South Arkansas heat!
A while back I found this paper and when I asked Mattie about what it was, she casually told me she was drawing naked people and "booties". Lord, PLEASE do not let her do this at school! I don't think I would survive that embarrassment.
Sometimes I just have to cage them:
Mothers of young girls, please listen to me now: never, EVER, give your child bangs. Because there will come a time when you and she will want to grow those bangs out, and it will be the most frustrating, exhausting experience of your life, and you will end up with a child that looks like this in pictures...this will forever be remembered as "The Summer Mattie Grew Her Bangs Out":
Presley is a rocking baby. She went through a phase where she was over it, but we are back to rocking before bed every night, and I will admit, I absolutely love it. We don't rock long, just long enough to sing a few songs, but oh my, is that not the sweetest time? Typically I'm the bedtime rocker, but lately Presley has decided she will wield her toddler power and make bedtime rocking demands....usually Mommy, but sometimes Daddy. And one night last week...she requested Sister. And while my instinct was to not allow it, I let them, and Mattie rocked baby sister for a good 10 minutes in the dark, while singing to her, and Presley laid completely still. It was the sweetest thing...so I had to ruin it by turning on the light and snapping a picture:
My little teenager fell asleep listening to the "Tangled" soundtrack on my iPod before bed...all wrapped up in her blankie.
This horse swimsuit belonged to Mattie when she was a baby. It's a size 18m, which Presley has outgrown, but it's SO cute, I had to see it on her one time. It's hard to tell, but it's denim colored and has a fringe on the sides of the legs. It gave her just the slightest "muffin top" : )
Presley is always running away from me! I have been very aware that this is probably her last summer to wear these little bubble suits, so I have been putting her in them as much as possible, because I LOVE to see those baby legs!
Mattie and I....at a restaurant while on vacation: 
Gaming nerds! Many times while my nephew was visiting, we had to tell the kids to "put the devices down and GO PLAY!"
This has been a popular activity this spring/summer....going for a 4wheeler ride with daddy:
I am so addicted to "Smocked Auctions" on Facebook. It is SO ADDICTIVE....precious smocked clothing for very reasonable prices, but it's sold "auction style", so you have to be a quick bidder. I got this little turtle dress for PK back in May
Mattie's preschool class went on several field trips the last week of school, and I went on several of them with her. Here we are at the fire station:
Mattie has just about completely given up her nap, which is good since she's going to kindergarten in a few weeks. Some days I make her take one (like today) when I KNOW she needs it, but most days I let her play or watch a movie during that time. And every now and then, she will accidentally fall asleep while playing. This time she happened to be dressed up as Sleeping Beauty, ha!
Sweet friends:
Presley in pigtails....she's saying "Ti-Tuh doh?", which translates to "Where'd sister go?"
This is Presley wearing a gown that belonged to Mattie. It's a little girl's size 4, and Mattie had just been wearing it up until the week before, although it was quite short, so I decided to try it on PK....and it fit. There's been several things I've been able to move straight from Mattie's drawer/closet to Presley's, even though there's 3 1/2yrs difference.
Mattie's first lemonade stand with her neighbor friends:
Presley had a VERY nasty fall a while back:
If ever there were a daddy's girl, Mattie is it....this was one night during the NFL draft, and Mattie watched with daddy as long as she could before falling asleep:
This is from May, I think....I worked so hard and planted all these gorgeous planters, and for a while my porch looked great. All that's living at this point is the sweet potato vine : ( I don't think anything can survive South Arkansas heat!
A while back I found this paper and when I asked Mattie about what it was, she casually told me she was drawing naked people and "booties". Lord, PLEASE do not let her do this at school! I don't think I would survive that embarrassment.
Sometimes I just have to cage them:
Mothers of young girls, please listen to me now: never, EVER, give your child bangs. Because there will come a time when you and she will want to grow those bangs out, and it will be the most frustrating, exhausting experience of your life, and you will end up with a child that looks like this in pictures...this will forever be remembered as "The Summer Mattie Grew Her Bangs Out":
Presley is a rocking baby. She went through a phase where she was over it, but we are back to rocking before bed every night, and I will admit, I absolutely love it. We don't rock long, just long enough to sing a few songs, but oh my, is that not the sweetest time? Typically I'm the bedtime rocker, but lately Presley has decided she will wield her toddler power and make bedtime rocking demands....usually Mommy, but sometimes Daddy. And one night last week...she requested Sister. And while my instinct was to not allow it, I let them, and Mattie rocked baby sister for a good 10 minutes in the dark, while singing to her, and Presley laid completely still. It was the sweetest thing...so I had to ruin it by turning on the light and snapping a picture:
My little teenager fell asleep listening to the "Tangled" soundtrack on my iPod before bed...all wrapped up in her blankie.
This horse swimsuit belonged to Mattie when she was a baby. It's a size 18m, which Presley has outgrown, but it's SO cute, I had to see it on her one time. It's hard to tell, but it's denim colored and has a fringe on the sides of the legs. It gave her just the slightest "muffin top" : )
iso 1600, 1/1000, f/3.2
She's a little girl, about Mattie's age, and she lives in Eastern Uganda, near the border of Kenya.
If you think your family might be interested in doing this, please visit the 
