Nora Kate got to start riding on the top of the shopping carter this month (instead of me wearing her in the carrier), and she LOVES this!
I have a picture like this of all three kids...for some reason all three have wanted to crawl/scoot/tunnel under this one particular table!
We are finally winning the battle of keeping Carter in this bed at night at naptime! We aren't 100% there, but it is so, so much better now at the conclusion of June than the beginning. He's getting the hang of it, and who wouldn't want to sleep in his snug little bed!?
Dawson's bed (not to leave anyone out!) I think the kid's rooms are my favorite rooms in the house! :)
Nora Kate enjoys playing on this quilt in the backyard everyday!!
At the beginning of June, Dawson had his 5 year check up. What a big boy!!
Now that he's out of school for the summer, we are trying to do a little school work at least 4 days a week amidst all the fun things we have planned! He really does enjoy doing his school work though!
This pool in our backyard has been the source of so much happiness for these two brothers!
They love making homemade popsicles out of lemonade or apple juice!
We've started going to a Hatha Mama (Mommy and Me) Yoga class, and the first night we went Carter randomly decided to show off his plank!
We've visited the library several times!
Everyone loves the library!
Reading is fun!
The boys had a blast on these giant inflatables at the Relay for Life on the Maryville College campus!
More inflatable fun at relay!
June wrapped up our first season of baseball!
Dawson LOVED playing WEE BALL!
This will be worth a lot of money once he becomes a pro, right?!
John enjoyed coaching too! Look at this winning team!
Right after baseball wrapped up VBS week began! I was in charge of Imagination Station which is in the church gym, and I was excited to get to decorate the gym this year too!
LOVED dressing these two in their matching VBS tshirts...John and I matched them too by the way!
more decoration pictures
EVERY STORE SHOULD HAVE THIS EXACT SHOPPING CART!
It makes my life so much easier! Look how happy they all are, and this is after about an hour spent in Target!
Here's Dawson with his trophy at the Outward Baseball Awards ceremony!
Nora Kate's church dress was so big and poofy it wouldn't fit in the highchair for breakfast before church!
On Father's Day the kids got to sing their VBS songs in church! Dawson AND CARTER did great! (This was Carter's first time signing in church!) Nana, Grandad, Pop, and Uncle Logan all came to our church to see/hear them sing!
Nora Kate, Dawson, Carter and Pop on Father's Day!
John and the kids on Father's Day!
Grandad with Nora Kate, Carter, and Dawson on Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day, Dad!
Father's Day afternoon, we took the boys to the public pool. That's Dawson half way down the slide! HE LOVES THIS SLIDE!
John's father's day gift. We had framed the 6 tickets from when he went with his dad to all the home games in 1998 (the year we won the national championship title). He will put it in his office with all of his other UT décor!
His other Father's Day gift! This was the cover of sports illustrated our first year at UT. He saved it all this time, and we recently came across it cleaning out closets. We framed it for his gift and also for him to hang in his office.
One Monday, I took the kids to the splash pad. Nora Kate enjoyed watching the boys and other kids play!
Splash pad fun!
We visited the zoo with Lolly! There's Dawson in the prairie dog tunnel!
Lolly and the grandkids at the zoo!
Touching alligator teeth!
They love the zoo!
More popsicles!
We have at least three bunnies almost always in our yard. Dawson was determined to trap one and touch it. John helped him build this trap and put fruit and veggies in it to lure them in. We never caught anything, but they sure had fun with it anyway!
Dawson gave me this picture. HE said it was Carter and that he even wrote his name. He said he decided to do the "C a little funny like sideways" I just got a kick out of Carter's hair in this picture AND that it looks like it says Nater! Haha! I DO love Dawson's drawings and writings so much!
Swimming at the Myers' pool with all these sweet friends has been wonderful this summer!
