So Far Behind ~ Part 1

Yes, I suck... But, give me a break; it's only been a little over two months since I did a post. Okay, so that's a bit long. I'll admit it. To make it up to you, I over this catch up post. Well, this is one part anyway. I'll do like one recap of June, one of July and then a quick one of August to get us back up to date. So here goes...

Since Memorial Day...

We've been spending lots of time in the "big pool" at my parents' house. And, by "we" I mean Emersyn-and-Chris. Slowly, Emersyn is starting to get into it. I took her to the Aquatic Center one day and she was totally into it, until I had her go under water with me... that pretty much killed the trip, but Emersyn's getting better at being in the pool.

She also kind of went through a picture withdrawl... That's how I knew we were really slacking! LOL! Literally one day she walks in with her toy phone and starts telling us to take pictures of her. Naturally after the few "pictures" of Emersyn posing like a professional model, we snatched up our camera and caught the moves. Of course, it was a pretty lazy day and our normally-adorably-dressed-daughter pretty much looks like a rag picker... a dirty one...

We also decided to move the guest room into Brinley's room. Yes, it was hard and it took a lot for us to do it, but we knew we needed to. I guess it's part of the healing process or whatever... but it was time. Our old guest room was just so small, and this was a great chance to try and take another step away from the past. Emersyn was loads of help and even discovered Classical music while we were working. She called it Princess music, but we've been listening to it so much since then that now our big girl has moved on to saying "My Classical music"!

I guess this kind of goes along with the classical music theme, but Emersyn has also dove head-first into a love of tutus. Of course I won't let her do it too girly, so she rocks her tutu with a wife-beater and chucks... Which has also managed to bring out her rockstar side! I can't say that I'm surprised... after all, you know me... but it's still hysterical to see!! Oh, and this was just to go to the mall. No joke.

Oh - we also had a kind of major first in June! Emersyn started school!! Well, okay so she went for a half day at pre-school, but still... it counts!!! She was so excited too. I wasn't even allowed to carry her lunch box or her bookbag. "I do it, please, Mommy. I'm a big girl going to school now." When did that happen?!?! I'm still trying to figure out when my baby suddenly got big enough to go to pre-school! But, Emersyn loved it. When I picked up after lunch time, she actually asked if she could come back tomorrow and told me that her new school is cool. Yeah...

And now we all know Cameron has a true love of "Army-Marine" and anything camoflauge. Now, Emersyn is getting in on the act. I think it was around May, maybe early June that she asked me to make her a camo blanket like Cameron likes... and now she's taking up right alongside her big cousin at every chance. Her favorite thing is a gun, but the helmet is pretty popular too!

There was also a brief, but passionate stint with bubbles. It's like Emersyn rediscovered them, went crazy over them, and then totally forgot about them within a two week time frame. But for that time, bubbles were the greatest thing since classical music and tutus! :)

At the end of June, we did our traditional family pictures for our anniversary. We hit 4 years of marriage on the 27th, and 6 years of being together on the 30th... Lucky for us, our dear friend and super-incredible-photographer, Ali was able to take our pictures. We headed to a local park and Ali rocked it with some of the best shots ever! Seriously, it's like every single shot is frame-worthy. I'm still impressed and I've been drooling over them for more than a month now.

Ali also did some pictures of Emersyn rocking some red-white-and-blue! Since our anniversary falls so close to the 4th, we normally do a little festive outfit for pictures of Emersyn... and this years pictures with Ali surpassed our wildest ideas! I'm not kidding when I say the whole shoot was just unbelievable and definitely worth checking out on shutterfly!!

Okay, so that's part one of my recap... or, should I say that's the June recap. Check our shutterfly for the pictures from the month and for the family pictures. One day I'll get the butt ton of videos uploaded, but I'm not making any promises on those!! :) I will promise that more recaps are coming though. Honestly!

