Our Busy Summer

So much has happened since our last post- 

we have been on a few trips and the progress on the house has really moved forward

Here are some pictures to show you all the fun we have been having:

End of May

To celebrate Memorial Day, we took a day trip to Dayton to see the parade and get milkshakes at Ray's.

Waiting for the parade to start

Colt, Adaline, Grandma Warren, Grandpa Warren and Charlize 

 Charlize LOVED watching the horses. . . luckily there were lots of them!

Granpda helping Charlize gather up all of the candy.

 "This tastes pretty good."

 Such a big girl, sharing her candy with everyone.

Uncle Colt helping Charlize throw the frisbee she got at the parade.

After the parade, we went for a walk around town--we toured some shops, walked through the farmer's market and took a quick break at the park:

 In JUNE Charlize's cousins came to visit and then we took a trip down to Utah.

Grandpa's new swimming pool

Such a little cutie!! 

"Thanks Grandpa for hanging out with me in the pool!"

A Date with Daddy

Nick took Charlize and I out for dinner at Five Guys and then miniature golfing.  Charlize had fun learning to putt but I think she had more fun just running around the empty course and hanging out with daddy.

 The Quigley's come to visit:

Finally, Hayden and Jocelyn and Jessica come to visit.  Here are all the activities we did while they were here.

The splash pad

Look at these super cute girls!!

 Such a handsome boy

Say cheese!

Headed down the slide-

Enjoying the cool water-

Swimming at Meadow Springs

 Charlize and Mommy

Karen and Jocelyn

Jessica and Hayden

 This was our first big swim of the summer and Charlize did so well!  She got her face wet, kicked around and blew bubbles--she was so comfortable in the water.  This made me so happy, unfortunately, it was short lived.  She hasn't enjoyed being in the pool since then and I have had to convince her that swimming is fun.  Hopefully she does better next year.

Backyard Swimming

 Hanging out in the kiddie pool

 Our little lifeguard

For the first two years of her life, Charlize was pretty bruise-free.  Then, two days before her birthday she got a black eye, a smashed finger, and a fat, bruised lip.  If you look close at her bottom lip you can see the dark spot in the middle.  She got pretty beat up just being a curious, little girl.

Time for the big pool:

 You can see how happy Jocelyn is in the pool and how nervous Charlize is. 

We love you Grandpa!

The slip and slide-

Hayden and Colt had been doing the slip and slide for a while as the girls just watched.  When the boys took a break, Charlize decided it was her turn to try.

Celebrating Charlize's Second Birthday

We can't believe that Charlize is already two years old.  She has grown up so much- she is so smart, happy, healthy and beautiful.  We couldn't be happier.  To celebrate, we did a swimming and pizza party at Grandma Wright's.

Hanging out while we set up for the party:

Time to go swimming:

Hayden had so much fun swimming once he borrowed some "swim binoculars."  He also really liked that he could jump off the diving board.

 Jessica and Jocelyn

Charlize preferred to just sit on the steps with Abby and Audrey instead of swimming in the pool.
When she got tired of that, Daddy took her to jump on the trampoline.

Pizza and cake:

 Cute Kids!
Hayden, Jocelyn, Audrey, and Charlize

 Grandma Wright made a really cute, yummy butterfly cake!

We had lots of fun swimming, playing and eating, but I think the best part was watching Charlize open presents:

 She loves dressing up--look how cute she is in all her accessories, even with a bruised lip.
Thank you Jocelyn and Hayden for all the fun toys.

 Grandma and Grandpa Warren got her a tricycle.  She was with us when we picked it up in the store but we wouldn't let her have it.  She had been waiting for weeks.  Finally!

 She loves her princess helmet.

Grandma and Grandpa Wright got her a sweet cozy coop.  We love it!  It is easy for Charlize to push herself and steer but it also comes with a handle so we can push her.  And, it's a cool green color.  

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

"Here Jocelyn, you get in and I'll push you."

Hayden helping out

It wouldn't be a complete birthday if she didn't get her own set of golf clubs from Daddy.


Howard Amon Park

On one of the cooler evenings, we decided to ride bikes around Howard Amon and then let the kids play.

Taking turns on the zip-line:

Jocelyn and Nick

Charlize and Daddy

Hayden

The girls going for a boat ride

It was so fun having cousins here for a long visit.  We did lots of fun things, but I think the best part was having everyone together first thing in the morning, just hanging out in our pajamas.

Grandpa made Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse pancakes for the kids and they were so happy!!


Our trip to Utah

At the end of June and beginning of July, we decided to go back down to Utah to spend more time with the Quigley's.  Charlize, Grandma Warren and I drove down to spend a week; half way through the trip Grandpa Warren came to join us.

