Fourth of July Swimming 2016

We love our annual family breakfast and swimming on the Fourth of July! It is such a fun tradition that we all look forward to so much each year! The food is wonderful, and it is so fun to visit and catch up with extended family. I am so grateful to my aunt and uncle who host each year and make it such a fun day!
Here is a look at some pictures from 2016. (I am currently a year behind on this blog! So even though this is getting published in July of 2017, the pictures are from the previous year.)
 
Davis is not so sure of Nora.  

Fun in the pool!

Backyard Badminton~June 2016

I love fun summer nights outside! We got a badminton set this year for Russell for Father's Day. We had a great time playing as a family. It is fun to teach the kids new things and watch them experience things I loved as a child. Growing up, I loved to play Badminton with my cousins at my Grandma's house. We mostly liked to see how many times we could hit the birdie back and forth without letting it touch the ground. It was always a highlight of my summer!

Go Bennett and Coy! Founders Day 5K 2016

Coy ran his first 5K at the end of June 2016. He did such a good job! He was 5 years old and ran it in 32:47! Watching him sprint to the finish line with his little cheeks bouncing was about one of the cutest things I have ever seen. Bennett did amazing this year! He PR'd and ran the race in 21:05!!! At only 10 years old, he won first place in his age group and was 16th place overall!!! I am so glad my kids set goals and love to push themselves to do hard things! They are looking forward to a bright future by disciplining themselves now.   I am a very proud mama!

Nora is 2 1/2~June 2016

Every parent says it and it is true: They just grow up TOO FAST! Here are some cute little pictures of Nora when she was two and a half years old. I love her blue, blue eyes and little sprinkle of freckles across her nose.



For some reason, all of my kids stop taking any sort of nap during the day by the time they turn 2. They are just done with them! But occasionally, tiredness will get the best of them. Nora fell asleep a little sooner than bedtime one night. All that summer craziness will wear a little one out!

Another Year of Dance for Mylie~May 2016

Mylie loves to dance and I love to watch Mylie dance! She has so much enthusiasm and love for the art of dance, and she truly dances with her whole heart. She NEVER complains about going or the hours she spends, but is the exact opposite. She loves every moment of it. She has the best teachers and has made so many good friends. I love dance season in the spring. It is crazy, and busy, but it is so fun to see her excel at the dances she and her teammates have worked so hard on. Every performance is a wonderful celebration.
I was able to sneak some pictures in one day before a performance. This red outfit was for her lyrical dance which was to God Bless the USA.
 
Here are some of her dance photos taken by Heather Nielson Photography:
I snagged these performance photos from the dance facebook page:

Peach Blossoms and Nora~April 2016

I love taking pictures of things we plant to see how they change and grow over the years. It is also fun to take pictures of those things with the little ones to see how they change and grow over the years as well! We planted three of our little fruit trees in our backyard in the fall of 2015. We were told that we shouldn't let them fruit for a few years in order to establish the tree. One of the best ways to do this was to pull off the blossoms in the spring. This little peach tree had the most beautiful little blossoms in April of 2016, so before Nora helped me pull them off, we took some pictures of her by the tree.

The tree is so little, just like she is. I hope they both continue to grow and bloom in the years to come!