Memorial Day Weekend Videos

So I'll be honest, I haven't yet started working on the whole weekend video, but I did get quite a few uploaded on their own. I'm not saying that each one is a show stopper that you just have to see or your life won't feel complete... but they're cute videos of three really adorable girls from our weekend visit!

Video #1:: Stroller Train

25May --- Well it didn't take long for Kherington, Emersyn and Kennadi to become friends! Within a few minutes, it was almost impossible to tell that they live over 310 miles apart and see each other only about twice a year. In this clip, they've banded together for some giggles aboard the stroller train...

Video #2 :: Cousin Powered Car

25May --- I just love the teamwork that the girls showed from early on in our visit to Ohio. In this clip, Kherington takes a second to explain to Emersyn that she can move the car by herself before Kennadi decides to help Emersyn out by pushing her on the car. It didn't take much for Emersyn to realize how it "worked" but it was just too cute how the cousins helped her learn!

Video #3 :: Future Mechanics

25May --- You have to turn your volume up a bit for this one, but it's worth it. After having some "trouble" making the car "run", the Swader Girls swing into action to fix it. They "fix" the engine with lots of rocks and use some really great toddler team work in order to make the engine work again. I think Kherington, Emersyn and Kennadi definitely all have a future in mechanics if they want it!!

Video #4 :: The Best Playground Around

25May --- Not only did Kherington, Emersyn and Kennadi instantly get along, both Ohio girls immediately bonded with Chris too. Kherington put it best - "you're our playground, Uncle Chris"! Well, this clip certainly shows a good bit of how the girls played on the their new playground most of the weekend. Even one of the puppies got in on the action this time, making this video a definite to share!

Video #5 :: Bathing Beauties

25May --- What's better than one adorable kid playing in the bath? Three!! Emersyn joins Kherington and Kennadi in the tub for a quick wash down after a long, hard day playing in Ohio. It's not the most facinating video in the world, but you cna clearly see that distance just isn't a factor with cousins... I couldn't help but share this clip since it makes me laugh how the girls all help wash each other. It's as if they do it all the time!

Video #6 :: Emersyn Tries to Slide

26May --- It's day two in Ohio and the girls all got a special treat - a pool just for them. Kherington and Kennadi both took to the pool like natural fish, but Emersyn had a little hesitation. After a while of watching her cousins slide, Bird gets up the nerve to try and slide too... and I do mean "try"!!

Video #7 :: Rodeo Emersyn

26May --- The girls are loving the new pool, but Emersyn's mostly interested in taming the wild beast that is the giraffe. (Perhaps I should say "giraft"? Jeff?) I can't even tell you how many times Emersyn did this or how long she'd try to be the giraffe rodeo queen, but it's just down right funny!!

Video #8 :: Swimming Sensations

26May --- Again, I ask - what's cuter than one gorgeous little girl in an adorable bathing suit swimming in a blowup pool? Three gorgeous little girls in three adorable bathing suits! Kherington, Emersyn and Kennadi are all splashing around in the new pool like the little sensational swimmers they are in this clip!

Video #9 :: Emersyn's First 4-Wheeler Ride

26May --- Some things are just genetic it seems. Emersyn has never even seen a four-wheeler before, but she was absolutely delighted to go on her first ride with Uncle Jeff! It's a pretty boring clip, I'll admit, but I still coudln't not share Emersyn's first four-wheeler ride!

Video #10 :: Guess Who Wants a Pony!

27May --- I think we really need to buy a pony! Emersyn shows off just how much of a natural she is at riding in this clip. We're at a local petting farm in Ohio, and the girls all got to take a pony ride. (I wasn't behind the camera, so somehow we only got video of Emersyn on the pony.) While she was riding Skippy, the pony, Emersyn (unprompted) asked if she could please have a pony at home. Naturally, I told her it was all up to Daddy!!

