6 little cousins + one friend + me

Bridgette and Gary were nice enough to go on a day long date so that we could spend the day with their girls. We loved it. Brad checked in on me mid day and I said we were having a GREAT, FUN, CRAZY, MESSY DAY. That about sums it up!

We:

Made Cookies

rode bikes and scooters

played zhu zhu pets

ran through the sprinklers

made chalk roads and a city on our driveway

painted our faces and played cats

and all three of the youngest ones even took naps =0).

We're feeling pretty lucky to have these cute cousins (and Bridge&Gary too).

Little man to the rescue

I saw this the other day, laughed and loved it instantly. This little man and his little quote came to mind last night as both Monday and Tuesday I have been feeling short fused and irritable. Today I decided to be awesome instead. I already feel better =0).

The Zombie Dog

"The Rand Family Scarytale theaters proudly presents: the ZOMBIE DOG, THE ZOMBIE DOG, THE ZOMBIE DOG, OOOHHHHHHHH"

An Original play by Liv and Gwen.

Cast Members: Liv (The zombie dog), Gwen (Main Zombie), Mom (The mommy zombie), Beckham (The chubby zombie)

Marker Make-up: By Liv and Gwen

The Audience: Grandma JoLynn, Papa Kent, David, Megan, Spencer and Mason via Skype, along with Dad, Tim and Amber in person.

Fun with Tape

40 years

Brad's parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this summer. Oh how we love them! We spent a wonderful night celebrating with them. Happy anniversary!

I love summer!

There are days in life that you wish would never end.

Sun filled

Hot

trying new things

learning new skills

running

jumping and

splashing into the water

floating around in our life jackets

jumping in on the rope swing

practicing our strokes

Being tube dare devils

eating our over abundance of left overs

Laughing as a family

Memories

Bliss

Brad asked Liv if she wanted to knee board. She jumped on board and couldn't get enough. She went from not knowing a thing to being able to start all alone in the water, pull herself up, strap herself in, and show off by holding the handle with one hand. Later in the day Gwen jumped in on the rope swing for the first time. I love summer!

The 3 AM Rundown |Dave and Megan's visit|

Dave Ran the Triathlon with us, and did great!

We all went to Bar Harbor, where David and Megan tried Lobster ice cream =0). After which we all proceeded to eat mounds of delicious ice cream.

We added to the rock scupltures on the beach

We ate lobster on our back porch

Collected shells at Wonderland

Sand dollars at Seal Harbor

Played in the sand at Seal Harbor

And enjoyed Dave and Meg. We miss you two already, come again soon!

p.s. Why am I awake right now?

Wahoo, look at them go!!

It all started with the promise of a brownie and ice cream. Liv declined, and Gwen eagerly accepted. Gwen got in the water, definitely apprehensive. . . probably even scared. She tried once and had enough. She got into the boat a little shaken up. We all cheered, made a huge fuss, and history was rewritten. Suddenly she was super excited and proud of herself. She cheered right along with us. Something else happened. Liv got excited too, and wanted in on the action. She tried once, almost got up, and then tried again. . . SUCCESS!!! She was up, skiied for a while, just like a pro! And I think she's hooked. I hope she's hooked. I'm looking forward to a summer of family skiing. Even if it means a summer full of brownies and ice cream promises. Way to go girls!! {And yes I let them eat it before they ate their lunch =0) }