Ballard Bunch

Fourth of July was a great day! We slept in and had a nice, lazy morning before headed to my mom's to swim. The kids love an audience and showing off their swimming skills to everyone. They were jumping and sliding and swimming all afternoon. They really love gliding underwater- I'm always amazed at how far they can swim. I'm so glad they love the water and we are lucky to have a pool to use! As always, we did fireworks in our driveway once it got dark. Everyone loves seeing the fireworks and there were a lot more going off around us this year, too. Fun! Walker showed me this- I had no idea he knew how to do a back flip! I had to get it on video :)

I am teaching summer camp this summer, so our season is not quite as care-free as normal. It has helped me not get too lazy, and mantain some sort of schedule and structure. We are done by 1:00, though, so there is still plenty of time for fun! Here are some pictures, random as they might be... LOOSE TEETH ALERT! We have two loose teeth, with permanent teeth already coming in! Kindergarten, loose teeth, tackle football this fall- oh, what a big boy I have :) So, my kids are Longhorns fans. I think they just really like the animal the longhorn, plus the color orange. I don't quite know how it happened... Zebra and Monkey had a wedding. Walker and Lucy made sure they had the appropriate wedding attire (Made out of construction paper and taped on. I really love the red bow tie as an accent) Fort Worth Cats game- our first! It was fun, and rainy so we weren't hot at all!! New Bedding!! She is so excited to have a real sheet and comforter combo :) New clothes from Nana and Papa- yea...

We loved going to Ranger games last season, and the whole family was excited when baseball season came around again. This year, the kids joined Jr. Rangers, which gave them an opportunity to do some extra special activities, and we have a lot more chances to go to games- a win-win!! We made sure to pick a few "special giveaway" games and a few Sunday games, so the kids could run the bases. Such a special treat! I got the best pictures I could with my phone (new lens coming soon for my Nikon, though!!!). Peepaw and GG came with us, and as luck would have it, this was the 6th longest 9-inning game in Rangers history!! We had to get there early to get the kids the Ian Kinsler jersey, and stay until the game was over to run the bases- so, we were there a l o n g t i m e...... but all worth it! We did sit in the shade, thank God for small favors :) and I got a margarita, so it wasn't a total loss... Lucy in Peepaw's hat Rally cap- c'mon Rangers! Either make it excit...

Part 2: Summer!! Our theme for the summer was swimming, movies, and baseball. We went to a weekly movie in Southlake and swam every chance we got. Of course, summer means our annual Kerbel visit to College Station. We also had our first "just us" family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge JUNE Swimming lessons. My kids have never had a fear of the water, but I still didn't know what to expect for swimming lessons. I was blown away!! They both took to it right away and had a blast- it was really cool to see your kids get such confidence and master something like that. This is Lucy's first time jumping off the diving board without any floaties. This was part of their "test" at the end of the lesson. They swam across the deep end of the pool by themselves. She said Walker and Lucy had completed Level 2 after the two week course. They LOVED the diving board- and I love my camera getting cool shots like that :) JULY 4th of July!! Poppa has a serious affection for firewo...

What a great summer we have had so far!! It has been tiring, though. We have been extra busy, and some days I just say- OK, enough!! We are staying home today! Those days are good, too. My laundry room really appreciates those days. I am definitely more relaxed in the summer. Their bedtimes are a bit later, they can have some foods and drinks that they don't normally have (Diet Coke, Root Beer, Orange soda)- it's summer and we just have fun. I absolutely LOVE summer. It would be my favorite season except it's so dreadfully hot in Texas. This summer, I really wanted to: - do swim lessons for the kids (check) - do a weekly summer movie thing somewhere (check) - see friends that we don't see alot of (check!!) Real hair cuts!! Walker's is so long, we have to get real trims- not just buzz it like we normally do. Lucy still wants hers long, but it needed a good trim. We just love Sarah!! She is having a boy this fall and naming it Griffin. Walker smiled and said, "...

Our annual visit to the Kerbels' home was this past week. Rachel is a dear friend that I have had since the 9th grade, and our kids are pretty close in age and have formed friendships over the years. This year, the girls really hit it off. They got to be so girly together- they just loved it. And I loved the girl time I got with one of my favorite friends!! I don't think there was anything we didn't talk about- we covered it all. Our girly girls that loved to be dressed up Wrestling and whacking the ball outside Building a fort, and taking care of "baby cheetah", aka Kindle All dressed up for the grocery store Playing on their AWESOME bouncy water slide One day, we drove to Houston and went to their Children's Museum. It was definitely the coolest children's museum I have ever been to. So many different areas and things to touch, and figure out and learn.