The Party

We had Summer's birthday party last Saturday. She had a tea party this year. It was very fancy and very fun. I spent several weeks doing little projects to get ready for the party. Summer helped me sew the banner and the napkins. I found these mason jars and tied them with pretty ribbons. No tea party is complete without flowers. That morning Summer went with me to the florist to pick out the white roses and pink daisies.

When all the girls arrived they had their tea party served with pink lemonade in their teacups and lemon frosted cookies. The girls loved being served and had so much fun. Before lunch they went outside to play games. They really did play games... I promise. It's just I was so busy during the party that I never took any pictures of the girls outside!  For lunch we served little sandwiches, fruit kebabs and chex mix.  Summer wanted chocolate cupcakes with lots of candy on hand for the decorations. For the party favors each girl got to bring home a goody bag with their own teacup set. Summer is so fortunate to have such a sweet and fun group of girlfriends.

We love you, Summer. You have brought so much happiness into our lives.

Happy Birthday, Summer.

Birthday Girl

Happy birthday to my Summer! She turned 6 on the 22nd. We all woke up early and headed to the bagel shop for her favorite cinnamon roll.  Before we left the house, Summer received her main gift. Something she has been asking for, for a very long time. Her only gift request has been to get this hot pink scooter. She loves it. And let me say, we did not disappoint on this one. She spent the rest of the morning riding on the parking lot before heading to school.

The main excitement of the birthday was her request of going to her favorite spot at the beach for dinner and cake after school. So simple but it made her so happy! Summer invited her friend, Cova and her family, to join us. These two girls are so sweet. We planned a surprise for the birthday girl... Leigh, the kids' Godmother, drove all the way from Washington, D.C. to be with us and Summer had absolutely no clue. She was sooo excited when she saw Leigh! We all stayed up late playing at the beach. It was so fun just having close friends together. I love it. Summer said a prayer at bed and said, "Thank you that I can have the most special day in the whole world". Do they come any cuter?

Since Summer had school that day we planned her party for the next day. 9 of her little friends showed up at our house for her birthday party the next morning and I am still sorting through the pictures. Such a cute group of girls.

At the end of the night I snuggled in bed with her and asked her what her favorite part of the day was... the scooter, the beach, the new shiny notebook... and this is what she said (for real) as she snuggled up to me, "The best part, Mama, was spending time with our family".

Oh, how I love my Summer. Happy 6th birthday, sweet girl.

First Day, First Grade

The traditional front porch photo before rushing into the car to make it before the bell rang. Can you tell she's excited? I took Summer shopping last week to pick out school shoes to add on to her school uniform. She saw these boat shoes with pink plaids on the sides and it was a done deal.

The picture above was a candid moment I caught between Summer and her daddy before she hopped in the car headed for school this morning. He was whispering how much he loved her and telling her to have a great first day of school. I tear up just looking at that photo. It really is unreal how much love you have as a parent for your children.

We arrived at the blacktop and found her classroom's designated line where the teachers meet each class before they head into the classroom. Summer was pretty much attached to me at the hip at this point. She was nervous but excited. She said her tummy felt "all mixed up".

Her first meeting with her new teacher. She is a lucky little girl to have this amazing first grade teacher.  I am so happy to know she is in good hands.

I am happy to report that she was all smiles when I picked her up from school today. I waited with Forrest outside her classroom after school. Forrest jumped into Summer's arms and yelled, "I missed you, sissy!" She said she had a great day. I think there are a lot more great days ahead of her. First grade is a magical year in my opinion. The best. I am so excited for Summer.

Home

Yesterday I went to a studio in Wilmington with one of my best friends for an all day photography workshop. It was so much fun to learn new things and to get excited about photography again. I also took a crash course on photoshop. It totally overwhelmed me but I am excited to take some more classes online and really figure the whole program out. We laughed a lot, ate a lot and learned a lot but I did miss my babies and David. David took care of both kids for the full day. Amazing, I know... (he's a keeper). When I walked into the house late Saturday evening the house was clean and both kids were getting ready for bed. I asked him how it went with all the kids... he smiled and said, "They worked me". So funny! I loved it. They had a really fun day.

This morning I was cleaning up around the house and found Forrest just like this... in his superhero cape. He is so hilarious. He kept flapping his cape and flexing his muscles while running around. As fun as it was to get away for a bit I love being home.

July

This is Summer's birthday month. She's turning 6 and I can hardly believe it.

Summer...

has officially arrived.

Fourth of July

We had a very happy 4th of July. I really do love our small beach town this time of year. All week we have been sporting our reds, whites and blues. We went swimming and had a cook out with friends during the day and watched a fun firework show that night. The firework show did not disappoint. Such a fun day.

Daddy Love

David is in Seattle on a business trip. He called this morning and told the kids to run upstairs and to get on videophone on my phone. As soon as they clicked on the icon there he was waving at them from his room. They talked and made jokes for a while and blew kisses through the screen. Forrest even showed off his lego toy he built. Seeing him like this with our kids makes me love him even more. After we said good-bye Summer said, "Daddy sure loves us." He flies back home tomorrow morning and we all can't wait.