Video #11 :: Baltimore-Ohio Family Train

27May --- It's day three of our visit to Ohio, at a local petting farm when the girls discovered a little train... To our surprise, it's a B&O Train! You can't see it very well no matter what I did, but on the side of at least two cars it says "Baltimore-Ohio". Yup, it's like the train was there just for us!

Video #12 :: The Girls Stay Out of the Pool

27May --- After a fun visit to the local petting farm, the moms went shopping and the dads got to entertain the girls. I only really share this clip because it's just so... dad... If your volume is up, you can hear the girls talking about their "fish" (aka - their waterguns) and that's pretty cute. But my favorite part is how the three toddlers stay out of the pool and, well, just watch Kennadi in the background as Chris is catching this clip!!

(Yes, there's still more!!!)

Video #13 :: Three Peas in a (Chris) Pod

27May --- It's back to Playground Chris for the girls while the rest of us get dinner ready. It's a quick clip, but you can't help but love it. Just three toddler girls giggling like crazy is enough to put a smile on anyone's face. Add Chris having so much fun, and it's an instant explanation for me sharing this little video!

Video #14 :: The Best Playground Around (Again)

27May --- This video really needs no explanation other than to repeat Kherington's words - "you're our playground, Uncle Chris"!!

(Last One!!)

Video #15 :: Baywatch Toddler Style

28May --- The day of our trip was quite a blur. We made a visit to Grammy's house and then we were off to her lake to play on the beach. This is just about the only clip with Kherington, Emersyn and Kennadi in it all at the same time, so I had to share it. They all loved the beach and playing in the lake! In this little video, the three gorgeous girls do thier best Baywatch impression... toddler style!! LOL!!

I'm putting the videos up now on the "It's New" tab and the "Caught on Film" tab. The pictures from the weekend are already up, so you can check out the album from our weekend in Ohio. It's pretty amusing and we somehow managed to get about a handful of good shots of all three girls together. Hey, we can totally brag about that. Have you ever tried to get a picture of three girls that are seven mothns apart each, all looking at you at the same time and without any of them looking ridiculous?!?! Yeah... we can brag!

Memorial Day Weekend in Ohio

Happy Memorial Day!! Yeah, yeah, yeah... It's a day late, but we're a dollar short so it works out.

We made a semi-last minute decision to go to Ohio for Memorial Day Weekend. We had wanted to and had been starting to plan our trip when things went South in the job area. With the pending start date and lack of any vacation time, we changed our minds. Then the weekend got close and I was still without a start date, so we figured we could take advantage of that and just go spend some time with family. We haven't been up to beautiful Chagrin Falls in about two years, so it was a much needed trip. The "other" Swaders always come here for Labor Day Weekend, so it hasn't been too horribly long since we've seen Chris' brother and his family. And Chris' mom has come here a few times to visit with Emersyn. Still, it's been a little while and we were very excited to see everyone!!

There is a serious butt ton of pictures from our long weekend. You just can't have three adorable little girls together and not take a bazillion pictures. I did manage to edit quite a bit, believe it or not. Every time the girls would go to sleep, I'd go through the camera making deletions. Still I think there's close to 400 pictures all together. Honestly I could have probably gotten rid of a few more, but some of the sequences were just to good to keep only that one shot! The weekend has its own album, so it'll be easy to find and go through. Here are some of my favorites though...

I think the highlight of the visit for the girls was abusing Chris. At one point, Kherington said "You're a playground, Uncle Chris" and that pretty much sums it up perfectly!

 Although it was a quick wash down, putting three toddlers in a bath together is pretty hilarious. I don't know which girl started it, but they all ended up "washing" each others' hair.

This is the only way to get a picture of three girls, between the ages of 2 and 3, after a bath sporting their cute towels. Seriously, I must have deleted 20 shots of huge smiles... but with certain parts clearly visable as they ran around giggling.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how well the girls all got along. They even teamed up quite a bit... mostly to open the fridge/freezer when they were told they couldn't have a popsicle yet, but also to tame the giraffe in the pool. Or should I call it a giraft, Jeff?!?!

