Cousins

We just had the best week! Molly's precious cousins came up for the week to stay with Kyle's parents. Molly had SO much fun. M had ballet camp in the morning, but spent each and every afternoon and evening swimming and playing with her cousins. I still can't believe we are so lucky to have 2 girls exactly 1 year older than Molly. They are best buds and I know their bond will last a lifetime!

Molly, Mary and Kate

I ran a sweat shop in my dining room to crank out these 3 matching dresses, but it was so worth it. The cuteness!

LOTS of swimming. Molly usually wants out of the pool after about 20 minutes, but with her cousins there she would swim for hours. By the end of the week I saw a big improvement in her swimming!

Molly and Mary. Believe it or not, the matching outfits were NOT planned!!!

Pile of cuteness!

They put on plenty of "shows"!

We miss them already!

What we've been up to...

I can't believe this summer is half over! Why does time have to go so quickly? I thought we both might go stir crazy this summer... but I am pleasantly surprised. We are both enjoying the relaxed schedule and carefree days.

Last week was Cow Appreciation week at "Chick-a Play" as M calls it. If you dressed like a cow you got free food! Molly loves costumes and she loves chick-a-play... so this was a dream come true for her!

We've been cooking up a storm...

That night we made homemade pizza and the BEST homemade ice cream!

This week, Molly has a tennis camp in the morning. I use the word camp loosely... it was 30 minutes a day for 4 days- ha!

She was very excited about her own racket and wearing tennis clothing!

At the end of the lessons, the kids would gather together for their cheer when they would yell "Tennis Rules!"- it was so funny.

Those who know my girl well know that speediness, athletic and coordinated are not adjectives that generally describe her! She may not be a tennis prodigy, but she had fun and it was good to try something different. When asked she said her fave part of tennis camp was the "water breaks"!!!

Another dress I made. She thinks these over-the-top expressions are GORGEOUS!

I thought the fabric was so cute!

At Kyle's softball game. Shannon is Kyle's friend from work and has sat for Molly. She reads this blog and when Molly requested a picture with her she asked if it would make the blog. So, this one is for you, Shannon!

She even got to go to the dug out!

It was so fun for Molly to get to see him play!

Another outfit I made for M.

The posing kills me! Ya'll, Molly LOVES to have her picture made. LOVES it. She must say the phrase "take a picture of me" at least 100 times a day. I am dead serious about that. She wants photos in every pose possible, and she'll want to pose with other people and even inanimate objects. I have taken so many pictures of her with random objects like pens or a string. She just loves to pose. She watched a show where they discussed how everyone has a talent. I asked her what she thought her best talent was and she said "posing"!

Sewing

Lately I have been sewing a bunch for Molly and have enjoyed it SO much. It is a great creative outlet with the bonus result of fun clothes for Molly ( and Baby Dear!). I have made a goal to make about 1/2 of her fall and winter clothes... we'll see if it happens! Molly always wants me to make Baby Dear a matching ensemble, of course:) The most rewarding part of it has been how much Molly loves it. She is SO proud to wear homemade clothes, and can't wait to tell everyone she is wearing something Mommy made. I know I have to take advantage of it now, because there will come a time when she won't be caught dead in something homemade!

Fun outfit for the Fall! I made it a tad big for her to wear in a few months.

Sweetest Girl!

I'll post some more once I take Molly's pic in them:)

A little of this and that...

There is no rhyme or reason to this post- just a random collection to catch us up from the past month! We have really been enjoying our summer.... minus all the rain we have been having! Molly had a fun little camp at church last week and had a lot of fun... and I sure did enjoy the free time! We had a fun 4th of July- we went to Church and hen grilled and swam at Kyle's parents house. The next day Kyle talked me in to going to Six Flags... and I'm so glad he did! All the fun Molly has was worth the heat and the crowds. I didn't realize there were so many rides for kids her size. Her favorites were the roller coasters (small, of course!)- she is so brave- much more than me! I was closing my eyes and counting down the seconds until I could get off and Molly had both hands up screaming for joy!

Molly and Poppy

I LOVE this one!

I think the goggles are hilarious!

Our big, shaggy Topsy. He has since had a haircut and you can actually see his face!

Molly and Baby Dear in dresses I made them. I have been sewing for her a lot... and she always wants something matching for her Baby Dear:)

Kansas

The week after VBS, Molly and I made the trek up to Kansas for a week. The drive up was a breeze... the drive back down south was a different story! She has sworn off sleeping in the car which means a TON of talking, questions and VBS music:) Molly has such a fun time and wanted to stay "for one year"! We didn't do too much- just relax and see family- which was just what we wanted!

The Best Uncle award goes to Matt! Molly loves him SO much!

Molly always wants Matty to read to her

Family pic

I LOVE these!

Molly doing the "jumping thing" at the mall! Kyle did this with her last fall and she certainly remembered it. She is still a total daredevil!

Getting ready for a swim at Gampy's! Sweet Matt bought a fish floaty just for M!

Molly and my PaPa

Molly came up with very elaborate games to play in the water and Gampy made the best playmate!

We made it home just in time to celebrate Fathers Day with our special Daddy!