Yummy Strawberries!

We have a really fun strawberry farm close to our house. The kids and I headed that way for an afternoon of strawberry picking fun! With Ryder in the carrier, we were ready to get to work!

The strawberry season was really strong this year so we had to hunt through over-ripe berries to find the perfect ones.

Yum!

After we picked ourselves happy, we took advantage of the other fun adventures at the farm.

A Hay Ride!

Zipline!

Playground!

And then there was the MILKSHAKES! Oh my.. strawberry yummyness!

It was a really fun day for me and the kids and reassuring that mommy could handle three kids all on her own.

Brooke's Eighth Birthday!

I demand a recount! There is no way we are parents of an 8-year-old! I think it was just yesterday I was walking my sweet blonde Brookie to her first day of preschool. Now she is a beautiful, intelligent, brave and adventurous girl.

Brooke is totally crazy for Taylor Swift and wanted her party to reflect that. So we had sparkly stars hanging from the ceiling, Taylor tunes playing in the background, her music videos on the tv, and posters on the walls. We invited the family over to help us celebrate our girl and Brooke also asked her best friend Gracie over for the party.

Our first game was "Pin the microphone on Taylor Swift's hand"

Carson takes a turn...

Then we played musical chairs (to Taylor songs of course). The highlight of the party was Brooke's performance of a few Taylor Swift songs.

Brooke was so brave to stand up in front of everyone and sing her heart out.

Cake Time!

I made Brooke's cake this year thanks to a guitar cake pan.

Make a wish!

Silly kids! I love this picture :)

On Brooke's actual birthday Mommy was missing the necessary ingredients to make the traditional Birthday Pancakes, so it was mini cinnamon rolls instead.

And then fun with her giant 8 balloon!!

 

Legoland!

ICS had a school-wide field trip to the new Legoland in Orlando. In order to make the trip more fun for the girls and less stressful for mommy, Grammy was able to come along and help out. Thank goodness! Legoland was pretty cool. It's amazing to see what they can do with those little plastic blocks. EVERYTHING was made with Legos!

A picture of Lego otters for daddy!

One of the cutest rides was Lego Driving School. The kids had to learn and follow the rules of the road... stop signs, stop lights, intersections, stay in your lane, don't hit the other cars. That's a lot to keep track of with you're a kid!

Who's the cutie in the zebra-striped truck?

Grammy and Ryder get to hang out while mommy takes the girls on a ride. I cannot believe how big he is at 2 months!

What a fun day. Couldn't have done it without you mom!



Daddy Daughter Dance 2012

The annual daddy daughter dance is a big deal at the river ranch. It's a very special night where daddy showers his girls with love and treats them to a special night of dancing and all you can eat popcorn! Our church does an amazing job decorating the church like a fantasy world. This year Uncle Ken came along too so that daddy would be able to share his time between our girls without making one or the other feel left out.

Brookie makes her way downstairs after being "introduced"

Daddy gives Brooke a special wrist corsage

Introducing Alixandra!

Looking at her daddy with adoring eyes

Daddy and his girls

  

A picture with baby Ryder before they hit the road for some dinner and dancing

The girls have developed a very special relationship with their Uncle Ken. They love it when he comes over for hamburgers.

Our little party animals after a fun night of dancing!