After a hard days' work in the pool and sprinkler, it was nice for the girls to just veg out.

The tv trance didn't last too long though. As soon as the door was open to start grilling, the girls were back out on the perfect toddler-sized four-wheeler.

It's not techinically one of my favorite pictures from the weekend, but all the girls were excited to have a picinic for Saturday's dinner. My favorite part of their picinic was just watching them "share". Kherington would look away from her plate and Kennadi would snag something. Emersyn would be talking to Kennadi, and Kherington would sneak a little something from her plate. And when Kennadi wasn't paying attention, Emersyn would pinch a piece of hot dog. It was pretty comical.

Sunday we went to Lake Farm Metropark (or something like that) where they have this whole set up with farm animals. It was right up my alley since you could pet everything, and I wasn't the only girl who was loving it!

Kherington, Emersyn and Kennadi each had the biggest smiles most of the day. They rode a pony, pet a huge pig, tried to milk a cow (they were totally allowed!), chased a couple chickens and stared in awe at the ginormouse horses. Surprisingly, they even posed for a picture or two...

So here's the thing with having three girls who are each 7 months apart - whatever one does, the other two want to do it too. Like, say, holding someone's hand. If Kennadi wanted to hold my hand, Emersyn had to because "that's my Mommy"; then Kherington had to hold my hand because the other two girls are. Which basically means there were a lot of things like this happening with one adult or the other throughout the day! (Not that I'm complaining! It kept all the girls together, walking nicely and behaving. Plus, who doesn't love this kind of attention?)

Since the girls were all so good, they each got to pick out something from the gift shop. Kherington and Kennadi both went right for a little horse with a pink saddle blanket thing. Emersyn got a little llama, just like her mama. (And, no, this doesn't count as me getting one of the llamas that I desparately want!) Before we left, all the girls showed me what they got as a special treat.

With nap over for the girls and the wives out shopping, Chris and Jeff took over the entertainment. One of the main events was bottle rockets. Needless to say, the girls were all rivited by the "fire tricks" Jeff was showing off.

While we got a very late dinner together, the girls went back to their favorite activity... The Chris Playground!!

Since we were so far off schedule anyway, we decided to have a very special treat for the girls. They all got to stay up (extra, super) late and roast marshmellows around the fire. By "roast marshmellows" I mean we let them see the fire while each adult roasted one giant marshmellow before the girls crashed out. Jeff even set off some big "fire tricks" while they enjoyed their roasted marshmellow.

 

Monday we went to Grammy's house, then over to the lake in her community. The girls had a blast on the beach and especially loved the little playground they have set up. From that whole little trip, these are definitely my favorite two pictures!!

Now, I know that neither Emersyn or Regina are really looking at the camera in this shot, but I still love it. I can't really explain why, I just really love this picture. As soon as I can order prints again, it's definitely frame worthy!

Before we left Ohio that night, we all went to dinner for one last horrah to the weekend. Grammy and Mr. Jim rode their bikes up to meet us, and the girls couldn't help themselves when they saw the bikes. Grammy's is a pretty purple, so all the girls wanted to "ride" that one...

Of course my girl had to "ride" the "big blue one" too. She even asked Mr. Jim on her own if she could ride his bike. He was happy to oblige and Emersyn showed that the love of Harley's must be genetic...

We got back to Jeff and Shannon's house to load up our things and head out, but girls had one last photo op... The saving of a turtle from the middle of the road led to this shot. They were all curious and even gave the turtle one last petting before she was allowed to head back to the woods.

Then we were off. Emersyn got to ride home with a new travel dvd player in the car, where she fell asleep to her new Mickey Mouse movie. It was such a great trip, that this morning Emersyn asked if we could do it again this weekend. So far this morning, she's already been to the dark side of the moon to save "Kennadi, Kennadi's sister, Aunt Shannon, Uncle Jeff, and the big doggie girls" as well as spending quite a bit of time on her phone talking to everyone. I think that solidifies how much fun she had this weekend!!

