A Hot and Happy Independance Day!

Well, it was a hot one!

But we had a great day regardless!

We spent the day at my mom's, just playing, visiting, and relaxing.

They had a small lake floaty filled with water the girls used as a pool. I forgot their swimsuits however, so I haven't posted any "pool" photos of them, as they were running around in just their undies!

Good drinks and food, a few sparklers, and a handful of neighborhood fireworks when we got home... nothing to complain about! 

The girls loved their patriotic tattoos!

We all got to enjoy the hammock!

I made this pretty little concoction!

Sadly, it was NOT as tasty as it looks.  Pintrest FAIL :(

Ryan may or may not have taken 3 random naps throughout the day...  and may or may not have spilled a little of his beer ;)

The girls also took naps.  I found this particularly darling, as this iron bed is the one I used when I was a little girl :)

While the girls were napping, my sister and I made good use of the "pool"!  We're classy, I know.

We let the girls do a few sparklers!

It was a good day!

June catch-up

I have no excuses.  It's just that it's summertime, and summertime always goes too quickly.

All those meaningful posts, each one it's own individual piece, lovely photos to accompany insightful words....  Um, not happening.

As I sit here, I have a list (a literal list, people) of things I want to blog about.

It's July and I'm just now going through some of last months photos.  So, I'm once again going to lump them together and throw em' at ya.

You can check out what's been up with us or just pass on by.

June in a nutshell- in no particular order

Lila went to her first dentist appointment.

It was pretty awesome that Auntie got to clean her teeth!  She did great and we had a fun day together!

For the first time ever, I painted my toes Blue.

After some major headache and major wallet-ache, I now am a proud owner of an iPhone!

And lets just be honest... they're Rad.

Seriously.

And I heart Instagram.  And it's oh, so much better with an iPhone!

I have cool dogs

...but Boone likes to beg for food.

We had some MAJOR technical difficulties last week.

Let's just say, we've since taken some time to back up the important stuff on the computer.

Eesh.  

Elaina decided to try to knock the chair out with her face.

My kids sleep weird.

The girls got their hair trimmed.  It was a first for Ellie, she was much happier about it than Lila.

Lila wants her hair to be long.  Long like Rapunzel.  Who doesn't?

We like to cuddle with Daddy.

We spent some time on the boat.

I love my husband.

 

 And for as much as I complain about the burdens and trials of raising my girls, 

I do realize how wonderful they are, and how complete my life is BECAUSE of them!

And with that, we bid June farewell!

Have a great Tuesday, I'm off to get my groove on at the gym, then meeting a special friend for lunch! (after a shower, of course... I don't think Gina would appreciate me in all my sweaty glory!)

A most heartfelt welcome

I don't know if I can properly express my joy and happiness,

so I'll just say this,

Congratulations Julie and Brad!

Miss Catherine Ann(e) arrived yesterday morning and made beautiful music as she cried hello to the world!

I can't wait to hug her parents and share in their joy, and of course, give snuggles to the precious bundle herself!  

I love you all and wish you nothing but the pleasure of parenting!  

Patience with the Whine

ugh...

Since Elaina was born, I've always been grateful that the "challenging" phases for each of them happened to avoid occurring at the same time.  When Lila would have her weeks of "issues", Elaina was in general a good, happy, baby.  And when Miss Elaina decided to give us grief, Lila was well behaved, and even-tempered.

The past few weeks, well...

the worlds have collided!  And it's not pretty.

I currently am dealing with an emotionally unstable 3.5year old, who must cry 20 times a day, and carries a persistent whine that makes me want to drink myself into oblivion.  We've tried the ignorance approach, but trying to block out her crying for 30 minutes can push both Ryan and I to the breaking point.  We've tried discipline, we've tried being gentle... the whine continues.

Deep breath.

Then, I've got miss naughty in the throws of the terrible 2's.  All the typical, hitting, biting, "NO", "Mine", nasty throw-down tantrums, you can come to expect of a willful Type-A two year old.  She taunts her already irritable sister, and finds amusement in defying both of her parents.

I realize kids will go through phases.  I realize that at some point this shall pass and it won't seem like such a big deal.  I realize that in the grand scheme of things, life could be a lot worse, but dammit if it isn't FRUSTRATING!!!!

If any of you out there have any pearls of wisdom, or just words of encouragement, I'd be delighted to hear them!  Just let me know I'm not alone in my moments when I look at them and think "it's a good thing I love you so much..."!

I'm going to gladly go fold my laundry in peace, as the little darlings are at daycare today.

Thank God for small blessings!

:)

Happy Birthday to a pretty great lady!

This morning we gathered for a special birthday celebration for the greatest Mother-in-Law I could ask for!

Brunch, photos, candles, and some homemade cards... not a bad day at all!

Barb, we love you!

Hope your Birthday was wonderful, like you!

Here's a few family shots we managed today!

~Nice shot of the family~

One of the many "practice" takes!

Ryan loves his mommy!
Although, I'm not sure she's happy with him at this moment!

The whole gang!

Volovsek Reunion ~ Camping

Well, I survived!

I'm not a camper.

Sorry.

But that said, I did manage to enjoy parts of this past weekend!

Our dear neighbors were kind enough to borrow us their pop-up camper, which was a giant improvment over our previous plan to tent-it!

Ryan's sister also has a nice camper, so we were able to utilize their facilities as well!

The girls were SO excited to go and had a blast!  Lila had quite the pout when it was time to pack up and come home.

We did all the things you do while camping... swim, spend time outside, eat way too much crap-food, roast marshmallows, light sparklers, etc!  

The weekend was not without it's difficult moments, and by difficult, I mean moments at which I thought my head might explode with frustration.  But I'm pretty sure that's part of the camping experience too, right?!

It was great seeing Ryan's family... the campground was full of kiddos, and it's always fun to chat and catch up! 

Our stinkers thought the camper was SOOO COOL! :)

Lila had fun swimming with Daddy!

Amber and Brekken ~ Too cute!

Lila got sand in her shoes... so she took them off and parked it.

Al & Ginny's gang!
I took about 10 photos and not one had everyone looking normal~
what does that say about this family?!

Sparkler Time!
Carter thought it was a firework that was gonna make noise!

Couldn't resist putting one of my hubby's nice bum in here!!

See you again next year!