Pieced Ears!

After almost a year of hesitation, Carlie decided to get her ears pieced. Well, I have a confession...I decided to get Carlie's ears pierced. She has talked about it, talked about it and talked about it. But being the worrier she is -- she was just simply scared. So on Saturday, while Lucy was at a birthday party, Jeff, Carlie and I hit the mall. Unbeknownst to Carlie, I had every intention of getting her ears pieced on that day. As we were in Claire's "shopping for earrings" she was able to watch a few people get their ears pierced. Thankfully, they did well. After second guesses, walking around he mall to think about it, she decided she was finally ready. I love her faces in these pictures. The fact that she wears her emotions on her sleeve so readily is a trait I just love about her. She will never be good at poker, but she sure is fun to be around.

This is pre-piercing. She is hugging the non-existent life out of this teddy bear they have....

Eyes closed and saying her favorite bible verse....over and over and over....

This was the smile she wore for the rest of the day. She kept saying, "I can't believe I did it!" "I have earrings!" "I keep thinking I am going to wake up from a dream!"

Braces and earrings all in one summer. *sigh* They grow up fast.

Adams Hotel

Well, our July wasn't busy, so we decided to invite ourselves to the Adams Hotel. Our favorite place to stay! Our afternoon started with a boat ride to swim and enjoy the hot weather and sunshine. Even Jeff enjoyed the weather and water. Need I remind you that my Jeff is not a water or boat person? He was on Saturday! The kids were doing great...and we even had a couple of "potty" experiences on the boat. I must say, Lacey is raising some pretty adventurous boys. All of our fun came to a halt with Caden tried to "cut his carrot" using a large Pampered Chef knife. We all kicked into action - You have never seen adults clean up and get a boat going so fast in all of time! Luckily, Caden's mishap turned out to be a $150 band aid trip to the emergency room. We were all happy to see his smiling face when they returned from the hospital.

On Sunday...it was going to be HOT again. So we decided to venture to the Children's Museum. Our last experience at the Children's Museum (which I must admit, was our only) wasn't very good. There were lots of people, and Lucy just didn't deal well. THIS TIME, it was perfect! Lacey got us in for free with her super sneaky pass, and the had a ball. The Adams' family packed up and left early for Millie's nap, but the girls were being so good, we decided to stay. And stay. And stay. And stay. We visited exhibit after exhibit and shared many laughs. What a great day for just a spontaneous decision!

Our little explorers...

Carlie and Eli doing their best to impersonate the jelly bean painting....good job kids!

The underwater exhibit...one of Caden's favorites....

Carlie decided to attempt the "rock climbing" .. this is her and daddy before the big climb.

This is Carlie climbing the wall! There were no foot steps...she really had to "scale" the wall. I must admit, she did much better than two older boys who went before her!

In Egyptian wear... to end our trip...tired parents...tired kids....good sleep by all!