Left to right: Harper (2years), Colt (3 years), Dawson (5 years), Olivia (almost 2!), Carter (2 years), Charlie (4 years), Charlie (2 years), Nora (4 years), Carson (5 years), and then Nora Kate (10 months) on the front row. Yes, that's right there are two Charlies and a Nora and a Nora Kate in this bunch! Haha! Dawson has started referring to the Charlie's as Carter's Charlie (2 year old Charlie) and Dawson's Charlie (4 year old Charlie). haha
LOVES the water!
Shortly after this picture Carter started swimming around by himself with just his little puddle jumper float on!
Sitting poolside
One Saturday we went swimming at the Myers with the Shanks family too. Nora Kate had a friend-William!
The last full week of June, Dawson attended Treehouse Camp at our church. He did this last year and LOVED it! He loved it again this year too! This is him in the parking lot before the first day! So excited!
During our recent trip to Dollywood! The 5 of us went and Lolly came too which was great! John and I took Dawson on his first BIG rollercoaster-the Fire Chaser express! I couldn't believe how brave he was!
Love watching Carter and John walk around Dollywood holding hands!
The evening we got back from Dollywood, Nora Kate started crawling!!!!!
She couldn't wait to crawl under this train table in the playroom! Silly girl!
Dawson attended Treehouse Camp Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The weeks' theme was Heroes of the Bible. This is his work from the first day when they studied Zacchaeus.
Wednesday they studied Jonah.
And Friday Queen Ester. Possible the highlight of Wednesday and Friday, though was getting to ride TO and HOME from camp with his buddy Colt!
Look who can pull up in her crib now.
One Thursday we were going to have an "at home" day, and just play in the backyard kid pools. We invited cousin Hailey over. FUN morning!
I've gotten back to sewing a little this month, and I LOVE it! I really enjoy sewing, I just have trouble making time because it seems there is always something to clean up or laundry to do, and I usually end up spending my free time doing those things. I was so excited to make this pink seersucker dress for Nora Kate with a matching hairbow and then two matching bow ties for her brothers.
LOVE these three!
The last Saturday of June we went to a Festival in Downtown Maryville. The boys were THRILLED to get to sit on this REAL GATOR!
And no festival is complete without an inflatable!
AND balloon animals!
LOVE her!
That afternoon, I took the kids to Chuck E Cheese for our friend Anthony's 3rd birthday! FUN!
Then Sunday afternoon Colt got to come play for a little while. Dawson thought this was EXTRA special because John was working and usually on his every other weekends to work its just me and the kids playing, so this was a very special day (not to mention we had lunch at Lolly and Pops and they even got out the inflatable for the kids there)! Here Colt and Dawson are playing Don't Break the Ice!
I helped them build this track which I was more excited about than them, I think! HAHA!
They played dressup too!
Monday we went to the zoo with friends. Here are my boys with "Carter's Charlie" checking out the zebras!
LOVE how they all have their mouths open..not sure why!
Here's the whole gang at the zoo! Left to right: Nora, Charlie, Dawson, Carter, Charlie, Colt. Front row: Nora Kate and Olivia.
We always take pictures of the kids, so I decided to have Dawson take one of the Mommys...I was really impressed!!
Andrea, Alana, Mary Grace, and me!
Oh, and on this zoo visit, we let the kids do the big splash pad behind us for a looong time and they loved it!
Picnic lunch at the zoo after the splash pad.
Here are a few more pictures that I pulled from another camera from this month so they're a little out of order!
Pop took Dawson on his VERY FIRST fishing trip this month. HE LOVED IT!
When did he get so big!
What a fishing trip without chasing some geese?!
A few more pictures from Dollywood!
Lunch at Dollywood!
Dawson loves trying to get the ducks to eat out of his hands at Dollywood. He was successful this time, but I didn't manage to get a picture.
Looking at the big fish with Lolly!
Dawson and Lolly riding the cars!
John and Carter are on top in the gold car and Lolly and Dawson are going under the tunnel in the red car!
Then Lolly rode with Carter.
Nora Kate started waving as they drove by!! Sweet girl!
The kids after church in their matching seersucker things I made them.
Bowties, hair bow, and dress!
