The patio-and Andy

Oops got these backward again. They are supposed to be the before and after shots of our patio. Oh we'll...here are the after and before shots. :)

We are really pleased with how it turned out. Dan and I have been enjoying lighting the torches and hanging out there after the girls have gone to bed. Looking out from our patio are only trees and fields (no houses) so it's very peaceful!

Can't forget about little Andy...or should I say big Andy?

Andy at 8 weeks

Andy now at 4 months

He is actually a really, really great puppy!

DISNEY!!!

We left with my parents for Disney World beginning of June. We had such an amazing time!!! It was the 1st time our girls had been and the were so excited. For us, we took them at the perfect ages. Not too young, but old enough to ride the rides and young enough to be excited to see the the Princesses. We passed by exhausted parents dragging their diaper bags behind them with their toddlers in complete overstimulated meltdowns! YIKES! Yup, glad we waited until they were older! Although I did bring an umbrella stroller for Mallory to ride in when she got tired. I was reading somewhere that you can walk an average of 7 miles in the parks... I'm pretty sure we did.Dad and Mom riding Buzz Lightyear

Maddy and Mallory looking at the castle

Getting ready to watch It's a Bugs Life in 3D. Mallory was ticked that her glass kept falling off.

This was taken at EPCOT. The big ball was in the background, but it was so hot and muggy that day. Our camera kept fogging up. (hate that)

I have some more great pics I'll post later today or tomorrow from our trip.

May- Part 2

Toward the end of May we made a trip to St. Louis for Evan's (our nephew) 1st Birthday. We spent a day at Kasey's parents house for the party and then drove to the arch the next day with Mike and Kasey and Dan's parents.

Cousins

Kasey and I

Oops! These pics are backwards. We had this tiny little deck the builder built on the back our our house. It was only big enough for our grill so we decided a patio would be much more functional. After calling and getting several bids on the project we settled for a guy who seemed a little "rough around the edges" but his price was CRAZY CHEAPER than anyone else's. To save money, Dan tore out our deck himself and we/he pulled up the sod. Thankfully, the patio was put in while we were on vacation so I didn't have to listen to the noise all day!

Pictures of our Disney vacation and the finished patio in the next blog entry...STAY TUNED!!!!!

May- Part 1

How did I get so far behind?! May is always a busy month for us with both girls playing soccer. Dan coaches them both and this year took the VP position for our soccer club. Naturally, he did a fabulous job, but it ended up taking more time than we thought! This is Maddy's U8 team. The last game of the season the field was completely under water and the girls were a muddy mess! I had them turn around so I could get a shot of their filthy uniforms. This picture doesn't show it very well. ( I'm actually pretty sure Madison spent more time jumping and splashing in the puddles than she did playing soccer this game)

Coach Dan and his girls

Dan and his U5 team. (Mallory is the one next to him on her knee)

Mallory "schooling" the boys.

The other biggie in May was Mallory's Pre K graduation. Is it possible that my baby is going to be in Kindergarten this fall? Waaaahhhhhh! She (and Maddy) attended a wonderful Christian preschool and I'll miss taking them there. This pic is of Mallory and her teacher, Miss Lori.

Mallory got a scoop of ice cream every time she completed a particular skill ie. writing first and last name, address, phone number, knowing her numbers, alphabet... and at the end of the year if she/they received all her/their scoops the class had an ice cream party to celebrate. Just to brag a little she had her's completed in the first few months of school! :)

Parts 2 and 3 from the month of May to come...hopefully sooner than later.