Summer Fun - June FLEW By!!

June is our favorite month of Summer vacation. You aren't counting down the days until you have to go back to school, and it's just full of lazy days and summer fun. The girls and I are truly appreciating our time off this year! Sydni sleeps in until at least 10am each morning, and Makenzi doesn't ask me every morning if she has to go to school! The morning grind during the school year is what is hardest for all of us. I think having the girls wake up naturally and stress-free makes such a difference in their attitudes the rest of the day! God bless Summer vacation! Here are snippets of some of our June activities: Uncle Jason, throwing Sydni during our weekend visit to White Deer.

Sydni loves Eclipse and the Twilight Saga pretty much because her Mommy does. I know her wanting to be like me won't last forever! I'm sure when she's 12 she will be rolling her eyes at this picture.
I've been waiting for this movie to come out for quite some time! Syd and I went to collect our Twilight/Eclipse fan stuff at Burger King.

Sydni cuts her hair off..again!

Syd and Mak at Karla's.

Pretty cute, isn't she?!

Aunt Hayli and Uncle Jason have the cutest pool in WD that the girls LOVED! They had so much fun hanging out with their cousins for a few days.

The cool fire pit that we roasted marshmellows.

My baby nephew, Brenner. He's growing up so fast!

Sydni FINALLY learned how to ride her bike! Donnie worked with her until she was able to master it. Good job Syd and Daddy!

Makki still hasn't mastered the bike riding thing, but she's working on it!

The BIG 3-0!

Donnie planned a fun party for my thirtieth birthday, and even though I wasn't particularly stoked to give up my twenties, it was a great evening spent with good friends! We started out on Abuelo's patio, listening to music and catching up with our buddies we hadn't seen in a few weeks. Granny Deb and Pop had the girls for the evening, and it was nice to be sans children for a night! Great job on the party, Don!

I had so many goals I wanted to accomplish before this big birthday that I detailed in my 29th BD blog post. I realized a few things this year when attempting to complete these tasks: 1. I will never run competitively again. I ran my butt off in high school and competed on my track and cross country teams at the varsity level for all four years. I don't enjoy running for over 30 or 45 minutes, so why, oh why do I need to torture myself at 30 years of age? My joints are in their 20s any longer, so I've decided my fitness and health is why I will run. Hence, the decision to start the P90X program. I'm on day 17 and already seeing huge transformations in my body. Hopefully, I can stick to it for the full 90 days and see amazing results.

I'm horrible about not finishing things that I start, but I'm trying to change that pattern! Yet another goal for my thirties...to finish stuff I start! Which brings me to my novel - a continual work in progress. I'm not sure if anything will ever happen after finishing it, but I'm nearly a 1/3 of the way there. 67 pages in, and I'm having a hard time gaining the self confidence I need to finish, but I'm going to move forward anyway, because if I never finish it will always be this big "what if?" looming over my head. Donnie is helping me transform the playroom into an office, so I'm hoping that having a quiet place to go (and lock the door) to write will help me make some progress on my story. I have the entire thing outlined in detail, so now all that is left is me writing the dang thing!

Appreciating my family, good health, and great friends is on the top of my "to do list" for the next ten years. I think making investments in all three will guarantee that my thirties will be a great and rewarding ride!

So excited about a night on the town with my husband!
Friends! I have many more friends that were also in attendance, but like a dork, I didn't charge my camera for the occasion.

Donnie...dancing by himself! LOL! He did a great rendition of "Ice, Ice Baby" at The Office. We stopped in to sing a bit of karaoke. So much fun!

I LOVE the dress my mother-in-law funded for my birthday party! You rock, Deb!

Memorial Day Weekend Fun!

Donnie's Mom and Stepdad have a brand new house at Buffalo Lake that we love to visit! Memorial Day weekend, we decided to spend the night on Saturday and hang out on the water. The girls love the boat and anything having to do with being outside in the sun. We're going to have a great time at Pop & Granny's this summer, if this weekend is any indicator!

Strike a pose, Syd!
Boat time!

Pop & Granny

Daddy and Sydni, enjoying the boat.

I have the WHITEST children in the world. We have to douse them in sunscreen every half hour. They do not tan AT ALL!

Helloooooo, ladies!

Swimming with their Daddy. Do you see where they get all of that "whiteness"? Not from Mommy! Ha!

Riding in the tube. They love it!

Sydni's 6th Birthday Party

Sydni's birthday is May 29th, which usually means is falls either on, or extremely close to Memorial Day weekend. That wasn't a problem when she was a baby, because our family was all that mattered when it came to birthday party attendance. Now that she's in school, having your buddies at the party is a big deal! Donnie and I decided that the weekend before her BD would probably not conflict with family vacations and other Memorial Day weekend plans like her actual birthday. Our hunch was correct, because this year was her biggest party yet! She had so much fun with her cousins and many, many friends that were able to attend! The Splash Zone area was packed and her cake, ice cream and presents was also equally fun, because we were able to have it in the Kids Zone party room. There was TONS of playing going on, in addition to iCarly cake, Blue Bell ice cream cups, and loads of great presents! Sydni and her cousin, Karson

Aunt Hayli and cousin Brenner...he had a ball at the pool!
Our good friend, Belle Bennett.
Sydni, our neighbor/friend, Tia, Sutton and Emily (both classmates).

Makki wouldn't stand up for pictures. This is the best I could get of her!

Belle, going 100 miles an hour!

Hayli got a great workout chasing after Brenner!

Sydni and her classmate, Maddie.

Karson, Syd, Maddie, and another classmate, Max.

Tia and Syd

Tia wanted Mak to stand up and take a pic with her, but no!

Brotherly Love.

Mr. Blue Eyes

Emily and Beau Bennett, enjoy the party from the sidelines! Next year, Beau!!

A little bit of posing...

Now with the crocodile...

Mak enjoying the Kids Zone playcenter area.

Reagan, Addie Rose, and Belle enjoy the Kids Zone ball pit.

Time to sing to Syd-o!

A bunch of cute kiddos!

This many girls in one room makes for a LOUD party!

I still can't believe she's SIX. WOW!

Tons of gifts, and tons of helpers!

I had to come over and push the tide of helping hands back from Sydni's gifts! Ha!

Thanks for her many gifts, friends and family!

Lots of fun craft projects! We have all summer to do them. Yippeee!

Makki even opened a few gifts from Granny Mar and Ashlee. We have to keep our boss man happy, too! Ha!

Happy Birthday to You! Cha-Cha-Cha, Cumbaya, Huuah!

Sydni fits right in with her class full of friends. This song is just a little sampling of why her Kindergarten teacher needs a HUGE pay raise! ;)

Mak and B Splashing at Body Works

Mak and Brenner were splashing away at one another, but I only caught the tail end of the war! They were both making faces that didn't look like they were "play splashing", and the intensity of it is what was funny!