We went to Trafalga, Seven Peaks, and Chuck E. Cheese.  We went bowling, fishing, picnicing and lots of other fun activities but I was being camera lazy so I only got a few pictures of us at Chuck E. Cheese and bowling.  Enjoy!

This was Charlize's and my first time at Chuck E. Cheese and I have to admit it was pretty fun.

The girls really enjoyed hanging out with each other, playing all the games.

 Hayden stayed pretty busy spending coins and earning tickets.

 "Look mom, I won some tickets."

Later in the week, we met the Wissinger's at Fat Cats for bowling.  Gavin was a huge help with the girls-- every time it was their turn to bowl, he walked the ball up to the slide and helped them push it off.  He did so good, in fact, that Charlize got four strikes and only lost to Jessica by two points!
Thanks Gavin.

 Gavin, our good helper

 Aunt Tina and Charlize

It was a fun, relaxing trip to Utah and we got to visit lots of family.
Nick, Charlize and I just returned home from the Wright Family vacation to Loon Lake and my family is leaving tomorrow for another trip to Utah and Nevada to visit more family. So we have certainly been busy.

I will post all the fun pictures from Loon Lake and our next trip when we get back.  Until then, here is an update on the new house and on our sweet little one.

The house:

A lot of progress has been made on the house and we really appreciate everyone who has helped us out.  Nick has spent so much time over there and we finally feel like the end is in sight.  We originally said the move-in date would be in July but it looks like we will be in by the end of August for sure!  That's not too far off from the original plan.  Here are some pictures-

I think last time I posted we were just getting ready for sheet rock.  Here is the progress as of June 21st-- the walls are in, textured and painted and the flooring has been started.

 The kitchen floor in the back with the living room in the front, full of garbage

Charlize already thinks she owns this house.  She walks around from room to room like she is managing the construction of everything.  She loves to help out and run around playing in the dirt.  Here is her dirty bum.

 Nick and James working on the flooring in the laundry room so we can put in the last interior door.

And finally!!! The exterior is complete--the siding is all on and painted, the shutters are up and the garage door is in and working.  We were so happy to see this progress.

Also, we had a couple of very nice surprises a few weeks ago. . . The weeds in the front yard had gotten even worse than they look in the picture.  We knew we needed to address that before we brought in more dirt but we never got to it.  Then one day we came over to work on the house and noticed half of the weeds were gone in the front and the dirt had been raked and smoothed out so nicely.  The next week we came back and the other half of the front yard had been finished.  We still don't know who did this wonderful service for us but we are so, so grateful.  We were so glad to get rid of all the weeds and get the ground prepped for more clean dirt.  Thank you so much to our secret service friends!

Here are the most recent pictures I have of the house--taken July 19th.

 Looking at the front door from inside the house--
the trim is all up and ready to be painted and all the hard wood and tile flooring is in.

 Kitchen cabinets are in and they look great!

 The entertainment center in the living room is in and ready to be painted and most of the garbage is cleaned up.

The laundry room:
cabinets are in and Nick has the mudroom shelves and seating in.
We love the look of the wood paneling on the walls.

Good work Nick! And thanks again to everyone who has spent so many hours over there with us.


Charlize:


Some of Charlize's favorite things:
1. Watching her favorite cartoons-- Doc McStuffins and Caillou
2. Coloring
3. Playing with Play Doh
4. Singing songs--especially the ABC's and church songs
5. Her stuffed animals--I think we are up to 6 things she has to sleep with

She is such a smart girl:
1. She can sing the ABC's almost perfectly, she only makes up the letters between H and L.
2.  She can count to ten without any mistakes.
3.  She is putting together 7+ word sentences and we can all understand her.
4. She is always curious and asking questions.  Her latest question is, "What does that mean?"
5. She loves to read books

Cute Stories:

When we went to the doctor to find out the gender of our baby, Brenda was watching Charlize.  We called to check in on her and told them we were going to have another girl.  After the doctor's appointment, I went to pick her up and Brenda had helped her color a picture of her family--Daddy, Mommy, Charlize and Baby Sister.  It was the cutest picture and she was so excited to show it to me.   Charlize is ready for her new baby sister.


One Sunday when we picked Charlize up from nursery her leader had a cute story for us-- She said that during her lesson she put the book down to talk to the class.  Charlize got out of her seat, picked up the lesson manual and held it up so the rest of the class could see and started "teaching" the class.  They said she did a very good and it was so cute to watch, then all the other kids had to take a turn teaching.


Charlize is so good at saying prayers--she can start and end them all on her own and she repeats what we tell her almost perfectly.  At bedtime prayers one time, Nick was telling her what to say thank you for and she stopped right in the middle and said, "No Daddy.  Thank you for Doc. McStuffins and Caillou."  It took everything we had not to bust out laughing in the middle of the prayer.  Well, at least she is honest about what she is thankful for.

We just love our little and we are so grateful for her!