I do have a ton of videos too. There's a few that I'll upload on thier own, but ideally I'm hoping to make a little "Memorial Day Weekend" video to share. At the very least, you have all the pictures and will have a couple movies soon. At best, within a week or so, you'll have a whole weekend video to get the idea of how great our weekend was!

We hope that everyone had a great (and safe) weekend too!! Happy (belated) Memorial Day!!

A Little Randomness to Brighten Up Your Day

Who doesn't love a little randomness? Here to fill your daily requirement, we'd like to provide you with a few random stories and a couple random pictures. It's the least we can do.

Random Dose #1 :: Emersyn likes Victoria's Secret. Yeah, it's a little odd but she gets it honestly. My grandmother (who Emersyn gets her middle name from, Dorothy) just couldn't help herself from going through the bra and underwear section of any store. I've always had a small addiction, but my size pretty much keeps that in check... until Chris bought me one of Victoria's not-so-Secret pieces and I realized that girl has serious style. But I digress... I had to go into my new favorite store to exchange/return a pair of underwear I accidently grabbed in the wrong size and since we had to run some errands anyway, Emersyn got to come too. She was in her stroller, but as soon as we walked in the store her jaw dropped. There was this huge, slow motion, sweeping look around the store before Emersyn gasps and says "Ooh I love this place Mommy; it's faaabulous"! Even the girl working there stopped mid-sentence to gawk at my two-year-old's reaction. Of course then the sales girl unfortunately remembered to tell me just to let her know if I needed any help, that she can go look for any size I need. I say it's unfortunate because that remark came back out of Emersyn's mouth. See, as my tiny toddler is tearing through the drawers on the underwear table, picking out what underwear she wants (which Chris was just so happy about), I was forced to tell Emersyn (again) that this store is for grown ups like Mommy and that they don't have her size here. Then it regurtitated to "No, Mommy. That lady (insert arm pointed to the sales girl) said she can go find my size. So I want this one."!!! Yeah... Write this down as Emersyn's first and last trip to the underwear department or any underwear store.

Random Dose #2 :: Emersyn's school pictures. I don't even remember what day they did pictures on, but we just picked them up yesterday. We've decided that we'll make a point to include Brinley's Bear in at least one picture whenever Emersyn gets them done, so you'll see that one here. The funniest thing is that Emersyn is a total pro at this now. The center director was hysterical at how Emersyn smiles immediately when the photographer picks up the camera. The girl taking the pictures said my girl was the easiest she's ever had around this age. I guess she's a natural... or that the bazillion photo shoots she's had in the last 2 1/2 years has taught her something...

Random Dose #3 :: Super Hero Emersyn travels to the dark side of the moon to save her family. Now, I'll tell you before hand what I didn't find out until later. There was a Poppy Cat episode on Sprout where Poppy and her friends travel to the dark side of the moon to save some super hero cat. That's where the idea came from. I didn't know that originally though, so imagine me questioning that comment!! Anyway, Emersyn was playing in the living room while I was doing some things on the computer and all of a sudden she "got a phone call" on her little toy phone. She comes over to me real urgently and it goes like this ~

Bird - Pop needs my help!

Me - Why?

Bird - Pop is stuck!

Me - Where's he stuck at?

Bird - He's stuck on the dark side of the moon! I'll see you later Mommy. Love you, bye bye.

*She goes to the bench in our foyer and mumbles uncomprehensively for about 3 minutes

Me - Whatcha doing over there Bird?

Bird - It's my magic car. Me and Mickey have to buckle up for the trip to save poppy on the dark side of the moon. It's dangerous. Bye Mommy.

*She blows me a kiss and continues mumbling for a few more minutes.

When she comes back down the hall to me, Emersyn declares that she managed to save "everyone" and holds her arms in a big circle for me to see. I got the full list of "my family here", all of whom she and Mickey saved from jail on the dark side of the moon!!

