June 3, 2012: 1st Weekend of Summer

I think we started the summer off right...

Friday morning was playgroup...I love these pictures because it's a little bit of what play dates are like.  Lots of kids ages 6 months to 3.5 years old...lots of sharing and catching up...

and lots of love between little and big kids :)

Friday afternoon was the kids last swim lesson.  Liam now jumps off the side to his teacher and swims back to the wall.  He loves to back float and monkey walk.  He always comes up from underwater with a look of shock, but he keeps doing it and we are so proud!

Friday night, Mal and Dal took Nick and I to see Mamma Mia!  We had an awesome dinner and the show was great!

Saturday morning we went over to Mal/Dal's to say goodbye to the Smiths.  We had a great visit and are trying to plan our next visit this summer as we already miss them too much!

 After saying goodbye, we went over to Liam's game.  Here's TNTs biggest fans snacking during the game :)

 Liam has been doing so much better and getting much more confident on the field.  I think these are the first pictures I have where he is actually getting in the mix and going after the ball...or as he says "I was aggressive!" (FYI-we are just trying to get our very mild-mannered, sensitive kid to be more assertive...it's just hard to teach that when all he's ever known is to share and not take away a ball from another kid.)

 Way to defend the goal :)

 No really, he actually blocked this shot!!

 Snacks after the game...

Saturday afternoon, Liam went to his friend Devan's birthday party.  These are his friends from school, Sasha, Angelina, and Devan...

 He was the only boy from class who came to the 'my lil pony' party, but I don't think he noticed with a cake that big :)

 Later that day, we did some yard work as a family...

 Well Brynnie didn't really pull her weight, but she's so cute, we let it slide :)

 Saturday night, Nick and Linds went to a movie while I stayed home with the kids.  I noticed that Liam wasn't falling asleep after he went to bed, so I let him get up and watch a movie with me.  It was better than the theater snuggling with my boy :)

Sunday has been just as busy...oil changes, grocery shopping, chalk drawing, swimming, naps, racing cars, organizing, wagon riding, laundry, grilling out, working out, blogging...literally so busy that I didn't take one pic!!  But my whole family is sleeping by 8pm so I guess that's a sign of a good day :)

May 28, 2012: Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great, low-key long weekend with the whole family.  Rach and the kids were still in town, and Alex and Tippy as well.  On Friday morning, Mal, Rach and I took the kids to the zoo...

It was great weather and even though we were literally the first people in the zoo, all the animals were up and out!  And we got up close and personal with a lot of them...

The kids really enjoyed the day together...

Too-matchy...they might live a few hundred miles apart but these cousins (and their Mallie) have similar taste :)

Arghhh, too old...looking way too old!

Friday night we did some playing, swimming, and grilling...

Pink ladies in the pool :)

The boys grilling in the "man area"...I was allowed back for photography purposes only...

Saturday and Sunday, it was more of the same!  (The girls also got in some mani/pedis and shopping)

Pizza and movie night...

Recently the media room has only been for screening Disney it seems like...

Memorial day can be summed up by swimming and smoking (meat that is!)...oh and Nicky B having a little toddy by the pool :)

Between catching kids jumping off the side and passing Liam swimming under water to and from the steps (okay and some laying out!), I didn't take many pics outside that day.  But I did catch Brynnie skinny dippin' that afternoon...she is def another water baby!

With so many in town and too much technology in one house, this picture was inevitable...yes they are all playing "when I grow up" on ipads :)

 But I'm happy to report that they were much too busy with forts, band sessions, puzzles, (and swimming) to stay on the ipad for very long...

 Great day with family, so fun to all be together!  After the kids went down, we had lots of fun card games and talks around the kitchen table.  So blessed today and always to be part of this Renfro-Barker-Smith-Lingerfelt family :)

 Linds and JE came out for the pool party and smoked ribs...and brought her famous deviled eggs!

 Love watching these little girls grow up together :)

Of course special thanks to our favorite solider Capt. David Cameron Smith III and his amazing wife and kids for their selfless service every day for this country.  We continue to be so proud!