The Fourth

We had such a fun fourth of July! We went over to the Ice's for a pool party. We didn't get to do much swimming since it was a little chilly, but we found other ways to have fun. We made two trips to the fireworks store, ate, drank, and reminisced about fun times in the past. It was another great holiday spent together that I'm sure none of us will ever forget. Thanks Ice's for another great party! 

 Aaron got up bright and early to put this on the smoker. He even had a spreadsheet he used all day to track the temperature. It was so yummy! 

Elliott

Elliott's 7th birthday was last week. Even though Elliott is just a dog he is such a special part of our family. He is truly "man's best friend." He definitely favors Adam even though I know he loves me too. He is super protective of all of us, but when it comes down to it he wouldn't hurt a fly. He loves when Ella goes to bed, because he thinks it is his time to play. Every night he runs and gets his blue turtle when she goes to bed. He also loves to cuddle with me at night. It's hard to believe with all the growling he does that he really is a sweet dog. We love Elliott so much. He was our first baby, and I can't believe it's been seven years since we got him. A lot has changed in seven years but our love for him has not and never will. 

Playing catch up

My mom brought it to my attention that I needed to get caught up on my blog. Every time I have sat down lately to post I get interrupted and never finish.  I have also been a little caught up in selling our house. All I do is clean and pick up just in case we have a showing. It is getting old, and it's only been two weeks. Hopefully this will all be over soon, but I am not holding my breath. 
We have been having fun lately even with this going on. A couple of weeks ago we met the Morrison girls at Holiday World. It was such a great trip. The girls are getting big enough to ride more than just the baby rides. We rode raging rapids three times in a row and got soaked. We didn't mind though. It was worth it to hear the girls laughing and screaming. They loved it! 

We also celebrated Autumn's fourth birthday party. Four already?! 

This past Wednesday was my mom's last day of work for good. I could not be happier for her. My mom has worked my entire life so to know that she can just enjoy life and not worry about rushing off to work makes me so happy. She may want to change her phone number though, because I have a feeling two little girls may keep her pretty busy. 
Terry and I had already planned on going to Burdette Thursday with the girls, but since my mom didn't have to work she joined us too.  The girls went down the water slides 100x. Ella has been unsure of the slides, but she finally conquered her fear on Thursday. We grilled out for lunch, and my dad was able to join us. It was a fun day!

Burdette

Today, Terry and I took the girls for our first trip to Burdette of the summer. It ended up being hotter than we thought. We swam and grilled out hot dogs just like the old days. The girls had a fun time. I didn't think I was ever going to get Ella to go home. I see many more Burdette trips to come this summer! 

Autumn loves the water slides!

 One of my all time favorites!

 Ella could have floated all day long. 

Weekend

Saturday my mom, Ella, and I went to Alison's last baby shower. I can not believe she is going to be induced in three weeks! I will be so happy for her to have all this behind her. It's been a long road, and I'm just excited for her to finally be a mom. She will be a great one. 
Her shower was given by her husband's family, and it was so nice. Ella was her little helper and opened all of her gifts. I think Ella is equally excited about Easton as I am.  Alison got lots of good stuff. I think she probably has every single little (and big) thing you need for a baby. 

Sunday while we were at church someone called and left a message to come look at our house. I had to race home, and Adam and I had to straighten up our house and make everything look it's best. I was sweating bullets. They ended up staying for about an hour. They already made an offer on another house in our neighborhood and were outbid.  I am hoping and praying they call and make an offer. It's just hard to say if they will. If they do they will need it in 30 days so the race will be on. I have been praying and praying someone comes along and makes an offer so we don't have to use a realtor. There is a house I would love to have, but it's not going to last forever. Fingers crossed!!