Random Dose #4 :: The obsession continues... Mickey not only goes with Super Hero Emersyn on rescue missions to the dark side of the moon, he goes everywhere. I mean, she want's a car seat for him so that he can be safe too. Emersyn wants to get a piggy bank for Mickey, a stroller, some squeezey snacks and has even asked if she can give him a bath. Her latest crazed-fan stunt was to climb completely out of the cart at Target to get a Minnie Mouse tee shirt. I mean like scaling the walls of the cart in half a blink of an eye type of crazed-fan. After containing the fanatic, we were in the band-aid isle so I could get some more neosporin to go things. (This child has more scrapes and scratches than an alley cat!) That's when Mickey noticed some Mickey Mouse band-aids and, ahem, he reached out of the cart to get them. "Mommy, it's his band-aids. He needs them all." Then Emersyn decided that she would like to spend her money from Pop on the band-aids. Really?!?! What two-year-old does that?!?! But, Emersyn (and Mickey) are now the proud owners of a $4.79 box of Mickey Mouse band-aids.

Random Dose #5 :: Emersyn rediscovers nail polish. For her birthday last year, I took Emersyn to get her nails done. She just got them painted, but she loved it. The interest faded just as quickly as it surfaced, but yesterday she saw the bottles that I had gotten last year for her. So, I obliged and now all her little toes and (most of) her little fingers are light blue. Emersyn said it looks like they're in water. Of course her fingers didn't all last past nap time. I have no idea what she did to them, but there isn't a speck of nail polish on either of her index fingers. But, yeah, she had fun!

I'm Speedy

Oh yeah! This time I was super speedy with the videos. So, here's a butt ton more videos for your viewing pleasure. :)

Emersyn & Mickey Mouse Watch the Prairie Dogs

18May12 --- We're back at the zoo and this time Emersyn brought her new best friend, Mickey Mouse. This clip isn't all to exciting, but you can hear Emersyn asking questions about the Prairie Dogs and even telling Mickey about the baby Prairie Dog she sees!

Emersyn Speaks Chicken-ese

18May12 --- Another clip from the zoo... Emersyn is getting more into the animals with each trip. In this video, she's telling the chickens and roosters what they're supposed to be saying. Then she jumps sky high when they do it!!

Emersyn Gives Commentary on the Lions

18May12 --- Another clip from the zoo... The lions were more active than we've seen them yet. Emersyn was really into seeing them moving, and asks Chris questions about what they're doing. She even gives some commentary! Maybe we have a future NatGeo star on our hands.

Mama Colobus Monkey and Her Baby

18May12 --- Another clip from the zoo... We got a special treat in the Chimp House this time. The Colobus Monkeys recently welcomed a new baby, and today was the first time we've gotten to see the little bundle of joy! I know it's not the most thrilling clip ever, but how often do you get to see a Mama Colobus Monkey and her baby?!?!

Emersyn Washing the Car

19May12 --- If nothing else, at least Emersyn could have a career washing cars when she grows up... She just loves it! And she has so much fun, it's hard not to enjoy this simple chore too.

Making Rainbows and Spraying Daddy

19May12 --- Emersyn loves washing cars, and just discovered that the water can make a rainbow in the sun. This clip isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but I love how she takes her new discovery and puts it to use, repeating us to make rainbows herself with the hose. It also doesn't hurt that Emersyn sprays Chris pretty good in the clip too!

Chasing Daddy with the Hose

19May12 --- Oh the many ways that Emersyn makes me smile... This little clip shows just one of millions, when she sprays her Daddy with the hose while washing the car! i love how she chases him around the car and even tells him "I will" when he asks if she's going to spray him. Her giggles say it all!

Emersyn in the Pool

20May12 --- It's finally nice enough to have some time in the pool. My dad opened his pool, but that was way to chilly for a dip this Sunday. The little pool that my mom filled up however, was just right. Emersyn had a blast playing in it for the first time this year. In this clip, Emersyn discovers the fun of a blow up innertube!

Cameron Jumping in the Pool

20May12 --- Although the newly opened pool at my parents' house was too chilly for everyone else, Cameron couldn't stay out! This is a clip of him jumping in (he requested that I "video tape" him) and you can literally see how he immediately starts shivering. Crazy kid still wouldn't get out though!!

The Cameron and Emersyn Car Wash

20May12 --- Emersyn's love of washing cars is spreading. This weekend, Cameron got in on the action, helping Emersyn and Poppy wash Maw Maw's car... kind of...

Cameron Gets What He Asks For, Thanks to Emersyn

20May12 --- Kids and hoses, it's just such a fun combination! I love this clip just because it's so silly. Cameron begs Emersyn to spray him with the hose, only to squeal and jump a mile when she does. It just cracks me up!

Emersyn's Toad Adventure Part One

20May12 --- 1/3 --- Fearless Emersyn discovers a toad at Maw Maw and Poppy's house. She's a little hesitant at first, but gets over that quickly. This is the first clip of three, where Emersyn sees the toad for the first time and tries to catch him with Daddy.

Emersyn's Toad Adventure Part Two

20May12 --- 2/3 --- This is the second clip of three in Emersyn's Toad Adventure. Emersyn and Chris finally catch the toad, thanks mostly to Molly, after chasing him through my mom's garden for a few minutes. Emersyn is fearless about holding the toad, petting him and even asking if she can give him a kiss.

Emersyn's Toad Adventure Part Three

20May12 --- 3/3 --- This is the third clip of three from this little series of Emersyn. After agreeing with Chris to let the toad go back to his life, Emersyn stays close to watch him. She then tries to feed him by pulling up some grass and dropping the blades on the toad... until the toad decided he doesn't want to be buried in grass and jumps away. Emersyn jumps a country mile high before starting to cry from being startled. Normally, I don't laugh when my baby girl cries, but this is just hysterical!

Now, these and all those other videos are on the "It's New" tab and the "Caught on Film" tab. Go check them out and watch them over and over again... Why are you still here reading this?!?! LOL!!

Summer Sun Much?

It wasn't the hottest day we've had this year, but it was still nice enough for some Summer fun at Maw Maw and Pop's house. My dad opened the pool, but only Cameron was brave enough to get in that. My mom did set up the little pool and a water table for Emersyn though. The table went ignored, but Emersyn loved the pool.

She even got to enjoy a nice Summer treat - freezey pops!

Emersyn realized that Cameron was having a lot of fun with the rafts in the big pool, so she had to get in on that action too. It wasn't quite the same, but she didn't care.

I know you can't tell in a picture, but the pool water was so chilly that you could actually see Cameron's whole body tense at the first touch, while he was jumping in! Crazy kid still wouldn't stay out of the water though.

Finally the sun hid behind the trees in the back yard, so the kids moved around front to "help" my dad. He was washing his truck and my mom's car this weekend. Cameron and Emersyn were both rewarded for their "help" with $5 each from Poppy. We think my dad might be getting senile, but he loved having them around and is happy to give them a little money.

Emersyn also discovered a toad. Chris caught it (and continually took it away from Molly at Emersyn's persistance and fear for the toad) and Emersyn thought it was the greatest thing. She wanted to give him a kiss, but we were able to talk her out of that. Instead, she settled for petting him a little.

Meanwhile, Cameron gave up on trying to battle Emersyn for the hose to help wash cars and took advantage of the heat to don his military gear, playing Army-Marine.

Of course it didn't take long for Emersyn to join in, even helping Cameron drag out the tent (he's behind that big block of camo) and supplies.

 They played like that for a while, but with a lot of "just a few more minutes"s and "do we have to"s, it was time for dinner. They were outside immediately after though, playing football and soccer and tackle-made-up-game-with-several-different-types-of-balls... It really was just a great Sunday!